A Day in the Life of a Smallholder

What does it mean to be a smallholder? What do smallholders do all day? If you’re curious, I’ll walk you through a typical day in my life in early Spring.

5.00 – I wake early to let the birds out. I clean out the duck house and refill their water bath. The alpacas and our new little sheep, Eugenie, come over for a snack and a cuddle. Then I make a cup of green tea and take a few quite minutes to myself to plan my day.

6.00 – The toddler wakes up. We have cuddles and a cup of tea, and we all get dressed and ready for the day ahead.

7.00 – We have two highly energetic collies who need their morning exercise. I play fetch with them for 30-40 minutes (or as long as my toddler tolerate sitting in the buggy), then head back inside to give the dogs and the rabbit their breakfast. I get a load of washing going and empty the dishwasher. Meanwhile, George opens up the polytunnel, waters the seedlings and gets some more seeds planted.

8.00 – Breakfast time! Scrambled eggs on toast, with a side of fruit.

9.00 – I get a batch of sourdough going and start some other baking for today. I read and play games with my toddler in between stretch and folds of the sourdough, and while waiting for teacakes to rise. George heads back out to the vegetable garden to plant out some tomato plants in the polytunnel and earth up the new potatoes.

10.00 – Snack time. I have a big glass of water. The little one also has water to drink with a homemade oaty bake. We then get some jobs done: I hang the laundry out and start the soup cooking for lunchtime.

11.00 – We move out into the back garden, which is our current big project. Weeding the flower beds, filling the bike trailer with any rubbish to take to the dump, taking wheelbarrows of hardcore over to our hardcore pile. Little one is happy to sit on the grass with some books and toys while we work, listening to the birds chattering away.

12.00 – Lunchtime. Homemade creamy broccoli soup and sourdough bread. I bake the teacakes while we’re eating lunch.

13.00 – The toddler goes down for an afternoon sleep. George sits down to start his paid work, so he is indoors while I take the dogs for their afternoon walk.

15.00 – I’m back from the dog walk with 10 minutes to spare before the toddler wakes up. Time for another snack (fresh teacakes!) while I quickly throw dinner together. Leftover chilli with jacket potatoes.

16.00 – Little one and I get our wellies on and go for a walk around the field, checking the boundary and ensuring the animals are all well and have everything they need. The farmers in the neighbouring fields have allowed ragwort to get established; I see a couple in our field and pull them up.

17.00 – Dinner time. Crispy jacket potatoes with a filling bowl of chilli, followed by some fruit and vegan yoghurt. Enjoyed by the whole family!

18.00 – Toddler bath time, followed by stories, cuddles and winding down for bed.

19.00 – I close down the kitchen, set the dishwasher running, sweep and mop the floors.

20.00 – A little bit of time for me! Yoga, journaling, meditation.

21.00 – Reading and bedtime.

George stays up until 22.00 to put the birds to bed.

As you can see, my days are jam packed! I am literally on the go from dawn until dusk, ensuring my little one and our animals have all their needs met. It is hard work!

You might notice that George and I broadly divide the work into “pink and blue” jobs. I take on more of the housework and childcare responsibilities, while George does more of the gardening and outside work. We are a team and we play to our strengths. But we do cross over into each other’s territories when we needed.

I have found that I must carve out some time for myself at the beginning and end of the day. I cannot be the best version of myself and take care of everyone else if I do not prioritise some self-care time. Practicing yoga, journaling and spending time in quiet contemplation keep me grounded and are so beneficial for my mental health.

Rest is also very important. I am up with the larks in the morning, so I ensure I get to bed at a reasonable time. It would be so easy to burn the candle at both ends and stay up binge-watching a series, but this does no good at all in the long run. For me, it is much better to turn all my devices off after my yoga practice so that I can wind down before bed.

I hope you have found it interesting to follow along with me for the day! I would love to hear how you structure your days. Leave me a comment to let me know!