Autumn Checklist for Homemakers & Homesteaders

As much as I think homemaking is about cooking yummy meals and learning great cleaning routines, another aspect of it is that a homemaker is THE manager of the household. This means, all the not so fun stuff too like financial planning, insurance and making sure that everyone in the family is getting their teeth cleaned twice a year. Of course, our partners are equal parts of decision making. But we are the ones that often implement those decisions. For example, the budget is set for the month as a decision made together but what is actually bought at the grocery store is done usually by the homemaker. As managers of the household, we don’t only fold laundry and plan the family meals – we plan for everything in the household. And unfortunately, I think that is not always addressed enough in homemaking. A lot of times, it’s about making our homes pretty, which is great, but we need to also learn how to manage and plan. Especially as homesteader-type homemakers, planning is even more essential as the care of animals/livestock and garden properties are put into the equation. So I introduce you to the Autumn Checklist.
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Now, that all being said, this is basically a “lets-get-our-houses-in-order” type of post.

September has always felt like a time of the year to re-prioritize, check in on goals from January, and re-evaluate different areas of life. I actually shared a shorter version of this post last year for Labor Day Weekend. I decided to make it a tradition and every year I can tweak this list and flesh it out even more. Just so happens to also be the start of National Preparedness Month so yay to that too!

Autumn Checklist – FAITH

I put this category first because I believe it’s the foundation for everything in life. If this area is neglected, other parts of our lives can suffer. For example, if we don’t examine our hearts and continually give our lives to the Lord, it is easy to become embedded in anxiety and focus only on things of this world.

1. Re-evaluate your family’s spiritual goals.
   1. Prayer & Spiritual Reading: Is this an area of your life that has become neglected? Ask how can we, as a family, pray more together? Have we been going to church regularly?
   2. Ministries: As a family, discuss what your family’s mission is and what ministries will be a part of your lives. Are there additional ways you can get involved in your church & local community? Do you have to stop one ministry because you feel called to join a different ministry? This is a tricky question, but are you over extending yourself by doing too many ministries thus not being able to balance other areas of your life? Pray about it and discuss it as a family.
   3. Charitable Giving: Take a look at your budget and discuss charities you contribute to and potentially, ways to give more.

Autumn Checklist – HEALTH

1. If you have health insurance, it should cover at least an annual physical for every one on your insurance plan. Look into this and if it does, make sure these appointments are scheduled before the end of your policy year. For your children, they may have more appointments to keep up with as well. I have an under 2 year old, and the well baby/well child visits are much more frequent, and are still covered by insurance.
2. If you have dental insurance that covers 2 cleanings a year, make sure these appointments have been done by end of policy year. Do this for everyone in the family that is on the insurance plan.
3. If you have eye insurance that covers a yearly check up; schedule it if you haven’t already done so. Do this for everyone in your family that is eligible.
4. If someone in your family is on a continual medication, make sure you have refills left on the prescription so you are not left in bind. Also, make sure you always have enough of the medication on hand for at least a week.
5. When was the last time you changed out everyone’s toothbrushes?
6. If someone in your family wears contact lenses, check to see if they have enough or if you will need to order more.
7. Re-evaluate your family’s health goals, write them down and then hold yourselves accountable.
8. Have you checked and updated your home first aid kits? If not, check out my post about creating and updating first aid kits Creating First Aid Kits for the Homestead

Autumn Checklist – FINANCIAL PLANNING

First off, I am not a professional Financial Planner or Insurance agent. I’m just a mom who does her own research and does what is best for my own family. These are just ideas to get you started on your own path. Any sources I share, have no affiliation with me. I just think they are helpful. My goal is to have others look into their own financial situations and learn about it so they can have a greater feeling of control over their own life and future.

1. If you have debt, look into it. Depending on the type of debt and your situation, you may be able to refinance it to pay off sooner. If you are interested in paying off your debt to live debt free, check out Dave Ramsey. His company Ramsey Solutions has some great articles about that, that would be helpful.
2. Take a look at your savings. Do you have an emergency fund? If not, find a way to put aside a small amount here and there. A small fund is better than no fund.
3. If you are big on celebrating Christmas, start thinking of saving for it now, if you haven’t already. Then you won’t be scrambling around in a few months.
4. Check into your retirement goals. I know that seems far off, but the time to plan is when you are young. If you have never looked into this, start researching 401k and IRA’s. If you are putting into retirement, look at your contributions; does your partner’s employer do a match to a certain percentage? Re-evaluate how much you are putting away, and see if it aligns with your current situation and retirement goals. For more information on retirement, I will again point you to Ramsey Solutions.
5. If you are not comfortable with the market, think of other ways you can continue to work towards securing your future. Paying off your house early? Investing in other financial assets that don’t go down in value (think paid-for upgrades to your homestead, paid-for real estate, precious metals, etc)? Learning more on how to live off-grid (solar, etc.). These are also good things to research even if you do contribute to a traditional retirement fund. Diversification is what we are always aiming for.
6. Re-evaluate your family’s financial goals. Sit down with your partner and brainstorm. Are there household updates that need to be done that you should start saving for now? Write out the goals and hold yourselves accountable.

Autumn Checklist – INSURANCE

1. Healthcare: Make sure that you and every member of your family have the proper coverage in place for this season in your life. Think about the year ahead; are you planning to get pregnant? Is there testing someone needs to have done? Is a family member having knee pain and may need to have it looked at? Then evaluate the plan that would be the most cost efficient. Some plans start October 1st. Find out when your plan starts and ends. It can be time consuming, but try to learn the lingo and have a fairly good understanding of how health insurance works. Also, if you chose a health plan that allows for an HSA (Health Saving Account), think about how much you would like to contribute to that for this year and adjust as needed. You are allowed to deposit a certain amount each year to this type of account pre-tax. Another is an FSA (Flexible Spending Account) and sometimes these need to be used by the end of the year, otherwise the money is lost. There is so much more that can be said, but I will leave it there. Do your own research for your family.
2. Auto Insurance: Just learn about it, go over it and make sure it is enough coverage for this period of time in your life.
3. Home or Renter Insurance: Make sure this is updated yearly to reflect your insurance needs. And if you are renting, it’s a good idea to get renters insurance. It’s cheap and covers your stuff just in case.
4. Life Insurance, Disability Insurance, etc.: Just look into and learn a general understanding of these coverages. Then assess if you have enough in place for this time in your family’s life.
5. If you want more information about insurance, I will again point you to Ramsey Solutions. Again, I have no affiliation to this, nor do I sell insurance or anything like that. I’m just a mom who has learned a lot from this resource and wanted to pass it on.

Autumn Checklist – HOME TASKS & WINTERIZATION

1. Make a priority list of things that need to be done around your house before winter.
2. Check the fire alarms in your home. Change the batteries if necessary.
3. Do you need any winterization supplies for your home? Best to get these early. Think window plastic supplies if you do that, draft guards, thick curtains, etc.
4. Look at every one’s clothes in the family; does anyone need new winter clothes because they have outgrown them or they are in disrepair from last winter?
5. How are your snow shovels and do you need to purchase more rock salt?
6. If you were stuck in a blizzard, what would you need?
   1. Food & Water: do you have at least a small supply of shelf stable foods/canned goods and gallons of water on hand? What about foods for your children? Do your babies use formula? Maybe keep a little extra on hand, just in case. Just make sure you cycle it out, so that it is always fresh. What about for any animals under your care?
   2. TIP: don’t forget to keep a manual can opener and some disposable plates, cups, utensils as well.
   3. Heat: Blankets, blankets, and more blankets. If you have a wood stove, start thinking of firewood. If you have propane heat, do you need your tank refilled? Check your heaters to make sure they are in working order before the cold weather starts.
   4. Light: Check flashlights and batteries, keep this in an accessible location. If you use oil lamps, do you have enough oil and wicks? Do you have enough matches or lighters to light the wick? If you are relying on candles for this; do you have enough of them?
   5. Hygiene: Depending on how long a storm could keep you stuck and without power, this is also something to think of. For those who have their own wells, well pumps can unfortunately rely on electricity, so running water would be out of the question. Extra baby wipes, hand sanitizer, paper towels, toilet paper, and such are good to have on hand for this reason. Have an idea of how your family would take care of waste, as well. If your family uses cloth diapers for your babies, make sure to keep some disposables on hand for emergency situations like this.
   6. Communication: a small battery powered and/or hand crank radio is good to have on hand as well, so you would know what is going on out there. Cell phone batteries will die, so have a plan for that. Some options could be a land line phone (that is not wireless), back up battery banks, a solar charger or a generator. But remember, depending on how bad a storm is, phone lines could also be down along with reception being bad. As for generators, they involve research, additional planning and should only be used outside.
   7. Medications: if a family member is on medication, keep at least a 1 week supply on hand at all times.
   8. Here is a list of FEMA Recommendations, as well.

Autumn Checklist – HOMESTEAD

1. If you have animals, what do you need for winterization to keep them safe?
2. Buy the supplies and get this stuff done early.
3. Stock up on animal food supplies.
4. If you have a garden, what do you need to do for its winterization?
5. Are you doing any winter gardens?
6. Do you still need to do longer term preservation techniques on foods from the harvest for the winter? (canning, dehydrating, freezing)
7. Are there items around your property that need to go into storage for the winter?
8. Does anything need to be fixed around the property that can’t wait until next spring?

Autumn Checklist – CAR MAINTANCE & WINTERIZATION

1. Do they need new inspection? Is the registration up to date?
2. When were the fluids last changed? Do you need an oil change? If so, make those appointments before winter.
3. How are the tires? Are the treads in good shape, or do the tires need to be replaced? Check the inside of your drivers side door or the manual that came with the vehicle to find out the PSI that the tires should be inflated to. A lot of gas stations offer free air that you can fill to the correct PSI for your vehicle. NOTE: If your tires are old, in disrepair or if you haven’t kept up with this, be aware that it may make matters worse and give you a flat tire. This means the tire was on its way out anyway. This may sound illogical, but if you had a small hole, it may make it larger with inflating the tire. But it may be better to know, and get the tire replaced when you are aware of it, then having it happen at the worst time. Especially with winter snow and rain, this is important to stay on top of and be safe.
4. How are your wind shield wipers? Do they need to be replaced?
5. Do you have a flash light with fresh batteries, a couple warm blankets, snacks and water in case you break down on a cold night? Even keep some extra warm clothes in the vehicle too. You could keep hand and foot warmer packs in the car. If you have children, what would you need for them in this situation?
6. Do you have working jumper cables in your car?
7. Do you have a spare tire? If so, do you have a jack and know how to use it? Another option, if you cannot physically do this, is to get AAA coverage.
8. Make sure the ice scrapper & snow brush is in your car. Maybe even a snow shovel.