[littlelugs]

Hey all, I am just wondering how people cope with large jobs on their own? we have a few physically demanding jobs that need doing around ours (moving rubble etc.) and although I am trying I don't seem to be making a dent in them.
If we had money I would hire a man and a digger or just some paid labour for a couple of days, unfortunately I am not rich! (in fact I am at the furthest end of the spectrum from this) lol. so I am using a wheel barrow and doing it all by hand. It doesn't help that its hot weather because there is only so much you can do before your wiped out.
I love our place and I love the satisfaction you get when you finish a job and know that it was all your own hard work but I was just wondering how everyone else copes.
I was thinking of asking people to come and help for a day in return for beers and a bbq but to be honest I feel bad asking, as the few people I do know have their own places to run and they never seem to ask or need help.
To be honest this whole post is me procrastinating rather than lifting more rubble lol.
Lea
 

[Sbom]

I'm sure beer and BBQ will bring them!
They may be busy on there own places but a change is as good as a rest and they would not feel bad asking for help in return then.
We do a lot of work for work exchanges and it works well for everyone and doesn't dent the pocket.

[doganjo]

Do you have a local smallholders group.  We have thought about work parties up here, and some of our members do get together for bigger projects.  I can't offer any physical labour so I have never asked, although i could barter admin services.  I usually just wait till my son has time to come over, but he can't do everything so I more often have to save up and pay fro work to be done.

[happygolucky]

I try to do things but usually end up injured for weeks, my husband tries too but usually we get some one in....when they turn up!!
 

[novicesmallholder]

Some-one once told me - "don't try to eat the elephant in one go, easier if you eat it chunk by chunk". Thats the attitude my wife and I have to take, in exactlly the same position as yourself. Had to run 200 meters of post and stock fencing = 100 posts, just set myself a target of 15 posts at a time (sinking posts with hand held post rammer), and it will be done when it is done, finally got it done. It is hard, especially when you have a full time job as well, but we count ourselves lucky, because not everyone can experience the pleasures (and awful setbacks) of keeping livestock, and producing your own food.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[Bionic]

I was thinking of asking people to come and help for a day in return for beers and a bbq but to be honest I feel bad asking, as the few people I do know have their own places to run and they never seem to ask or need help.

Perhaps they never ask for help because they are like you and think everyone else is managing fine

[shygirl]

we have been in a similar situation. we used to do loads of manual labour with wheel barrows etc but after a few years little injuries kept appearing, like tennis elbow / strained shoulders etc. which took months to get better. so i feel for you. 3 weeks work can be done in 2 hrs with a digger so its frustrating.
if you do 10 loads a day without fail, jobs do get done without tears 

[littlelugs]

that's what I am doing at the moment as much as I can per day without killing myself. it's good to know that others are in the same position and doing the same thing. It's easy to think that people don't have problem jobs and that they just throw money at it to get it done. 

[northfifeduckling]

I don't...despair at OH's procrastination and lack of mates who could help. I am now at the point where I decided to pay people to do jobs, sad, sad, sad - not as it was planned! 

[littlelugs]

Am hearing you and feeling your pain NFD. have just sent out a desperate text and facebook message for help. its my own fault really, trying to surprise my OH when they get back from a wedding but the trouble is I have only got a week to get it done, and I guess I imagined it wouldn't be as hard as its actually turning out to be. (sometimes I think my brain thinks I am superhuman or something) lol

[RUSTYME]

Hard when you have a time limit to work to .
I don't work to time limits , it gets done when it gets done .
When i got my place i had to clear lots of stones off the fields and fill huge ruts in the track , so filled 2 buckets at a time and carried them to the track , too muddy for wheelbarrow . Then i started to dig the veggie plot . 12" down is a layer of stones/boulders 15" deep , i stopped counting bucket loads at 222 . 10 years later the ruts are sort of filled , the fields sort of clear and the veggie plot grows the best stones i have ever had , 'still' .

[shygirl]

the problem is the price any professionals charge when they do help.
iv lost count of the number of blisters, sore backs, flat tyres etc we have had. also the cars we have wrecked by using them to lug rocks, water etc. and the hours which could be saved by having the right machinery, if only we could afford it.

[john and helen]

ive always tried to do many things in a day, but just for a short time..my helen had got use to it now 

if i am painting a room out ile just do one wall , then go off and do something else for an hour then something else

it all gets finished eventually,

my dear old dad use to do 1 hour a night in the garden....he use to set himself a task and stick to it...once the garden was in top condition, it became easier, but he would never do more than that hour

[lachlanandmarcus]

The other thing is and I know it's not possible if there's a deadline involved, is that I try and avoid doing the heavy jobs in very hot weather, as I can get 10x as much done when it's cooler. However when the heat goes on and on that option doesn't always come!

[northfifeduckling]

my own days just never have enough hours with kids, cooking, animals, gardening, tidying, work (see the order of priority  ) but OH has all the time in the world since he retired and just lets it pass by .... or maybe he's overwhelmed by the jobs he accumulated that never got finished...