[NormandyMary]

What ever happened to "Bob a job" week? Where is a little boy scout when you need one?
Seriously though, Ive often thought about doing the same thing and offering lunch and drinks in exchange for a few hours grafting for our friends. I may still have to do it as funds are dwindling and the pile of things to do is getting bigger by the week. One thing we didn't plan for when we moved over here, was OH's bad health. Thing is, you doing know what reception your offer will get until you put the offer on the table. Im sure if you have good friends, they will be more than pleased to be asked. It could be a fun day, something that could be carried on by the others if they have need of help. Good Luck!!!

[carlb]

Can you have a chat with local volunteer organisations and see if there are any volunteers in the area that want to get into farming/ agriculture etc?

[Marches Farmer]

I, too, break down the big jobs into small chunks and do just that much each day and no more.  This has included cutting back three fence posts' worth of field side hedge with secateurs each day (our contractor couldn't get on the field to do it last year) and sorting a field of docks (cut out 30 a day).

[ellied]

I can most definitely feel that pain too - I have huges lists of things that need done and no money to do them nor help to get them done most of the time as I am on my own and have virtually no income that isn't spoken for months in advance for hay or such.

In my case the answer is either very slowly and in terms of hot days starting early - I managed to get 2 of the fields sprayed for ragwort this year at the right time but he never came back to do the other 2 and after last year, when he was so late returning that the last two got sprayed and still needed large plants pulling barrow by barrow,  this year I have just got on with the other 2 myself, working 8-9 every morning because it has been too hot for me to do much heavy work.  They're done now and I've worked round 1.5 of the sprayed ones' edges pulling the plants the sprayer didn't get along the fenceline.

On another occasion I had to stop getting help with a chainsaw to take down trees because I couldn't pay the guy any more.  So this year my neighbour came with his chainsaw and took 2/3 of the wood in payment for his logburner.  It was 50/50 in principle but in practice I can't manage the big logs and he can, so I got the top half and the bigger stuff he took to split and saw himself.  I had to let go the idea of it being mine and settle for what I could get as better than the tree falling on my house (the root was damaged by flooding last winter so it needed down!).

I've had a couple come to stay and help in return for a free holiday base, they were away out most days but helped get a couple of major 2 person jobs sorted and that again was worth it to me.  I tried a lodger which worked for the 2 months she paid nothing and felt she owed me time, though she wasn't that much use in heavy work she did spell me with feeding a sick foal through the night and that was worth it in sleep.  Then she asked to stay on and pay rent, paid me only the 2/3 of it she got in benefit and never a penny of her own, then went to get a part time job to pay the rest and I never saw her let alone got help as she was always taking extra shifts, money for which she used to pay for courses and holidays and books but it all got a bit much for her so she moved out and I don't think I'd do that again!  I also lost my council tax single rate while she was here and of course got nothing towards that or household bills, so just got a load of paperwork and ended up out of pocket!

Now I just do what I can when I can manage, get a good day and I motor on til I can't do any more in case I don't get another good day for a while!  Then floored for a couple of days and behind again.  I think I have just let go of the big ideas and focused on the smaller stuff and the necessary stuff.  The barn roof came down in snow 2 maybe 3 winters back now, the rubble for a retaining wall at the barn edge has been on the roadside from a collapsed garden wall for 18 months because I can't see the point in moving it twice, the place looks a mess and could look amazing with money thrown at it, but I don't have money to throw so I live as it is.  And I used to help folk out all the time when I was young and fit and keen, but now I can't offer much at all so I don't ask.  I do offer what I can and hope at some point to build up enough global credit that I could get help in an emergency if I had a stay in hospital or on crutches or something, but I dont' want to waste any goodwill on anything less and I hate asking anyone for anything anyway.

[doganjo]

Ok, I'm a coordinator!  Would this work in central Scotland?

A database of people offering say 3 hours work at a time.  You bank the hours till needed, and you draw on that bank when you need a big job done - a single full day or 2/3 days.  No money exchanges hands and we all pay our own travel and food.

Discuss?

[bloomer]

Don't forget in central scotland I will also negotiate labour bills into finished goods need a couple of days work and know you have lambs to send this autumn always happy to negotiate :-)

[doganjo]

That's the main problem though for me - I have nothing to trade. - until you need you tax return doing    But knowing you, you've got that sorted too 

[shygirl]

 I managed to get 2 of the fields sprayed for ragwort this year

what do use ellied? i was using stacato which works but kills the grass aswell. im sure it also made me ill with terrible swollen glands and sore throat as i was spraying by hand in a big field.

[northfifeduckling]

I used to be a member of the local LETS scheme (like a time bank but also includes goods swaps) which worked great for a time. Swapping massages and carbooty things for food and garden tidying. I'd book you, Annie for accounts stuff some time but don't know how I could help you as you are quite far away!

[suziequeue]

I do what other people have suggested - just a little at a time. Try to work a job into your daily routine - e.g. a barrowful of rocks to go from here to there. I am always amazed that it seems to get done much more quickly than I anticipate.


Sometimes I set a timer and say I'm just going to do weeding for an hour and take a beeper with me. Sometimes I find that I want to carry on after the tie has elapsed because I have "got into it" and am enjoying it.


I divide jobs into one man and two-man jobs and try to do at least two two-man jobs at the weekend with my OH


We have a list of bigger projects which we save for when the WWOOFers come and we can work with them on those.


Big hard-landscaping jobs we get the professionals in - usually Malcolm from up the road.

[mojocafa]

Of late ihave been struggling to manage as my oh had an accident . I simply couldn't cope with all the outside work , kids, back And forth to hospital. I ended up getting a company in to help me get on top of the growth and so far have managed to keep on top of it. It was a huge weight off my shoulders

[Lesley Silvester]

I also hate asking for help but now disabled, I have to. I employ a local lad at £5 an hour to do the jobs I can't. He's 16 so I'm paying above the minimum wage, but between school and college so is glad of a part tiem job.

[benkt]

We have an unfair advantage in a lot of these by having the community farm - I'm always guaranteed help on a Saturday. It can be a bit difficult to manage not knowing how many people will show up, it tends to range between 5 and 30 at the minute so I have to have enough ready to do if there are loads of people and not too much that must be done in case there are fewer.
For some of the jobs, like moving and levelling 20 tons of crushed concrete I asked a neighbour to pop round with his manitou and it took him about half an hour. Nothing asked for in return but a goose will be his come Christmas. For some bits of ploughing I get a lad in who works for a lot of the neighbouring farms - he has a little mf35 which fits our scale of field much better than the monster tractors everybody else has. That costs, but its well worth it in the end.
Having said all that, there's still too much to be done and I still end up working myself into back/muscle troubles by trying to do too much during the week on my own...

[northfifeduckling]

I also hate asking for help but now disabled, I have to. I employ a local lad at £5 an hour to do the jobs I can't. He's 16 so I'm paying above the minimum wage, but between school and college so is glad of a part tiem job.

I'm employing our youngest at the same rate for jobs in the garden and bird house clearing. She doesn't mind clearing poop and as we're so rural she can't get another job to earn herself a new laptop. Not much help for the heavy jobs but some help 

[bazzais]

Dont set your aims too high - make a list of all the jobs big and small and break up the day of the big jobs by doing a few smaller ones - tick them off the list.

At the end of the day you can look at the list and a least a few things have been done and started.

Dont bust a bollock  trying to do one huge job in one go!