My Favorite Things - Farm Mom Edition
I think by now most people are familiar with Favorite Things episodes and articles…I’ve spent plenty of my own time engrossed in them too. I don’t see very many geared towards farm families though. So, I am pretty certain this list could be helpful for farming moms out there, but I also suspect others will find this list worth checking out too. Some of these items are used in very specific ways, (i.e. a Yeti container for sheep equipment) but I also know they are useful in other ways too. And often, reading about how one mom or woman organizes, works, cleans, and takes care of her family can spark ideas for other women in very different situations.
You might find this list to be a little bit less glamorous that the typical Favorite Things list…it isn’t filled with gourmet chocolates, body butters, exotic candles, or new books. Instead, everything on this list makes my life, as a mom raising a family on a working farm, just a little bit easier, with more time for some fun. And my hope is that you too will find inspiration from this list. Or even better, you will add to this list in the comments.
Gorilla Grip Soak Stopper Absorbent Indoor Rug
These rugs catch everything before it makes its way into the house. Dirt, mud, water, dog hair, anything they try to drag into the house- it is all stopped at these rugs. I have them at every door including the doggy door, and it has really made a noticeable difference in how clean our house stays. They come in all sizes and colors too. Oh, and they are machine washable.
Women’s LL Bean Wool Long Underwear
Men’s LL Bean Wool Long Underwear
This 100% wool long underwear is the holy grail of long underwear as far as I’m concerned. It goes on first, every single day, from October to April. It is machine washable (ours have been washed HUNDREDS of times), it is not itchy, and it is warm. It comes in different weights, but we prefer the Midweight. It is thin enough to put under other clothing but definitely thick enough to do the job. Our oldest pairs are over 5 years old, are washed constantly, and you would not be able to tell their age. Like cockroaches, they may outlive us all.
If I had to pick one thing we use/need the most on this farm it would be our Kawasaki Mule. There is nothing we would change about it…it is made for a family but tough enough for real farm work. We have the six-seater, which has plenty of room and seats for all of us, but it also has a large bed in the back. (Alternatively you can fold the back three seats down to expand the size of the bed). This thing is made for families -it has seat belts and doors. We even had the kids’ car seats installed in it when they were babies. It has a fabric cover and a heater in the winter. But as great as it has been for our family, it also has plenty of power and speed for getting work done. It has never been stuck, and it goes everywhere. This is a crucial part of our farm.
Our Tineco vacuum gets a workout every day, and it does a great job keeping our floors clean. A working farm, a husband in the oil field, 4 kids, and 3 dogs….and because of this awesome vacuum, I manage to keep our floors clean. It is cord-free and so light that I don’t mind using it. That is probably the main reason our floors stay clean, but the vacuum works really well too. I have the Tineco A11, but I know there are even better versions now. And some versions mop as well as vacuum too.
Shark Cordless Floor & Carpet Sweeper
The Shark sweeper. Are you noticing a theme? Living on this farm makes it tough to keep the house clean. It’s The Floors & Me vs. the Farm. And before owning some of these vacuums, it wasn’t a fair fight. This one in particular is the kids’ favorite, and it stays upstairs for them to use. It is a completely different kind of vacuum, (it is more of a sweeper) but it does a fantastic job on carpet, and it’s quick and easy for the kids to use. Anything that the kids still think is fun to use 6 months later is definitely a favorite in my book.
As a side note, if anyone else has a pet rabbit, and you haven’t figured out how to vacuum up its hay easily...this is the product you need.
This boot knife sheath is pretty great. Ohio weather can change daily, so our outerwear changes daily. That means we can easily forget to move our knives to our other coats, coveralls or pockets. But we always have our boots on. This knife holder stays on our boots, keeps our knives secure, and puts an end to everyone constantly asking who has a knife to use.
Yeti Cargo Storage Box
Of all the Yeti brand products, this one is my favorite. It can be used for so many things, but we use them to keep supplies in each farm vehicle. Each vehicle then has a neatly organized container filled with syringes and needles, medications, OB gloves, lube, chains, deworming meds, paint, tools, tags, elastrators, tubing equipment, bottle feeding equipment, and so much more. Can you tell we spent many years always going back to the barn for needed supplies? Yea, these are awesome.
I could write an entire book just on the technology we use on the farm and why I love each thing. But this year, my favorite is the Gallagher HR5 Tag Reader. This baby makes record keeping during lambing a breeze. I am a big fan of technology that syncs well between devices, uploads data easily into spreadsheets, keeps lots of different kinds of data, and works well. This does it all and has decreased the amount the time we spend entering data in the cold barn.
There is nothing worse than cold feet when we are trying to work outside. And these boots are great at preventing that. They come in both kid and adult sizes, and they really are warm. If you spend any time outside in really cold temps, and you get tired of listening to kids whine about cold feet (not us….we have infinite patience), I would highly recommend them.
I love this new coat from Carhartt. I bought it in black this year after hearing how warm it is. Not only was I extremely pleased with its warmth, it is also so much cuter and more stylish than my normal barn coats. It can sometimes be hard to transition from pulling newborn lambs in the barn to picking up my son at preschool…and not look like I just walked out of a barn. This coat keeps me really warm in the barn, but it also looks fairly neat and clean out in public. Now if they could just do something about that barn smell….
CSI Horse Pad
This horse pad has been a game changer for my horse. Whiskey is a big, round, old-style Morgan horse. It has been tough to find a great fitting saddle. My trainer Nicole recommended a CGI pad, and I will likely never use anything else again. These pads are thick and large. Whiskey is now comfortable every time we ride.
The Softest and Warmest Wool Blanket
I love wool. I love that wool comes from sheep, that it is a natural fiber, and that it keeps us warm. And I really love these wool blankets. I use them everywhere and love the colors and feel of them. We have them on our couches, on our beds, and in our cars.
Milwaukee M12 Heated Sweatshirt
There are plenty of heated coats out there, but this heated sweatshirt has been a game changer. So often it is difficult to do a job on the farm when we are bundled up in thick coats and coveralls. This sweatshirt emits so much heat that we can get rid of the bulky layers and still stay warm. I am waiting for them to come out with a kids’ version…our kids really don’t like bulky coats, and I think this would be pretty great for them too.
Kind of by accident we ended up growing all of our flowers and vegetables without pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. I guess we never really intended to grow without any chemicals, but the more our kids wanted to help we had to find safer products for them to be around. And then as we continued using products like this organic fish fertilizer (and compost straight from our farm) we realized there really is no reason to be using chemicals on what we grow anyway. This fertilizer grows the most beautiful and strong plants, and I will hopefully never go through a growing season without it.
