One of our greatest privileges as ag producers is that we get to enjoy the rural life, living far from the hustle and bustle of the city.  But one of the greatest curses of rural living is being so far from so many of life’s conveniences and necessities.  Most, if not all, of us would heartily agree that we are willing to take on the long drives to the city in order to live the country life.  We may burn through extra fuel, turn excess miles on the truck’s odometer, spend hours driving to and from appointments, meetings and the grocery store, but it’s always worth it.  

Rather than complain about the trek, we just grin and bear it, and then figure out a few tips and tricks to make living away from the city easy.  Most are obvious, I’m sure, but I can’t imagine country living without these wise enlightened guidelines.

1.  Get a freezer.  Or maybe two… And probably a second refrigerator.  You will curse yourself every time you run out of food, every time you make an extra trip for more food, and every time you try to cram your groceries in the little freezer space above your refrigerator.  Yep… get a
BIG freezer.

2.  Since you bought a freezer, you have room to buy extra groceries… so do it!  Load up on your favorite frozen fruits, veggies, and the kids favorite chicken nuggets.  Google will tell you all of the things that can go in the freezer like butter and cheese and fresh pasta  and tortillas.  Just to be on the safe side, always grab a few frozen pizzas for the days that dinner just doesn’t work out.  Stick it all in and enjoy it later. 

3.  Every visit to town warrants a trip to the grocery store.  Even if you think there isn’t stuff you need, go.  I always end up grabbing a couple of gallons of milk and a few loaves of bread.  My family can never have enough milk!  

4.  Living far away from a gas station makes you realize how precious fuel is.  In an ideal world you would have your own gas tank at home to fill up at.  But if you can’t manage that, always leave town with a full tank of gas.  Running out of gas miles from any sort of gas station is SUPER frustrating and there is nobody to blame but yourself.  Sadly, I speak from experience...

5.  It’s sad to say, but since there are less trips to town (because it takes up way too much of the day just to get anywhere) you don’t always have fresh stuff.  Either learn to live with that or learn to grow a garden.  I suggest the latter because there isn’t much more satisfying than a good green salad from the backyard!

6.  Those man car skills really are not just for men.  Learning how to change a tire, check the oil, airing up tires, and using jumper cables is something that every person living in the country should know.  I’m guessing that you can fix any minor problem much faster than it would take for AAA to come to the rescue.  And to avoid any major problems, leave the broken down ranch truck for someone else to drive.  There is nothing worse than sitting on the side of the road with engine trouble you have no idea how to fix.  Yes, once again, speaking from experience...

7.  Speaking of your car, you will be spending a lot of time in the car… LOTS.  It will become your second home.  You will eat, sleep, get ready for the day, carry out meetings, do math and reading homework, have church, and everything else in between in your car.  It’s likely you will need to clean it out often, but at the same time, having extra clothes, shoes, toys, snacks, bathroom necessities and such all stashed in your vehicle helps you be prepared for
any scenario. 

8.  In fact, not preparing the little people that are constantly making the trek with you is a recipe for disaster.  Learn from me when I say that you always need to take pillows and blankets and snacks and toys and all the devices you said you would never own on every. single. drive.  The extra work is worth it!  And since the babies will be falling asleep, always take pjs so they can just go straight to bed once you get home.  Maybe even a pair for you too...

9.  Take out doesn’t exist in the country.  Nor does delivery.  Door Dash and Walmart groceries unfortunately do have a limit when it comes to distance.  Sorry, you GET to have a home cooked meal every night.  I highly recommend meal planning, left overs, and guilt trips to get someone else (hubby, anyone?) to make dinner.  If all else fails, get out the frozen pizza- that’s why you have a freezer, remember!

10.  We don’t have time to make lots of trips to the big city, nor do we really want to.  So with each trip, make it worth it!  Hit up the grocery store, the bank, the hardware store, the post office, CAL Ranches, and the local GoodWill.  But every now again, we just bite the bullet and make the trip in again and count it as a date night.

Rural living isn’t for everyone, but we choose to make it work every day.  For us, getting to live where we have the peace and quiet, room to roam, and the space to do what we love is always worth it, even when I have more milk than I know what to
do with!