Can a Homesteader be a Minimalist?
Can minimalist values be held by a homesteader? As I am approaching the tender sweet age of 50, I am looking around at the space in my home and the objects that hold the space, and I say, have I touched you in the last 6 months? Did I use this more than once this year? These are the questions you naturally would ask as a minimalist.
Homesteading requires a lot of stuff. But what is too much stuff? Do you really need more than 2 shovels? How many canning jars do you really need. There are really so many questions to ask yourself. One big consideration for me is, WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS. Do I preserve enough to give them all some food for winter? Do I keep this heirloom piece that my grandmother gave me and save it for my kids down the road. Ah the statement down the road.
My kids are just in University now so they have not really settled into a stable home yet, so holding these pieces for a few more years is a reality for me. So how do I make more space and downsize in the meantime, so that I do not go insane, waiting for them to get a stable environment to store their things.
So I attempted to only purge things that I use, things that are truly for me and nobody else. I did ok, and realized that no women truly needs 4 pairs of rubber boots. So then I asked myself, what if my daughter came home and wanted to come help me out in a soggy Garden? Then I keep one extra pair, Right. I mean look at this perspective, a pair of rubber boots cost all of a couple bucks at a thrift store so get rid of what you got and replace later if you truly need to. After I adopted that perspective, it was easy to purge. I pair of heels, is enough, I only wear them once a month if that. I work in a garden.
Minimalism is more an attitude. What I own has to be useful or absolutely beautiful, or temporary until the kids are ready.
I am thinking what do I want to do with this next half of my life? At almost 50, at a half century old is really time to downsize yet?. There is a likely chance I might have another 30 to 50 more years left if I am lucky and that is another lifetime!!! Wow… Time to sit back and reflect, is this where I want to be?
How do YOU my fellow Steemit friends feel about Minimalist values, and how do you purge or downsize your homesteads? Perhaps no need to purge and just organize. Do any of you have any good tips to organizing so that I can keep what is needed and still not go insane with the clutter. Thanks for the help in advance.
Happy Trails
Sources:
Picture all found on Pinterest
Until you go through 3 in one week of bad weather, farm incidents and just general craziness.
From a #homesteading perspective, yes it is possible to be a minimalist
From a homesteader who is a #prepper, no it is impossible to be a minimalist
I think ,that for homesteading, sometimes junk might turn out to be useful in a pinch. Who knows, instead of throwing out the rubber boots, you turn them into garden planters or a water collector.
Thanks for the insight. A new form of Water Barrel, LOL .....ah the world of what if I need it later, that is the question I am aflicked by
Agree with you there @deanlogic I think it is good to consider the full spectrum. From the Primitive Technology side, to bushcraft, prepping, homesteading, permaculture, deep ecology and high tech solutions, preparedness in all it's forms can mix well with minimalism, but it is your comfort level that will vary depending on experience and knowledge of other options. I saw a ted talk by an anthropologist describing the disappearing cultures of the world. At the end of the talk he mentioned one of the elders in the Inuit who literally was so skilled, he could defecate into his own hands, form a knife with it as it froze and used that to butcher a dog which he used to make a sled only to then attach that to another dog and rode off into the wild, (his living room) like a boss. I'm definitely no where near that, but it's good to see and think about what is possible.
I absolutely can relate! We recently made a drastic life change and sold our home and downsized quite a bit! We moved into a a small house and only could keep what would fit. I love it! I feel so much lighter and we plan on doing another major purge in about 4-5 years when we move to our property to start our homestead in a "tiny" house! For us a barn and a garage is a must to hold most of our "stuff". Our home is to be about comfort and for me that is clean and organized! My 15 year old daughter has taken it to another level and wants to live a more "extreme" version of minimalism! Kuddos to her or anyone else who chooses to! I believe everyone should live in their own comfort zone! :D Cheers
Good for you and I wish you all the best on your journey to a homestead.
Thank you! More and more everyday I dream to be living off the land
i live in a box, i have no choice lol
haha this is the exact opposite of me, I'm pretty anti social and I find a messy lived in home generally keeps visitors away :)
I am the same. I am anti social too, and only go out of the house when I absolutely need to or am begged to. But just can't stand a messy house, and no I am not OCD about cleanliness but, just need to find what I want and not have to lose time looking. Thanks for sharing your insight
no worries, you could always build an ornate cupboard to store some of the clutter if its getting you down. :)
Yes I could, but do I really need all this stuff. That is the question I am fighting with.
No matter what it is I bet it has multiple uses, personally id rather hoard so I can improvise repairs. I fully see where your coming from though, at least twice a year I do de-clutter and get rid of things I have already made use of and am unlikely to need any other bits of in the future, the way I see it is if I bin or give away an item, or even sell it, when I come to need to replace it, it will always cost me more. Im good at minimising expenditure haha.
True words you speak my friend. Thank you
Over Minimalization = fear. In this world you either expand or contract.
What an interesting way to describe the idea. Thanks
There is a great documentary in NETFLIX about Minimalism.
Yes I have watched some of it. Interesting life style
It's a growing concept...
I personally want to live in different country every 6 months, so I'm learning about it.
No there is a cool concept, never thought about that. Thanks for triggering my wild gypsy side of the brain. Goal setting has new potential now.
I'm glad...😂😂😂
It is something that has always been a struggle for me to balance as I try to have what we need or might possibly need on our homestead and getting rid of the things that just don't need to be here. I am sure it will be something I will always struggle with.
The 4 rubber boots was funny :) Yeah, I don't think anyone really needs 4 pairs. Unless they live in swampy lands and lend them out to guests who come by lol.
You know it is these reflective posts that really open my eyes, and listen to myself. Like you said really 4 pairs of rubber boots. Now I can see 4 pairs of boots, but not all rubber. LOL Raincoats are next on the purge list, probably have 4 to match the boots. LOL