Why I Homestead & My Homesteading Life Then And Now
According to Mother Earth News, homesteading is as follows:
The Homestead Act
In the 1970s, the word homesteading evolved to mean a lifestyle as tens of thousands of young adults and other adventurous souls threw off the cultural mantle of urban and suburban living and returned to their ancestral rural roots. These 'back-to-the-landers' were the core readers of Mother Earth News and the impetus for its creation, beginning in January of 1970. Over the next three decades, the character of the term homesteading has emerged to include self-sufficient living in urban and suburban settings as well as on rural acreage.
But if you ask any number of homesteaders, you will get a different answers.
To some it means becoming more self-sustainable and being able thrive, support yourself and not rely on others for survival. To another it may mean going back to basic living skills. Yet to a third may say being a homesteader means becoming debt-free, stress free and living off the land. There are so many levels and categories parallel to being a homesteader; and today I am going to delve into my version and personal definition of my homesteading life.
My Homesteading Life- Early Beginnings
When I was a young mother of three, I was a stay-at-home-mom and LOVED being there for every milestone. I was active in the kids' school(s), I made everything from scratch, used cloth diapers on the kids and had planted myself firmly into the homemaker and mom role.
I learned to have a small city garden, learned new recipes that were healthier than store bought processed and packaged foods. Heck my kids didn't have a store bought Pop-Tart unless they went to a friend's house. I made my own. I learned to make homemade bagels and soft pretzels and even made my own cinnamon rolls for our Sunday morning treat. I always had a bowl of universal bread dough in the refrigerator.
My Homesteading Life- The Middle Years
I had wanted a larger garden; full of vegetables and herbs, but living in the city made it difficult. We had HOA issues and it was ridiculous. When I moved further north and had a five-acre parcel of land, I had the BIGGEST garden. Tomatoes, corn, cabbage, beans, pumpkins and the list goes on.
Back in 2011, I left the 5-acre property and farmhouse behind to start my life over. I am a country girl at heart and my husband is a city guy. I hated to leave the rural setting I was at, but I couldn't expect him to drive over 2 hours one way for his job. So we compromised. We moved semi-rural. We settled on a town, maybe it's even only a village- I do know it's incorporated, of about 3600 residents. It was perfect. We live about 5 miles from the downtown area and have some favored store selections within a short drive. The heavier driving and stores are about an hour away. Yes, as I said... perfect.
We only have about 1/4 of an acre of land, but we are setting a goal to find a minimum of 5-acres (preferably 10) within the next 2-3 years to make our final move.
I have a space allotment issues for my gardening needs. I will be using more containers and buckets this coming 2018 season as I have some wonderful gardening plans. I am inching my way closer and closer to not relying on the produce department at the local stores.
I added a small temporary greenhouse last summer and am planning on either upgrading to a larger one, or adding a second smaller one; just depends on where I will set it up at.
I have been canning and preserving for years; learned to dehydrate last year and have expanded my kitchen skills with fermenting in the last month or so.
My Homesteading Life- The NOW (& Future) Years
So what my homesteading life means to me is being able to provide healthier alternatives, homegrown and homemade items and not having to rely on others (ie. grocery stores). I am on a never-ending quest to learn more, add to my knowledge and execute things and skills I have researched online; or read about here on steemit from fellow homesteading community members.
Skills I have learned recently include:
- Some cheesemaking
- Fermenting
- Expanding preserving and canning options and choices
- Dehydrating
- Soapmaking
- Health & Beauty items
- Growing herbs (I never had such a large selection)
- Learning about and implementing essential oils into home remedies
I have really broadened my outlook, my skills and have honed in on what I/we would need to become even more self-sufficient in life.
Skills (and items) I still want to learn include:
- Sewing (I used to do this but it went wayside years ago)
- Basket making
- More cheesemaking
- Reviving some small livestock (chickens, goats)
- Learning some basic woodworking skills
- Expanding my hand tool selection
There are more, but these are the ones I want to focus on sooner rather than later.
Love hearing about your journey. Isn't it exciting to look at all of the things you've already tried and learned? Homesteader-mindset: never get tired experimenting and learning. I always thought I'd have to do it all at once, but I just pick one thing and work on it. Thanks for sharing.
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What an amazing Journey! My wife and I decided to go for it all and see what happened. Our idea was to get rid of the last of the debt, and provide and make for ourselves as much as we can. I love learning from others and I look forward to getting alot of advice and tips from you!
Yes getting rid of the debt, and then NOT incurring more, is a big part of the reason why I am able to stay home and be a homemaker. I worked up until about 2 years ago. We got our finances in order, set a date and goal to buy our home outright.. and here we are. Being able to do this all has been a great blessing to me and our home. I know my husband appreciates ALL that I do.
You should add bee keeping to your list to help pollinate your garden! My friend started doing it a couple of years ago.
I think bees are always a great idea. Helps pollinate and you get the honey.🙃
I read so many posts on steemit about bees and beekeeping. But I have a HUGE underlying fear of bees. I know there are a few bee farms (not sure what they are called) within a short drive from us and I gladly purchase their goods and honey. But to be near bees... I just can't do it.
When I was five years old I fell into a wild honeybee nest and was stung hundreds of times. My mother also developed a life-threatening allergy to bees and wasps... Although I'm not allergic, I still have a careful attitude around the bees. But needless to say i am excited to get some soon on our farm because I am such a honey bear!!! So at least I will be wearing full bee-suit regalia and gloves, and utilizing that smoker very well. hehe...
Great list @goldendawne!
I am with @goldendawne on this one. I don't think I am allergic to honey bees, but I am deathly allergic to yellow jackets. I do everything I can to help the honey bees thrive and will be putting several new patches of flowers in for them as I have time. But I don't think I could tend to them. I can handle rats, snakes, spiders, whatever... doesn't bother me a bit, but bees... (shivering lol)
Hi there. Really enjoyed reading this post your skill set is impressive. I have neighbors who do the traditional Korean Kimchi fermentation and recently began mushroom cultivation. I would love to learn herbal medicine and make tinctures, its on my to do list.
My problem is like yours, too many things I want to learn and not enough time!😉🐓
Yeah, it seems time is always the problem. I have the ideas.. the desire to learn just NEVER enough time in the day/week/month/year/season.
I had no idea you could make homemade pop-tarts lol! You sure know a lot of skills already. I, too, would love to learn to sew, at least simple things anyways.
My kids LOVED them. I will have to dig out the recipe. The kids haven't lived at home on over 6 years; as they are all married with their own children now. I still have the recipe. Maybe I'll make them one day just for old times' sake.
So much to stead, so little time. Sometimes it feels like there is so much to learn that my head wants to explode. And then I think, that's why I started to do this in the first place. Anything that we do is a step in the right direction, right? Thanks for the inspiration. Here's what I do when I start to hyperventilate:
https://steemit.com/life/@huntbook/the-chaos-of-it-all
OH YES!!! SO very true! I have learned to make notes and when I am able to, I work on a new skill or task. Trying to get too much done and not allowing time really causes issues and problems.
Great post. Well it is incredible to look back and see the different stages of our life. Thank you for all you do for the homestead community here on steemit
It is wonderful to be able to look back. Some days I'll sit here and think.."what did I accomplish today?" Instead I need to start thinking, "What have I accomplished this week? this month? this year?" It's the bigger picture I need to focus on to see my accomplishments.
Homemade Pop-Tarts, you need to share that one! LOL. Those are some great goals to have and to learn. Getting animals brings to the table a whole other set of skills to learn. You are continuing on a good journey and it is great. Keep on, Keeping on!
I'll be digging out the recipe. And when I do, I'l share here too
It's a truly impressive list of things you can do - I would love to learn more about woodworking too - it's on my to do list :)
Yeah, nothing huge- just basics skills so I can make a table... for more gardening area in the shed or outside.
I have a girlfriend that could put her hand to anything - she took a woodworking course at the high school and from them on made all her own furniture - she is talented for sure.
A nice read first thing in the morning! I really enjoy your journey. You can homestead a subdivision!
A homestead subdivision? Now that would be neat! My own little homesteading community!