Our Homestead In The Early Years Of Living In Florida

Setting Up My Little Casita On The Stream In Port Orange, Florida

The Stream Behind My Little Abode

Often I am asked.... how can you homestead and live so tiny? My answer is simple, it is a way of life. I have done it on 160 acres, 360 acres, 10 acres, 5 acres, and on only a plot of land. Homesteading is about being self-sufficient. It is a way of life.

For sure you will want as much garden as you can get. As you can see, this is only the second day in that spot and pots are sitting around waiting for a home in the dirt. Eventually, my small lot will be mostly Organic Gardens. From that I will can, freeze, and dry food. I will harvest all my herbs and seldom have need to buy herbs. I will make several kinds of teas by drying the leaves and then making the right combinations. I mostly cook from fresh fruits and veggies in season, and when they are out of season, I go to my stash that is under my bed of fine can goods. My dry goods are also in jars and have a home next to the bed till needed. 

You may or may not have animals that are part of your way of life.  I am mostly vegan and so I rarely have need for animals to provide food. Only during Passover, do I have need of lamb for dinner. For that I always find a farmer that raises their animals both Organic and Kosher. Usually several families go in together to get the spring lamb. 

I have a small closet and a few drawers. I make most of my clothes, using only 100% cotton or linen when in warm tropical areas, and 100% wool in colder northern climates. I keep a few skirts with matching capes, shawls and coverings for Synagogue. I do usually have twice the number of tops as skirts. I keep one winter coat that is 100% wool. The rest of the time I use my capes and shawls of different types.  I also have a couple pairs of shoes and a pair of winter boots. 

My linen closet has 2 towel sets and extra hand towels and wash clothes. I also own 2 bedding sets for the bed. I limit toilet paper use and keep only a few soaps and shampoos. I make all my soaps and shampoos for the year at the end of the summer. 

My kitchen has a small refrigerator for produce, a small propane stove, a hot water pot, a blender,  and a hot pot. I have service for four, a couple cooking pots and larger bowls, and two cupboards for food.  Extra prepared foods go under the  bed and extra dry foods go in a cupboard in the bedroom. 

My sewing machine and fabrics go under the seating at the kitchen table. This serves as a dinning table, sewing and crafts table, and computer table. I have one chair in the living room for reading and relaxation. There is a small round table and a book case. 

The bedroom has my closet, drawers, bed and my preppers canned food storage under the bed. The house is finished off by a couple of photos of my late parents and that is it. It is a lean and usable space free of clutter.

I like to always have a storage shed and some sort of overhang to have a chair for sitting and a table and chairs. The rest of the outdoors is always gardens and greenhouses. 

My total square feet of the trailer is 186 feet. It is small, simple, and efficient. It is perfect for the minimalist in me and the lifestyle of homesteading, which I have done most of my adult life. Homesteading is a way of life, and you can do it in the far north of Alaska, where I started, to an urban lot. The choice is yours, and the adventure is endless. 

  "Explore your World and soar like an eagle"

Marla Silva @ floridagypsy   

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