homestead

As per a definition I found online, “Currently the term ‘homesteading applies to anyone who is a limb of the back-to-the-land movement and who chooses to live a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle.”
Now I look at this and know it.. yet I have the goal homesteading AND become self sustainable.. I have decieded to combine the goals together as they are much the same thing.. so here goes!

I’m no closer really to actually homesteading and getting a mortgage this year is looking unlikely. But I am making great strides in reducing waste. I’ve made this my first step I can do right now. It’s quite amazing how much waste one household can produce. I am now recycling everything I can. I have bins set up in the basement for metal, plastic, paper, cardboard etc and once a month they are getting taken to the recycling center. I’m currently looking into ways of composting leftover food as that seems to be contributing a lot to the waste. I can’t compost food scraps outside though because of the bears. So I’m looking at indoor options. Right now a nature mill composter is looking the best option. It’s expensive though so I can’t get one right away. I am kinda excited about it though (yeah I know, it’s sad when you get excited about compost!) as it will help towards the second step I want to take – growing some of my own food.

I’m very jealous.
Someone on a blog I follow has just bought a homestead with her family.
They will be self-sufficient!
This is one of my life dreams….to get married, own a homestead/farm, be self-sufficient, and have kids….and live happily ever after.

I would love to start a new life out in the middle of nowhere. I’ve been doing research on, seeds, drilling my own well, learning about versatile plants, building a shelter (would like figure out how to build a home). In an ideal situation right now, I feel that I would like to be grow and create my own products to build and live with. I’m looking for land either in the southwest or maybe a spot in the northwest. I originally came up with the ideal for myself when looking to live in the wild and would like this to be the next step in living a self-sufficient existence. I feel like there is so much to research, so much to plan, and then so much fear to get over. I think it would be easier doing this with either another person that has same desires or even in a small group that wants to live off the grid.

it’s not funny. But I would like to move towards making it a reality. We’re still not in a position to buy a house so without that a lot of things can’t be implemented. But I’m not even on the first step to getting there right now. I think my first thing will be to grow some things in pots. I can do that right now. I am also making sure I am reducing the waste I produce. It feels like I’m only just starting out on this path and there is so much to learn.

yet so broad.. homesteading is so many things and technically I am already doing it- have been for years. I just want to do it right. Right for me anyways. I know that it is a ever changing thing and always a learning process. Something that may work for me this year, may not next year. I guess I have an idea of how I want things to be- how I want to feel. I am doing doing a very good job prioritizing though to make this goal the reality I want it to be.

since I wrote about homesteading….:( I am so passionate about it and my goals are still as strong as ever. Sometimes I get caught up in the chaos of life and forget how great the farm is and homesteading is. I am still not homesteading the way I want, nor am I doing it anywhere close to full time, but I know in my heart someday I will. I read a really inspirational article by Mother Earth News the other day http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/Growing-Up-On-A-Homestead.aspx
A simple little article written by a woman who was raised on the land in the 70’s and 80’s. It brought so many smiles and memories to mind of my own life and how we live- I was reading a portion of the article “taking a bath in half of a blue plastic 50-gallon barrel in front of the woodstove in the main room.” I joked to my girls commenting that at least when we had no hot water and they had to bathe in the 30 gallon water trough, they had some privacy lol. It was nice hearing that someone else other than us felt that bathing this way always felt more fullfilling than just turning on the shower knob. It was nice reading about someone else who “gets” the idea of a composting toilet.
When company comes over and I show them to the sawdust toilet and explain to them how it works and how to use it I am usually met with a blank stare of disbelief or a small uncomfortable giggle while they somehow feel that they must be on candid camera or the butt of a odd joke.
Reading her stories about the “epic 3 hour game of tag in the moonlight in 2 feet of snow” made me smile recalling some of our own epic games under the moonlight (though usually capture the flag:) lol – my team NEVER wins:)
I really enjoyed reading about this woman who knew she was blessed by the simple things in life when she was a kid, feeling a little nostalgic thinking about washing her hair in a bucket, heating bricks on the woodstove to warm her feet on winter nights, and going outside to get to the toilet. She writes “I now know I was blessed to have the privilege of seeing the stars and moon on my way to the bathroom every night of my first 18 years.”
Not many people understand this way of thinking – it was really inspriring to read someone else’s story who does.

Sounds fun

I’m 16 years old and I hope to one day have a homestead when I’m off and married and have kids. My parents buy only junk food and I hate it but I’m forced to eat it. I don’t trust my life and/or money with the government.
I am taking little steps now. I’m planning a little garden in my backyard, I’m learning how to do laundry on a washboard and wringer, and I’m learning how to make soap and candles.

Lived on a farm and cooked all day every day for farm workers and family. She was raised with knowledge that everyone she knew had. Do you know anyone who lives on a self-sufficient sustainable homestead? I do not, and that’s upsetting.