A Different Lifestyle Series, Blog Post #2 - Homesteading

I have a different lifestyle than a lot of other people. This lifestyle did not happen overnight. I, and my family, have been making decisions over the last decade or so to get to this place. Because this transition did not happen instantaneously, I sometimes forget that not everyone lives the same way as I do. A couple of recent comments and strange looks have reminded of how foreign our ways may seem to others.

While I definitely have plans for the future, I am pretty happy with where I am. Therefore, I decided to write a blog series to discuss some of the ways that our life is different and the reasoning behind some of our decisions.

Before I start, I want to preface this post with the statement that because WE are living this way and feel strongly that it is right for US, it is in no way a judgement on the way that you may live your life. This is simply a way to bridge the gap of understanding about our decisions since so many others find it an enigma. 

Lifestyle Post #2 – We are developing and maintaining a homestead.

“You do know that you can buy eggs at the grocery store, don’t you?”

This comment and confused look were what made me realize that not everyone desires to have a homesteading lifestyle so I decided to reflect on our decisions as discussed below.

At one time, my husband and I found ourselves working for the same hospital. There were definitely perks to working at the same location. We were able to trade vehicles and hand off kids in the parking garage as one left work and the other started their shift. We were able to keep each other updated with the gossip and updates at work. We were able to commiserate and complain to each other about the same people, policies, grievances, etc. The huge problem with this arrangement came when the hospital announced that there would be a set of layoffs coming soon. We both realized that having 100% of our income originating from the same source was probably a bad idea as we stressed over the possibility that one or both of our positions could be eliminated. We were lucky and neither one of us was laid off during that round. But this feeling was so unsettling that we began discussing ways to prevent this from happening in the future.

Both my husband and I grew up on farms. We remember our childhoods fondly and wanted a similar environment for our children. Living in the subdivision provided a lot of things but this big piece was missing for us. We wanted to expand our ability to produce our own food and provide experiences and lessons that are associated with caring for and raising animals.

The combination of wanting more space and more experiences led us to a property with more space but the desire to not be totally reliant on someone else for our daily needs was even more pressing. Before we made the move, we worked on developing the homestead lifestyle in the subdivision. This can be done since it is more about the mindset than about how many chickens that you are raising. This may surprise some of you, but some homesteaders do NOT raise chickens!

One way to decrease our reliance on our employer was to ensure that we kept more of the money that we did earn. We have always tried to monitor our grocery budget and be careful with our expenditures but we felt that we could improve our methods. I decided to return to my roots and attempt to relearn some of the lessons that I was taught as a child. I started preserving food through canning, dehydrating and freezing. These skills had been taught to me by my mother and grandmother but had gotten rusty with years of neglect.

When we did move to our property, we expanded on these skills and mindset by growing a larger garden and starting a flock of chickens. At this time, some of the homesteading activities that we participate in are:

• composting our food waste
• starting plants from seed in our greenhouse
• transplanting the plants to our garden
• developing the soil in a Back-To-Eden-Style of gardening
• cutting down our own trees
• planting fruit trees
• planting berries and grapes
• utilizing discarded materials in new ways
• preserving fresh fruits and vegetables (dehydrating, canning, freezing, etc)
• obtaining our meat from reputable farms and/or hunting
• developing relationships with neighbors/friends to barter for items when possible
• performing a lot of our own household repairs and improvements
• growing and preserving our own herbs
• foraging and utilizing edible plants
• raising chickens for eggs and eventually for meat

We have more projects planned and will continue to learn as we implement these things into our lifestyle.

This lifestyle will change you.

I expected the feelings of accomplishment. You have a true sense of accomplishment when eating food grown in your own garden. You can physically see the accomplishment when you look upon the chicken coop as it protects your flock. You appreciate that it was designed and built using repurposed items by your caring husband. This feeling is unparalleled to anything digitally produced or sensed from simply checking off boxes on a to-do list for a boss. This feeling of accomplishment is tangible and comes with pride and confidence to tackle even harder jobs in the future.

I expected the feelings of wisdom. You cannot tackle new projects and a different lifestyle without learning something. Even if you decide to forgo the project, you will have learned something by simply doing the preliminary research. The research phase coupled with the hands-on experience of doing the project provides a true education.

I have learned that:

• If given the opportunity, chickens will escape.
• If given the opportunity, dogs will eat the escaped chickens.
• That weeds can take over your garden in only a few days.
• That pulling weeds in the early morning and after a rain is much easier than in the mid-day.
• That my parents did have a reason for dragging us out of bed during the early morning hours of summer to pull/chop out weeds.
• Removing the cans from a pressure canner should be done carefully. It is hot!
• It is impossible to make jam if you eat all of the berries before you get to the kitchen.
• The riding lawn mower can and will throw rocks through a window.
• You can find amazing plants growing in areas that you didn’t plant them.
• If given the opportunity, cats can reproduce quickly.
• And many more…………..

I expected the feelings of awe, although not to the extent of which it presented itself. You cannot spend this amount of time in the outdoors without developing an appreciation of God’s amazing creation. The fact that you can place a simple seed in dirt and it will eventually provide food for you is truly a gift that we take for granted in our busy lives. The fact that so many plants and animals can survive and provide food, entertainment or beauty for you without any intervention on your part is fascinating. The sight of the green world around you, the sounds of nature and the feel of the dirt in your toes are all physical reminders of the beauty that can be found in the world if we only take the time to enjoy them.  

What I did NOT expect by incorporating this lifestyle was the sense of freedom that it provided.

• The confidence obtained from accomplishing new tasks inspired us to tackle more difficult projects. This became a snowball effect that encourages us to keep going despite setbacks and failures.
• The wisdom that we gain with each new project is utilized for the next project, and the next, and the next, etc.
• The appreciation for God’s work here on earth provides peace and comfort when things don’t work out.

The combination of these characteristics unite together to give me a sense of freedom that I didn’t feel working and living in the non-homesteading world. I feel the freedom in the knowledge that I can provide food for the family if the grocery stores run out (although it won’t be as much nor as varied). I feel the freedom of not having to rely on a professional for every little home maintenance item if they are not available or are too expensive. I feel the freedom to enjoy the beauty of the world and appreciate God’s grace towards me as I spend time kneeling in the dirt.

I cannot guarantee that everyone will feel the same way that I do after adopting this atypical lifestyle, but I do encourage you to consider incorporating aspects of it into your life. You may discover some unknown benefits of your own!