No, it’s not a mule and 40 acres… nor is it converting an acre city lot into every square inch of vegetarian eden…. it’s trying to live simply, and bartering for what you need and making what you can’t barter for, growing yer own if you can, but more it’s just a spirit of independence that you don’t need to have a $140,000 a year job to support your $150,000 a year lifestyle. Life is too short for that.
Before you think I’m crazy… I love the idea of homesteading… self sufficiency… I just don’t think it’s practical for everyone and their brother to move out to the woods or prairies and do it the old fashioned way. We just can’t. It’s the same response that I have when people say, “Oh, everyone should home school” No, I don’t really believe that will work either. Some folks are just not interested or ready for that. Or they live in areas that offer premium educational choices, so why not take advantage of them.
However, I do feel very drawn to the whole idea of living a little lighter on the land, and living a little more deliberately, with less waste and cost, really. For me, it’s more a cost thing, with the added benefits of saving resources. I like the fact that we don’t have a dishwasher, or a washer and dryer, or cable at the moment. Sure those things are handy, but we’ve gotten along just fine without them. And our utility bills prove it.
One of the ladies that I have just totally enjoyed watching and reading about is Becky. Of Becky’s Homestead fame…. this lady is cool. She’s not all nuts and berries, she’s just good practical advice. I guarantee, you will find her posts and videos to be very encouraging… she’s not some super homesteader living off an acre of land and feeding like 20 people…. no, she’s just a lady and sometimes she’s a little goofy. Like when she starts her garden… it really doesn’t look like it will be enough to take care of her family for the month, let alone a year… but you know, that is definitely one thing that I have come to understanding… homesteading is not all or nothing. Homesteading can be done in baby steps…. it can be starting to grow just tomatoes in pots one year and using those shopping totes at the Krogers instead of those nasty nasty plastic bags… it can be ditching your washer and dryer one year and maybe planting as much garden as you can handle in the beginning… my thoughts are that it is baby steps that will get you closer to where you’d like to be without radically changing your whole life in an instant.
So watch a few video episodes of Becky’s Homestead and enjoy all she has to offer… and think about how you can lighten your step on this land, and how you can take your first baby steps to becoming a better homesteader… even if it’s just an urban homesteader in your little rehabbed moby home!!!
-sherri
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