When you look up the word homesteading in Wikipedia, this is what it says;
Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale.
But the definition varies depending on whom you ask. There is a lot of misconception about homesteading; that homesteading is only of people living a rural, off-grid life; people who milk their own cows and make their own cheese. Yeah, it’s that too but that’s not all there is to it. Anyone can homestead from wherever they live. Different people have different ideas about what homesteading means to them.
I too had this stereotypical notion about homesteading, but not any more.
For me homesteading is a desire to live as naturally as possible, to be as self-sufficient as I can and learn new skills to grow towards that goal of self-sufficiency. We grow as much of our own food as we can and cook almost all of our meals from scratch. I also make my own soaps, body butters and detergents, and learn to do whatever I can to live as self-sustainingly as possible. For me, it’s about utilizing the resources I have and to use it as effectively and sustainably as possible; Try and make as many things as possible from scratch as I can; and the key word here is, “as many things as possible”, not every single thing.
This is my homesteading journey where I document my learning, my successes and my failures. When I started out, I had lot of questions and I didn’t know where to look for answers. And the biggest doubt that bogged me down was that I lived and worked in the city with my family and maybe homesteading isn’t something I can aspire for. But that’s exactly why I wanted to start journaling, to break the myth about homesteading and that anyone can live this lifestyle no matter where they are, doing as little or as much as they can.
I also know that I have my own limitations. I am not hard on myself and put unnecessary pressure because I know, I can’t do everything but I try as much as I can and that’s enough for me. Essentially homesteading is about living as sustainably as possible and I am trying and learning everyday how to do this better.
Currently we are weekend homesteaders with jobs and kids’ education in the city. We spend the weekdays in the city which keeps us connected to the modern city lifestyle surrounded by art and entertainment and weekends we are out on our farm tending to the land and the plants. We live as sustainably as we possibly can while being city-dwellers too. Yeah, we try.
Right now, I want to balance my urban life with my farm life. And it’s going pretty well. May be someday, we will be full-time homesteaders, someday…maybe. But for now, this seems like an ideal marriage…the best of both worlds.
So, do stay along to read more on how I go about this. It’s very simple, really. We just need to be more mindful towards our environment and towards our own health and happiness.
Happy homesteading, from wherever you are right now!