My Little Homestead

Urban homesteading pretty much means exactly what it sounds like. Living as if you lived on a pioneer homestead when you actually live in an urban setting.

Unfortunately things in the 21st century aren’t that cut  and dry. Urban, suburban and rural have grey lines between them. I technically live in a suburban city but I’m within walking distance of a post office, two donuts, 3 schools, a fast food restaurant, a Wal-mart, two pizza places, two hot dog diners, a Chinese restaurant, a movie rental store, several gas stations, and two supermarkets. Doesn’t really sound all that peaceful and suburban, does it?

When I think urban homesteading I think about cottage industries as well as farming and tending livestock. I think of families living independently, self-sufficiently. Protecting and nurturing your family, helping out in your community, and loving your country are all aspects of the life chosen when choosing homesteading as a lifestyle.

Obviously, though, I haven’t chosen to push my family back into the 19th century. I use a computer as does the rest of my family. We watch t.v., drive a car and rent movies occasionally.

But we have that homestead spirit. I know that no matter what happens my family will be okay and will know how to survive. Self-sufficiency is a good feeling…it really is its own reward.

Running a homestead isn’t exactly the “Simple” life you might imagine. Truth is there’s a lot of work to be done, a lot of things to keep in mind and more than a few things that can go wrong. Here are a few things to avoid in order to increase your chances of success.

1. Not getting your family on board – a homestead does not run itself and it’s nearly impossible for one person to do it all alone. Not to mention if your family isn’t on board with the whole simple country living lifestyle then most of your efforts will be for nothing.
2. Taking on more than your family can handle – Changing everything (meaning all your current practices) overnight isn’t realistic. Take baby steps towards changing your habits and the way you run your household.
3. Buying supplies before you really need them – if you are anything like me you get so excited about what you’re trying to do that you buy anything and everything you might need to succeed. Remember, living simply and learning to be resourceful is your purpose here.
4. Setting expectations too high – I had this arm-length list of goals that I was determined to reach by the end of my first year of homesteading. Naturally things happen, crops wilt, bugs attack, birds eat strawberries, your clothesline keeps falling down for no good reason. Basically expect things will go wrong and don’t be too hard on yourself.
5. Not checking the laws in your area – Some areas don’t allow keeping chickens, goats, any livestock or even hanging a clothesline. Make sure you investigate the laws where you live before doing something that may be illegal.

Now don’t get scared away. While you will have your tough days when it seems everything goes wrong, you will also have days of accomplishment – eating your first completely homegrown meal, tasting your first fruit from your own tree, watching friends and family enjoy your homemade gifts, enjoying the way your children look in homemade clothing with hair styles created by you. And most of all the feeling of self-reliance.

If anything teaches you that you can never prepare for everything it’s winter in New England. We set some goals to cut down on energy use, make gifts instead of buying  them and stick with our healthier diet of vegetables, legumes and whole grain foods.

The first thing that went wrong was the plastic sheets we used to insulate our windows and foundation blew off with the first nasty wind storm and couldn’t be reattached due to the low temperature.

Making gifts for Christmas went better. My crocheting skill isn’t great yet but I managed to make most people a scarf (I got really good at making scarves). I was pleasantly surprised that everyone sincerely enjoyed their scarf. Bonus was everyone in my family was impressed by my abilities. Next year I’ll try something more difficult…like hats.

Of course winter has barely started her in Rhode Island. Often the worst of our weather comes in February and early March. Despite the plastic sheet fiasco our energy bills haven’t been as high this year. I think that’s because we’ve kept our thermostat considerably lower than last year and taken to wearing sweaters ( maybe I should try my hand at crocheting those) and sitting with fleece throws while relaxing.

Eating healthier has had its ups and downs. We didn’t manage to grow enough to store for the winter so we still have to buy produce which doesn’t come too fresh up here around this time of year. Doesn’t come cheap either. Still as a family we’ve been doing okay.

All I can say is I can’t wait for spring cleaning.

Early last year my family and I made a commitment to live a simpler life. Being our first year there was a lot of trial and error – a LOT of trial and error – and learning what “simple”  really means.

This year we are even more dedicated to cutting back and doing more for ourselves. So we’ve created a list of resolutions that we are going do our very best to stick to this year.

1. All gifts for friends and extended family will be handmade.
2. We will use only homemade cleaners made with basic household materials
3. We will gather rainwater for our garden instead of using the hose water.
4. We will plan family outings to free entertainment like libraries, public parks, local museums and galleries instead of costly trips to movie theaters and Chuck E Cheese.
5. We will set all our bills to auto-pay so we don’t waste checks stamps and out time while paying off our debts.

Those are the main goals we will be working on but I’m sure more little things will come up through the year so I consider this list a ongoing project.

It is a new year an the world is filled with hope. When you live the simple homesteading life the beginning of the year is about pushing forward.

I know in my home, the first of the year sets off a bustle of activity. We take down the holiday decorations and sort through our things for charity.

We start gathering paperwork for our taxes and we make all routine checkup appointments; doctors, dentists, eye doctors. We also talk about the new chores, allowances and rules about the house with our children.

But mostly I feel the new year is a figuritive blank slate. I can do better this year than I did last year. I can get organized, stay on schedule and make some time for myself.

So what is simple living? It’s living the way you want, reducing stress, waste and negative thinking along the way. Of course there is a lot more that goes with simple living. That’s why all of this month’s posts will focus on ts topic one way or another.

On a homestead, there is always a great deal of work to do. Enough work for everyone in the family to get involved. This is one reason families tended to larger in the frontier days. Every pair of hands was needed. Almost from the time they can walk, children can help around the house. Here are some ideas for age-appropriate chores by age.

3 years-old

Cleaning up their toys

Cleaning up their place after mealtimes

Sorting laundry into whites and colors

Dry dusting areas with no breakables

Gathering flowers or berries

Helping to plant seeds

 Watering flowers and trees

4 years-old

Make bed simply

Folding laundry

Matching socks

Make a peanut butter sandwich

Feed pets and livestock as long as it is safe

Helping measure, stir and pour during cooking

Raking and bagging leaves or composting

5 years-old

Sweeping floors

Putting away own clothes

Pulling weeds

Gathering/ harvesting vegetables and fruits

Dry dishes (after being taught to be careful)

Change bed clothes and make bed

6 years-old

Wiping and cleaning table and counters

Helping care for younger children (by fetching or entertaining)

Setting the table

Read and make simple recipes

Shuck corn and peel vegetables (again carefully)

Stir kool-ade, lemonade, chocolate milk or ice tea

As you can see, even very young children can lend a hand with much needed homestead chores. Of course you should also take into consideration the maturity of the child, they may be capable of much more or not as much as listed here.

One of the most important links between living a country life and living a frugal life is that both force you to start looking at “needs” and “wants” differently.

With our economy going through such hard times, it is important to realize that we really “need” very little. In fact, my thinking is that as long as my family has food, shelter, clothing and each other we can survive.

Of course when I talk to other people, even my own kids, they have a very different idea of a need. My son swears he needs an iPod or he can’t walk to school ( I proved him wrong on that one).

There is nothing wrong with indulging in the occasional want every now and then as long as we realize that’s what it is. Once we start jeopardizing our financial or family security over unnecessary luxuries, we need to refocus our life.

Needs: Food, Air, Shelter, Clothing, Water, Love Laughter, Dreams Courage, Peace, Faith, Family and Friends

Wants: Everything Else

Part of creating a self-sufficient homestead is finding a way to make a living at home. The way the economy is going our society will likely find it necessary to return to a modern version of the cottage industries of days gone by.

Luckily, there are so many ways to run a home business and so many choices for working from home that nearly every household in America should be able to discover a way to make money at home.

I chose to work as a blogger and Internet marketer since I enjoy writing and prefer the semi-solitude and dynamic nature of the business. Many homesteaders sell their own line of products online; whether food, crafts, health and beauty items, or home decor.

There are also plenty of offline jobs you can do. Writing for magazines or newspapers freelance or writing ad copy for businesses can be lucrative. Digital photography is a hot career right now that offers plenty of opportunities. Your family can also sell your country products offline or open a stand to sell your surplus produce.

My husband can make custom furniture but his real love is alternative fuels – both have money-making potential if necessary. If you can build or make something, selling finished products could be a career. The suggestions really are endless.

The first place to start is by deciding what you really love to do. Then see if that activity can someone be made into a marketable skill. Once you’ve decided how and what, make sure that you contact your local city or town hall to ask about the requirements for setting up a business. For example, if I want to sell any food products, the health department needs to inspect my kitchen and deem it sanitary enough. As a businessperson, you want to make sure you are in abeyance of all the laws. It’s also not a bad idea, if you can afford it, to consult with a lawyer to make sure all the Ts are crossed and the Is are dotted.

Looking ahead is simply in my nature and now that I’ve begun to look at life, family, “stuff”, and property differently, I sat down to give some thought about where I want to be in 5 years.

First of all, my two oldest children will have graduated from high school and my youngest will be about 9 and in the third grade. I hope to be active in her school through the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) and volunteering.

We have a financial plan to get out of debt and clear our credit up within the next five years (actually most of it should be cleaned up with two)

At that point we’re hoping the real estate market will have improved enough so that we can sell our current residence and move to North or South Carolina, both to be closer to our parents and to be away from the cold weather.

But I’ll bet you can guess what we really want when we get down south….yup, a homestead. A small “hobby” farm as they call it. Maybe 5-10 acres, hopefully with a little pond and existing outbuildings. My husband and I hope to become certified foster parents so that we can help children get through difficult situations. It is my mission that every child deserves to feel safe.

My husband hopes to set up a research lab and find a permanent position in environmental chemistry. I want a home office in a sun-filled loft where I work without television, ipod, video games, a preschooler, teenagers, a husband, a cat and a phone persistently annoying me.

We hope to grow some grain, vegetables, and fruit trees. Also we’d like a couple of goats, some chickens and maybe a few pigs (I just love pigs)

Living the full self-sufficient country life is not only my five-year plan and a goal to accomplish….it is my dream.

There are several reasons people decide to start living a self-sufficient life. Some want to return to a simpler time with a less complicated life. Others crave the sense of accomplishment that comes from doing things yourself. Still others are trying to treat the environment better and help the planet. Finally there are those who tink a simpler life is a more frugal life.

True, once you start conserving energy, growing your own food and making your own home products you do save money however it is important to realize that supplies need to purchased before you can start “doing it yourself”.

For example, you need to buy seed to plant, jars and a pressure canner to preserve food, and containers to save water. Depending on your specific goals, you can expect to need to buy quite a few things before you can produce everything an independant household needs.

Some hints for saving money on these homesteadeing neccessaties:

• Shop flea markets, yard sals and thrift sops. You;ll be suprised at the things you find at bargain prices. Even the internet can be a good resource.
• Use Freecycle in your area to search for supplies that ther people are giving away. You can get great things for absolutely free if you catch the ads at the right time.
• Think outside the box. Use used spray bottles for homemade cleaners, ld clothing for quilts, and newspaper for mulch. There are an endless number of clever resources available when you only put your mind to it.
• Team up with others in your community. Return to the days of the barter system for certain things and the borrow system for others. For ex. save seeds and trade with fellow gardeners for other seeds you don’t have. Another example is to allow your neighbor to use your weed trimmer and borrow his chainsaw.
• This isn’t really a save money tip but more a bit of advice. Buy as you go instead of all at once. Our first summer we hardly grew anything and had no use for a pressure canneror a dehydrator as we had orignially thought we would. You may find you don’t really ned something as soon as you though and you may come across someone giving it away or selling it cheap and you would have wasted money by buying it prematurally.
• Homesteading is all about being resourceful. Try to resist that “Gotta Have It” feeling and weigh the benefits of each purchase carefully.