What does homesteading mean to you?

[Quiver0f10]

I am curious how you would define homesteading and what drew you to this lifestyle?

Thanks!

[Cascade Failure]

The term homesteading really means nothing to me. There are however, aspects of this term that fit my lifestyle.

I found this forum looking for advice on a particular subject. I have learn quite a bit more about many more subjects since then. While I fit some of what many here might require as a criteria to be a homesteader I don't consider myself one.

[Windy in Kansas]

I am more of a purist when it comes to the definition of the word. To me it is someone that obtains or rather I should say obtained land under the Homestead Act.

I am tolerant of the modern day folk that call themselves homesteaders.

I grew up on a farm. We had a glass cased battery system that operated on 32 volts and was charged a couple of times each week with a generator. Kerosene water heater, heating stove, and cook stove. LP gas refrigerator. Overhead, gravity flow, water system refilled by windmill.

Animals were chickens and beef cattle along with a couple of milk cows to provide our needs. On occasion we also had a few hogs and on one occasion sheep for a 4H project.

The garden was not large as the well didn't have the capacity to irrigate, and the less than 19 inches of annual rainfall didn't supply the moisture required.

We wheat farmed approximately 700 acres and had about 320 acres of pasture.

Seems natural to want to live the simply and good life that the 1950s provided which is what many others want as well if not an earlier era.

[Patt]

We consider ourselves smallholders because it really suits who we are and what we do better. Basically we have a small acreage and we are as self sufficient as possible and we generate enough income off our farm to meet our needs.

What attracted us to it in the first place was first that we wanted high quality organic food for our family and it looked like the best and cheapest way was to grow our own. The second reason was we has three young boys and we homeschooled and we knew they needed hard work to mold them into the best men they could be.

Today they are all grown and we graduated the last one this past May. My husband quit his city job last week and we are fulltime smallholders. We are 42 and hopefully permanently retired from the rat race.

[chewie]

i relate to patt....we have a small acreage (16acres) and i just like the more simple things like raising my own meat milk eggs veggies. i can either work in town for low wages and long hours, or work at home raising this stuff myself. i do not have a big education, nor are there any jobs here that pay much without that. and most of them here are in medical, of which does NOT appeal to me at all anyhow.

i wouldn't say its cheaper, and really, its prolly just the opposite, but its the lifestyle i'm in love with. working full time then buying that junk in the store just doesn't fulfill our family.

but to me homesteading is living out of the rat race, in the country or at least on the edge of a small town, doing simple skills to keep your family, doing with less material things and all the same being happier doing so.

i dont' see it as living in a high rise with only one tomato plant, but i know not all can leave that sort of thing--the jobs are often there. so dont' get me wrong i am not poo-pooing those who do that!! for ME, that wouldn't work

i see it as living slower in some ways, and the living with less attitude--i have learned do-dads and widgets dont' make me happy at all. i feel more satisfied when i re-make something from nothing, or grow something that is better for us. i guess for me, its like doing much like our great grmma's did, but only with the added conviences that are also available like computers (oh yeah, LOVE that one!), washing machines (love that too!) etc. some stuff is silly to do the old way, as it burns up too much time and effort, like laundry and dishes--let those machines work for you and then you have time for a bigger garden, or to simply enjoy some tea on the porch, or better, going riding!

the slower pace, quiet days, more natural way, it just makes for a peaceful soul.

[ErinP]

I really don't identify myself as a "homesteader" either. And really, the only thing that drew me to this lifestyle is how I was raised and happen to live.

I grew up in town, but my folks built a weekend cabin when I was about 5. "Built" as in my dad designed it and built it from the ground up, mostly by himself. We had no running water, electricity, or phone service until cell phones came into being (they can currently walk/drive the half mile up the hill to get reception!)

My mom always did a little sewing, canning, etc. Dad was a good carpenter and mediocre shade-tree mechanic, so I picked up a lot of things. Mostly, what I picked up was that if you want something done, you can probably figure out how to do it yourself.

Fast forward to adult-hood, I married a cowboy.

We've always lived in company housing on whatever ranch he's currently working for so for 15 years I've been living in the boonies and taking care of livestock. Dubious phone/net service, every-other-day mail delivery, and so on. Top it off with the fact that cowboys generally get paid well below most other occupations and we have a need for frugality, too.

All of these things come together to make us into a fairly independent, do-it-yourself, make-do-or-do-without type of family.

However, unlike most cowboys, we own some land now. We bought 40 acres a couple of years ago and are currently building our own place on it.
Quickly, I hope, as we're moving into a camper on it with our two kids next week! lol

[Quiver0f10]

Thank you. I appreciate the replies. I think maybe I should have worded the titled different. I know what one person considers "homesteading" might look very different from the next so that is what I meant by how one would define the lifestyle.

[Patt]

I think the one thing we all agree on is we are not homesteaders!

[Wolf mom]

Ask 10 people here and you'll get 10 different answers.

This question comes up periodically and it never ceases to amaze me all the interesting, unique answers. I've come to the conclusion that homesteading and it's lifetyle is whatever you want it to mean.

[stef]

Originally Posted by ErinP

I really don't identify myself as a "homesteader" either. And really, the only thing that drew me to this lifestyle is how I was raised and happen to live.

I grew up in town, but my folks built a weekend cabin when I was about 5. "Built" as in my dad designed it and built it from the ground up, mostly by himself. We had no running water, electricity, or phone service until cell phones came into being (they can currently walk/drive the half mile up the hill to get reception!)

My mom always did a little sewing, canning, etc. Dad was a good carpenter and mediocre shade-tree mechanic, so I picked up a lot of things. Mostly, what I picked up was that if you want something done, you can probably figure out how to do it yourself.

Fast forward to adult-hood, I married a cowboy.

We've always lived in company housing on whatever ranch he's currently working for so for 15 years I've been living in the boonies and taking care of livestock. Dubious phone/net service, every-other-day mail delivery, and so on. Top it off with the fact that cowboys generally get paid well below most other occupations and we have a need for frugality, too.

All of these things come together to make us into a fairly independent, do-it-yourself, make-do-or-do-without type of family.

However, unlike most cowboys, we own some land now. We bought 40 acres a couple of years ago and are currently building our own place on it.
Quickly, I hope, as we're moving into a camper on it with our two kids next week! lol

How wonderful for you, Erin.

It sounds like you've got lots of background in hard work and common sense.

I wish you the very best!!!


stef

[Lyra]

I consider myself a Townie Homesteader. I'm a half and half.

[Quiver0f10]

Originally Posted by Patt

I think the one thing we all agree on is we are not homesteaders!

LOL I chose that word because we are posting on homesteadingtoday

[highlands]

Being able to live here without outside resources if I must.
Raising the things for myself that I enjoy raising.
Everything in-between.

We turned out to be very good at raising pigs on pasture and now make our income from our homestead. A transition from homestead to farmstead.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[Hoop]

Homesteading means a way of living that ended well over 100 years ago. IT remains active in our mind because of its appeal to a romantic period that ended long long ago.

As we all know, the good ol days weren't really all that good. Life expectancy was around 45.
Life was hard. Loneliness was a constant companion.

Communication was nearly nonexistent. Quality of life pales to what it is today.

But homesteading still is somewhat of a romantic notion that everything was hunky dory way back when.

[motdaugrnds]

I was faced with the challenge of tending to my Mother who was in the last stages of parkinson disease. She did not want to go to a nursing home and wanted to spend her last years in my care.

I was always a city girl with a career I had worked hard to develop over the last 15 years; but my Mother's needs were a priority to me. Since my career was of a type that demanded emotional strength, I knew something had to give; so I retired from it earlier than I had thought I would. Knowing Mother would need 24/7 care was the motivator for getting on a small piece of land where I could grow much of what we use & not need to work away from home.

My grown son came to help and, together, we created a "homestead" out of 6 acres of trees. This worked very well for all 3 of us and I have learned to love it out here.

[Patt]

Originally Posted by Quiver0f10

LOL I chose that word because we are posting on homesteadingtoday

Ironic eh?

[SirDude]

I'm not a homesteader now and doubt I will really call myself that once I do have some land and get settled in. Don't really fit the term "Prepper" either, I have become more of a minimalist. I never wanted too much in my life, but seem to want less and less as I get older.

If I needed to call myself anything it would be a Sailor without a boat! LOL I could be just as happy sailing around the world in a small boat as I could with a piece of land in the middle of nowhere. Only difference is I can grow my own food on land.

What draws me to "homesteading" is;

It's a place for me to direct my energy and to know that whatever the outcome, it's because of what I did or didn't do.

It's the ultimate project! For someone who likes nature, building stuff, learning how things work, etc.

It's a way to know that if the "fit hits the shan" in my life I will have a place to sleep and something to eat, even if it is just the basics or the same thing over and over, it's a way to stay off the streets.

It's eating fresh, safe food and maybe having enough to share with friends and family.

It's removing that "keep up with the Jones" attitude.

It's knowing that while most of the people around me have a nicer car and a house ten times the size of mine, I won't be a slave to the bank or a job like them.

It's knowing that if something happened to my house, and I "lost it all" I wouldn't have lost much that I couldn't replace and would still have my land.

My list of reasons goes on and on, but I won't. I hope you find enough of your own reasons to become a homesteader or get back to the land, or whatever you want to call it.

Best of luck to you on your journey!

SirDude

[ChristieAcres]

Let's begin with the Homestead Act:


Homestead Act
 
–noun
a special act of Congress (1862) that made public lands in the West available to settlers without payment, usually in lots of 160 acres, to be used as farms.

I have long considered "homesteading" as what is done, by utilizing the gifted land (i.e. farming). There is currently a loose definition of what a "homestead" is, including a Govt program "gifting" abandoned or foreclosed homes in return for the owner (s) to live there a set period of time and repair said homes. The loose definition merely considers a home, buildings, and family, on land. Here is a link:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homestead

Since all situations are different and there are varying degrees of how "homesteading" would now be defined based on those differences?

I speak only for "us," that is DH & I. The term, literally defined, would not fit, of course. We didn't file a claim, were not "gifted" our place, but we bought this property, and do have a mortgage we pay. That said, since we bought this place, we have become more self-sustaining. Our way of life is changing by degrees for the better, becoming rich in simplicity. "Homesteading" is more of a catch all term used to describe a life committed to achieving a higher degree of self-reliance and frugality. I closely connect "stewarding" to "homesteading," due to the heightened responsibility we, ourselves, hold, not unlike many others who would agree.

When we chose our property, it was to meet set criteria. We agreed on at least 2.5 acres, a shop, and a farmhouse. We didn't care if there was an extra garage and didn't need a big home. We also wanted a fairly quiet property, with good neighbors, located in the part of the community we ended up buying in. For the same price, we found 6.68 acres, almost completely forest (2nd growth mainly), with a shop, double carport, separate office building, and a remodeled double-wide mobile home (comp peak roof, double-paned vinyl windows, sheet-rocked, etc...) on a permanent foundation; it qualified for FHA/VA & Conventional Financing. We weren't out to impress anyone, but to meet our criteria in order to reach our goals. There was only 1 good apple tree here. That was 3 years ago... We now have 1.5 acres cleared, 20 fruit trees (moved mature fruit bearing trees from our other property), 2,500 sq ft raised bed garden (soon to grow once again), have planted perennials for fruit (Blueberry Bushes, Raspberries, Marionberries, 8 kinds of Strawberries, and Thornless Blackberries). DH built a chicken house (we have 16 layers, 2 roosters), a garden cabin, installed my little greenhouse, and also built a wood shed onto the back of the garden cabin. He also designed and built our woodstove, a bbq/smoker, and my large cool orchard gate. For logging, he built the log boom, modified our truck, rebuilt the bumper, and installed an industrial wench. We are still on grid, but Len bought & installed an auto-relay generator. We also mutually agreed to shut off the tv over a year ago. I grow medicinal herbs and made a Comfrey Salve for treating his elbow with. We are utilizing more natural treatments for any/all health issues, before we seek traditional medical care. Not only do we grow far more fruits/veggies than we can consume, but we also dig clams, also eat oysters, and forage from our own property, even more food (like wild fruits). If our new neighbors agreed, I would go in for a milk cow. DH & I drink Kefir Milk everyday, in our Kefir Smoothies. One of his sons drinks it regularly, now. Both my 20 yr old son & 22 yr old daughter drink it. In fact, she drinks it without sweetening it, just plain, 1 pint per day. I have become more serious at composting and maximizing our yields. This year, DH & I are really rocking at keeping our garden beds weeded, too! We spend less, work smarter, and appreciate more. I think that about sums it up.

[Ronney]

Originally Posted by Quiver0f10

I am curious how you would define homesteading and what drew you to this lifestyle?

Thanks!

Quiver, in NZ those that live on/farm small acreages are termed "lifestylers" who live on "lifestyle blocks" and while many take umbrage at that term, it does more fully describe what they are doing. Most have mortgages, most have to work off-farm to pay that mortgage, few, even without the mortgage, could ever hope to earn a living off their land. It is, quite literally, a lifestyle. A very large back yard that allows them freedom from close neighbours, to eat their own pork, beef and mutton, have an orchard and a garden and pretty much what everybody here does.

By NZ standards, I have a pretty big lifestyle block at 140 acres and it's the closest I'm going to get in my lifetime to a "real" farm. I got into farming 35 years ago and found my niche and that's where I've stayed but the finances have never been there to buy a farm that was self-supporting so this is the next best thing. And it had advantages too as I can milk my herd of cows without having to deal with the rules and regulations that go with a commercial dairy farm, I can breed pigs without being so big I need to register as a commercial piggery and generally speaking, I can do what I want to do without coming under the umbrella of commercial farming. On top of which I get to eat prime meat, drink prime milk and don't have to put up with neighbours having their weekly domestic.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[geo in mi]

I was moved here by North American Van Lines--paid for by the large industrial corporation for whom I worked--not a Connestoga wagon. I bought it from the 25th owner since the US deeded it to the first owner in 1839. Had to mortgage it (heavily) rather than build a cabin and survive for five years. I had to clear weeds, not trees. My first purchase was a 9n Ford with a single bottom plow and some misc. stuff. Second purchase was a Homelite chainsaw--which came with a free pair of Wolverine boots. Next purchase was two gallons of bleach to try to knock down the residue of the nine kitty kats of the last owner. Then some carpeting and a new kitchen floor to appease my city raised wife(I was raised on a farm in Indiana, and this place was an answer to a ten year prayer and search). The original portion of the house was a cabin built in the 1860's, that I didn't build--but have repaired and repaired since then. I was looking for good soil, elbow room, a woods, garden space, and a guaranteed water supply. I got all that plus a lake front(thanks, you nine kitty kats....).

All the previous owners exploited it, traded it, let it get foreclosed, abandoned it, let it deteriorate. I have lived here 27 years--a longer time span than any of them. I have lived in three other places in my life, but this is the home where I have stayed..... home stayed.

geo