What does homesteading mean to you?

Home stayer....I like that!

To us the word "homesteading" means farming on a small sustainable acreage where the farm susports its-self for the most part, paying taxes and necessary expenses. It also means a way of life not a job.That word will mean differnt things to different people It is how we live and what we always had to do to survive like our ancestors who made a living from the ground and sea.This was our choice of lifestyle as my husband grew up on a dairy farm. I grew up in country with gardens and chickens and also in towns and cities.
As my life progressed I was left alone in the city with four small childern. After nearly starving I married a farmer and have never looked back! There is only a few things we need in life to be successful. They are clean air to breathe, fresh water, nourishing food, shelter and warmth, modest clothing , some one to love and a spiritual connection to our Creator . Everything else are extras. So whether we had money or not we have had everything we need to be happy in this life.

Neither of us has ever regretted our decision to get out of the 9-5 rat race of most jobs. We did that only long enough to pay for the small farm we have. Ever since we recycled, re-done, made things, made do or did without.That meant not going in debt for anything. We will continue until our life on this earth is over. Hope everyone has a happy day and finds what they want in life as we did.

From Wikipedia:

Current practice

As of 2010[update] the term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading remains as a way of life. According to author John Seymour, 'urban homesteading' incorporates small-scale, sustainable agriculture and homemaking.


To my lovely wife and I, Homesteading is simply defined in the same method as above. We try to be as self sufficient as possible... If a fanpoopy event ever strikes we would like to be able to continue farming and raising meat for ourselves. We practice the old methods but we still primarily use a tractor or tiller to get the gardening done... But we practice the old methods so we can be ready should we ever need them for day to day living.

Been homesteading for years and years ago it was called trying to survive as we raised gardens and mom and my grandmother done LOTS of canning and freezing and we raised all our meats...

Now today not much has changed except mom and grandma are gone and i still have a garden and do canning and freezing...don't have to deal with the public except a trip to the feed store or grocery store once a month....guess that almost makes me a hermit then,huh??..LOL...
i don't can or freeze much any more as kids are gone and don't make it home to often so for one person don't take much to get by....but i still can and freeze some...

I also THINK as we get older and kids leave home we don't have many wants or needs in our life except our health...am talking as being older here...lol...not about anyone with familys at home...

also like someone else said...."don't keep up with the Jones' either" and i think that works when you don't have kids at home...

Also SELF satisfaction that you can look back at the end of the day and enjoy the hard work you got done...and sleep good at night..homesteading is hard work on a daily basis...

When my mother and I moved to Texas from Florida, we had an acre of land, a small mobile home, a barn, $75, and a mortgage payment due in two weeks.

First thing we did was sell the television.

That was 29 years ago. When I was 25, I left Texas to follow the I.T. industry. Lived in several large cities.

I think what brought me back to homesteading was the Dot Com failure. Suddenly, I had a VERY difficult time finding a job. I was living in a large city, and I was hungry.

It was digging out of that when I decided that I didn't ever want to have to depend upon money just to ensure that I did not starve again.

Over a decade later, and I am STILL not *exactly* where I want to be. I am still in the middle of a large city (Denver Metroplex), but I have two acres to play with, chickens, goats, small tractors, etc.

Next year, we plan to be far away from million-people-plus-population cities, and I will *really* feel safer.

But that is homesteading to me...not having to depend completely upon money to be able to survive.

__________________
Peace,
Caliann

"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck

In the 21st century homesteading refers to the exchange of land Marquette Kansas has offered to families to move to their town, build houses on with low interest loans and revitalize their municipality for the time period required by the agreement entered into between the families and the local government.

Modern homesteading as embraced by participants on forums as this is an attempt by some to dress the reality of using a small parcel of property to pursue small scale agricultural pursuits in dream fantasy views of the past some entertain. Others use it as an easy way to put a name to their efforts to distance themselves from the rat race grind.

I don't consider myself a homesteader or modern homesteader as I am not a resident of any munipality that has subsidized my land holding nor do I entertain any Little house on the Prarie fantasies for myself.

I simply rely on my savings and investments to meet my basic needs and use soil and bait farming and gardening to maximize the income and production streams of the more simple semi retirement lifestyle I now follow than the rat race lifestyle I exited 10 years ago.

__________________
"I didn't have time to slay the dragon. It's on my To Do list!"

Quick FYI:
There are numerous towns in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, etc. who offer similar programs in order to entice people into their dying communities. It's not just Marquette.


And as I read these "definitions" I find myself wondering how many of us who DON'T define ourselves as homesteaders react that way because we're too close to the original Homesteaders...
My great grandparents homesteaded here in Nebraska.

For that matter, I've always known people who were the children of original Homesteaders. Though they're getting awfully long in the tooth these days.
(One I'm thinking of is 94 this year!)

But I know, for me at least, that's got a lot to do with why I would never call myself a homesteader. It's still too close.
I know what it was and I know we don't even begin to compare to what they were.

__________________
~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

I'm with Windy, and prefer the British term smallholder, or farmer for those who have more land or at any size make a real living off their land. Me I'm not even that just a whacko gardener with dreams. (Of chickens and a cow, not a better dahlia.)

__________________
US Army veteran, military retiree spouse, and military; civilian; British NHS; and VA doctor.

I have been homesteading this little place for 30 years....On weekends. I traded this piece of land for an old farm truck 30 yrs ago. Built the cabin and shop from trees, and rocks found on the property and concrete building blocks from an old prune dryer given to me for half the materials. Rock for the road was slag from the wood burner at the mill. I removed some trees to put in a driveway and used most in their original form. I traded material from the dryer for concrete and mortar. I used nails that I pulled. I wanted to see what I could do on my own without spending any money. I have my Grandmothers little wood cook stove for heat and hot water and a micro hydro power unit I found at a junk store that I traded for an antique chainsaw. I used recycled roofing from the old prune dryer. It may not be pretty but it has character. My wife loves it. I have worked since I was 12, farmed for 25 yrs. I got sick and good food and a lot of rest and soul searching got me through it. I work 4 days a week for my hometown water department, been there for 15 yrs. My daughter lives in the family home my wife and I built in 1992 when the kids were 8 and 4. Never owed a dime on this place. This is a way of life, quiet, clean, and low impact. I get to enjoy life here....James

What does Homesteading mean to me? This morning it means:

cracked skin on my feet / poison ivy / cuts on legs from wild blackberry / sunburn / spider bites / other bug bites / weeds / something weird looking under my fingernails that won't come out......

But it also means:

fresh blueberry from our Orchard / spring water / wild ginger / quiet and peace / Outside showers / mist rolling up from the creek in the next holler / wild turkey crossing the path behind the house / kids playing outside / and too many good things to eat from the garden to even list........and furniture built from wood cut right here on the property......and wood stoves in winter.....gun shooting .....coyote howling in the evening which sends guests from the city screeching to the porch.......which we find very funny........

Our family motto is: Chop wood. Fetch water. Make dirt. Play with Fire!

It means Homesteading.

I really would not Dh 7 myself homesteaders. We are both originally from the city but both of our grandparents always raised different livestock for feed, grew big gardens, canned, my grandpa even tapped quite a few maple tree's & made syrup.

When I lived in the city I would dream of owning our own land we could hunt, grow & raise things for our own use. I used to have half my backyard on our city lot a big garden & canned what ever I could. Came up north to state land to hunt for what ever time we could get away.

We bought 40 acres some years ago, 40 of it is wooded. Dh & I both hunt, we have a huge garden & I still can everything I can or freeze it. We had a big pond dug & have it stoced with fish. We raise Nigerian dwarf goats, ducks for the egg's & rabbits for the meat. We try to be as self sufficient as we can & if we HAD to we could live off our land right where we are.
It's very peacful here, not very many neighbors that are close, kinda out in the middle of no where but we Love it & are very happy to spend the rest of our years right here.

I think homesteading is a state of mind no matter where you live or what you have.
It's all what it means to you & what you make of it & your life I think.

I suspect that most modern "homesteaders" (myself included) have made a lifestyle choice about the quality of life we want to enjoy, which includes both the positive aspects of country living and doing-for-yourself, as well as leaving behind many of the nuisances of city living. In contrast, many of the original homesteaders were just doing whatever it took to survive.

Thank you all for your replies! My husband and I hope to get back to having land soon. We want to be self sufficiant, or as much as we can. We crave a simpler life. I agree with those who said avoiding keeping up with the Jonses; it's so easy to fall into that trap living in a city.

__________________
Blessings,
Jean

Wow.

I was going to ask this question but saw this thread,
and I loved reading the answers.

While I'm only 20 and still in college, I aspire to be more self-sufficient.

Homesteading to me means living as self sufficiently as possible with little money.
Living the simple life. I've always wondered since I was younger why society
wasn't how it used to be. My gpa always told us stories of him and his godmother
living on a ranch, having smoke houses, chickens, gardenening, canning and dehydrating
and hunting.

For some reason, the self sufficient life style has always attracted me like a moth to a
flame.

I like working hard out in my garden and knowing what I grow is wholesome, safer,
and extremely better tasting than supermarket produce.

Only my third yr gardening but I'm enjoying it. I can't wait until I can get my own place and finally have chickens, goats, rabbits and maybe a few pigs.

I want to be debt free also. I hope I can make it to where many of you are today.
You inspire me and I love being on this site learning this peaceful DIY lifestyle.

Everything is so much more satisfying when you do it from scratch.