[Autumngrey]

How did you get started on this life-style, if you weren't born to it? I try, each day, to change my way of thinking and wanting. Small steps, each day. Let me clairify: I am still not completly free of the *wants* that serve no purpose (knick knacks, tchotchkeys, stuff).

I still spend quite a bit of $ on things that I don't need to live. And, it's not even high price stuff. Goofy fun stuff for my desk at work (Devil Duckies), junk like that.

Anyway, I wanted to ask for *help* or input.....thanks in advance.

 

[donsgal]

Moving out of the city environment to the country helped a lot. Also, I started getting to know people at Silver Dollar City which is a theme park in the Branson area which used to have a crafts festival every fall (well, they still have a version of it, but it isn't like it used to be.) By getting to know these people, many of whom were homesteaders or rural people who were trying to get by on cottage industries I began to develop an appreciation for the lifestyle. What really cinched it for me, however was the first year I went to the Baker Creek Spring Planting Festival in Marshfield and I loved the environment and the people that were there. Country folk, farmers, unassuming, good hearted simple people. I was hooked.

So my advice to you would be to make friends who have the values and lives that you espouse to follow. They are the people who will guide you and that you will learn from - not only on how to run a homestead - but how to appreciate the wonderful life you have and follow a more enjoyable path for the future.

donsgal

 

[marvella]

we were so poor, it was the way we all lived in this community. i just keep doing the parts i like.

 

[james dilley]

I was born on My Parents Farm In Franklin Indiana, And Always knew from the Time I was 4 years old What I wanted from Life. I let NO body stop me from my goal!!! I have had set backs though, But I have perservered to achive Goals, And GOD willing I'll be there soon, To the point Where I have A better way of life!!!

 

[botebum]

I gotta give up knick-knacks?! No way! If living out here and growing some of my own stuff means I can't waste a buck or two once in a while then I quit!

Doug

 

[Shepherd]

I gotta give up knick-knacks?! No way! If living out here and growing some of my own stuff means I can't waste a buck or two once in a while then I quit!

Doug

I agree with you, Doug!

 

[Autumngrey]

ok, no body has to give up knick knacks... :baby04:

thank you for answering, y'all....

let me clairify a bit. i want a simpler life. and i want to make better choices. i am working on paying off my debt so that I can have the land and the life I want. I want to be off the grid as much as I can. I do believe that this is necessary and that some time in my lifetime some event will force this, maybe not forever, but for a bit. Chicken little I am not...I just feel this. :soap: :shrug: :gromit: :grouphug: :rock:

ok, sorry, playing with the smilies

 

[moonwolf]

. And, it's not even high price stuff. Goofy fun stuff for my desk at work (Devil Duckies), junk like that.

At one time we collected Kliban the cat goofy stuff. At the time it might have been considered classy junk, maybe even now. But a lot of it is collector's items with investment potential no one had any idea about, at the time. You might want to hang on to those Devil Duckies, whether homesteading, or not. lol

 

[leecofarm]

i had to google devil duckies to see what you were talking about. they are very cute. down here in texas, the bingo folks use little trolls and those are showing up on desks and cubicles. i agree that you have to mix a little fun in with all the hard work.
the problem with moving to the farm is that i have lots more space to put lots more bigger things.

 

[Spinner]

I was born to this lifestyle. I moved to the city for a while. I enjoyed it while I was there, but got homesick for the country, animals, and the privacy out here. I'd like to have a vacation house in town to visit every now and then, but the homestead is home.

I remember "trolls". They were a big fad when I was in high school. I think everyone is school had one. We styled their long hair and made little clothes for them. My parents thought they were horrible little things and I had to keep mine hid from them for fear they would toss it in the trash.

I've never heard of devil duckies. Now I'll have to do a search and find out what they are.

ETA: Just discovered what they are. Yuk, sorry, but I think they are UGLY. I like the trolls better.

 

[RoseGarden]

I was born into near poverty, grew up that way. We always had food and clothes, just not the newest or the best or tons of anything. Bikes were second hand that my parents fixed up for us, dolls were hand downs that my mom sewed new dresses for and fixed up the hair somehow, stuff like that.

Then when I started out for myself, I found I didn't need all the stuff I thought I did. I was content to be what most people would call poor, but I still had plenty of food, clothes, and things I truly needed. The rest was just degrees of 'wanting'. Yeah, I 'wanted' a new pickup, but the older one that was paid for was plenty good. I 'wanted' a new lawn mower, but the older one that ran fine and cost nothing was plenty good.

I also learned how to make something comparable to things I wanted but could not budget for or afford. I remember when wooden shelves with the decorative brackets came out, usually painted crackle finish or antiqued. Couldn't budget for them but I could scrounge up wood and using a borrowed router and some sand paper and paint, I learned to make excellent copies for just a few bucks. That is just one example, but learning to make things that I wanted but couldn't afford taught me some skills along the way, too.

Now as to knick knacks and doodads. I am guilty of finding cute things every now and then, but I don't pay a lot for them. I don't think it hurts to buy something like that every now and then.

Donno if I answered your question or not. I'd just suggest trying to wean yourself away from the 'wants'. That's a hard thing to do. Maybe you could learn to make copies of things you want, maybe try some woodworking, quilting or sewing, things like that. Right now, I've gone nuts over antique game boards. I can't afford to buy them already done, so I get pine 1x12 wood and use a ruler and some stencils I cut out of a coffee can lid and make my own. Stencil some of the designs and freehand paint the rest. It's a lot of fun.

Something else I thought of is maybe if you really want something, to try going to all the thrift shops around you, maybe you can find what you want there for a lot less than you'd spend buying it new. Thank goodness for used bookstores, or I would really be in a bind.

 

[swampgirl]

I did not grow up with a "homesteading" way of life, but new early on that I loved the country. Started growing flowers and tomatoes and herbs as a teenager in the back yard in a small town. Then, after college, went to the big city for better paying job(s).
In 1985 bought 2 acreas in remote rural area, but still had to work 2 or more jobs to pay the bills. Went to nursing school, graduated in 1991, worked hard & finally was able to save since I made a good salary. So in 1994 was able to buy an old 48 acre tree-farm with an old house. Still working to pay the bills, but my goal of one day living the homesteading life style seems much closer now. Guess I just always knew what I wanted.

 

[Autumngrey]

swampgirl.....wow, sounds wonderful....

yes, it is the 'wants'. not needs.....and i figured out today that i sometimes spend to attempt to make me better. Just like I eat for the same reasons......ANYWHO....that doesn't mean that I did the right thing today. I spent money today. too much of it.... :Bawling:

not trying to complain........

I'll just say this: I want to live a simpler life. I want to eat organic/green/pestiside-free foods. I want to have organic milk/butter/cheese. I want clean water and land and enough land to feed my livestock and my family. I want to be off grid if possible....I want my guns and ammo for hunting and home protection. I want things that I purchase or make to last. Cast iron cook ware. Wool blankets/animal pelts for the floor and bedding.
Sort of going back in time, so to speak......

I do hit the second hand stores - they are my favorite. I figure I will get my ball/mason jars from them, along with cast iron cookware. I have 3-4 stores in town, and a fabulous store in Bisbee....used/secondhand......

anyway....just wanted to share a bit.....

-goats for milk and cheese and butter (if that is possible),a milk cow for that which the goats can't do, chickens for eggs and meat, perhaps some other fowl, since I am not big on red meat.....a horse for working and transportation, some cats to keep the mice at bay, some guard dogs.....Am I leave anything out????

 

[Jenn]

sort of born to it. Grandparents farmers, and my mom's parents were organic right when that was a crackpot thing to do.

But aside from picking potato bugs and carrying dirt as a child, nothing until my twenties- then planted rose bushes in my apt complex, then rose bushes and a veg garden next house, then next house switched roses for berry bushes, and been doing that since with a lovely 4 year interlude on a farmette with sheep and various poultry. Now starting again with fruit and veg. Chickens may be in my future.

 

[Shrek]

I just consider that I was born and raised in the red clay, saw my share of the world and am now just a countryboy surviving quite comfortably after returning to where my tap root is planted and grafting myself to it once again.

 

[Wolf mom]

I boarded my horse for years & finally decided enough of that! Land price was the deciding factor in my move to the White Mountains (plus I have friends here). I really wanted to move somewhere around Payson.

I bought the land. Had the local paper delivered to Phoenix, and moved about a year later when I found a job. I had decided that if I could not find a job, I'd go back to school, get a nursing degree, then move.

I thought of moving to Bisbee (just love the quaintness of that town!) but missed the four seasons of my youth so looked north for land.

I've always loved the country, growing flowers & animals. I used to bake bread, can foods, etc. in the city, but never thought of it as any sort of homesteading activity. Just something I did while raising children. I always have thought of eating healthily.

Don't give up the wants - they can be the seeds of motivation for your future. I think there's a lot you can do wherever you live while making plans for the future.

 

[turtlehead]

How did you get started on this life-style, if you weren't born to it?

We figured out what we wanted from a country lifestyle. Did we want a big garden, hunting, water on the property, seclusion, access to a city where we could sell produce/meat goods, wood for timber, land to farm with a tractor, what kinds of animals, what kinds of crops, etc.

Then we prioritized all that, and looked for a parcel of land that suited our needs. It had to meet our "must have" features and a fair amount of our "really would like" features.

We put in a garden (we already knew how to can).
We learned to dehydrate.

We planted fruit trees. Twice. And will AGAIN this fall. :flame: Third time is a charm, right?

We got chickens.

We got rabbits.

And here we are.

We've got a lot to learn still, and a lot of work to do. Future goals include learning to save our own seed, building a good chicken house, fencing some of the property, getting pigs and/or milk goats, repairing the house, cosmetic/remodeling work on the house, repairing the barn...


So, picture your perfect lifestyle and list out everything that describes it. Then prioritize your list. Then start small.

 

[gracie88]

We had kids and decided "we need to get out of town". We decided what we wanted. Then we decided what we could afford My best advice would be one thing at a time. Also, keep in mind that "stuff" can be a burden as much as a pleasure. Everything you have/buy takes up space or time or money.

 

[farmwife]

I was raised on a small farm. My husband wasn't but helped out on farms. So we decided after 12 years of marriage, that we would like some more land. We didn't know if we could afford it, but we bought a little farmette of 11.7 acres. Some days it is hard managing it, but we have up keep that was here and we have to finish from the previous owner.

We mainly wanted it to grow our own food, raise our own meat, ect. Also something for the boys to learn and teach them work ethics.

I like this thread!

 

[WisJim]

I grew up in a small midwestern village, moved to the big city to go to school, got a job, and in the mid-1970s gas crisis, decided that I wanted to be more self sufficient. And we have been at it ever since.