“Homesteading, at it’s core, is counter-culture from our consumerist-driven culture. This is a lifestyle that glorifies salvaging and reclaiming, repairing rather than buying new, and trading and bartering when money is tight.” ~Unknown
I get asked during conversations time and time again why I am the way I am. How did I get to this point in life? I promise I didn’t just wake up one morning and say “I think today is the day I declare myself a homesteader!” If I’m being completely honest, I still giggle when someone calls me a homesteader out loud. Imposter syndrome is a real thing, and I don’t feel like a “real” homesteader most of the time. However, I have come to the conclusion that to be a homesteader, you just have to be somewhere on your self sufficiency journey. Pretty broad, huh?
Now that I’ve said that, I am going to say something that some might not agree with. I don’t feel like complete self sufficiency is possible. I do think you can be community sufficient, meaning that you can largely provide for yourself and your family, but you will likely need to reach out to neighbors or others in your community to provide the things you either can’t or won’t provide yourself.
Now, do you want to know what made me this way? Butter. Yep, butter. I was a huge margarine person. It’s all I bought, I loved it, and the packaging and advertising told me it was healthy. Then someone made an offhand comment one evening about margarine being basically plastic, made of many of the same ingredients, and I thought “no way”. That comment sent me down a rabbit hole of research, in which I was completely disgusted by what our food system is allowed to do to our food. Disgusted! This lead me to want to learn how to cook from scratch to clean out the preservatives in the food I was consuming regularly. Once I learned how to cook and the kitchen became less scary and intimidating to me, I started wondering why I was paying $2 for a bell pepper when I could grow them myself, and do so organically. My little homesteader soul just spiraled into the free wind from there. The small plants in pots on the back porch turned into a full fledged garden, I learned how to can, we now have almost 30 chickens, and I rarely buy a prepackaged meal. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a busy mom and yes, my kids enjoy chicken nuggets and mac and cheese just like any other kids, however we don’t consume it every day, and they don’t know any different at this point.
Why Do You Want It?
If you feel like you are ready to start out on your homesteading journey, there are a few questions that you should ask yourself before you jump in with both feet. First is, why do you want it? If you are like me and your looking to clean up your food, start in your kitchen. Maybe cooking from scratch and baking bread are completely new to you. Find a tried and true recipe and teach yourself one new thing at a time. Swap out your bottled ranch dressing for a homemade version, like my homemade ranch powder, or try a simple homemade version of a boxed favorite, Hamburger Helper.
If the outdoors is calling your name, maybe it’s time to start a small flock of chickens. They are so fun to watch, will keep your bugs down, and as an added bonus you will have some of the most delicious, fresh eggs to add to your breakfast! Goats are also great to get to starting your homesteading journey. They are also hilarious and fun to watch, and for the most part are fairly low maintenance. Make sure you have a good vet on call just in case, and check and re-check your fences, as goats do tend to wander a bit. Adding a dairy goat can also provide you with fresh milk as a bonus to the laughs you are sure to get.
If truly becoming self reliant is your goal, it’s time to get to work on that garden! Gardens, when done correctly, can be almost overwhelmingly abundant, so you will also want to learn how to can and preserve your bounty. There is nothing more satisfying than opening up a jar of vegetable soup that you canned, from veggies that you grew in your backyard, in the dead of winter to feed your family. It is a feeling like no other, and I wish all could experience it.
How Far Will You Go?
I am admittedly a small homesteader. We don’t raise our own meat animals, however we have discussed meat chickens in the past, we just haven’t taken that leap yet. My brother raises a couple of steers each year and I know we could purchase beef from him, however I am a poultry eater much to my husband’s dismay, so we purchase our meat. I do try to grow the majority of our produce, however, and preserve it to use through the winter. For things that I am not yet producing, such as peaches, pears, etc., I travel a couple hours across the mountains to buy in bulk, bring it home, and put it in jars. We are very fortunate to live in a state that produces a large amount of fruit, and we are within driving distance to some amazing farms and orchards. With that being said, my garden is quite large and I don’t have any plans on scaling back anytime soon. If anything, I will be adjusting certain crops, such as onions, garlic, and celery, so that I won’t run out before the next year’s crop is in. My goal is to have 1 years worth of produce preserved and ready to use.
Are chickens on your list of things to add? Remember chicken math. It’s real, and it will get you! Look into what breeds you are interested in and how much space you will have for a coop. Some breeds such as Cream Legbars (my favorite) and Americaunas lay beautiful blue eggs, but they aren’t amazing layers, while other breeds such as Leghorns or Rhode Island Reds will lay the typical brown and white eggs, but they will lay a lot of them. Think about your family size, and their needs, then decide on your flock.
If you feel ready to take on the task of raising your own beef or pork, take into consideration the amount of space required for larger livestock. Also look into feed costs in your area, and again have a good livestock vet on hand if needed. When you are doing your vet search, be sure they see livestock, as not all veterinarians do.
A complete overhaul of your cooking might be where you are headed, and I’m here to tell you, it has been the best decision I’ve made for my family. I find myself let down when we do go to restraunts these days, though, so be prepared. Homecooked food just tastes so much better, makes you feel better, and is cheaper!
When You Can’t Do It All
Like I stated above, I do not grow all of our fruit. We’ve planted some trees and we are trying to nurse the sickly ones we inherited with this place back to life, however we are a long ways off from harvesting 50 pounds of apples around here. Thankfully I use Local Harvest to find farms and orchards close to me that are offering what I need. It is a wonderful source!
Local social media groups are also a great place to look. There are homesteading groups that can be specific to your local area, but never underestimate just posting in a community page. When someone posts in our local community page “looking for half a beef” there will be no less than 5 different ranches or farms tagged in the comments.
No matter where you are on your journey, a full fledged homesteader, or just dipping your toe in the water, the important thing is to enjoy the process and when it gets hard (because it will without a doubt get hard) dig deep down and remember why you started in the first place. Butter.
