Homesteading is a state of mind. It is not only about buying land and starting to farm. It’s not about living off grid and raising your own food and raising livestock.  Certainly it is not about withdrawing from society.  It is about being willing to spend your time creating rather than consuming.

It’s More that That

Looking at the above statement, I have to correct myself. I believe it is more than simply being “willing.” There has to be a certain core preference deep inside of you. You WANT to do it yourself rather than have someone else do it for you.  It is a mindset.

You want to work things out by your own self. You want to create and do real and tangible things, rather than earning money to spend on something that someone else has produced for you to consume.

Homesteading is a State of Mind

I have said this numerous times on various social media platforms. I shared that little saying in some of our YouTube videos. We have shared this homily in talks we have given around the country. It’s in at least one book that I wrote.  But I don’t believe that we have ever directly said so on this website. So now we have.

State of Mind

Homesteading is not about having acres and living off the grid. Homesteading is not about having chickens and goats and making your own cheese. It may be part of how YOU personally homestead, but someone could homestead in the middle of a city. Homesteading is about being ready, willing, and mentally able to be self sufficient. This is not to say that you have to do it all yourself. In fact to succeed as a homesteader, being part of a community network is an essential element.

Homesteading is Not (Necessarily) Being a Prepper

Prepper is a relatively new term. It’s short for being prepared to survive when the world goes to heck in a hand basket (this is a family channel).  Also explained as when “the waste hits the rotary oscillating device.” Many preppers have bunkers or “bug-out” bags, complete with armament, and maps, and survival food.  This is not the same as being a homesteader. Although many preppers do homestead.

Some Sayings to Help Homesteading

Thrive, Not Just Survive

Homesteading is certainly NOT about settling for less. It’s not about getting by. You need to thrive – at least on the inside. You need to enjoy what you are doing. Granted, cleaning the chicken coop is not an altogether enjoyable job – but it is part of taking care of the living beings that are helping you live your life.  Your overall life brings you enjoyment.

Part of how I thrive is to live frugally day to day so that I can afford the occasional treats without breaking the bank. Do I have a million in the bank and tons of possessions? Nope. I am not so empty inside that I need to be surrounded with purchases to make me feel like my life has meaning.

Buy Cheap, Buy Twice

Get the expensive cotton sheets, or shirt, or boots for your feet. When you buy quality goods they should last a long time. I have some shirts going for 20 years old. They started out as clean dress shirts and now they are stained work shirts – but they have lasted.

Buy the good tools. They make the job easier. Easier is safer because when you are tired you make mistakes, and mistakes can land you in the emergency room. Or the morgue.

If you need a tool for a job, but it is a job you are only ever going to do once – that is what your community, your circle of friends is for. Maybe you can borrow rather than buy. It pays to ask around. DO repay the loan with the tool returned promptly, clean, and accompanied with a small thank you gift – like some home baked treats or – as one reader did – a half pint of jelly.

Community is Critical

Example.  One of our Vermont readers needed a post hole digger for some cedar posts for a grape arbor.  A good new one was around $100.  There are cheaper ones but get the good tools – remember? 

Before she bought a tool for only a few uses, she asked around and another homesteader in the area had one she was willing to lend.  Holes dug, the tool was returned with a half pint of lilac jelly.  The lendee was delighted with something she never had tasted before.

This goes for more than just tools.  If you know plumbing but not electrical repair, let your community know that you are willing to trade skills.

Fix It, Don’t Toss It

This is better than recycling.  You fix what is broken (or torn, or needs a patch).  I am not a “sewist,” but I can put a patch on a shirt or pair of pants. Work clothes get a work out, and it’s not about looking good while you are mucking out stalls.

Learn how to repair all manner of things. I joke that, “I’m a welder – JB Weld that is.” If you are not familiar with the name – it is a brand of epoxy. It comes in many types, including a high temperature one for fixing automobile leaky exhaust pipes or radiators. I can tell you that this high-temperature type of epoxy works dandy for sealing the bottom of a water-bath canner that sprang a leak. A new water-bath canner was expensive, the epoxy was $6.  It was worth a try.  That’s why it is state of mind.

Old Vermont Saying

   Use it up,
   wear it out,
   make it do,
   or do without.

Growing up I heard this from my dad and his parents often. Our play clothes were school clothes with patches on them. Got taller? A colorful band of fabric sewn on the bottom made the cuffs and added needed length. The time my poor mother sewed ruffles on the bottom of my pants for me, I ripped them off and demanded cuffs like my brother. I was what we used to call a “tomboy.” As I recall, her response was to turn the offending pants into shorts. She and I  never did get along very well.

Another childhood memory – Vermont Grandpa pouring a little water into the “empty” maple syrup bottle and using that to sweeten his tea. He had about 20 more bottles of syrup on the shelf (it had been a good sugaring year in Vermont), but he had been trained to use “use it up.”

Then there was old Wilmer. His day to day shirts that he wore around the farm had patches on the patches. The clothes he wore to the Meeting House on Sunday were always clean, but over time they got a little shiny and worn looking. Then one Sunday he had a new shirt on.  That Monday, he had his old Sunday shirt as his new day-to-day shirt.

As it turns out, Wilmer had enough money for a new shirt whenever he wanted, but he chose daily frugality for himself.  He lived frugally and yet gave generously to people in need.  He passed a few years ago and I miss him still.

Have Fun Instead of Being Entertained

That concept is a para-quote from a David Mamet movie called “State and Main.” The only reason I know about the movie is that my father is in it – but that’s another story.

Have some fun in the evening, rather than mindlessly staring at the boob tube to be entertained.  Yes televisions don’t have tubes any more – but it’s such a good term.

What do we do for fun? We will have friends to dinner, or go visit friends. Some evenings we work crosswords in the newspaper. Occasionally we play games like Scrabble or cribbage. Occasionally my spouse will read recipes from old cookbooks out loud to me while I knit. We love trying new ways of cooking, and find inspiration poking through old books.

Just found a 1895 book on puddings – and it assumes you are making them on the wood stove. We shall have to try some and figure out what the settings would be on modern stoves. Then we can share them on this site – once it cools down a bit and I feel like using any stove.

Point to all this is that we have fun.  We enjoy creating things, using our brains to think about things, or actual interacting with our fellow humans in person. We do things that are fun, we do not wait to be entertained.

State of Mind

You can start to homestead where ever you are.  Here’s a little quiz.

Let's say you live in a tiny little apartment in a large city. 
You want to create 8 foot canvases of art in your own space. Do you: 
  A) spend money to rent a studio 
  B) purchase a Murphy bed that folds into the wall 
  C) figure out how to build a Murphy bed for pennies with some creativity and help from some friends 
  D) give up your dream of being an artist because life has never given you a break.

If you chose C – congratulations, you have a homesteader frame of mind.

Free Never Is

In an earlier post, we discussed the fact that Free Never Is.  We trade our short and precious time on this earth to forage or create things.  Or we can choose to trade our time to earn money to buy things.

Homesteaders understand this.  Maybe not in those words exactly, maybe viscerally.  Homesteaders prefer to create.  Non-homesteaders prefer to consume.  I believe that the first is a more healthy state of mind.  The second may be why there are so many unhappy people in the world.  If all you do is consume, then you can never have enough.

How do you prefer to spend your time? Creating or consuming?

Want to Create some Tasty Food?

Here is our dandy little cookbook. The recipes in the cookbook are not shared on our website. You actually have to buy the book. But if you like the recipes we share online, you will like the cookbook!

Using Honey in New and Savory Ways offers 36 pages of tips for using honey in your cooking, as well as in all manner of dishes. 

From the review:
“Honey is for more than desserts and this book can help! Using honey in cooking savory dishes helps engage all your taste buds and adds a layer of added flavor to everyday dishes – plus holiday fare.”

Beekeeper?  We offer volume discounts – because if you sell honey in local markets you might want to offer some of these books as well.  Use the Special Orders tab on our book site.  

Want to pay by check?  We can do that too!  Use this Special Orders tab.

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Disclaimer

The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.