Modern Homesteading

Modern Homesteading. The Google Machine tells me that “Modern Homesteading is a lifestyle and working toward self sufficiency. It is a process and can be done in the city, country or on the side of a mountain where we live. I believe it also means being more environmentally conscious and trying to lessen your impact on the environment.”-Mother Earth News.

For me, homesteading started as a sort of joke among my sister, our sister from another mister, and myself. If you would have asked us if we would be interested in living off the land ten years ago, we would have laughed. Now, my sister longs for a plot of land to raise chickens and a cow. Our dear friend is passionate about her garden and raising bees. And as for me, my niche is sourdough and preserving. Foraging is my jam too. Now we firmly believe together, the three of us could live off the land. Unfortunately, we live 3-4 hours apart from one another. Not ideal for a family farm.

Bottom line: I love the idea of creating from scratch and utilizing all that nature has to offer. I find a great source of pride as I look around my home and see containers of fresh baked bread and tortillas, freezers full of prepared and preserved fruits and vegetables from our garden, and shelves full of home canned goods ranging from apple jelly to pasta sauce to cut green beans and venison stew. 

I hope this page inspires you to do something different regardless of where you live. Perhaps you walk the park and find some greens you only knew as weeds. You harvest them and make some dandelion jelly because you live in an urban setting. Do you live in the country? Maybe you go big and plant wheat so you can grind your own flour (lofty goal of mine). Or maybe you find another way to lessen your impact on the environment. You start avoiding plastic wrap or even begin recycling your old t-shirts to create a rag rug (something that is on my ‘to try’ list).