I am a homesteader.

Homesteading is a means to an end here at my farm.

We want Health.

We want Food.

Homesteading is a beautiful, enriching, fulfilling lifestyle that will not only give you an education you won’t find at a university – it will give you health, wellness and the best food you’ve ever eaten.

Not only will homesteading give you an abundant life, you will have something very few people have today….

The ability to go on.

If all the stores disappeared, the homesteader will keep going.

I am a homesteader.

Wikipedia defines Homesteading as, “a lifestyle of self-sufficiency which may include subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs……Homesteading is not defined by where someone lives, such as the city or the country, but by the lifestyle choices they make.”

Mother Earth News calls Homesteading a “lifestyle that promotes greater self sufficiency.”

You don’t have to move to the middle of nowhere and live on acreage to embrace “homesteading.” It can begin in a neighborhood, an apartment, or on a small plot of land. Anyone of us can become a homesteader. It’s more than just getting-back-to-the-land. A homesteader is someone who is becoming less reliant on others and becoming more self-sufficient.

It can even include: (click on the underlined words to read more)

Food – growing, raising, preserving, processing, preparing
Skin care & Health care
Building structures/ fencing/ troughs/ etc
Textiles – building, sewing, mending, crafting, landscaping
Managing, and caring for livestock
Maintenance and the upkeep properties and materials

For me, self-sufficiency is a journey. Each year I learn more. Each day I make choices (some days I do better than others).

Every day I chose:

Will I eat what is growing in the garden?
Will I eat the meat we have raised/ stored?
Will I preserve the berries?
Will I plant my fall garden when it is August and 100 degrees outside?
Will I call the local fence company or stretch the fence myself? (With the help of DH)

I have opportunities to chose self-sufficiency every day. I still have a lot to learn, but I am making progress! I don’t know if I’ll ever get there. One thing is for certain, I am more self-sufficient today than I was last year and terribly more than 10 years ago.

Our farm is far from perfect; at the same time, we are learning to homestead and growing as a family. The best part has been the journey. Homesteading is an adventure you may not want to miss!

To be sure you don’t miss any of the love, laughs and old-fashioned life-tips, be sure to “like” the blog on Facebook (here), or sign up to follow the blog on Twitter (here) or subscribe via email (on the top right side of this page) or even follow it on Pinterest (here).

XO,

Candi