What Is Homesteading? A Beginner’s Guide to Self-Sufficient Living

A word with 1,000 different definitions…

Depending on who you ask.

But, when it comes down to it there is only one formal definition.

Wikipedia defines homesteading as:

a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may or may not also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale.”

But what REALLY is homesteading? What does it look like?

Again, the answer really depends on who you ask. To me, homesteading is becoming self-sufficient and it can be done wherever you live. A common misconception about homesteading is that you have to have tons of land in order to do it. You don’t.

Why and How We Want to Start Homesteading

We are both country at heart. While I grew up on a small farm, he did not. Although, he did grow up in a small town. We both wanted a place on a small piece of land to raise our family on. While I wanted to become self-sufficient and grow or make my own food and somewhat raise my family off the grid (read more about our journey HERE).

We started homesteading after my mom died in 2012 from cancer- at the age of 50. My dad asked my mom’s Oncologist why he thinks cancer is so prevalent these days. His response was to take a look at our food system and the ingredients in our food (read more about our journey HERE).

I was completely baffled at his response.

Baffled.

What could possibly be in our food supply that causes cancer? The short answer- A LOT. After researching and educating myself, Mountain Man and I decided that we needed to rehaul our lives- if not for us at least for our kiddos.

And so we started our homesteading lives.

The first thing we did was buy chickens. They say chickens are “the gateway” livestock. Well, that statement is the absolute TRUTH. Chickens turned into more chickens– then a huge hoop house– then ducks- then meat chickens {twice a year)- and now the latest…goats.

Each and every animal that lives on our farm serves a purpose.

We make 99% of our food from scratch. We can, freeze, dehydrate, and preserve. We ferment food and drinks. We fish and hunt. We grow and raise our own food here on the farm.

It’s a homesteading life. And a good one.

What is Homesteading to Other Homesteaders?

I asked five homesteading bloggers what homesteading meant to them.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.474.0_en.html#goog_576467098

Jenna from The Flip Flop Barnyard: “For our family homesteading means doing what we can where we are, raising as much of our own food as we can, and being as self-sustaining as possible. It is about utilizing the space and resources available to us. It is also all about providing our family with opportunities to grow and learn that they wouldn’t have in another type of lifestyle.”

Andrea from Little Big Harvest: “The word ‘homestead’ can sometimes bring up a mental image of sprawling acres and log cabins. Idyllic, certainly–but actually, homesteads come in all shapes and sizes. Any piece of earth, even if it’s a little urban lot, can be tended and nurtured to grow food, awareness, and more independence.”

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Tracy from Our Simple Life: “The smell of fresh mowed hay, the sound of a rooster crowing, the sight of alpacas grazing, and the feel of freshly turned soil in my hands is what makes my heart beat with a homesteading passion. I still have to pinch myself when I look out my window to see all we have accomplished in just five short years. It wasn’t always easy and the daily tasks outweigh the time on the clock, but I go to bed dog tired with a smile on my face!”

Nicole from Little Blog on the Homestead: “Our homestead looks pretty much like every other house you would see on the block (other than our raised garden beds full of veggies in our front yard) we live in a typical suburban neighborhood, both work typical suburban jobs and other than our enormously spoiled furbaby we don’t have any animals. Homesteading to us is more about a frame of mind. A desire to live as naturally as possible, to learn all that we can to be self-sufficient and working towards that goal. We garden, can as much as possible, cook almost all of our meals from scratch and are saving up to buy property. But until then we’ll continue to homestead right where we are now.”

Amy from Tenth Acre Farm: “Homesteading is the act of creating a productive home, which can be done no matter the size of the home or the property. While modern culture encourages us to be consumers, we reduce our consumption by growing some of our food (mostly in the front yard!), cooking all of our food from scratch, forming relationships with local farmers and fellow gardeners, and flexing our home economics muscles. All of this on 0.10-acre in suburbia! Breaking free of debt is the best thing we did to jumpstart our homesteading lifestyle.”

Homesteading Blogs: