Homesteading

Homesteading is about creating a lifestyle that is first of all genuine. It’s about learning to recognize your needs—including energy, food, financial, and health needs—and finding out how they can be met creatively and responsibly. In order to harness your own energy for heat or electricity, you first have to face the facts about how much energy you use versus how much you actually need, and then as- sess your environment and resources to determine the best method for meeting those needs. Before buying chicks or any other animal to raise, be honest with yourself about the time you have to invest in caring for them. If you want a garden, there’s no reason not to have one—but think about how large a plot you can man- age before you

Anyone who is interested in living a frugal lifestyle can learn a lot from home- steaders. What exactly is homesteading, and how can these practices be integrated with the frugal lifestyle?

While the term homesteading refers to any individual who opts to get back to ba- sics and live a more self-sustaining lifestyle there are actually three different types.

First, there is the homesteader who is not even on the grid. Off-the-grid individuals live off the land and provide for their families by growing, raising, trading and mak- ing what they need. Other types of homesteaders do use some homesteading methods, but they are not completely dependent on livestock and the land to attain everything that they require.

Homesteaders produce most of what they need on their own.

The perfect example of this lifestyle is the Amish. I live pretty close to an Amish community. I am always in awe of how they get things done.

They keep certain practices alive, like canning preserves or even hanging laundry.

Think about it - when was the last time you hand washed any clothing or hung your laundry out to