As a young girl, I loved reading the Little House on the Prairie series, but of course, I'm pretty sure we didn't get the whole story. Romanticism from a young girl's point of view aside, I'm just starting to consider adopting a few homesteading principles, such as growing some food, preferably, food we already like to eat. And we are going to raise some small animals, we only have enough room on our little estate of 4653 sqft. [or .15 acres which includes our house and garage] of usable space for 5 chickens. Which is fine, since I don't have a hankering to raise the four footed variety of farm animal. As far as my skills, I can sew a straight line, but I don't see myself sewing my men any clothes, besides they probably wouldn't wear what I made them anyway. I tease the boys that I can crochet them a pair of swimming trunks, or a baseball cap -- I just love seeing the looks of consternation I get from them! I love cooking, and baking, and I have made several batches of apricot jam - yum - but that is the extent of my canning prowess. There is certainly more to learn, much more.
What I really understand about homesteading, is that it is a heck of a lot of hard work! But, if you know what your are doing, and have a plan for what you intend to accomplish, then it can also be highly rewarding. What I mean by that is, if I grow a splendid bumper crop of green beans, then what am I going to do with them if my family and my neighbors can't eat them all before they go bad? I had better have a "plan b" in place to implement, or else I will be committing a few heinous homesteading sins like wasting time, money, effort, and food! And if you spend hours on a quilting project that never gets finished what good is it? Planing and follow through are the keys to success for most things in this life, and homesteading is no exception. So, since I don't have generations of homesteading know how behind me, I'm going to have to start small and work my way up to where I want to be. Thankfully there are many books, blogs, websites, and videos out there to help educate me in this worthwhile endeavor. And hopefully, my eldest son will catch the homesteading bug and carry a few things on to his family - I can only dream! Kyle has special needs, so I don't think he will be leaving our nest any time soon, to start his own family, but if he was "normal" then I would bet money that he would be the one to take on the rigors of homesteading, as he is my little domestic.
I hope to inspire some of you to look into adopting a few homesteading practices, any part, be it baking, growing food, raising chickens for eggs, or sewing clothes helps foster a sense of independence, and confidence in providing something worthwhile for you and your family.