Southeast Texas
Homesteading Today
Homesteading in Today’s World
Homesteading became popular again after the whole world shut down in 2020. Remember that? There was a huge influx of people getting back to their roots and diving into the ways of their grandparents and great grandparents. Over the last year or two we have seen it dial down as the shelves in the grocery stores have been restocked and well, if we are honest, people saw how much work and money go into this lifestyle. They got back into the swing of going to work and relying on the conveniences that are laid before us.
We chose to continue to live this lifestyle. Raising animals, putting seeds in the soil, building infrastructure, baking bread, fermenting vegetables, and cooking from scratch. There are still so many benefits to living this way and if you are reading this, I bet you see them too!
The Truth No One Tells You About Homesteading
We have touched on it before, but homesteading is hard work. It is not always easy and sometimes you are just tired. But animals still have to eat and be milked. They don’t care if it is thirty degrees outside or if you are sick. Seeds still need to be plants, tomatoes pruned, peppers harvested, cucumbers pickled, bread baked, and the house cleaned. There are so many responsibilities in stewarding and husbandry, and sometimes you just “don’t wanna”. But then you get out there, and hear the birds chirping, feel the wind on your back, the sunshine on your face, and it’s all worth it. You feel better instantly.
Homesteading can also be lonely, but only if you let it. Now when I say lonely, I mean that no one understands the why. Why would you spend hours feeding your starter and doing stretch and folds when you could easily go to the grocery store and pick up a loaf of bread. Why would you spend your time making from scratch kid convenience foods that you can freeze when there are premade frozen corndogs in the grocery store freezer? I think we have all come to realize that these options are not good for us, they contain chemicals and ingredients that are known to destroy our bodies. But why do we continue to consume them?
The answer is simple…..we have been conditioned to think that we are too busy and must rely on these food-like options. We are told that our children have to be involved in EVERYTHING, that we have to dash from here, to there, and back. We are working more to afford the things we do not need. We sit in front of computer screens, smart phones, tablets and the like. Scrolling through social media and diving down every rabbit hole the alga rhythm deems accurate. Instead, what if we did something productive, something to better our circumstances, or learn a new skill? Just imagine what all you could get accomplished.
Homesteading also costs MONEY. We have about 70ish egg layers on our property. We feed them organic non-gmo feed. Do you want to guess what our feed bill is per week? Eighty bucks! That is a lot, way more that what we would even spend on hog grower. Now of course we choose to have this many chickens and you could scale down.
We also spend close to a thousand dollars every spring on compost, Justin could probably correct me…..but maybe I don’t want to know the number. We do get wood chips for free, so we feel that helps with some of the balance.
There is also wood for garden beds, equipment for butchering, trees to start orchards, sprinkler systems, buckets, hoses, chicken waterers, tools, electric fencing, cattle panels, ugh I get hives just thinking about it all. It adds up. But there are ways to offset some of this cost and make money through your homestead…that is for another blog.
The Reactions We Get When People Learn That We Homestead
I can’t speak for Justin when people learn what we do, but I can tell you some of the reactions that I get. Sometimes I even get looked at like I have three heads.
- I don’t know how you do that.
- I cannot picture you doing that.
- I wish I could be more like that.
- How can you raise animals just to kill them in the end?
- How did you learn to do all of this.
- That is amazing.
- I could never do that.
- I don’t want to know where my food comes from.
- You are an inspiration.
- That is too much work.
I have heard it all. Some responses are uplifting and some are mind boggling.
The truth is neither one of us grew up like this. Justin grew up in the bay area in an apartment, I grew up in Louisiana and then moved to California where I graduated high school. My grandmother had a small garden I would help with but that was it. We literally learned everything from books and of course good old YouTube. That is one of the reasons why we started our YouTube channel, to show others how we do things and to encourage them to do the same.
We live in a small country town in Southeast Texas where there are more like-minded people. I work as a Registered Dental Hygienist in a more Suburban town which is about 45 minutes south of us. This town is more suburban is you will, so the reactions I get there are much different. My patients are intrigued by what we do and want to know how, and boy am I there to help them. I can truly geek out on anything homesteading related.
Finding a Homesteading Community
It is important with anything you do, to FIND YOUR PEOPLE. Find people that enjoy the same things as you, people you can bounce ideas off of, get ideas from, get help from and return the favor, and people that you can barter and trade with.
We have a dear family that we go in with on meat birds every year. We buy a hundred to a hundred and fifty, split the cost of the birds and the feed, and then we all do butcher day together. This has worked well for us and for them.
We are also part of a herd share for raw milk. They also sell beef. We have traded goods back and forth and, in our opinion, this is how it should be.
There are also local vendor markets and farmers markets we have been asked to get involved in and have not quite jumped on that band wagon yet. For now, I think our good old fashioned farm stand will work.
It is important to have mentors in things you are not familiar with. This gives you the opportunity to learn and even exchange knowledge when they may need it. It is all about helping out your neighbor, because you never know when you may need it as well.
Making Homesteading Normal in Today’s World
Most of what we try and do in our home is lost knowledge. Whether it be raising animals, butchering animals, seed starting, sourdough, fermenting, canning, or cooking from scratch. These have all been things we have learned along the way.
My grandmother also made pickles and jams, but I was not really involved in these processes, although I wish I would have asked more questions! She taught home economics, and looking back, what a blessing she was to the next generation. Even if they did not see it. Somewhere along the line we lost this. People were moving to bigger cities to follow jobs, they were relying on grocery store conveniences, or just plain and simple, lost interest. The need was no longer there.
We choose to show others the old ways, even if it is just in conversation. Most find it interesting and that gets us excited! Just imagine what our food system would be like if small farms and homesteads were supported by their communities. What if people ate in season and couldn’t go to the local grocery store for tomatoes in November. I bet you we would see a lot less illness, autoimmune conditions, and inflammation. What if farmer’s markets were actually that, and not a “vendor market?” Oh, what a world it would be!
Can we get home economics back in the schools? Can we support our small farmers and consume a more notorious diet…….I think so and I believe it is coming. Everyone just needs to see the need. We are living in an unhealthy nation where our medical system is lining their pockets because we are SICK! We need to regroup, reevaluate, and change our ways. Let’s make it normal to go collect eggs in the morning, move your livestock to a new pasture, live on ingredients and not prepackaged foods, slow down and enjoy all of the many blessings God has given us.
If you live this lifestyle, make it “normal” to those that don’t. If you do not live this lifestyle….try it. Start small. Grow a container garden, get a couple backyard chickens, just get the sourdough starter. I promise you will not regret it, and you may even enjoy it. The slower life is good for the soul. It helps silence all the noise and chatter. You can begin to hear the beauty of what is around you.
We hope this blog has found you well. If you would like to hear more of this type of content, let us know. And do not forget to support your local farms and homesteads!
