Ever since I can remember, I have longed for a simpler life. Even in my 20′s and 30′s, I would work so hard at trying to save money and spend money to find happiness, and find a way to make life easier. But life just seemed to get harder. And the more I followed what everyone else was doing, trying to buy a life of ease, the harder life got, the less money I had, and the less happiness I had.
When I first heard about homesteading, my first thought was going back to the dark ages, literally. I heard about people who lived in houses built of straw, with no electricity and using an outhouse for a bathroom. I thought to myself, “why on earth would anyone TRY to live that way?”
I read about how much work it was physically. And how transitioning from our modern life to a more self-sufficient life, would fill your days with digging holes, filling holes, finding water to drink, chasing livestock, work, work, work, etc.
But there was one other thing that kept coming up consistently when I would read about homesteading. And that was how rewarding it was, and how happy everyone seemed to be. They all basically said the same thing…that it was hard work, and worth every minute.
I also learned that there are different levels of homesteading. Not everyone has to be without water or electricity. The goal is to be completely self sufficient and self-sustaining, so finding alternate forms of creating electricity or bringing water up is what the goal is now. Such as having a solar pump on a well, and solar or wind powered electricity.
I started studying more about what it would take to start homesteading. I did a lot of studying. And still have a lot more to do.
But for all the studying, I realized, that homesteading starts with one vital thing. And without this one thing, all the studying in the world won’t matter.
The first and most important thing in homesteading, is the mindset.
My hope with this site I can share my journey into homesteading. The in’s and out’s, ups and downs, challenges and accomplishments.
