What Is Modern Homesteading?

When many people hear the word “homesteading”, they think of the hardcore people who moved west to claim their share of Lincoln’s 1862 Homestead Act.

Some of these people didn’t have any homesteading skills, yet they risked their lives to cross the continent in search of a better life.

This better life wasn’t easy and often came at a steep cost.

If the person could successfully live on their 160 acres of land for 5 years, they would become owners of that land. This required a lot of hard work, ingenuity and strong survival skills.

Many failed. They either lost their lives to the cause or gave up and went back home.

We no longer have this homestead act in effect, but I believe the spirit of these pioneers lives on in the hearts of modern homesteaders.

In its place has emerged a more accessible version. We no longer have to drive our oxen team thousands of miles in search of a better life, many people are finding it in their backyards.

Modern Homesteading

Modern homesteading does not have to happen on a large sprawling piece of land, although it can. The point is that it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you have 100 acres or 1/10th of an acre. What matters is your intention and your frame of mind.

Modern homesteading is about reducing our dependency on others to meet our needs. This can present itself in a variety of ways, although consumable goods is at the heart of homesteading.

Instead of driving to the grocery store to buy a bag of carrots, you can grow them yourself in your garden! Or a container. Remember, it doesn’t matter if you have a large in-ground garden or some pots on your patio. The point is to grow some food, as much as you realistically can.

Instead of throwing your food waste into the garbage can and paying a refuse company to pick it up, close the loop and compost those scraps to add back into your garden as fertilizer.

Chickens for meat or eggs, hunting wild game, an abundant herb garden, foraging for wild edibles, all of these things are ways you can provide an element of self sufficiency to your life.

Connection

Modern Homesteading is about leading a more connected life. When you grow your own food, when you cook that food into a meal for your family, when you compost the scraps of that meal and feed your garden, you are putting yourself in a loop that so many of us have been disconnected from. The circle of life, if you will.

It’s about being a part of something that matters. Eating. Survival. That matters, right?! When you begin feeding yourself, you realize how unimportant some things in our modern culture really are. Plunging your hands into the earth to grow food connects you with yourself, with others, with life and with whatever higher being you believe in.

The great thing is there are many others to share this journey with! Unlike in the 1800’s, we have neighbors to collaborate with, friends to connect with online from all over the world, and libraries and google searches at our easy access. You can even find local like-minded people to connect with in real life!

Modern homesteading is NOT lonely. It’s not isolated. It isn’t even total self sufficiency. It’s no longer about survival, it’s about thriving.

Modern homesteading is about taking responsibility for your life, for your actions and your impact on this world.

It’s about living our best life, one carrot at a time.