Homesteading

If you’re like me, it’s well below freezing temperatures where you live. The garden is napping under a blanket of snow and your animals are huddled up in the corner of their shelters, nestling into hay. Trees are bare. Ponds are ice rinks. The world is quiet and has slowed from a spin to a crawl. This universe looks the opposite of what it did six months ago when all hands were on deck sowing, harvesting, and preserving the fruits of our labor. How does one make the most of their time when you go from all to nothing? I’ve learned that just because I’m not outdoors and in the garden during this season of the homestead, certainly doesn’t mean that this season doesn’t produce. Here are the winter homesteading projects that keep me busy and allow me to invest back into my homestead during these slower months.

Homesteading doesn’t require you to sell your house, buy a hundred acres in the rural mountains of Montana (even if you are secretly hoping to become the next John Dutton), and start chopping down some trees to build a cabin. Homesteading starts with a mindset that is resourceful, tenacious, resilient, and courageous – all of which are qualities you can foster throughout every season of life.

Homesteading is the lifestyle that emphasizes self-sufficiency and independence, often in a rural or suburban setting. Homesteaders typically grow their own food, raise livestock, and produce other goods and services for their own consumption and use. The goal of homesteading is often to live in a sustainable and self-sufficient way, with as little dependence on outside resources as possible.