Homesteading is a Dying Breed.
Now days everyone just buys from the stores, rather than making it themselves. This week alone
I made dish soap, body wash, hand soap, ketchup, and maple syrup. My goal is to make these
things and report back next issue of the paper of how they did. Homesteading is a lot of work,
however it really pays off in the end. If you make the products, you normally use for yourself
not only can you control what you put in them (unlike the manufactures) but it is cost effective as
well. I made my dish soap, body wash, and hand soap for a little under 50 cents per quart and it
makes a gallon at a time. So for under a dollar you can make a gallon of it. Canning is another
good homesteader thing to do. I myself am not new to canning I have been canning my own food
for years. However, this year I am branching out and trying new things. Just today I made
homemade mayonnaise for the first time. I made cole slaw out of it and it was amazingly good.
Homesteading is more than just being prepared for the winter. It is being able to say you are
self-reliant, and the sense of accomplishment it gives you is beyond words. I plan to make my
home as self-reliant as I possibly can. We at the moment have 21 head of chickens. Fifteen of
them are just babies. So when they grow up we will be able to see if they are females (Hens) or
males. (roosters) Once we are able to tell the difference we will butcher the roosters and I will
can them up for winters use. The hens will stay here and supply us eggs along with 2 of the
roosters we will not butcher. We also have 4 ducks that we are hoping turn out to be hens so we
can have duck eggs as well. But, we won’t know that for a couple months.
There are 2 different ways to homestead as far as I am concerned and that is full on
homesteading and then like me semi-homesteading. Let’s face it there is now way to be full on
homesteaders in this day and age. Getting the stuff, you would need would be almost impossible
around here. All that matter is that you become as self-sufficient as you can and not only safe
money but have peace of mind.
