Simple Living & Homesteading in a New Millennium
We have been working on our new home for a year and a half now. All ready it has been a year since we moved in all the way. Our home is our “small five acre Homestead”. Alaska does not have any free land open for “official homesteading” any more. But as found in most states, the spirit of the homesteading movement stays alive in people who thrive on the idea of self reliant living. Of coarse that means different levels of reality to different people. As we live in a world of modern gadgets and glitter. In this new millennium, there are many new challenges to the homestead hopefuls’. The same as the pioneers before us, is the desire to get out of “this worlds system” and “entanglements” and be free. Now we fight not only the soil, but against the flow of a society, that is against the very idea of self reliant living. With its fast paced way of life.
In our new millennium many things are made easy for those whom hope to reap from their own soil. The trail has been broken ahead, and we have many more inventions, and tools that will spare us from knowing the depth of the hardships, of the people who went before us.
Our goal on our small five acres homestead, is to be as self reliant as we can. To be free from the worlds system as much as possible. To be more able to help and minister to others.
Our hearts desire was to build our own home without the Bank. So we would not have the strain of a mortgage. So we wouldn’t be financially enslaved for the best years of our lives. (The word mortgage comes from the old French meaning “death pledge!”) Our goal is to be debt free as possible. Owing nothing, but the debt of love.
Learning to live without is hard, if not impossible to many! For some to even think about simplifying their lives makes them upset. They live for their stuff. We believe that way of thinking, has the cart before the horse. Their stuff should exist solely to help free them, to do the work of the Lord. We should never love something that cant love us back.
So how many extras in life do we have, that we could live without? Cable TV bills? Cell phone bills? Car payments? Pre-packaged foods? To big of a house? There has been a movement of people who have shunned these. Many have even managed to live “off the grid” (Power Line Free!) and they have done well with it! It sounds great and idealistic, but as of yet we have some issues with it. We like our indoor plumbing, (electric well pump), microwave, refrigerator and freezer, and of course the COMPUTER, but even so one must ask them selves how much better off we would be if chose a life style of “SIMPLE LIVING”, or at least less complicated than the life style many chase trying to keep up with the “neighbors”.
Simple Living Fun
Cooking from scratch is a big help. Cooking meals you can eat off of for several days, like turkey- turkey sandwiches-turkey tacos… and so on. Really helps to stretch your budget while trying to live on a tighter purse string. Also not being to proud (or picky) to eat left overs helps.
Thrift shops and yard sales are a big help too. Also we save our kids clothes and pass them down from one child to the next. We don’t have to buy any kids clothes up to size eight or nine. With the exception of trying to get more dresses and skirts and tights, for the girls. We have friend in Washington who sent us a hole box of dresses and such, It really helped. As we are trying to have the girls dress more feminine.
Gardening is a big help to being self reliant. However our first attempt at a small garden flopped. Much had to do with not having the soil mixed good enough with fertilizer and trace elements. Also we have been told that the first year of garden here in Alaska never does as well. It takes more time for the stuff to work in to the soil.
Our Baby Cabbage
However when we hope to get over this and get a good harvest. It is a must to have a good stock of canning supplies. Storing your harvest to use through out the year is essential. Also buying store bought canned goods in cases when on sale helps to fill in the voids, of food you don’t grow yourself. Fresh produce is not much of an option here in Alaska if you are trying to be careful with your money. Some produce is to be had when it is in season or on sale but you can not rely on good prices all the time when it comes to produce. Also we have found that the feed store in Fairbanks sells 50 lbs bags of whole wheat flour for less than you can get it in the grocery store. Also they have great prices on wheat berries and brown rice. Getting rid of the white rice and white flour is great for your health, and taste better too. It also is more filling and nourishing.
We have had birds (chickens, ducks, and turkeys) many years. Some years having almost one hundred birds. It is a lot of fun but also a lot of work when it is butchering time. We usually break it up over a couple days. It is nice having all that meat in the freezer. It is also nice having hormone free meat that doesn’t shrink like the store bought meat.
Our Chickens Last Summer
However with the cost of buying chicks every year, and the cost of buying feed, makes it almost cheaper to buy the store meat. So these are the two areas we need to work on getting our hens to set on eggs (we have had several start but and quit), so we don’t need to buy chicks every year. Also we need to find something we can grow in Alaska in mass amounts, that we can use for feed or a feed supplement. We have a friend that grow extra rhubarb for her chickens, but not sure if that would do it? Getting the feed cost down would be a must to make this work for continual self reliant living. We were wanting to look into the possibility of meat goats or sheep. But getting feed cost down a little more would really help.
FREEDOM IS CALLING!
Others are facing trials of other kinds in different geographical regions. Different weather, growing seasons, geography, and logistics all play a factor on how self reliant one can be. And lets not forget money, it takes a good chunk of it as well to get started. But the basic question still remains, how much are you willing to sacrifice? What is your minimum requirement or bottom line? Can you shed some of the world to gain some freedom with your family? Where is your treasure? Your heart will be found there as well.
Just as we were happily enjoying the warm temperatures, the bottom fell out beneath us! It dropped down to -45 below zero in one week! Last we were had the warmth of the Chinook as mentioned in our last post. But it was not to last and in one week we saw the temperature fall 75 degrees!
Our First Blogging Award!
January 21, 2008 — wilkinson4jesusWe were very happy to know that Amy would name us to receive this award! Thanks Amy.
Here are the rules:
1. Awarded parties must nominate five people who have not received the award.
2. The blogs that receive the award must serve some purpose.
3. In their post about the award they need to link back to the original entry.
4. Awarded parties must post the award banner on their site. The banner must remain linked to Eric Novak’s site.
Here are my 5 people in no particular order!
1) Leah, at Reformed Farmers Wife She has been a wonderful encouragement to me, long before we both joined Mama Archers Quiverfull blogroll.
2) Miss Maggie at Frugal Abundance She has been a big help to us on issues of covering, homeschooling, and she has a wonderful spirit. I love to read her new blog. Lots of insight on living frugally. We first met up with her writings when she was still with Hillbilly Housewife.
3) Courtney at One of the Bunch as she says “the oldest of nine children. I am learning how to run and care for a home” She is a wonderful inspiration.
4) Dawn at On A Quest For Plain Living She is a wonderful sister who also covers and shares our love for the Amish and Old Order Mennonite ways of life and many other common interest. She lives in Germany, also her house at Christmas time is very beautiful.
5) tkmuskrat Last but not least is another sister who also practices biblical headcovering. She has a wonderful blog with lots of helpful links and information.