I’m not a Homesteader

Recently, I saw a comment on a Facebook post, or maybe a You Tube video, that started out saying, “I’m not a homesteader but today I … ” and then proceeded to indicate she had done a bunch of canning. In my mind, I thought, “Well that’s what a homesteader does.”

Modern homesteading ranges from growing a garden and/or raising animals to reduce dependence upon the commercial food supply chain all the way to living off the public utility grid and producing everything you consume. It occurs in the city on a balcony or community garden plot, in the suburbs on 1/4 acre or less of land, and in the country on multiple acres of land.

A homesteader, in the 21st century, is someone who seeks a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Modern homesteading is all about doing more for yourself and your family and developing the basic skills modern living has stripped from our lives.

The Church has always advocated for self-sufficiency and self-reliance but I’ve noticed fewer Church members taking it as seriously as in the past. Now, however, more people from the general population are starting to take notice of the value of learning and utilizing these basic life skills.

So whether you want to use the term “homesteader” to define what you are doing to live a more self-reliant lifestyle, or not, the important thing to remind yourself (and others) is that, just like everything in life, the self-sufficient lifestyle is a journey. Just because you don’t do everything that someone else is doing does not make your accomplishments any less valuable. You are just at a different stage in your journey. Embrace it and keep learning new things!