Homesteading

[Ack]

So if I have a lot of land and an annual garden and once owned a horse (and still have the barn) can I call myself a "homesteader" now? Because it sounds like some kind of hipster nonsense term for taking the dramatic step of acknowledging that you can interact with and benefit from the nature in and around where you live.

Or maybe I am missing something?

I have mulberry trees in my 1/3 acres backyard, and my wife makes jame out of the mulberries. I also tend to a small garden in the spring and summer months, and my home is 1800 sq. ft. partially-renovated 1920s craftsman bungalow. Am I an urban homesteader?

I groom my neighbors for cannibalistic acts and use their skeletons to build my own furniture as well as provide necessary additions to my apartment. Am I a Gein homesteader?

[dsheinem]

So if I have a lot of land and an annual garden and once owned a horse (and still have the barn) can I call myself a "homesteader" now? Because it sounds like some kind of hipster nonsense term for taking the dramatic step of acknowledging that you can interact with and benefit from the nature in and around where you live.

Or maybe I am missing something?

I have mulberry trees in my 1/3 acres backyard, and my wife makes jame out of the mulberries. I also tend to a small garden in the summer months, and my home is 1800 sq. ft. partially-renovated 1920s craftsman bungalow. Am I an urban homesteader?

Fast's definition in the OP was vague:

a lifestyle of more self-sufficiency than you use to. Be it by having a home garden to grow vegetables and fruit, making your own textiles, or living in a tiny house off the grid.

Use to? Maybe used to? When? Last year? Last month? Compared to my neighbors?

I have a 100+ year old house in the country. It is on Google maps and can be found on other kinds of maps of the area with grid marks drawn over it.

I have no idea. It sounds like some term city-folk use to break the ice at their caviar and bukkake soirees.

sent from my FarmersOnly.com email account

[prfsnl_gmr]

Fast's definition in the OP was vague:

a lifestyle of more self-sufficiency than you use to. Be it by having a home garden to grow vegetables and fruit, making your own textiles, or living in a tiny house off the grid.

Then the answer to my question is a definitice "no".

It sounds like some term city-folk use to break the ice at their caviar and bukkake soirees.

Hey! I live in a city, and I can assure you that there is absolutely no caviar at any of my soirees!

[Forlorn Drifter]

No need to be mean guys, they just wanted to discuss their stuff. Its not full blown, no, but then again there isn't many places where one can be completely off the grid, and even fewer people who can/are willing to do it.

[dsheinem]

It sounds like some term city-folk use to break the ice at their caviar and bukkake soirees.

Hey! I live in a city, and I can assure you that there is absolutely no caviar at any of my soirees!

How do you cleanse your palette then?

[Ack]

It sounds like some term city-folk use to break the ice at their caviar and bukkake soirees.

Hey! I live in a city, and I can assure you that there is absolutely no caviar at any of my soirees!

How do you cleanse your palette then?

More bukkake.

[jp1]

That's disgusting. *ascii dong*

#asciidonggate
#neverforget

[Nemoide]

My definition of homesteading would be household-self-sufficiency. The ideal is building your own house, providing your own food (gardening, raising animals, hunting/fishing), making your own clothes, repairing damaged things, building your own tools, generating your own electricity, taking care of minor-medical issues on your own, etc. I'd say that if you create more than half of what you consume, or at making a serious effort to do so, you can call yourself a homesteader, but it's still a nebulous term that I'm not wild about.

[EDIT: the more I think about this definition, the less I like it. IT'S A NEBULOUS WORD nowadays.]

I do not consider myself a "homesteader" but I'm working on developing self-sufficiency skills because IMO it's probably the best option for a decent future!

The unfortunate thing is that this lifestyle is not so compatible with the "gamer" lifestyle and even LESS compatible with the "game collector" lifestyle. It's been a source of stress.

[Blu]

I'd echo Nemoide. I'd like to be working towards greater self-sufficiency. Growing and harvesting my own crops, gathering what I can from my land. I mean, it'd be a good step for any household. I imagine having a bit of a garden like both you and prfsnl_gmr is a step towards self-sufficiency. What you grow can help cut down on what you have to purchase later down the road. Plus, you knew you grew it and where it was sourced from.

I don't think it's all hipster bullshit, despite your initial thoughts. And who cares about defining the length of time? Isn't a few steps in the right direction each year towards a more sustainable lifestyle a fair amount of progress? I doubt in this day and age we can go entirely off the grid, but we can probably reign in some of own consumption bit by bit. I think that's what Fast intended and others are saying.

Edit: I mean, you could've just read a few snippets of this rather than the second derailment of the thread: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homesteading

Edit, edit: I guess you could be a homesteader Dave, if that new fancy book of yours was printed on 100% recycled paper and with non-toxic, biodegradable ink. Combined with your magnificent garden, your barn, and those old horse bones, definitely a homesteader.

[J T]

I'd love to get solar panels and go off grid one day. I would also like to get better about growing my own vegetables.