Living on Your Own - Homesteading Today, is it Possible?

Homesteading today is obviously not as easy as it was 50 or 100 years ago, but is it still possible to live off the land? A lot will depend on where you are, obviously city dwellers will have a harder time because of space issues, but it is still possible to live a healthier lifestyle and do your own miniature version of homesteading.

What is homesteading? By definition it is: an act or instance of establishing a homestead. My translation would be, developing your home to become as self sufficient as possible, without relying on others for your basic needs.

There is nothing healthier than eating your own homegrown food, from vegetables to meat. Pretty much anyone can have a garden, even if you are on limited space by having a "container" garden, which is perfect for small areas. If you have the room and the acreage, the sky is your limit on what size garden you'll want to have! You can grow plenty of vegetables, and even grow enough to last your through the cold winter months. If you are in a colder area, you might have to do a "bumper crop" to help you achieve that.

You can have you own meat as well, chickens are popular not only for the meat and affordability but for egg production as well. Please, please, please though if you are not sure of what you are doing, don't attempt to slaughter any animals on your own, it can and will cause great suffering to the animal and we don't want that. You might be better off continuing to purchase your meat from the grocery store, or if you're looking for a more natural route, find a slaughterhouse to purchase from. Do some researching, slaughterhouses that do kill humanely is the only way to go- if you can get some grass-fed animals, generally the meat is a better quality, and the animals are happy. It's a tough subject for an animal lover to write about! The meat will be a little higher in cost, but it is worth the difference. The quality is fabulous and in reality you will get more meat because less fat will drain out as you're cooking.