Why Homesteading Is So Fulfilling

Is homesteading really considered the “simple life?” It’s certainly not an easy lifestyle. Many homesteaders spend long days tending to their garden, feeding and caring for their animals, and then they have to cook meals, prepare and preserve produce, and tend to the other 99 details in a regular day. Easy, no. Simple? Perhaps. But there is one common denominator, one phrase you’ll hear from homesteaders around the world, homesteading is rewarding.

Results from Hard Work

Your mother and father were right. You do get satisfaction from hard work. There really is nothing quite like eating a vegetable that you grew in your garden and tended to with your own two hands. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as wearing a sweater that you made yourself from yarn that you sheared off of your sheep. There are many tasks in life that are just plain tedious or difficult and there are no real tangible results. With homesteading you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor and that is incredibly rewarding - maybe more than anything else you can do in life.

You’re Making a Difference

A home-made chicken coop. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The homesteading lifestyle does make a difference. It impacts the environment in a positive way. It also can change the economic conditions in your neighborhood. This is particularly true for urban homesteaders who build community gardens, chicken coops and more. They band together to create a better lifestyle for themselves and others. Even simply by sharing some of the produce you grow in your garden or sharing the strawberry preserves you made yourself you make a positive difference in the lives of those you share with.

It’s Empowering

We’ve become so dependent on commercial establishments to survive that when you cut the cord and realize that you can be self-reliant, it’s quite empowering. Some homesteaders dive right in. They get off the utility grid and provide their own energy. They begin growing most of the food they need for themselves and they quite literally live off the land. However, even if you don’t go to these homesteading lengths, you’ll find that homesteading makes you feel much more powerful and capable.

Ready to enjoy the positive experience that homesteading provides? Next time we’ll talk about how to get started.