Homesteading Using Old Fashioned Skills

I often wonder what my great-grandmother would think if she could see me now. In this fast-paced, technologically advanced world we live in, spending my days on our homestead rebelling against the status quo by slowly fermenting my sourdough starter to craft our homemade bread, churning butter by hand as I connect with my daughter through conversation, weighing out my vegetables while making memories with my son as we can, gathering eggs from our hens, and tending to our gardens and orchard. This world we live in now is nothing like it was during her time, but we can still get back to those simple, old-fashioned roots and in the process develop stronger connections with our families while living a more meaningful life.

This honest work of our hands is beautiful and rewarding beyond measure. You don't need a homestead to live this way, in fact, it can be done in a city apartment with the same results. You can accomplish so much more than you may think without acres of land. How do you start? Right where you are, my friend! All you need are willing hands. Learn the skills of our ancestors by cooking from scratch, growing a garden (even if it is just a few pots on your apartment balcony) learning how to preserve food... Pick a skill to start with and go from there. You can decide what is the most valuable to you and doable with your circumstances and finances to learn first and begin there.

A lot of it is about slowing down and taking the time to savor every moment given to us. 2020 really put this into perspective for me. I can now see yet another good thing about this simple way of living. As supply chains experience hiccups, or a storm leaves us without power, I know I can carry on thanks to knowing these old-fashioned skills and already having the supplies needed to do them. It is a safety net and a blessing. My children have also picked up this perspective on life always looking for new skills to learn or questioning how they would do things if they didn't have access to XYZ... One of my daughters even requested an old treadle sewing machine for her recent birthday.

I believe in whole life learning and will continue to be a student of homesteading and old-fashioned skills to my dying day. It seems as though every time I check one off my list I have added three more to take its place. Right now, my list includes things such as how to make hard cheeses, press our own cider, butcher, and process our own meat, work with leather, carve my own spoons, and weaving, just to name a few. Once you dive into the way our ancestors did things, you just can't stop! How about you? What old-fashioned skills that you think would be beneficial to you and your family do you hope to learn?

About the Author

Hi there! I'm Nicole (@frontierdreams) and it's a pleasure to meet you. I currently live in the beautiful state of Oregon with my husband Kevin, and our four beautiful blessings (ranging in age from pre-teen to baby). We dream of having our own little farmhouse in the woods with lots of land. Even though our family is ever growing we would love a small, cozy home.  We are a homeschooling, nature loving, garden harvesting, simple living, organic powered family just trying to remember the beauty of the simple things every day.