Sometimes I look at my life and wonder at how I got here. I am not unhappy with where I am, I just never thought I’d be one to be heating with wood and keeping chickens. It has been a journey that I’ve made step by booted step. The other day I was preparing to “do the chickens” with my winter coveralls, boots and hat on when my daughter came into the kitchen. I had just made myself a steaming hot cup of homemade chai in a pretty mug complete with a foamy top when she commented on how much of contradiction I am. There I am, standing in the kitchen bundled like a third generation farmer sipping my fancy drink before I go out to collect eggs. It was a good laugh for the both of us, especially when she threatened to take a pic and post it on facebook!
That moment caused me to reflect on how far I’ve come in the urban homesteading lifestyle in just the last couple years.
FOOD STORAGE: From the time I got married I dabbled in canning and food storage. I grew up canning with my mother and watching my grandparents garden. Today I make it a focus of the season’s harvest. For the first time last year I used up all my canning jars and ran out of space on the shelving in my pantry. I plan on expanding both the garden and my shelving this year.
GROWING MY OWN FOOD: I added up all the garden space I have and counted 5000+ square feet. I assure you I have not used that space to its potential but I plan to this year. There are so many strategies I can use to grow things in a more efficient manner and I have been researching them throughout the winter. This winter has been difficult for me not knowing where my fresh fruits and vegetables are coming from and what is going into them. It’s one place in my life that I am grabbing more control rather than relinquishing it.
EATING REAL FOOD: I have been gluten-free (again) for about 5 months now. Believe me, it’s not by choice although I kind of wish it was. I’m just tired of being sick for hours after eating wheat. Being gluten-free forces me to eat better in general. I eat way more greens and vegetables, fruits even, than I have ever in my life. I am more conscious of additives and allergy ingredients for both myself and my family. Eating this way ensures that we eat a more whole foods diet with less food colorings, sugars and “flavor enhancers.” We also keep chickens and buy grass-fed beef because I like eating animals that have lived a good, stress-free life on food that their bodies were made to consume. It’s the way it’s supposed to be.
USING LESS: I have been cutting our consumption of home heating oil. It has nothing to do with our environmental footprint as I believe the earth heals and while humans can make dents in the earth, we cannot destroy it. For our family it has everything to do with saving money. I can’t control the price of oil but I can control the price of wood.
Wood = free. Oil = ?.
I wish we could use biodiesel for heating because I love the idea of reusing items and not wasting them, but alas, that is more involved than I’m ready for. Maybe in the future.
RECYCLING/REUSING: One of my favorite things to do is cruise the reuseit shops like Goodwill and the Salvation Army. I have found many a brand name item there for a fraction of what it costs new. I would challenge anyone to pick out which items were purchased used and which in my closet were purchased new. They are indistinguishable because regardless of where I buy my items, I always try to buy quality. Quality lasts longer, wears better, is more stylish and costs less in the long run.
I am different than many urban homesteaders in my right-leaning political views, my belief in God and His sovereignty, but we as a group have many more things in common than we have different. We encompass all walks of life, all age groups, all genders, all areas of the county (and world at large), all professions, all political groups and all religious groups. Our commonalities are such that we all call ourselves "urban homesteaders" and I believe that’s a term that cannot be trademarked or attributed to any one family. The term is too broad and the movement too deep to assign its ownership. We all own it. Every one of us that has grown a tomato on our back patio in order to eat better, everyone of us that has bought a more fuel efficient vehicle to cut oil consumption, everyone of us that has bought a piece of used clothing to cut down our dependence on foreign labor. We all own the term. Each and every one of us.
Give it back Derveas family. It wasn’t yours to start with and it’s not yours now.
For more information on the movement to have the Derveas family’s trademark ruling for the words “urban homestead” and “urban homesteading” repealed, check out this facebook page and hit “like.”
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