Dirt Under My Nails

It's the first full day of having completed my graduate school requirements and responsibilities.  I can breathe now....To celebrate, my daughter and I planted our windowsill herb garden with all the edibles we purchased from local farmers at the green market just a few blocks from home.  As we cultivate this mini-farm, we will sow our plans for a bigger farm, with room for chickens, goats, and sheep (and much more homegrown food!).  My little girl and I will nurture our garden daily and pinch off some fresh leaves for meals.  I actually had to ask her to stop eating all the arugula straight from the pot!  Our garden includes parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, lavender, tomatoes (grown from free seeds that came with a gardening catalog), basil (green and purple) , and of course, arugula.  Even though our organic potting soil came in a giant bag we ordered online rather than from digging holes in the yard, we still had a blast getting dirt under our nails.

www.GrowNYC.org lists 5 reasons to grow your own vegetables, fruits, and herbs:
1. Improve your health.
2.  Know your food.
3.  Save money.
4.  Teach your kids about where food comes from.
5.  Have fun!
For more details on any of these great reasons to plant your own garden (no matter the size!) go to www.grownyc.org.

My Custom Homestead: Step 13

Field trip time!  Jill Winger (www.theprairiehomestead.com) invites you to take a country (or city) drive in search of inspiration.  "I'm willing to bet that once you become more tuned in to the homesteading mindset, you will start to discover kindred spirits in the most unlikely of places," Jill says.  I agree!  Living in a big city has left me starved for some sweet grass scented breezes, the sound of crickets and peepers at night, and some cool soil to wiggle my toes in on an early morning walk.  Nevertheless, since I have started reading "Your Custom Homestead", I have found many places that support my homesteading goals.  And guess what?  The places I have found are run by

kindred spirits:  urban gardens and farms, farmers' markets, pottery studios, wood shops, craft fairs,

yarn and fabric stores.  Once I started turning over rocks, I discovered that the city does indeed have little pockets where a bohemian farmgirl can get cozy.  I have also found a daily dose of inspiration on Pinterest.  Each night before I go to sleep, I peruse beautiful photos of homes, farms, gardens, art projects, DIY projects, and spectacular places.  These images serve to plant seeds in my sleepy mind for nighttime journeys to not so far off dreams.  Check out my boards by clicking on the Pinterest link to the left of this post.

image from Country Living June 2013

 I already know that I want to plant my minifarm in the Hudson Vallley area of New York.  I can take a drive once again on my computer via Craigslist.  The possibilities of affordable land and a fixer-upper home (ie. blank canvas) are at my fingertips.   I also love to look at the listings for farm stuff for sale and things being given away.  This is enough to fertilize my goals and motivate me to create my homestead.

My Custom Homestead: Steps 10, 11 & 12

Jill Winger (www.theprairiehomestead.com) continues her custom homestead advice with these next three fun steps:  Do some research, Watch and learn, and Expand your skill set.  I have chosen my own research wisely.  I have not read books that are overly technical and kept to books with inspiring images. This has served to prevent feeling overwhelmed and kept thoughts of never achieving my goal away.  It has helped me too to read memoirs of ordinary folks who started their own homesteads on a small scale like I plan to do (like any of Jenna Woganrich's books,  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and The Good Life,  to name just a few.)
Here are a couple of books that I consider to be beautiful homesteading textbooks:                            

There is also a fantastic, beginner-friendly video on how to create a biointensive garden.  It will inspire you to get your hands dirty and garden boots muddy.  

www.growbiointensive.org

After you study up on some textbook info, you will want to gain some hands on experience.  Volunteer at a nearby farm or community garden.  Once we move back to the Hudson Valley, I plan to volunteer at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary to put some book learning to work and become comfortable working with farm animals in the flesh (much different than in my imagination).  Until then, I can expand my skill set here in the city by becoming part of various groups such as the rooftop garden at my husband's school and the woodworking club in my building complex.  Even though these organizations are set against the backdrop of skyscrapers, I will be able to utilize my new skills on my farm when the time comes.  

Green Housekeeping: Spring Cleaning

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

This winter has left me feeling a bit beat up by the "arctic vortex" and all the illness my family has experienced over the past few months.  Spring cleaning and disinfecting is on the agenda for this weekend.  I'm going to keep it simple:  wipe down everything with water and lavender essential oil.   Lavender oil has antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties, making it perfect for so many household uses.  Plus it smells beautiful!  I will add one tablespoon of lavender essential oil to one gallon of water in a bucket to make a batch of green housekeeping disinfectant.  I'll use a washcloth to clean everything room by room, remixing the batch as often as needed.  By the time I'm done, germs and my winter blues will be washed away.

To nourish wood after I wash it down (furniture and floors alike), I like to moisturize it with this recipe:
2/3 cup apricot kernel oil
1/3 cup water
10 drops lemon or orange essential oil
Just add to a spray bottle, shake, spritz, and wipe with a dry cloth.  

My Custom Homestead: Steps 8 & 9

Even though I don't have my rural homestead yet, it's time to incubate my golden nest egg in preparation for hatching.  Jill Winger, author of the eBook, Your Custom Homestead: Awakening a Fresh Vision of Homesteading, recommends some fiscal evaluation in steps 8 ("Start Organizing Your Finances") and 9 ("Live Frugally Now").  I found a great link on Pinterest for just this sort of financial inventory:  http://www.thebudgetdiet.com/cut-your-spending-by-400-a-month .  There are plenty of others too if you enter "save money" into the search bar.  But I like this one because it offers a four page checklist of things you can do to cut your spending by $400 a month starting right now.  Doing these simple things will help me get on track to purchase a homestead and require as little money as possible to maintain a simple life.

Even this photo was free! 

I have some tricks up my own sleeve that will help me prepare financially in ways that are creative and fun.  In past and future posts under Green Housekeeping, I offer some DIY recipes for nontoxic cleaning products that will save you a bundle.  I have also challenged myself to think about how to repurpose something old or make something myself before I run out and buy it.  I'm pretty savvy when it comes to finding things for free or deeply discounted if there is something I need.  Some of my favorite online places to shop are Ebay, Craigslist, and ThredUp.  If you must buy something new, try joining Ebates where you can earn cash back for shopping online.  Of course, shopping at flea markets and vintage shops is a lot of fun, and I love to make clothes for myself and my daughter.  And if I am tempted to make an impulse purchase, I ask myself, "Do I want this ____ more than I want a farm?"  If the answer is no, I keep walking.  If the answer is yes (because I believe it will add some value to the lifestyle I desire), I wait at least a week before making the purchase or wait until it goes on sale.  If I still want it after a week and I can pay in cash (not credit!), then I may just buy it.  Often times, I find that something I thought was absolutely gorgeous a week ago I now judge to be ugly and I am glad I didn't get it!

My Custom Homestead: Steps 6 & 7

If you have been following along as I work through Jill Winger's 21 steps to a custom homestead (www.theprairiehomestead.com), you can see that I have been working at a slow-as-molasses pace.  This is tough for someone who thoroughly enjoys instant gratification!  I encourage you to go at your own pace as well.  Each step you take is one closer to your dream.

Jill's advice (Step 6) is to prioritize your homestead To Do List.  "Focus your energies on the tasks that need immediate attention, and try not to spend valuable energy worrying about the rest," Jill says.  Easier said than done, I know.  But I figured I'd try this one on for size and see how it goes.   Since my homestead is located in an urban apartment 8 stories above a very busy street, I don't have to worry about mending pasture fences or building new ones just yet.  (But I must admit, I really wish I did!)  So my priorities are the things I listed in my previous post that are part of my one year plan.  I've been gathering materials to redecorate my nest as well, so that I can try to feel like I'm in my future farmhouse for the remainder of my time in the city.  As each of these items on my list are begun and completed, I know in my heart that pastures and fences are in our future.  Until then, I can make them out of popsicle sticks and construction paper with my daughter ;)

Step 7:  "Don't Be In a Hurry".  Okay Jill, you are talking to people that are just itching with desire to dive into knee deep grass and compost piles here.  We ARE in a hurry!  But her wisdom from experience prevails.  "As you attempt to return to your roots and pursue simple living, you will discover a concept that our ancestors were very familiar with--most things take time."  When I create, I also remind myself that the depth of the experience lies in the process.  This means being patient with myself and the world.  Staring at a seed in the dirt and willing it to grow won't make it grow any faster.

Grow already!

My Custom Homestead: Steps 4 & 5

Step 4 of Your Custom Homestead by Jill Winger (www.theprairiehomested.com) assigns the work of setting goals for the next one, five, and ten years.  My own five year goal is simple:  transfer my urban homestead to a rural location by buying a farm.  Beyond that, I have learned that I can get ahead of myself and stay stuck in the "future-izing" rather than being in the present moment where I belong.  But I do think that it is helpful to have a long term goal.
My short term goals for a NYC apartment-sized homestead seem very much attainable.

• Establish an indoor herb garden. 
• Buy as much seasonal produce as I can afford from the local farmer's market and preserve it for the winter. 
• Contribute to our co-op's composting program. 
• Make beeswax candles. 
• Make fresh juice from seasonal produce.  
• Get involved in a community garden in our neighborhood.  

From the foundation of these goals, Step 5 is to start mapping out your homestead plans.  Personally, I do this by adding images from magazines and books to my image file as well as getting plentiful inspiration from Pinterest (see my boards at http://www.pinterest.com/bohemianfarmgir/). These are my visual lists of things I want to add to my rural homestead, one step at a time.  

Rise and Shine by NoleNS_80 on Flickr

My only advice about these two steps is to mind the language you use.  I have learned that if you use words like "I want....." or "I wish....."  then you keep yourself in a perpetual state of wanting and wishing.  But if you adjust those words to "I intend to....." or "I will....."  then you align yourself with the forces of the universe which will lead you down the path to your desired outcome.  You will be more apt to find a way rather than staying stuck in constant longing and desire.  What are your goals??