I think the most important way to make a lifestyle change is to start living like you’ve already achieved your goals. You want to be a runner? Okay, how do runners spend their time – what do they eat, how do they train, what do they do? What about writers, or woodworkers, or musicians?
One example: I always wanted to be a “reader”. Growing up, I always admired the bookworm types – Hermione Granger, Rory Gilmore. I read a lot as a kid, but stopped altogether in high school and found it very difficult to get back into the practice as an adult. I just didn’t have the stamina. I would buy books and think to myself, “I’ll read this when I become a reader,” but for years I took no steps towards actually becoming a reader.
I’m not sure what flipped the switch, but at some point I realized I was never going to become a reader if I didn’t start reading. So I did. It took me four months to finish one book. And then I picked up another. And another. By the end of 2018 I had read 13 books, and I’ve read 40 books per year since.
I’ve achieved a lot by thinking this way, and I would consider my homestead one of those things. Ever since I started working in this direction, I have tried to “live” the homesteading lifestyle to any extent possible – I maintain a sourdough starter, I cook from scratch when I can, I garden in containers and borrowed spaces, and I have a rudimentary sewing ability. And now, here I am, just seven weeks away from closing on my farm and actually BECOMING a homesteader. Apartment living is naturally limiting on this front, so despite my best efforts, there are substantial lifestyle changes in my future!
To jumpstart my new lifestyle, I will be setting some rules for myself. With manageable parameters, I can implement these changes immediately – that’s why they are rules rather than goals.
Rule #1: No Store-Bought Bread
My dream homesteading lifestyle involves eating high quality food, and providing for myself as much as possible, and reducing my day to day costs. Baking my own bread from scratch will be an important part of achieving these goals.
My sourdough starter is about six years old and doing great. I’m a certified carb lover, and maintaining my starter has allowed me to greatly reduce the amount of bread I purchase from the grocery store. I also make a great loaf of yeast bread* for sandwiches every once in a while. However, since baking sourdough bread takes about 36 hours and the sandwich loaf takes 3-4 hours, it can be hard to make sure I always have fresh bread – so a loaf still makes it onto my grocery list every now and then.
From the moment I close on my farm, I will commit to having no store-bought bread on my grocery list. Not only will establishing this rule mean I get to eat really great bread, but I will also save money – I’ll save $3-5 every time I make my own loaf.
*I substitute almond milk and plant-based butter for this recipe, and it turns out great!
Expected Hurdles & How I’ll Overcome Them
1. Baking bread takes a lot of time: My teaching schedule prohibits me from baking fresh sourdough during the work week. While I can bake on some weekends, others might be too busy – so over the summer, I will bake extra and freeze it. Frozen sourdough thaws beautifully, and my house purchase includes one chest freezer in the basement. I can purchase another chest freezer if needed.
2. Bulk-purchased flour needs to be stored appropriately to maintain freshness. I will use a combination of an airtight, food-grade plastic bucket to store flour for immediate use, and a sealed mylar bag + food-grade plastic bucket combination for longer term storage. By buying flour in bulk, I will be able to lock in the overall cost savings of making my own bread – but that goes out the window if mice or bugs are able to access the flour.
Exceptions to the Rule
This rule is about making my own bread – not all bread products. While I’ll experiment with making other bread products from scratch here and there, I am not excluding myself from purchasing the occasional bagel.
Flexibility is important on the homestead, and in life – but I believe I’ve set the groundwork for success in following this rule. This post is the first in a series; I look forward to sharing the other rules with you soon.
What “rules” have you set for yourself in your homesteading lifestyle? If you’re still in the dreaming stage, what rules do you look forward to following someday?
Talk soon,
KC
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