Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Our Simplifying

I am so glad that we had started simplifying our lives before we made the move to go without the non-essential electricity.  What a blessing it has been.

When we made this change, we had already been ridding ourselves of the non-essential things in our home & lives.  Many of the electronics and other "distractions" in our lives were purged.  The ending result was that we were beginning to have in our home only those things we truly needed to have.  Now that we have gone non-electric, with the exception of major appliances such as the refrigerator, we are simplifying even further.

I remember several years ago, Joe and I had toured a museum in Ohio that had a reconstructed period home.  The home was very sparsely furnished, having only the essential items needed for the family's daily lives.   You could look around and see so much about their lives, yet the home was very clean and functional.  Yes, I know it was a museum, but still it was a reproduction of the typical homes of that time.

Back in the early pioneering days, families didn't have all the clutter in their lives that we have now.  They had what was necessary, but not much extra.  They didn't feel deprived or the rush to have everything their neighbor owned.  I remember looking around that museum home and have thought of how easy it would be to keep and maintain such a home. 

With not having electrical lighting, I now have to complete my tasks indoors during the daylight.  Having less clutter is a benefit in this area also.  I am looking forward to when we have all the non-essetials out of the home.  With our plans to homeschool the children, having the non-essentials out of the home will make it easier to set up an area for their homeschooling supplies and also give me more time each day to focus on their education and not cleaning the home.

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04:44, Thursday, September 11, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Will you give up the computer, too? EEK! I would LOVE to go non-electric but I would hate to let go of my computer! We do have a clothesline inside the house since I just hate using the dryer. I guess you could use the computer at the library. I agree that living simpler is sooo much...well...simpler!

But yes,

Not giving up Computer

05:54, Thursday, September 11, 2008 .. Posted by oklamouse

We would be lost without it as we use it both for communication and also a home business.

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08:44, Monday, September 15, 2008 .. Posted by a1health

I really enjoyed both the last post and this. I can certainly tell where your heart is and it is a blessing. We are making more and more strides to go non-electric, but we will not totally because it is not my husband's idea of living. Thank you for sharing!
Blessings,
~Farrah