I am a Homesteader...and I live in Suburban New Jersey

Anniversary weekend at
1922 Starkey House in upstate NY

I have to say, I never thought of my self as a "Homesteader". Images of run down shacks on the outskirts of Alaska come to mind when I hear of homesteading. However, the more I learn about it, the more I come to realize this has been our way of life for nearly 20 years!

Being married over 25 years to an avid hunter, gardener, composter, landscaper and outdoorsman (to name just a few) has taught me alot. It was my stepping stone, WAY BACK in 1988, to a life of homesteading. A life I didn't realize I would become a part of and love every minute of it!

We're just a regular Suburban family. We live in a beautiful town in a beautiful 3 acre home filled with DIY projects, surrounded by awesome neighbors (no, they are not 20 miles away lol) and yes, the grocery store is 10 minutes away and a huge mall is just 20 minutes down Route 15! To look at us you'd think we were just like everyone else.

But we're not.

High School Sweethearts
25+ years later

We exclusively eat venison (no chemically processed beef for us!), have gardens, grind flour, bake from scratch, DIY, use only what we need, recycle manically, shop Farmer's Markets and Trader Joe's as much as we can.  Now Trader Joe's IS at least 40 minutes from here but so worth the trip AND I get to visit my sister! 

We are not crushed by debt but live by our means and do without when necessary.  We've had some really GREAT times and some really AWFUL ones too.

We have three beautiful sons who are learning right along with us but still have complete freedom to become their own persons (One would be considered a Hipster, one is an artist and one is a total techie nut). We've been called hippies, crunchy, even bitchy (I can get on a tangent about healthy eating).

We've essentially cured asthma and gastritis through nutrition. By essentially I mean no more pneumonia episodes or nebulizers. No day and night pills for gastritis. Not one of us has had the flu in years. In fact, we RARELY get sick at all. All through changes in our nutrition habits.

My Beautiful Boys

I hope you find this Blog interesting and helpful. I'm happy to answer questions if I can. Remember, Google search is your friend.  Talk to your local farmers, they are a wealth of information.  Seek out like-minded people to get yourself started or continue your journey. 

You will never know it all....E-V-E-R-Y D-A-Y is an opportunity to learn something new!