I have a random just for fun question. What do you consider a “homestead”? I ran across something dumb and not worthy of sharing but it included some petty arguing over what constitutes a homestead. I don’t mean literally the definition, but just, your definition. If someone says, “I live on a homestead,” or “I’m a homesteader,” what do you assume that means? I never gave it much thought but apparently people have Opinions.
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A hobby farm, but they have an instagram account.
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My first thought was that they’re mostly food self-sufficient, but I bet @Smacky 's definition is the more common one.
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To me it goes beyond garden, you need some animals as well. That’s not my entire definition (I’d need to ponder more) but that’s part of it.
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Ok, I’d say what’s been shared so far, PLUS it can be used as a noun for a set of interests rather than just a physical location. My neighbor friends will say that they’re interested in homesteading, which they use to mean growing your own food, living more sustainably, etc., but wouldn’t say they have a homestead.
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That’s my thinking too! I also think off grid, like not on city power or water, etc.
Interesting answers here!
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Hmmm I think my brain works very literally and to me a homestead is a home that has been created to be more steadfast… that could mean gardening, rainwater collection, farm animals, solar production, growing microgreens in your 2nd bedroom, whatever - but the home is making steps toward steadfastness (lol what do I even mean?)
I’m aware of the “real” definition, but this is my personal understanding.
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Urban homesteading is big, though, and that’s on grid.
In general, I think “homesteading” is moving towards self sufficiency.
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What is urban homesteading characterized by? I’m curious how it differs from standard homemaking.
It worked! I read a book on it today and my eye isn’t twitching! Whooo
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I’m full of questions today. Has anyone here purchased a bra from Understance? I love their designs and they carry my size but I am curious about quality.
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I got curious so looked up some urban homesteading channels on youtube. Now I get it. I was totally thrown off by the word urban! In my brain if you have a house and a yard you’re not in an urban area so I was picturing people in apartments 
like me. And I can’t imagine calling myself a homesteader! But it looks like “urban” homesteading is just living in town and optimizing a normal sized yard to produce as much food as possible, which is cool!
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In my brain if you can see manmade structures not made by someone in your immediate family, you’re in an urban area. 
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Hahaha, fair point! Urban is in the eye of the beholder.
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Haha yeah my little basil plant and indoor worm composting at an apartment never felt like homesteading 
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In my state, homestead means I
- Own a property
- Reside in the property as my primary residence
- Am a resident of the state
I’m sure there are inequities galore in the fine print around this not to mention the tax breaks that go with it.
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My yard is a half acre, which is unusually large for being in our city and it’s even bigger than most in our neighborhood. So we have chickens and this spring we’re getting bees. We have a pretty big vegetable garden. We have an asparagus bed. We have a peach tree. We have two raspberry beds. This year we’re getting two apple trees and a pear tree. We can and dehydrate and freeze stuff.
I feel like we need a wood stove and some solar panels to truly be urban homesteaders.
In our old neighborhood, you could buy a vacant lot next to your house for $1 from the land bank, so some people had enormous gardens. We helped a guy who planted a fruit forest in his neighborhood.
Also, generally speaking and there are always exceptions, “urban homesteaders” are left wingers and people who call themselves “homesteaders “…. are not.
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That’s so awesome!!! Your yard sounds like an oasis. A really productive and delicious oasis.
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I’m gonna add in interests like canning, bartering to the mix as well.
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Is there a free music streaming service that will play a song (and only that song) when you request it via smart speaker?
We have Amazon Alexa speakers and I used to be able to say “play twinkle little star” and it would…play the song! But a couple months ago they “upgraded” the service and now I get a lecture that only the upgraded Amazon music will play specific songs. I can often get around this by asking it to play a mix based on the some I want, but it won’t let me repeat the song.
I switched to Spotify and it’s somehow even worse because it starts a playlist and doesn’t always include the requested song on the playlist?!
I have a toddler who wants to hear favorite songs on request. Help me out!
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