Becoming Homemade

It is funny the way seriously small choices can dictate much larger paths in life. Back in December when I started this blog and my project to spend only $15/ week, I had no end destination; it was much more about a process. I think this is still true but through the last months, I have felt a shift in my lifestyle goals and it is a direct correlation to my quest to get back to basics, the likes of which started here.

One by one I'm trying to reconnect with the lost arts of homemaking. I've crossed wheat grinding and bread making off the list. I am attempting to grow more and more of what my family eats. We are attempting to get egg laying chickens this summer and Jaren and I just signed up for a bee keeping class! I love taking back the control over my own food chain and the strength I feel having dominion over my land and my house. There is so much in today's world that is out of our hands and so much that is out of control, out of whack, and out of step with what is good for our bodies, souls, and earth. I've found such simple peace and a surprising amount of subversiveness in going against the grain of the prevailing culture and trying to slow down, spend less, and be more in tune with what it takes to produce the smallest things like a head of lettuce or a loaf of bread.

When I go to the library to check out books on chicken raising or preserving and canning, I'm always like #7 on the hold list. When I registered for the bee keeping class we were the last spots filled. A gardening site I subscribe to is counting all the backyard vegetable gardens started this year and I watched the number grow to over 24,000 in under two months. This all shows me that I'm not alone in wanting to reconnect with these past arts forgotten on the wayside of convenience and commerce. I think its part of a much larger movement to reclaim self sufficiency and be more mindful of our abundance. I'm so proud of this emerging strain of American culture and very proud to be a part of it.

I do a lot of blog reading and scoping and I often see on people's sites buyhandmade.org's pledge badge featured above which basically says that you want to buy only handmade things for yourself and for others and hope they will do the same for you. To date, 43,087 people have taken the pledge. I love this idea and I myself love to support the little guy. The pledge got me thinking about making an honest to god pledge of my own and I think I'm going to term it the BECOME HOMEMADE pledge. Pledge to make your home your own by doing more basics yourself. Build your home one small choice, one small act at a time. Pass up the Bisquick and Pace Picante and make more food from scratch. Grow your favorite kind of produce from seed. Make your grandma's bread and butter pickles and can them. Dry the heels of your bread for croutons. Scrub your tub with baking soda instead of Comet. Do more with what you already have available at your fingertips, don't be so quick to rush out and buy something. These are just a few of the ideas that came to me in a flurry but there are millions more I'm sure. If you think of any good ones, please share! Remember: Become Homemade!