How to soft launch your homestead Part 1

The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands Proverbs 14:1

With Coffee, Lore Pemberton

It’s no secret that “homesteading” and traditional life are all the rage these days.

People have lots of colorful things to say about it all but it’s my belief that everything that has transpired since 2020 has left folks wanting more “real” experiences and less artifice.
The populace has taken that in any number of directions and one of the emerging ways is to double down on home.

Some of you reading this might be looking longingly at homestead influencers online wishing for your own future house, yard, land, garden, chicken coop or milk cow.

You may think to yourself, “I’m not a homesteader,” but I have news for you.
You can be.

Right now.

Do you have a home of one variety or another?

Great!
Let’s talk about how to soft launch your homestead.
You can start this week!

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I know, I know, the beauty of chickens, homemade sourdough and dairy cows in a field of grass may feel far away or impossible in this life for you, but I want to let you in on a little secret.
You may have a secret desire for one of these items.
You may be a future chicken person, a future cow owner or bread-making expert.
But what you are likely attracted to when you see these things, what we are all attracted to with these homesteading posts, pastoral reels or Lore´ Pemberton artwork, I absolutely adore her style, is enrichment.

The imagery conveys a feeling of satisfaction with the simplest of things in an enriched life.
The coffee mugs are beautiful.
The jam is placed carefully on a table cloth amidst a bouquet of flowers.
The colorful chicken eggs are arranged in a pretty basket on the counter.
The influencer is walking barefoot in a field with a video angle that is conveniently not showcasing the piles of manure, trash and empty chicken feed bags that are so often also found on a homestead. Sorry, my sardonic humor.

This is not necessarily about having acres or a farm or the perfect outfit in which to milk a cow, but about seizing life’s simple moments and making the most of them.

You can absolutely do that, in fact I believe that is much of what homesteading is about.
Enrichment.

Yes I now live on a farm with a milk cow and chickens and acres of pasture, but I’m also in my 40’s.
Most of my life over the past two decades has been spent living in apartments and small city dwellings like many of you.

My husband and I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina in 2009 and lived on 1/3 of an acre in a downtown neighborhood where we had bees, 6 chickens, raised beds in the front yard and home cooked meals.

It was almost ten years before we had any acreage whatsoever but our home was warm, eclectic and we ate heartily. As far as I am concerned, my husband and I been homesteading since the beginning of our life together.

In fact the word “homestead” is from the Old English, hāmstede and it basically means a settlement, a place where a family has settled.
It conjures up feelings of warmth, steadfastness, purposefulness and intention.

There’s loads of different ways to make a home feel intentionally established and not just a place where you do laundry, sleep and watch TV and you absolutely do not have to spend an abundance of money doing Pinterest projects to make it feel this way.


The following list is meant to inspire, simplify and encourage you in the establishment of your homestead.

Please do not consider this to be an assignment and I wouldn’t recommend trying to do all these things at once.
Depending on where you live in the world, some may be more appropriate than others.
Remember at the end of the day, it’s all about investing in your home experience and enriching your life by enjoying and going deeper with the simple things.

You ready?

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1. Start baking your own bread.

   

   
   
   You absolutely do NOT have to get fancy with this. It doesn’t have to be fresh milled, it doesn’t have to be sourdough, it doesn’t even have to be from scratch-you can buy pre-mixed bread mixes.
   
   Homemade bread is lovely.
   It’s a fantastic treat to have with breakfast, tea or a bowl of soup.
   
   Fresh-baked bread will fill your home with warmth and delightful smells. It will look lovely when displayed on your kitchen table.
   It’s the perfect treat to bust out when you have company or a friend over for an afternoon visit.
   
   Bonus! Baking bread at home is going to help you avoid any number of preservatives and additives found in most store-bought bread.
   
   Baking bread is an ancient art that helps us feel more connected to our homes, kitchens, our ovens and the ingredients that go into making our food.
   It’s an investment of time into a nourishing and lovely food that, let’s be honest, compliments any meal.
   

   

   
   
   There are loads of gluten-free and even some grain-free options for those of you who are avoiding these items.
   
   In our first home together, one of the staples of our early marriage was homemade gluten-free Irish soda bread made in a cast iron pan.
   
   Pregnant me would bake it and wrap up to bring to grad school when I would be away from home or 10 hour days teaching and studying at school.
   It was so nice to have a lovely and simple snack, a reminder of home and touch of warmth on cold winter days at a university campus and to fill our little house with the smell of warm cooking raisins and dough when I was at home.
   

   

   
   Once you begin the habit of baking your own bread, you will likely find that you branch out. Even if you start with basic mixes you may move to baking from scratch, you may eventually even try sourdough or purchase a bread maker, but all you need to start is a simple loaf pan and an easy bread mix like this or this or this and you will be well on your way to feeling like your house is more of a home!
   
   

   
   

2. Grow herbs.
   

   

   Container herbs...

   Not everyone can have a garden, but nearly everyone with a window or a porch or balcony can grow some herbs.
   
   I know that growing our own food and having a lovely garden might be the dream, but don’t discount how wonderful it can be to simply grow your own herbs right now.
   
   Most recipes worth cooking require some sort of herb or seasoning and spoiler alert, the herbs in the grocery store, even the fresh ones, are old and flavorless.
   
   It never ceases to amaze me how fresh thyme, rosemary or sage can make the simplest dish explode with flavor or how an iced tea with real live mint tastes so summery and fresh and what’s wonderful is that are fairly easy to grow!

   

   
   Herbs do not require the same amount of babysitting that a tomato or cucumber plant does. They do fairly well in mediocre soil and most do not love to be over-watered. Basil does love to be watered though, so keep that in mind.
   
   You can start them from seed or buy seedlings at the store and jump start the whole experience.
   
   The important part of this experience, and believe me I have grown herbs, forgot about them and let them die many a times, is to believe in what you are doing.
   Herbs are medicine. They heal and nourish every time you use them.
   They make boring dishes delicious.
   They add color and flavor and texture.
   
   Growing your own herbs is a simple work of art you can add to any meal, even one you pop in the microwave and heat up after work.
   
   Look at them, touch them, DON’T forget to smell them.
   Cut them and bring them inside.
   Add them to your breads!
   Dry them and hang them in your closet, your bathroom, your kitchen.
   Remember if the game is “enrichment”, then you want to take something simple like herbs and sprinkle them into as many aspects of your life for the depth they will add.
   
   My favorite herbs to grow for their smell, loveliness, hardiness and flavor are the following:
   

   Thyme

   Sage
   Mint
   Lemon Balm
   Rosemary

   Parsely all dang day!
   Chives
   

3. Introduce tablecloths
   

   

   Link

   
   Most of the photos of welcoming homesteads either feature a beat-up farm table (amazing if you can get one! Keep an eye out at yard sales and Facebook marketplace) OR even more accessible, tables covered in lovely tablecloths.
   Table cloths and any textiles for that matter add warmth, beauty, softness and color to a home.
   They can elevate the feel of your space in no time.
   
   Even at 44 years old I can still remember the prints on the many table cloths and cloth napkins my mother used at various times in our little home.
   
   Our home was small and we didn’t have much money, but my mother worked hard to always make it a lovely space.
   She made the most of everything we had and much of what she used to do that was textiles, particularly table cloths.
   
   It was often my job as a young girl to iron table cloths, table runners and napkins once they came out of the wash or in preparation for guests or a special meal.
   

   

   Rik Wouters, Woman Ironing, 1912, KMSKA

   
   I remember how the entire feel of our kitchen transformed when we spread the tablecloth on the table and set it for a meal or completed the look with a centerpiece of some variety, candle, a plant, arranged flowers, pussy willows or lilacs I collected and my mother place in a vase.
   
   Thrift stores, yard sales, Facebook marketplace and Walmart can all offer you tablecloths of any variety.
   I have also used shawls, curtains, scrap piece of fabric, old sheets to adorn the various tables we have had over the years.
   It’s simple, but lovely and will make your space feel more intentional and homey in the five seconds it takes to place it.
   
   Have multiples because it’s inevitable that you or your children will spill and this is not to be a stressor, but a beautifier, so be prepared to throw one in the wash machine and bust out a clean one!

   

   

   

4. Start to procure food locally.

I know lots of folks don’t live in areas with farmer’s markets, but don’t let that stop you from buying local foods!

Even the most bad ass of homesteads often isn’t able to supply ALL the food consumed in the home.

Committing to buying even a few items locally a month can make your meals feel like a deeper and more personal investment.
This will change how you feel as you prepare the foods for yourself, family or friends.

There’s something about buying food directly from the people that grew it that makes you feel like you are part of something.
That intentionality extends into how you feel about the provisions in your refrigerator, how you prepare the foods and even how you offer it to others.

Buying food directly from producers provides you with access to them which allows you to ask questions and learn.
Gleaning wisdom gradually is my favorite way to learn and prepare to do something.

Many farms are driving their foods into metropolis so even if you don’t live in a rural area, chances are that there are some small farms somewhere within an hour or two from you and you can buy some of their products.

Lots of people are now offering egg shares, even in the cities and suburbs.
Raw milk shares are easy to find now thanks to many websites and lifted search engine censorship.
Even local gardeners or community gardens will often sell you extra veggies, allow you to trade weeding or barter for some.

If there is an avid gardener in your neighborhood I would definitely approach them and let them know you are interested in purchasing any extra veggies they grow and or offer to help them weed.

You might even consider trading one of your tasty loaves or bread for vegetables!

To be continued…..

The elder women likewise, that they be in such behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not subject to much wine, but teachers of honest things.

4 That they may instruct the young women to be sober minded, that they love their husbands, that they love their children,

5 That they be temperate, chaste, [a]keeping at home, good and subject unto their husbands, that the word of God be not evil spoken of. Titus 2: 3-5

xoxo,

Sarah Smith

Which item will you incorporate first? Please share in the comments below!

PS-

To my Avid readers,

I wonder if you five would be interested in a real live hard-copy newsletter mailed to your mailbox?

The concept is evolving but suffice it to say, I feel drawn to paper.

In my mind I see you walking out to your mailbox to see a lovely envelope hand-addressed to you.
You walk back to your home and place it on the countertop while you prepare a cup of tea.
The tea water boils and you select your favorite mug. You pour in the water to let the tea steep while you gather the honey, lemon, milk etc. whatever you require to make the perfect cup.

Once it’s ready you find your favorite sunny spot to bask in the sun or a cozy chair on a rainy day.
You sit back into your spot, relax, sip your tea, breathe in the vapors from your beverage and open your envelope.

Upon opening you are met with a lovely smell of whatever freshness is growing here on the farm.
A small little gift slips out of the envelope and falls onto the floor. You bend to pick it up and inspect it. “What is this?” you wonder as you unfold the pages of a newsletter written here on Fourth Man Farm for you, Wise Woman.

It’s been written in prayer and love by one woman in North Carolina who considered it a privilege to be able to share her experiences, mistakes, hard-earned lessons and love with you.
There are stories, some education, encouragement, a monthly devotion, book discussions, herbs to read about and more.

Each month is crafted with a theme that has been prayerfully assigned by our Creator as a gift to you.

While sitting in your chair that morning you skim this month’s issue and decide where to start, seeing that there is enough writing here for you to come back to multiple times over the course of the month.

It feels nourishing, personal and tangible.
You absorb what you can, ponder and ruminate on the things written for you this month and then stow the newsletter in a basket near your reading spot for later reference OR you gift this letter to a friend, thus widening the circle of Wise Women in our world.

After several months of reading you decide that you would like to contribute. You take time to put to paper your thoughts on faithful living, homemaking, a poem, a song of praise, a skill you have learned or other relevant topics and submit them to be shared in a future issue as a reader-contributor and your writing will then be sent to the other women in our circle.

If this appeals to you and you see yourself committing to a six month subscription for a monthly newsletter, can you please comment below? I will have to cover postage, envelopes, paying the printing company and the paper, because I don’t want to print on just anything. The paper matters!
Based on my calculations, $8.99 per month should be about what I would have to charge and I would like a six month commitment from subscribers to start.

PSS-Please share this with a friend that perhaps is NOT into digital things but would be down for a paper newsletter!