Category: Homesteading

Safety Around The Homestead

by KatieHomesteading / Wild Alaska3 Comments on Safety Around The Homestead

Safety on the homestead is no joke.

This week, Kyle and I have both had to slow down. Kyle pulled a muscle in his back lifting logs, and I’ve strained something in my shoulder. It’s definitely making life out here that much harder. We’ve been taking it easy for the last week, trying not to make the injuries worse, and it’s hit home that we could really be in trouble if we hurt ourselves. Everything is done by hand here, so being out of commission causes a lot of setbacks in our plans. And so much of what we do out here is dangerous, like falling trees! Continue reading “Safety Around The Homestead”

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Six Reasons Why We Homestead In Alaska

by KatieHomesteading / Moving3 Comments on Six Reasons Why We Homestead In Alaska

I’ve been getting the question of why homestead in Alaska a lot recently.

I thought I’d lay out some thoughts behind why we decided to homestead here over anywhere else. As I mentioned in my very first post, part of our decision to move to Alaska came from Alaskan off-grid reality TV. Kyle and I both knew that those programs showed an overly romanticized version of homesteading in Alaska. But so many people living our dream here made us hopeful that we could make it too. We did a lot of research before buying our little piece of land, and there were just way too many pros in moving to Alaska for us to try to homestead in Washington.

 

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Appreciation For The Small Things

by KatieFamily / Homesteading2 Comments on Appreciation For The Small Things

One of the things that Kyle and I have discovered living out here is our new appreciation for the small things in life.

Really, the tiniest things bring us joy. Not that we weren’t happy before, but with the time and effort that everything requires now, we are that much more appreciative of things.

Things like clean laundry make us ridiculously happy. It’s so easy to take for granted when you have a washer and dryer. Just load it up, push a button and walk away. Now it takes time to wash, wring (Amazon), rinse, wring again, and hang up to dry. And one day of sun and wind will make you ecstatic after 3 days of hanging clothes, only to have it start raining the minute everything is up.

We find ourselves laughing more, talking more, and actually saying the words “that makes me happy” and “I appreciate that”. There is more joy and sense of accomplishment in our lives since we moved off grid. Wanting to be happy and live life on our terms is why we came out here in the first place, and knowing we made the right decision makes everything just that much better.

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Book Recommendations For Homesteading

by KatieHomesteading / Recommendations11 Comments on Book Recommendations For Homesteading

Before we came to Alaska, I did a lot of research on how our lives out here would be. Following weather reports for this area all winter, talking to friends who’d lived here, and reading book after book after book on homesteading. I also received quite a few books from friends and family before and after the move. Here is a list of books that I reference regularly, and have really been vital to our lifestyle out here. All links lead to the Amazon page to purchase these books. Continue reading “Book Recommendations For Homesteading”

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