Your Homesteady Journey: Step 1: Make Something You Usually Buy

Hey Everyone, from the Suburban Escapee! Welcome to the second installment of “Your Homesteady Journey.”

If you are just walking in on this series, here is a recap of the first entry: everyone can be more sustainable, more self-reliant, more “Homesteady.”

Yes! Even you! We have talked about the three most important things you should think about when deciding what to do first: looking at your own life and deciding:

1. What do I have time to do?
2. Where do my existing talents lie?
3. What resources are available to me to support this new venture?

If you’d like to read the first entry, you can read it right here.

It’s time to talk about taking that first tip-toe into the homesteady world. Where does the budding homesteader begin?

I suggest making something you usually buy.

But what?

First, assess your time, talents, and interests. These three pieces are crucial.

Why?

Let’s talk about The Concord Grape Story: Juice Success and Jelly Fiasco.

Last summer, The Country Boy and I had the opportunity with our two little ones to pick wild grapes. Our friends own a lot of land, and on that land was a lot of grapes.

This, in and of itself, was a successful Homesteady adventure.

Why? It met the time, talent, and interest requirements of my whole family. Time? One afternoon. Interest? High, as we like the outdoors, our friends, and picking fruit. Resources? Free, and easily completed with two adults and two kids three and under (major bonus!).

In one afternoon, we picked a giant bucket of Concord grapes.

Looking at this giant bucket of grapes, we then had to do something with them. Wild Concord grapes are not what you would call “edible” off the vine. They are very tart and have a center that squishes like a firm gummy bear. We decided in the car ride home that we were going to make grape juice and grape jelly. We drink a lot of juice in our home, as The Country Boy and both kiddos are juice fans. We decided on jelly because, well, isn’t that what you do with a ton of fruit?

Neither of us had done either of these things before. We went to the internet and found recipes. We went to the store and bought Mason jars.

We waxed poetic at how lovely all these jars were going to look, filled with the glistening purple fruits of our labors.

After we put the little ones to bed, it was Grape Time.

We pulled up our juice recipe, and got to work. It was seriously the easiest recipe in the world. You should check it out. Basically, you boiled grapes, boiled some water, put the grapes in the jars like so many ice cubes, dumped in the water, put in some sugar, and processed the Mason jars per the Ball Jar directions to sterilize and seal them. In about two hours we had made, processed, and cooled 12 quart jars.

We waxed poetic at how lovely all these jars were going to look, filled with the glistening purple fruits of our labors.

In doing so, we used about half the grapes. Also, we did all this on a Sunday night.

The Country Boy and I both work full-time, and to juggle childcare, we only have a one-day weekend where both of us are home. Monday being the next day, we went back to our usual weekday routine.

Wait, are you wondering about the rest of those grapes? And the jelly?

Truth: I don’t like grape jelly very much. Even homemade grape jelly. My children do not eat any type of jelly.

Interest in making jelly? Non-existant.

Time to make jelly? I did not have any “time” where I felt as if spending 2-3 hours after dinner making something after having worked all day long.

Especially if this since this was something that neither myself, nor my children actually liked to eat. During the week, I work from home at night. I wash socks. I lie on the couch. Sometimes I fall asleep at 7:30 PM, as I have one child who has a deep love of waking up at 4:30 AM.

However, since we had pre-invested in the resources to make jelly (jars, grapes, pectin) The Country Boy persevered. Also, he likes grape jelly. He spent one evening boiling down the rest of the grapes to make jelly. Then, that giant pot of purple went into our refrigerator. We were going to make jelly “tomorrow.” We went about our week.

At the end of that week, a weird smell started coming from the purple juice in our refrigerator.

Which now had a lovely coating of mold floating on the top. Our Grape Jelly Project ended up getting dumped into the back yard, and we spent that precious evening scouring our largest pot and disinfecting the fridge.

Homesteady status? Epic fail, but Important Lesson Learned.

DO NOT make something- or try to make something- just because the internet makes it look cool. It has to make sense for your life.

The Grape Juice? We enjoyed that juice all winter long.

We have plans to go picking again in a few weeks and make some more. Also, this time around, if we have extra grapes, we are going to freeze them in gallon bags to make more juice in the middle of the winter, when we have a lot more extra time due to the fact that New England winters appear to be increasing in their ferocity, leaving us stuck inside.

Look around your own life. What do you enjoy? What do you have time to do? What resources are at your disposal?

Like tea? Dry some herbs, even if you buy them at the store. Drying herbs is easier than you think!

Crochet a bit? Here is a useful “how-to” blog. Click through for free patterns and links to video tutorials

Like making things for the home? Try your local used good shop or yard sales for items to refinish. Find links to different ways to refinish furniture here. Use items you already have in very creative ways by “upcycling.”

Feel as if you have no time, talents, or resources? You can definitely find an old T-shirt or some socks to use as dishrags or dusters rags instead of paper towels. Yes! even this is a Homesteady Step

What small projects have you done to begin your Homesteady Journey? Any special projects you’d like the Homesteady Team to give a how-to about? Let us know in the comments below!

 

---

Alexia – The Suburban Escapee