Homesteading in the 21st Century

In today's economy the ideas of traditional employment have shifted. When I first moved here a traditional 9 to 5 (that actually turned out being an anything but traditional 12 to 14 hours a day 5 days a week) seemed to be the only option. I knew of the homestead history of this house, but in my mind homesteading was farming or work that originated from the land like woodworking. As the economy got worse, I found myself unemployed with no available jobs. I started doing some research into alternate forms of income. I came across some homesteading sites and stopped for a read. My entire perception of homesteading was changed. What running a homestead in the 21st century means to me: You must have respect for the land and do no harm. You must try to cut living expenses and live as green as possible. We had actually been doing this more from necessity than anything else. See the post on missing trash service below. The household income needs to come exclusively from endeavors that occur either within the home or on the land. This opens up the entire world wide web as an employment option. Using my new definition I have now been operating a successful homestead for the better part of a year. I won't dwell on the how's and why's of my income or even all the missteps that I have taken. That is for another blog. For anyone interested the story can be found on my other blog HERE. A true homestead life was not as hard to achieve as I would have thought. I now spend my days "working" on my laptop from the wrap around front porch.