Homesteading is often associated with sweat, sore muscles and WORK. Although this is not inaccurate, there are certain aspects to homesteading that can only be considered luxurious. This post is devoted to examining five luxuries you can realize as a homesteader: consider it a small celebration, a break from breaking ground, watering plants and feeding the pigs! For those of you who are not homesteaders, this post will give you an idea of some of the perks of living the lifestyle. For those of you who ARE homesteaders, this article should provide a good reminder of some of the great things we receive in return for our hard work.

Awaken/Sleep according to your Natural Cycle

This is a big one for me : I think I would have a hell of a hard time giving it up. I think @walkerland would agree. As homesteaders, we set our own schedule, and for us, that means we sleep when we are tired, and we wake up when we wake up. We have no clocks in the house, and I tell ya: what a beautiful thing. The idea of waking up to a shrill alarm clock is very distasteful. Abhorrent, even! The odd time we need to set an alarm clock (usually to pick someone up at the airport), both of us hate it!

Working in Nature

When we go to work in the morning, we are greeted by the songs of six or eight species of birds. The wind rustles through our hair. The sun tans us. Two deliriously happy dogs are by our side. Occasionally we catch sight of a deer or moose. In comparison to an office job .. well .. there is no comparison. Working in nature is a thousand times better. Not many people get to do this, in the modern age.

Ridiculous Food Quality

Fresh baked bread. Eggs that are hours old. Country wines that cannot be bought. The most delicious, healthy vegetables you can get. The list of culinary delights available to homesteaders are really only limited by knowledge and the willingness to work for it.

The idea of eating standard food again is offputting. GMO? Hormones in food? Pesticides? Not a chance.

Time to Live

Don't get me wrong on this one: there is a tonne of work to do on a homestead. That said, there is also abundant time to live a little. With no set schedule and no boss to wreck your day with the latest crisis, you can really live on a homestead. The mid-day siesta is very nice, as is the occasional afternoon drunk! Loud music (60-70-80's, of course) can be had at any time. A quick game of chess .. a chapter in a book, sitting in the breeze .. there is just no end to the amount of living you can sneak in!

Time for Others

We have found that we have time for others, much moreso than when we had careers. The phone calls can be longer, the on-line chats more extended .. and it's easy to say "Come stay for a week!" The downside to this is realizing just how little time an average person (with a job/career) actually has! All these friends we have all the time in the world for .. well, they can barely answer an email. Still, it is pretty nice to be able to offer our time to others, even if they are never in a position to take us up on it.

Opportunity for Introspection

For the other six or eight people on the planet who are introspective in nature, homesteading provides plenty of time (and a great environment) for introspection and self-reflection. For those of you who need to do a bit of personal work, homesteading will give you that chance. The solitude of working alone is very conducive to self improvement work, as is the work environment on a homestead. My partner in crime, @walkerland, has made great strides in this area and has written about it. Personally, my time on this homestead has given me the opportunity to reflect on my life, my actions (good and bad), the people in my life, friends, family .. I've been able to internally resolve a lot of the conflict I felt over these things, understand it all from a considered perspective. A big part of the reason for that is the homesteading environment, and adequate time to do it.

There you are: some of the high end perks associated with homesteading! If you're considering homesteading, I hope I've pushed you over the edge! And if you are a homesteader, I hope I've reminded you of some of what makes it so great. I'm sure I'm missing a tonne of good things: let me know in the comments! Hope you enjoyed the article.