The First Post

There are so many things I want this blog to be about: children, beating cancer, my interest in natural living, every day household stuff, and homesteading/farming. It's amazing to me when people can have a blog about just one topic. I plan to write about a wide variety of things to keep it interesting (for me, anyway).

I chose the name The Plastic Homesteader because I'm less "crunchy" than a lot of the homesteaders I know of. My house is filled with plastic toys (though we do have quite a few natural toys), and we eat some processed food. I would like to periodically reassess what possessions we have and see if they still fit with our lifestyle dreams.

Our number one dream is to buy a decent plot of land (at least an acre, but ideally 5+) and start our very own little homestead! I'm most interested in having an orchard and various types of berries, but also would like bees, chickens, dairy goats, and fields for growing vegetables.

It would be nice if farming took off and we could sell excess produce and homemade goodies like candles, yarn, and soap at a market. I love to visit farmer's markets and see all of the wonderful things for sale. I usually end up bringing home way too much fresh produce and yummy baked goods. It's so nice that people can generate an income from being productive on their own land! 

We're currently living in a rental (house). Our landlords are fantastic, but we don't have much room for a garden. The layout is also a bit tricky with such young children (3 and 9 months). It helps keep us motivated to save for our own place. 

Chemotherapy took a toll on how our home looks. It's full of clutter and needs a thorough cleaning. I did more than most people probably would have, simply motivated by the fact that I am a stay at home mom and needed to maintain some level of normal routine for the kids, but it is still a wreck. The husband and I accomplished quite a bit today, which felt fantastic! We put together a futon for our guest room (something we've been putting off for a few months), moved our son's bed out of his old room and in to ours (he gets up in the middle of the night and climbs in with us, so we figured maybe this way he'll stay in his own bed), and turned the ex-bedroom in to a playroom for the kids. 

After finishing chemotherapy, I regained my interest in doing things around the house, which inspired me to start this blog. I want to have some accountability and share any useful tips and tricks I figure out.