Re-Post: Homestead Burnout by Jackie Clay

I thought it might be time to re-post this very informative article by Jackie Clay, of Backwoods Home Magazine. I first shared it here in April of 2012. In about 2 months, Lord willing, we'll be on our new property. Jackie has years of experience to learn from, so I would be a fool not to heed her advice on how to avoid homestead burnout! The piece of advice that is speaking to me is to not bite off more than you can chew. Like most new homesteaders, I want it all! But our plan for the first year is to concentrate on poultry and the garden. That's going to take some restraint after spending years dreaming of goats, pigs, and a family cow!

HOMESTEAD BURNOUT by Jackie Clay

"We've all been there: the roof is leaking on your temporary housing while you try to build a start on your new homestead. It's rained for a week now and everyone in the family is getting on each others nerves. The goats you bought came yesterday and are now huddled under a leaky tarp, nibbling on some old hay because the guy who said he'd deliver hay two days ago didn't show up and you can't find another farmer selling hay nearby. The horses ran away from their temporary pasture this morning and you are freezing and soaking wet from chasing them down before an irate neighbor finds them. The check you expected from the sale of your former home didn't come in the mail yesterday, and you're wondering how you can make two more payments on your new place without it — besides paying for the building materials that are supposed to be delivered tomorrow. The kids want to go shopping for new "toys" and are complaining about living way out in the sticks without cable ... or even running water. You pull the pillow over your head and silently wish you could run away.

Such scenarios are not uncommon when a family moves to a new homestead. In fact, they are very common, and are the leading reason many new homesteaders who moved onto new land fail and return to the city. It's called stress, and in extreme cases it's called homestead burnout.

Homestead burnout doesn't always happen right away when a family moves to a new homestead. In fact, it's more commonly seen after a few years of homestead living and mounting disappointments.

I've frequently heard the glowing dreams from folks who are on the brink of moving to a new homestead: "We're going to build a cabin in the woods, homeschool our children, grow all our own food, cut our own wood to heat our cabin, have lots of animals (goats, chickens, cows, horses, dogs, and cats), make our own clothes, spin yarn, knit, weave, make soap, cheese, and sell crafts. We're going to live off the land!"

I wholeheartedly applaud such dreams, for in these dreams is woven the lifeblood of the homesteader, us included. While some families do succeed in flying after this ambitious dream, far more flop, fail, and return to the city with their dreams crushed, feeling like a total failure. Why?

There is no one reason. Like the threads of the dream, they are all intertwined. But there are some common causes and it's a good thing for all homesteaders — even would-be homesteaders and "old-timers" — to think about and guard against"...to read the rest of this article, click HERE.