Clint Emerson - The Rugged Life : The Modern Guide to Self-Reliance

In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

Henry David Thoreau

The kind of Rugged Life you choose is entirely based on you you get to make it exactly what you want it to be. Thats the whole point. You can live entirely off-grid, in your own world like the Trayers. You can do it partway, like the Rapiers, whose house is off-grid, but not their barn and outbuildings. You can live like the Norrises, on the grid but almost entirely self-sustaining when it comes to your food.

Either way, its a lifestyle choice. If all you care about is getting the cheapest egg, youre going to be better off buying a dozen at the store. It isnt less expensive to grow your own food, and its way more work. On the other hand, eggs from your own chickens are fresher, they taste better, and they are better for you. When you grow your own food, you have much more ability to manage your diet. If you have health issues and need to stay away from certain products, like processed foods, homesteading for health is the way to go.

In the Introduction, we talked about your Why, the thing that will keep you going when shit gets hard. And it will get hard. Its a laborious life that requires your commitment, but it also requires your ability to keep going when things go wrong. There are going to be days when nothing goes right. Say a tree drops on your smokehousetheres nothing you could have done to prevent it, and of course youre going to be frustrated. Youve got to cut that tree away, chop it up, and rebuild your smokehouse, and theres always more to it than you think theres going to be. Life in the 9 to 5 has its hiccups, when you get a flat tire or youve got a sudden rush on a project, for instance. But hiccups in the Rugged Life are felt more deeply and require more creativity.

That said, when you fix them, theres a huge sense of satisfaction. You did that. You handled your situation.

You have to love this lifestyle to get through times like that. Everyone will have a different Why, and you have to find yours. Maybe its the satisfaction you get from eating food that you raised. Maybe its joy in the process, figuring things out, researching, planning ahead, and doing the work.

It takes a leap of faith to do this, especially if you didnt grow up this way. And its all exciting and great in the beginning, but once that newness wears off, whats going to sustain you? Its the pride and satisfaction. Look what I did. Look what I can do.

Youre going to work hard, but its important to rest hard, too. Sleep with the sun, take naps when you want toafter all, youre on no ones schedule but your own. But rest also means recreation, and trust me, this is important. Boredom is destructive, and there is a certain amount of sameness in the Rugged Life. The repetitive nature of your 9 to 5 traffic-heavy commute is replaced by doing the same chores day after day. You have to find a way to make it fun, and to have fun around it.

A lot of that will depend on who is sharing this lifestyle with you. You definitely do not want to do this alonethats a good way to go crazy. The person who is your partner in life, whether thats your wife, your sister, your boyfriend, your best friend, whateverthats the person you need to have on board. Make sure that you are on the same page and that you feel the same level of commitment to this life.

Whoever lives on the farm with you, your partner or your kids or whoever, you are going to be together all day every day. Communication and emotional skills are going to be really important, because its hard to get along all the time. You can love each other a lot, and you can know that you have each other, but when youre all the other person has, its easy to get sick of each other. Be patient with each other, remember to let your people know how much they matter to you, and try to let the little things slide as often as you can.

Its important for everyone on your homestead to work and participate in the Rugged Life. Youre a family and you should all have responsibilitiesso that youre all equally invested in your life together. Even the smallest child can have a job. Every single person should have a schedule of tasks, some of which are done together as a team, and some that are done individually. This way everyone has personal and communal satisfaction, and thats whats going to keep everyone sane and healthynot to mention happy and getting along.

And have bonfires! Campfire therapy is amazing for mental health. Just getting people together so theyre hanging out and relaxing does wonders. And remember, not everything you grow needs to be for food. Stopping and smelling the roses is real. Plant flowers just because they look nice and smell nice.

Youll also want to make sure you have a trusted group of like-minded friends. Not all your friends are going to get what youre doingsome of them will, but most of us dont like change, especially when it means our pals wont be around to go out for beers when we want to. You have to prepare yourself for some changes in your friendships, as people youve been close to in your old life may no longer have as much in common with you. The good news is that those people will be replaced by fellow homesteaders who not only get it but will be able to give you the advice and support you need. Its always good to have some folks around for a barn raising, and you know youll be able to repay the favor whenever they need it.

Theres a wonderful kind of community that you can create with this lifestyle. No homesteader is an island, and some of these projects will require more hands than you possess. You dont have to do everything by yourself. If Joe has goats, maybe hell trade you some milk for some eggs or some lemons. If youre slaughtering a cow, you want to get everybody over because thats a lot of meat. And parties hosted in the middle of nowhere can be as loud and raucous as you want.