I have a lot of little ways I KNOW I could earn money off our land to help out. I am FORCING myself to do so this summer (farmer's market). However, I just really like doing this stuff to take care of our family and help friends out. I am RELUCTANT to earn money at it.

Why? I would have to do a LOT more of A FEW THINGS...and then it would be a "job"...and then I would have to deal with OTHER PEOPLE more, and then I would have to leave home more to market or sell, and then I would have to actually KEEP RECORDS AND DO PAPERWORK.

Oh, but I feel so guilty some days when i read about folks doing all these things earning money off our land. I hear "you could open a little shop here and sell all your stuff, and weave rugs, etc." but NOT FOR ME....I'd have to actually have people invade my privacty. I could go and sell in shops on consignment, but I really can't stand going in and marketing. Get the picture? it is enough for me to have the garden, put food away, have our bees, make candles for us and for presents, homeschool with the kids... I hate anything taking me away from this. Then I feel guilty with my husband going off to work every day (which he enjoys and doesn't mind) while I sit here having all the fun and providing for my family, but knowing if I worked a bit harder to make some money he could maybe not need to be gone 40 hours a week...

Just curious if there are others out there like this.....

-- marcee (thathope@mwt.net), January 15, 2002

Answers

yes

-- carol (kanogisdi@yahoo.com), January 15, 2002.

Marcee, you go ahead and do what evr you want and however you want. Don't feel guilty about your husband working 40 hrs a week if he likes it then you're o.k. I am sure that he appriciates the fact that you are doing things with your home while he is at work. I don't blame you for not wanting to go into the marketplace. Home is a better place to be but like you I feel awkward having people at the property.George

I remeber growing up it is tough on the housewife. I watched my moms do it and helped too so I know how hard it is.

-- george (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), January 15, 2002.

I wish I had your life. I work 40 hours off the farm and so does my husband. He wants nothing to do with living off the land. He wants his comforts and thinks I'm nuts.

-- Nancy (gndonley@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002.

Proverbs 31:10

-- Kevin (kevinmail@earthlink.net), January 15, 2002.

Marcee: You didn't say how old you are, but there is a time for everything and you sound like you have a full plate now and in order to continue doing a good job it is necessary to prioritize what is best. There are just so many years that you will have the opportunity to homeschool and enjoy your children. If your decision is based on helping your husband then ask him what would be the best way for you to do this. He may say it is exactly doing what you are doing right now? Think of all the ways that you already are contributing to the quality of the lives of your family. You can't measure everything by a dollar amount. I love being home and making my home a refuge for my husband and children it is something that no one else could give them or buy for them. Think of how few children have a place, a home that is filled with love, laughter, security...you literally have a gold mine in your own hands!!

-- (Mamafila@aol.com), January 15, 2002.

If you grow a garden and put up a $1000. worth of vegetables in your pantry. Then you could say you earned a $1000. You just didn't have to go anywhere to earn it.

This is why I feel that if I can raise most all of my food on my place then I really don't need a 40 hour or more job. I would only need to work either part time or temporary during certain times of the year.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), January 15, 2002.

It is a personal choice and you must do what feels right for you. I personally consider anything I do to support my family "work", having a defined outcome. That outcome is what makes it enjoyable or not. For me "fun" simply translates into being able to provide for my family and have the latitude of being in control as it is with a market. Dealing with other people is there no matter what you do. People buy from you or you work for people to get a paycheck and people make your family also. We sold produce at farmers markets and I ramped my worm ranch up from one small bin to a 10 bin configuration producing almost 2000 pounds of vermicompost per month.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), January 15, 2002.

I raised a bunch of veggies; too many to eat, by a 1000%. I talked to the local "corner" market, and they were thrilled to buy my organic produce. I took all kinds of stuff down there, and chickened out; i told them to give it all to the needy. They needed the food more than I or the storekeepers needed the money.

-- joj (jump@off.c), January 16, 2002.

To keep property taxes here next to nothing, folks have their land ag exempt by growing/selling crops/critters. One way can make money for you with no effort on your part. You lease out X amount of acres to someone to grow and reap a crop. I prefer this to leasing out the land for cattle and such, since the critters could bring in possible disease to my stock.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), January 16, 2002.

Marcee, it's good to know I'm not alone. I can't bear to be away from home. I've known since I was a young girl that I was meant to be a homemaker. And although we may not contribute financially, our contributions to the home and family, in my opinion, are priceless, as are the rewards. What better way to contribute than to make a safe, nurturing environment for your family? Be proud of what you do! It's value is beyond measure. Enjoy every minute of it. Rgds, Paula

-- Paula (pcffour@hotmail.com), January 16, 2002.

Don't know your situation,but if you need the money mabe a part time job away from the homestead would be a better answer.I'd suggest a heart to heart talk with my 'other' believe you'd feel better.

-- Gary (burnett_gary@msn.com), January 16, 2002.

All my life I have taken care of myself -- and at times supported my business partner, and boyfriends and husbands, too, and so when I finally married a man who is proud to support me, well, I thought, hey, yeah, I'd like to be supported for a change! What a concept! But times are hard and freelancing & the trades are uneven in the best of times, so I'm beginning a new freelance career making architectural models. It has been hard to watch my husband go off and scramble for work while I reach for another cup of tea and another chapter of a library book. I have felt guilty, alright. It has been a lovely bit of time off, but I'm going to feel better when I have some income coming in (is that redundant?...) Then if he gets sick, as he does every so often, we aren't without money coming in. I don't want to have people invading my privacy either, so none of the endeavors which require that are an option for me either, and I'm not a big marketer either. But I know that there are architects out there who will be able to use my models and with whom I can work without stretching my identity all out of shape. Probably there are some people you could work with, too, for your candles and honey and whatever else it is you make. Just keep your eyes & ears & mind open when you are out and about -- maybe a gift shop whose owner you feel compatible with.

Life is to be enjoyed...moreover, if your husband likes his job, then don't feel guilty about it. If you can...

-- snoozy (bunny@northsound.net), January 16, 2002.

Don't feel guilty Marcee, You are probably saving more money by not working than you would be making at a job in town. Some couples' second jobs only pay for their gas, babysitters, and convenience foods they need to HAVE the second job. If you figured up what all of the things you are doing for your family now is worth, there is probably no-way your family could afford to hire someone to replace you! Enjoy your family while they are young, they will be grown and gone before you know it and they will always remember you being there for them. Best wishes!

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), January 16, 2002.

Yes if you sat down and added up everything we do I would doubt your own husband could afford to hire you :) But I liked the profit aspect of my dairy goats. I wanted my kids to see that I had my own money, my own hobby, my own life, outside the family, yet was always room mother, always here for homework, gardened etc. I could not imagine having to ask for money every week from my husband just to go get my nails done or have lunch with a friend. I did not want to go into town and work, so I had to find something here at the farm that I could bring in money with, not to pay the electric bill but to pay for all the little extras I wanted to do with the kids. Everyone has to be happy with their own life, if yours is fullfilling the way it is and you are not strapped for cash, then you are doing a great job! I would like to add that in farming/homesteading, whether it is selling goats or selling produce or crafts, it teaches our children a work ethic. Most of the homeschooled, successfull, older, mid 20's, kids I know had small businesses from yard work to two boys I know who had soda machines in a college town, one girl sold milk from her own stock. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 16, 2002.

Hey Marcee Any chance you could connect with someone who does like dealing with the public, has their own produce etc to sell, who wouldn't mind taking yours along for a commission? Paying commission would be a small price to pay to make some extra money without compromising the lifestyle you have worked hard to attain. By the way, homeschooling the kids alone earns your share, let alone all the other stuff.

-- Bernadette Kerr (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), January 16, 2002.

Marcee, homeschooling your children IS your job. You are SAVING the family money by doing this which in essence is EARNING the same amount. You may not feel the same later on when the kids are grown up and gone. I know for me, having hubby out from underfoot when homeschooling is better and he enjoys working also. You have the best situation, enjoy it guilt-free, you are already working.

-- Sandie in Maine (peqbear@maine.rr.com), January 16, 2002.

Just remember that the job your husband goes to is probably providing health care benefits that you might not have if you both stayed home on the farm. If you really want to do something (I understand the feeling), look into say, selling on Ebay, or by mail order, etc.

I don't blame you a bit for valuing your privacy.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 16, 2002.

Nope.

My grandparents homesteaded this land, my parents, us three kids and my five children were born on it. About eight of (twelve) their kids were born here too. It was and still is a sheep ranch. We also raise bison for the tribes in SD.

Do I feel bad about using the land to make money? Nope. Would I change anything if I could? Nope. I like it just fine the way it is. It's the way our life is. My wife works in town, so we could afford health insurance, but it's not so much that but the camaradrie that she gets for being independent. She does her thing and I run the ranch.

Now if she wants to raise goats and sell goat milk, that's fine with me, 'cause she's her own person.

-- matt johnson (wyo_cowboy_us@yahoo.com), January 16, 2002.