I’m a homesteader – I have old-fashioned values & banned Netflix for three months, my kids won’t be addicted to screens
HOMESTEADING might seem old-fashioned, but one mother has revealed how she integrates it into modern life.
From humble beginnings to newfound teachings, podcast host Jill Winger gave a glimpse into her traditional lifestyle.
Based in the southeast corner of Wyoming, Jill Winger “weaves the best of the past with the present” with her Prairie Homestead brand.
She has three children that she’s raised on the prairie – her 13-year-old daughter Mesa, her 10-year-old son Bridger, and her seven-year-old daughter Sage.
By growing her own fruit and vegetables, the self-sufficient mom can go weeks on end without shopping for groceries.
“I got so excited at the thought of somehow being able to become a producer, instead of just a consumer,” Jill, who has a podcast called Old Fashioned on Purpose, told The U.S. Sun.
The mom even has her own cows, who she milks, but does visit the grocery store about twice a month.
Sometimes, but not always, they have potato chips in the cabinet.
“We’re not purists. Our culture loves extremes. People assume it has to be one or the other and my message is no,” Jill said.
But there is one downside, with Jill admitting: “Sometimes it actually costs you more, which is a hard pill to swallow for beginning homesteaders.
“I haven’t bought meat at the grocery store in a very long time. I do have money invested into raising the beef that we eat or the chickens that we process.”
Jill says some things, like vegetables, cost her less than they would in a grocery store. Others, like eggs, cost her more.
“The overall way people save money through the homestead lifestyle is that it really helps them shift from the mindset of being a strict consumer,” she said.
Jill has been a homestead blogger since 2008 and has learned how to make multiple meals from a single item.
She raises and kills her own chickens, but says she can get at least two and a half meals out of one bird.
“You can barbecue or roast at home. Then, you have leftovers from that and also have the bones that you can simmer down into a broth,” she explained.
Another example of a budget-friendly food is potatoes, which can be bought in-store or grown.
“You could buy a 15-pound bag of russet potatoes and figure out how to use those for multiple different things,” the mother detailed.
In the end, Jill claimed that “you’re getting a lot more bang for your buck.”
There are other benefits to a homestead lifestyle that extend past food production.
“One of the biggest things I love is that it naturally engages children in nature, and gives them a reason to be curious and allows kids to be part of a team,” Jill admitted.
“Homesteading invites children to say, ‘Hey, you’re capable of this. You’re strong. You’re resilient, and you can do this, even if it’s hard.”
Though no parenting style is perfect, Jill does think that there are downsides to modern life for children.
“The thing that concerns me the most is they are so engaged in their screens. They’re not engaged in the world around them. They’re not asking questions or finding problems to solve,” she admitted.
Jill utilizes “vintage parenting strategies that create confident, more resilient kids,” who have responsibility and autonomy.
For parents, that means “learning to back off a little bit, not micromanage, and give them more autonomy over what they’re doing.”
A firsthand example is when her 13-year-old daughter, Mesa, was learning how to bake.
“There were totally times when she forgot to set the timer and added too much salt, but she learned from those mistakes and now she takes full ownership and she’s having way more fun,” she said.
“You don’t have to have a homestead to do that with your kids.”
Jill is very proud of the way she’s raised her children and has no concerns if they want to pursue city life.
“They are absolutely equipped to handle it,” she said. Although Jill admits they might have to “get used to traffic.”
As a successful YouTube personality, author, and podcaster, Jill has also received her fair share of criticism.
One Instagram Reel in particular garnered negative attention.
“We decided as a family that we would go three months without watching Netflix. The kids blossomed more. We read more books, spent more time as a family, and took up new hobbies,” she said.
That video went viral and it got a lot of positive feedback but also a lot of negativity.
“I don’t know why anyone would be offended by this. I started to realize, prior to seeing the reel, maybe they were spending too much time on screens,” Jill explained.
“I think it just made them cast that light back on their own life, and it made them feel grouchy about it.”
When it comes to her future goals, Jill said she sees herself tending the farm with her husband and adhering to her way of life.
Jill recently released her latest book Old Fashioned on Purpose: Cultivating a Slower and More Joyful Life in early fall.
The book includes tasty recipes, tips for living a farm life whether or not you live in the countryside, and much more.