Homesteading as you age? What are the hacks?

[Alaskajohn]

I have come to realize that I am no longer a "spring chicken" and I need to be aware of my age. I am very healthy and in great shape for my age, but at 60, I need to start taking care of my body.

For those of you who live the life of what some call "homesteading," you know that it is hard and constant work. You must harvest your wood and practice subsistence, which means constantly building new trails and maintaining existing trails. Often trees are still a good distance from the trails you build, so you need to carry the wood a good distance. Same thing for any wildlife you harvest. Often the weights can be over 100lbs that you need to carry over unforgiving terrains. During summer months, you spend many hundreds of hours doing these harvesting and gathering activities.

Farming activities require constant bending, digging, lifting, and carrying things. Again, during the summer months, you spend many hundreds of hours doing these activities.

Equipment breaks, which are often heavy and bulky. And if they break (as they tend to do) in the middle of the winter, you deal with subzero weather and winds.

Old homesteads often lack modern amenities, which for us mean no running water during winter months meaning you need to collect well water into buckets, and bath and clean out of buckets.

I can go on, but you homesteaders get the picture. We are the third family that have lived this lifestyle on this property, and the previous two families that lived and labored here ended their time here due to advanced age. While age would at some point might get us, we want to do this as long as our bodies allow.

What are your "hacks" that allow you to live this lifestyle?

We are finally going to invest in improvements to our home to allow for year-round water. That project was 3 years in the making and will be completed this summer. This will really make life easier!

I have always had winches to pull things such a big log, but often you can't get your vehicles close enough to the action. I have augmented our ATV/Side by Side winches with come-along, pullies and such to help pull logs close enough to not have to carry things so far.

We've invested in farm equipment to help with the heavy labor to make agricultural activities easier.

What are you doing to make this lifestyle easier while you age?

 

[Amish Heart]

I use a wagon pretty much wherever I go around our place when I have stuff to tote around. It always sits at ready outside the greenhouse. I just got in from Amazon a knee cushion for when I'm down on my knees in the garden. I've tried cardboard, and it's just too hard. Because we are on 23 acres, I try to go in one direction with a plan to do a number of things in that direction, otherwise I'm all over the place, and pooped out before I know it. Am wanting a large in the greenhouse growing place, with waist high grow boxes throughout so I'm not on the ground so much. We've done alot this 10 months we've been here for husband's modifications. Our build on is a very large bedroom, large closet, and very large handicapped bathroom. The shower itself is a very large handy thing. We built a deck on the add on exit, with a ramp off the deck, so husband can drive the scooter right into our bedroom, park it on the mat, plug it in to recharge. When he wants to go out, he drives it out. Sometimes he drives it to our small garage, presses the garage door opener in his scooter basket, then hops on the very large "farm scooter", big wheels and all. Then from there, he can press the button for the other garage and hop on the Ranger, and go wherever. He'll ride his scooter to the roundtop and hop on the ride em mower and mow wherever. We also have a ramp going to the front door, so he has two ramped entrances and exits. Just installed rails on both sides of the stairway going to the new basement, in case he needs to get down there for tornado watch or whatever. We also have modified bicycles for us both. His is a recline bike made just right for him. I have a three wheeler Schwinn with a big basket. We have his barbeque set up on the new deck, so he can ride on out and grill when he wants to.

 

[Caribou]

My wheelbarrow had a flat. Rather than have that fixed I bought a 2 wheel kit for it. Makes life a lot easier, especially over rough ground. A large wheeled cart, think bicycle wheel size, is easier over rough ground.

A couple of years ago I got a load of wood in my truck. I cut it while it was in my truck, so I didn't have to bend over. I let it fall into my wagon so I didn't have to lift, much.

 

[Amish Heart]

That's a good idea, Caribou. I unload groceries into my wagon, and bring it right into the house. Saves me lots of trips.

 

[backlash]

We have several different types of wagons and they make life easier.
I found a shopping cart in a ditch so took it home. Even tho we don't have steps into the house my wife doesn't use it.she prefers the wagon.
My biggest hack is I have finally realized I don't have to do everything in 1 day.

 

[Alaskajohn]

I use a wagon pretty much wherever I go around our place when I have stuff to tote around. It always sits at ready outside the greenhouse. I just got in from Amazon a knee cushion for when I'm down on my knees in the garden. I've tried cardboard, and it's just too hard. Because we are on 23 acres, I try to go in one direction with a plan to do a number of things in that direction, otherwise I'm all over the place, and pooped out before I know it. Am wanting a large in the greenhouse growing place, with waist high grow boxes throughout so I'm not on the ground so much. We've done alot this 10 months we've been here for husband's modifications. Our build on is a very large bedroom, large closet, and very large handicapped bathroom. The shower itself is a very large handy thing. We built a deck on the add on exit, with a ramp off the deck, so husband can drive the scooter right into our bedroom, park it on the mat, plug it in to recharge. When he wants to go out, he drives it out. Sometimes he drives it to our small garage, presses the garage door opener in his scooter basket, then hops on the very large "farm scooter", big wheels and all. Then from there, he can press the button for the other garage and hop on the Ranger, and go wherever. He'll ride his scooter to the roundtop and hop on the ride em mower and mow wherever. We also have a ramp going to the front door, so he has two ramped entrances and exits. Just installed rails on both sides of the stairway going to the new basement, in case he needs to get down there for tornado watch or whatever. We also have modified bicycles for us both. His is a recline bike made just right for him. I have a three wheeler Schwinn with a big basket. We have his barbeque set up on the new deck, so he can ride on out and grill when he wants to.

Great ideas. Our property is pretty hilly so we often use a Trappers Sled during the summer month and pull things around on the property behind an ATV or side by side. We need to be careful on the hills to not make them top heavy, but these work well in areas that a wagon won't go.

This evening we will be using the trappers sled and a come-along to pull some logs up the side of the hill so we can haul them back to our property and split.

 

[Amish Heart]

That's a great idea. We are on flatter than flat land, I just used the wagon for my blueberry planting...3 bushes, a bag of planting mix, a shovel on top, and there I went. Trimmed low hanging branches to an elm tree right into the wheelbarrow, then to the burn pile. I'm friends with anything with wheels. We're still working on how husband can help with more things as he is sitting down. He's good with the battery operated pruning saw on the scooter. Talked him out of using the big chain saw on the scooter, but he's liking my cousin's 14 inch battery chainsaw, and I suspect he just ordered one from Home Depot. He orders from online, goes to the store, parks in the pickup spot and calls them. They bring out what he ordered. He is no help in the garden, except to comment on things, so that's why I'm wanting a big growhouse...waist high boxes and aisles that will accomodate a scooter or wheelchair.

 

[Bacpacker]

One thing I wish I had gotten when I bought the kubota, front end loader. Even on a small tractor can do a lot of work to take the load off. I use my wheel barrow a fair amount. Want to get a 2 wheel one. That'll help reduce my input over the years. I also have a 2'x4' wagon that is mesh, sides are about 1' tall and will lay down to give a flat surface. It's very useful. I want to get the large size, it'll hold 1400lbs and I can use it with the Kubota..
Raised beds are the biggest thing to help us out. Gonna do 5 more this fall/winter.

 

[Terri9630]

Raised beds, gentle animals an ATV with several carts.

 

[Biggkidd]

Working at the times the temperature suits my body. If I try and work at times when it's to hot or cold the cost in added pain is just to high. Sometimes I work an hour and rest an hour sometimes it's 5 minutes and rest, occasionally I have a day or two where everything hits just right and I might manage 4-5 hours in a stretch. I have to listen to my body last year taught me to listen and not push to hard.

 

[hashbrown]

My wife is young and we have a teenager, I do quite a bit of supervising. The boy actually called me out on it last weekend cleaning out culverts.

 

[LadyLocust]

There are several things we've considered so that we can continue as we age. One thing is design of the home which I'm still working on. We will have a small door next to the wood stove that will open to a cart "outside" under cover so we can have wood easily available without having to try to lug it in the house. The cart (or wagon) can go back and forth to the wood shed behind the lawn mower or by hand. AH mentioned interior: large bathroom for walkers etc. One other thing we've touched on some is a horse for doing certain work. I think it will look a little different for everyone. Garden needs: might have to hire someone to come run the tiller but then can do the rest? Wood: might have to hire someone to get it to the "home place" but then you can operate a wood splitter. Etc.
I've said else where, this is where multigenerational homes or homesteads work because even as you age there are things you will know and be able to do, but there are things that young folks can do that you no longer can. We are hoping by the time we need that sort of help, we will be able to have a granny flat for us or a young couple (it might depend upon if it's family or someone else.)

 

[Aerindel]

Kids....

What sucks for me....is that I'm another homesteaders 'kid' and my own is only six...

 

[Amish Heart]

They won't stay six for long

 

[backlash]

NO stairs. That is one of the biggest advantages of our house. One single 4" step out the backdoor. No step in front.
If we had a multi-story house my wife would have to live on the ground floor

 

[Amish Heart]

My husband would, too, and does. That's why we added on a bedroom downstairs. The three grandkids live upstairs.
I like dutch oven outdoor cooking. I bought two cooking tables that I use to put the ovens on so I'm not cooking on the ground. So much easier

 

[Cascadian]

Please explain cooking tables. Do you do the cooking on them or just the prep and stirring etc? what are they made of? Thanks

 

[ellie]

I'm attacking all this from a different angle/perspective. I want to age slower and better than most of what I see out there and be able to stay functionally homesteading longer. Maybe just postponing the decline, but I've seen a lot of end of life decades I don't want for myself. To that end, I eventually wrote a book about what I discovered, and it seems to all have been worth it. That said, there's stuff I do not want to do at this stage (near 77). Feed sacks and heavy stuff goes on the hand truck. I am not fond of bending and working at ground level. I want to read more, mow less. Maybe those who grow much of their own food and work hard have a head start on functional longevity, but here's what I came away with. Chronic inflammation is the big killer and it kills slowly but insidiously and is root cause of nearly (some say) all conditions of dysfunction and disease. Want to know how you will age? Get a CRP test. C-reactive protein is an indicator of inflammation. In injury or sickness it will be elevated (as it should) but in the absence of those it should be near zero.

What causes inflammation is well known and researched (ask me for a list if you're not aware ) Stopping chronic inflammation, stops it damaging healthy tissue that causes poor aging and disease. Omega 3's are the perfect anti-inflammatory while you're sorting out the causes of inflammation. BTW, if you have pain, you have inflammation. Take enough fish oil/krill oil and you will have no pain--promise. No side effects but good ones.

What I know for sure is that it's great to feel good, have no diagnoses, and be able to keep on keeping on. Hacks are good, too!

 

[Morgan101]

I'm a city kid. Never spent any time on a farm or a homestead, so I have never had to deal with the things you encounter. I can appreciate getting older, and diminished physical skills. My suggestion would be finding machinery or equipment that will replace or reduce the amount of physical labor required. I wouldn't even know where to start with suggestions but maybe a chain saw instead of an axe or a log splitter instead of a mall. You know what you have to do but you see the direction I am going.

I have reached a point in my life where I am also more comfortable financially, so if there is something we cannot do we will hire somebody. Are there any young people in the area who are willing to do manual labor? Maybe you can hire them or barter for other things? They cut the wood and help to process it, and they can keep a portion. I know to many this would seem like heresy, but when something needs to be done, and you CAN'T do it yourself, you have to find a way.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I have a modified fold up game cart that I carry in the back of my truck when in season, I had to extend the handles to give me better leverage and I changed to Hard rubber tires what will just fit under my bed cover. It is also good for moving buckets of soil and such. Have a hand truck too (I wish it had a larger plate at the bottom)

 

[Amish Heart]

Hey Cascadian. Lodge makes the tables, they stand waist high and are made of steel. I put the briquets or wood right on the table, and two large dutch ovens fit on one table. I usually cook with four ovens, so two tables are just right. It keeps the briquet mess contained, too.

 

[Alaskajohn]

NO stairs. That is one of the biggest advantages of our house. One single 4" step out the backdoor. No step in front.
If we had a multi-story house my wife would have to live on the ground floor

We are planning an add on “master bedroom“ extension to our cabin. Timing wise, that will be two or three years from now before we can get to it. That will be the last of our major projects. Now we climb a ladder to get to our bedroom loft, which is no problem today, but this might not always be the case. Shuddering to think what the cost of those logs would be. I might be able to harvest my on logs, but it won’t be on my mountain area as we are too high in elevation for the types of logs I will need. I could certainly peel them myself to keep the cost down. If I had the right help, I might be able to build the extension myself.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I have high raised beds, reduces the bending, but it requires a lot of back work upfront, so you have to pay with muscle ache either way...... I am trying to learn how to grow vertically so I don't need to spend as much time on my knees.

In the kitchen we have gone to having everything below the counter drawer based, the wife does not have to bend over to get into things. I also put in a full easy access pantry so she does not have to carry food very far.

 

[Alaskajohn]

I'm a city kid. Never spent any time on a farm or a homestead, so I have never had to deal with the things you encounter. I can appreciate getting older, and diminished physical skills. My suggestion would be finding machinery or equipment that will replace or reduce the amount of physical labor required. I wouldn't even know where to start with suggestions but maybe a chain saw instead of an axe or a log splitter instead of a mall. You know what you have to do but you see the direction I am going.

I have reached a point in my life where I am also more comfortable financially, so if there is something we cannot do we will hire somebody. Are there any young people in the area who are willing to do manual labor? Maybe you can hire them or barter for other things? They cut the wood and help to process it, and they can keep a portion. I know to many this would seem like heresy, but when something needs to be done, and you CAN'T do it yourself, you have to find a way.

My first two years here I split wood with an axe or a maul. I loved doing so and enjoyed the exercise that it provided. I got a gas log splitter mostly as a time saver as there is always so much to do. But I always leave some logs unsplit so I can have my fun splitting them with my axe or maul during the less busy winter months. Most of our spruce will split easily with a good axe.

 

[Alaskajohn]

I have high raised beds, reduces the bending, but it requires a lot of back work upfront, so you have to pay with muscle ache either way...... I am trying to learn how to grow vertically so I don't need to spend as much time on my knees.
View attachment 67865
In the kitchen we have gone to having everything below the counter drawer based, the wife does not have to bend over to get into things. I also put in a full easy access pantry so she does not have to carry food very far.
View attachment 67864

How high off the ground are your raised beds? I’ve seen pictures of some that are belly button height.

We have been steadily adding raised beds each year and they do make a difference. But our raised beds start at ground level so the beds are 12 inches or 20 inches high depending on if they are for veggies or potatoes. I used to ”poo pa” people who used raised beds as fake farmers. I don’t think that anymore. I am a convert as I see how productive they are and how much easier they are to manage.

I am trying to figure out how to build an attractive small greenhouse for the wife where everything will be at about waist height for her. I am glad I didn’t build it already as the contractor working on our place needs to build a road where I would have put it. That contract work will also take our rain water collection system offline for much of the summer meaning a lot of trips to the stream to collect water for the gardens. But that is only a temporary setback. When the contract work is done this summer, I will build a better rainwater collection system.

 

[UrbanHunter]

Most of my beds are about 24" off the ground, I generally have uniform walking lanes between the beds and use a small wooden seat/step that can span the lane, letting me sit as I weed or work the bed. I also have a home made car-hop type shelf that I can hang off the bed walls to support a bucket or pan for harvesting.

This year my cucumbers are actually hanging overhead, so I used the seat to work on the top of the trellis. the frames are hopefully going to support plastic over my plants as frosts approach in the fall. I tried a greenhouse, but had troubles with controlling insects and heat became a problem as the summer went on (we have 90F+ days most of the summer and the heat is really hard on the plants. I don't think you would have that problem in AK. We all have our specific limitations and hurdles we need to address as we work things out.

 

[phideaux]

I removed over a mile of 4 board , white , fencing that was for horses and good looks.
Too much maintenance yearly paint or clean. What a relief.
Remove anything that requires lots of maintenance on, but unnecessary.

Btw, all those treated 2x6 fence boards made great raised beds.

Jim

 

[Alaskajohn]

Most of my beds are about 24" off the ground, I generally have uniform walking lanes between the beds and use a small wooden seat/step that can span the lane, letting me sit as I weed or work the bed. I also have a home made car-hop type shelf that I can hang off the bed walls to support a bucket or pan for harvesting.

This year my cucumbers are actually hanging overhead, so I used the seat to work on the top of the trellis. the frames are hopefully going to support plastic over my plants as frosts approach in the fall. I tried a greenhouse, but had troubles with controlling insects and heat became a problem as the summer went on (we have 90F+ days most of the summer and the heat is really hard on the plants. I don't think you would have that problem in AK. We all have our specific limitations and hurdles we need to address as we work things out.

Greenhouses are all the rage up here as it allows you to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, etc very well by extending the season. It’s rare to be above 80 on the hottest of days, and the temperature this time of year still will dip into the mid 30s at night. The low for the past four nights has been 37 degrees.

They wife is trying to grow cucumbers this year for the first time since moving to Alaska over a decade ago.

 

[Bacpacker]

Our beds are 24" tall as well. Not so much bending over, but can still get to taller plants easily. I went to metal beds this year. I expect my wooden ones to rot at some point and need replacing. The metal should outlast me

 

[UrbanHunter]

I grew cucumbers over the winter in the basement and got a few, but the plants grew well in small (3 gallon) buckets. So I planted 4 hanging flower containers with Cucumbers, they are hanging above my tomatoes and are loaded with tiny fruit. I also grew some tomatoes in the house and we got a about a dozen, I think I chose the wrong tomato. I will try again with starting indoor tomatoes and cucumbers between now and August.