Episode 204: The Homesteading Lifestyle

doTERRA: A homesteader needs many different skills throughout their day but there are simple and easy ways to bring the natural aspects of homesteading into your everyday life with the help of essential oils. And today we'll show you how. Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA, the podcast where you'll hear exciting, useful, and simple everyday uses for essential oils from experts in the field.

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Today we're excited to talk to Lacey Grim about living a homesteading lifestyle.

Lacey, thank you so much for sitting down with us today.

Lacey Grim: I'm thrilled to be here.

What is homesteading?

doTERRA: This is a topic that I am very excited to talk about because I think it doesn't get talked about enough. So, to begin, can you just answer the question, what is homesteading?

Lacey Grim: Yeah, that's a big question, I think and can look different for a lot of different people. But for us I think it really just looks like living a more "back to basics" kind of lifestyle and really kind of honing in on what's important and things that you can do with your hands that you otherwise would probably pass off on someone else to do for you. So, I guess that maybe is in a nutshell what our homestead life looks like.

doTERRA: I love that. And can you tell us a little bit about the decision that you made with your family to choose to homestead?

Lacey Grim: Yeah, I think we just noticed that little things we were more drawn to over time. We were really interested in plants and learning more about what they could do for us. And we started growing a garden and then we thought, well, you know, why don't we have bees? We should try keeping bees and then chickens.

And it was sort of just a slippery slope of interest. And then we noticed that we were replacing some of the things that we were needing to buy at the store and that felt good and wholesome. And also, we enjoyed the process. I think we have this idea that it's a really difficult lifestyle, but we don't talk a lot about how fulfilling a lifestyle it is.

So, we just started to feel that fulfillment more and more and so slowly but surely now we're up to cows and more acreage and all the things. So yeah.

doTERRA: That is incredible. And I love, like you said, that it wasn't overnight. It was, you found these things that you really enjoyed and were really working for your family and just kept following those passions.

Lacey Grim: Yeah, yeah. It's a lot of hard work, but it is really gratifying to see the labors of your own hands and what you can do and what you can accomplish. And, you know, it feels very primitive in one way. Just getting back to how we originally interacted with the world around us, and there's something about that that's more satisfying than computer work or whatever we can do with electronics and that kind of thing.

Benefits of Homesteading

doTERRA: Absolutely. Now, you've been doing this for a while and like you said, you've kind of upgraded to cows and acreage and more and more. What benefits have you and your family seen from pursuing a more natural lifestyle?

Lacey Grim: Oh, the health benefits are kind of uncountable just because we're so healthy. I have four children. They're all very healthy, ages 17, down to six. And, you know, we can kind of, in learning about the plants in such a fundamental way, we start to learn more about our own bodies and how they interact and how we can use those things and harness them.

Obviously, oils play into that and then just herbs and the plants and the foods that we grow, we can see that the more healthful and wholesome they are, the more healthful and wholesome we feel. So yeah, I would say over the course of the last couple of decades, we've seen crazy improvements in our health and just really a lot of vitality in our children.

How to be an Everyday Homesteader

doTERRA: Absolutely. Now, not everyone is ready to buy the acres and get the cows and start a homestead. But what are some of the ways to incorporate that natural living into our everyday life?

Lacey Grim: Well, the oils are probably one of the easiest places to start, right? You've got these plants at your fingertips that are processed and ready to use, and one of the most natural formats. But I just love encouraging people to find a way to incorporate nature into their lives, whether it means going for more walks and really kind of learning to identify the plants that grow around them, even in the parks, in their city streets and that kind of thing. I think it's really just about honoring and accepting and understanding and really just cherishing what grows around us, even when we're not trying.

Sometimes we can try super hard and not notice those things too on a homestead and kind of taking a step back and seeing what nature has to offer and the abundance that's out there, even without us working so hard, is, is a back-to-basics kind of way of living, I think.

doTERRA: That is a beautiful idea. And like you said, just taking the time, because even when you're out in nature, if you keep yourself super busy and are working super hard, sometimes we still don't take the time to notice all that beauty around us.

Lacey Grim: For sure. I've definitely fallen victim to that.

Living a Natural Lifestyle with doTERRA

doTERRA: Now, you mentioned the essential oils. How have doTERRA products helped you in your goal of this natural lifestyle?

Lacey Grim: Well, you know, when I first was introduced to doTERRA especially, because the education that comes with these oils is just really unique and makes them more accessible and also, it gives us these tools that become sort of the foundation for a lot of the back-to-basics tools that we use on our homestead.

From our cleaning products to our animal care. You know, when we were looking at a lot of the products that we were already buying that even were already sort of natural, they were all, they had essential oils in them. And so, it was like, oh, look I can piece these together and make it myself.

And it costs a lot less and I'm ready whenever the situation pops up. And so, for that reason, they've been integral in our homesteading lifestyle because they're just there and they're ready for us to use them.

doTERRA: Absolutely. And like you said, it gives you kind of that power over your own space where you're like, oh, I can make this myself and I know that I can always make it and it will always be there.

Lacey Grim: Yeah, absolutely. There are several, kind of homesteading staples that are on our shelves that we just never run out of, that we buy in bulk. And oils happen to be one of those.

doTERRA: Specifically, can you tell us what doTERRA products you recommend to people who are wanting to start that more homesteading natural lifestyle?

Lacey Grim: Well, any of our top ten set, you know, once we had those, I just felt really more empowered to deal with my children's issues and then also our animals as things would come up, we'd use On Guard on the chickens. So, it's just it's a really neat opportunity for us to use oils on the animals.

doTERRA: Absolutely. And what are some of your favorites and your kids’ favorites to use just every day?

Lacey Grim: So, I would say I turn to Patchouli most frequently and I didn't love it when we started and it feels a little bit like a bit of a random oil, but it's my deodorant and I can work really hard on the farm and still smell pretty good with Patchouli. So, we love Patchouli.

I love about the new Abode line and the oil itself is delicious and Purify as a farmer homesteader is still a go to for smells and odors that we have to deal with. My children love Spearmint. It is their absolute favorite, and I don't actually love Spearmint, but I'm glad they have a favorite.

doTERRA: Well, all of those sound incredible. And I think Patchouli is one of those ones that sneaks up on you and really grows on you as the as you use it more and more.

Lacey Grim: I think you're right.

doTERRA: Well, Lacey, it has been wonderful to talk to you today, to learn a little bit more about how we can have this homesteading mentality and how we can start to do it in our own lives. We really appreciate it.

Lacey Grim: Oh, thank you for having me. It's been fun.

doTERRA: Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you want to try any of the products you learned about, click on the link in the episode description or find a wellness advocate near you to place an order today. And remember, if you liked what you heard today, great review and subscribe wherever you listen.