You Need To Schmooze

What the heck does this have to do with homesteading? I know the title sounds crazy but hear me out before you label me as a nutter.

One of the biggest differences between city life and country life is that you will notice more individuals who make eye contact with you and attempt conversation in the rural areas versus the city area. If you don’t learn to make eye contact, talk to people and visit the local mom and pop stores, you will miss out tremendously.

Miss out on what? A variety of homesteading essentials that you can get for free or cheap. If free or cheap isn’t your thing, then consider the relationships that you will hopefully make.

Many years ago, I took a trip with my in-laws to New York City for about two days and within all the interactions I had with those city folks, most wouldn’t even look me in the eye. Not only did they not make eye contact, but their attitude seemed to be that I was disturbing them even when I was there to purchase something they were selling. It made a huge impact on how I viewed not only New Yorkers but city dwellers.

Far be it for you to assume it was just a one city in one state, but I’ve been to large cities within Georgia, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee and many other areas. There is just something about those who live in cities that just seem to exude a coldness and lack of humanity to those around them.

Yet, on one trip back during my early twenties, my husband and I got turned around in the back hills of Kentucky at night with a necessity to get back on the main road. We just so happened to pass by a house with a man sitting on his front porch, rocking in his chair as he seemingly took in the nature of the evening. I half-jokingly told my husband that I could hear banjoes and it might not be safe to stop and converse with him. My husband being ever the jovial person he is, insisted that we give it a try and actually found the man to be most welcoming even to the point of offering us something to drink. It was an impactful meeting with someone who I made a misjudgment against. He was a lovely person who got us back on the right track to find the main road and continue on our way to our destination in Illinois.

One of the relationships that you can develop is with the produce staff at the local grocery store, and the purpose of this connection is to investigate whether or not they have someone that picks up the produce that they are unable to sell due to age or blemish. Food scraps can be used for your compost bin, feeding your livestock and even be a valuable addition to your vermicompost setup. While you are at the grocery store, attempt to make with the niceties as you approach the bakery staff because they usually have an abundance of one-gallon and five-gallon buckets that can be quite useful around the farm. Be sure that you know exactly what was in the buckets before they were given to you. When I worked at a local grocery store bakery, we had five-gallon buckets of frosting that were washed and kept to give away to anyone who wanted them.

If you are lucky enough to have a sandwich shop in your community, stop in or make a phone call to find out if they have any five-gallon buckets as well. These buckets are similar in make to those you find in the bakeries and other food stores. The buckets you purchase at your local big box home improvement store are more for carrying tools or non-food items but if you can get a decent collection of both bucket and lids made with food grade plastic, then you can stockpile human and animal foods away for difficult times.

Another local place to check out is the neighborhood feed store which might net you some discounted livestock and even a surplus of cardboard since they have loads it from cases of inventory. They are a wonderful source of local information as well, so if there’s something that you are looking for and have yet to find just ask someone that works there.

If you are lucky enough to find farms nearby that sell produce, eggs or livestock, stop in and spend a few dollars to support their efforts while getting the 411 on local agricultural gossip. Farmers are typically very down to earth, passionate about what they do and deeply involved in their communities. These places are usually willing to offer up free or relatively cheap composted manure, but I would hesitate to take in any manure unless you know for a fact that they do not use hay that’s treated with Grazon or that the animals aren’t raised in fields that are sprayed with the chemical.

I’m sure there are a few places I haven’t pondered about but the important thing is you get to the task of visiting local places and perfect the art of schmoozing. Good luck and happy homesteading!