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Homesteading and Fundies why isn't this a thing?


HomeschooledHeartThrob

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3 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

There's no point in putting in the extra work of a garden when you can shop at Aldi and buy canned crap for pennies. I've known people who actually save no money gardening and it's added work. There is no way cheap skate jB would do that.

Maybe you got a point.  I used to sew and in the early days I made things like blouses with collars, cuffs, and front buttons.  Those parts needed stiffeners and all sorts of other things like the buttonhole attachments. It took hours of work.  Now why should you put in that many hours if you can buy a blouse at Walmart for $9. Of course it is probably the equivalent of canned crap, but it would cost more than that for just the material to sew it.

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I have to wonder if they just don't see the point. Not only would it be a huge hassle to get someone to deal with it when they travel but to make any sort of dent in their food spending would require an incredible time and financial investment with no guarantee of a return should the crop fail.

Canning or even freezing isn't really reasonable to do on anything more than a hobby basis when you're feeding that number of people. I can jam for us. For our family of ten I have to produce around 80 jars of jam to last the year. I don't have time, energy, or knowledge to grow the fruit myself so we pick the fruit from local u pick farms. Between picking on half price day, prepping the fruit, buying lids, buying replacement jars for ones that have become chipped, buying pectin for the recipies that require it, buying sugar (in 50lb bags), making the jam, and processing the jars it's two days of work and I'm not even growing the produce myself.

That's for one single food product for a group of people half the size of theirs. I am able to make organic jam for around $1.25/jar which saves money from what I would be buying otherwise but if I was picking up 99 cent jars of corn syrup based jam at a discount grocery store the homemade stuff would be more expensive and I already have the jars and other equipment. I just can't see this sort of at home food processing being practical for a family that size.

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On 13/12/2016 at 1:41 PM, anotherone said:

[snipped]

Remember the show Trading spouses?  They should put a few Duggars on an Amish farm and see how they like the godly lifestyle.

I actually think that would be good for them.  It would teach them a few things.

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For me at least, the problem with them not gardening, apparently cleaning, cooking from scratch or actually doing much of anything home related on a continual basis (remember the yards???) is that those things are at the center of their "family" mission, and particularly the role of women. So if they (or we) can come up with a million reasons why they don't garden, tend to a yard or chickens,  clean or cook from scratch,  it reflects rather poorly on their family "mission" and on women in particular; not to mention the lazy parenting.

We have seen that the married Duggar girls are not skilled homemakers or cooks...are just mailing it in and neither of them has a gaggle of kids.

Plus in most families, approaches change as the family changes; kids grow up and you do things differently because that's part of preparing kids to become independently functioning adults. With the Duggars, for whatever reason, be it control or laziness, there is no adapting to a dynamic, living world. 

Dysfunction, thy name is Duggar.

Maybe that's the silver lining in their continued show...showing the world and parents what NOT to do.

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Just a thought.  Gardening, canning, preserving, etc., definitely requires a ton of work and  know-how and at least an initial investment for equipement and containers.  A family who without land and who all work outside jobs would have a hard time living that kind of life.  Subsistence farming is more than a full time job and requires a VAST skill set.  But a family of 21?  IDK... They shouldn't have a problem.  Seriously.  They could definitely keep themselves in beans and peas.  No question.  My grandfather did it while holding down a full time job working on an offshore oil rig.  

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8 minutes ago, QuiverDance said:

Just a thought.  Gardening, canning, preserving, etc., definitely requires a ton of work and  know-how and at least an initial investment for equipement and containers.  A family who without land and who all work outside jobs would have a hard time living that kind of life.  Subsistence farming is more than a full time job and requires a VAST skill set.  But a family of 21?  IDK... They shouldn't have a problem.  Seriously.  They could definitely keep themselves in beans and peas.  No question.  My grandfather did it while holding down a full time job working on an offshore oil rig.  

Heck, I knew a family with 7 kids that managed a small working farm and the dad was an attorney and the mom a nurse who worked the night shift. They did have 1 helper.

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I do have an aunt and uncle now who are close to my fiancee's age and own about 30 acres.  They have horses and ponies, some poultry, and a bunch of dogs and cats, but their "farm" is purely for pleasure.  It doesn't produce anything, and they don't have a garden.  I have always wondered why they don't use one of their umpteen tractors to plow a few rows to plant vegetables.  Most people I know back home have citrus trees which are full to bursting this year.  My parents now own my grandparents' place and they do maintain a small garden there but nothing like my grandfather's was.  My dad grows field peas, potatoes, carrots, and a few types of squash, along with onions and shallots.  I think he has 10-12 rows total.  Nothing huge.  At his age IDK how he does it, especially since he still teaches a full course load.  But he loves it.  

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41 minutes ago, QuiverDance said:

I do have an aunt and uncle now who are close to my fiancee's age and own about 30 acres.  They have horses and ponies, some poultry, and a bunch of dogs and cats, but their "farm" is purely for pleasure.  It doesn't produce anything, and they don't have a garden.  I have always wondered why they don't use one of their umpteen tractors to plow a few rows to plant vegetables.  Most people I know back home have citrus trees which are full to bursting this year.  My parents now own my grandparents' place and they do maintain a small garden there but nothing like my grandfather's was.  My dad grows field peas, potatoes, carrots, and a few types of squash, along with onions and shallots.  I think he has 10-12 rows total.  Nothing huge.  At his age IDK how he does it, especially since he still teaches a full course load.  But he loves it.  

When you compare what us heathens can and do accomplish in the same 24 hours that encompass a day VS the average Duggar, it does leave you scratching your head and wondering what DO they DO-

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44 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

When you compare what us heathens can and do accomplish in the same 24 hours that encompass a day VS the average Duggar, it does leave you scratching your head and wondering what DO they DO-

I've been wondering that from the very day and hour I found out about them :dontgetit:

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22 hours ago, kunoichi66 said:

I actually think that would be good for them.  It would teach them a few things.

I'll do it! They can send Jessa or Jill to Sweden to live a week with my husband that will cook, clean, take care of his kid (1) and be a supportive partner that listens to what they have to say. And I can spend a week talking back to Derrick or Ben and tell them all about how I did naked fronthugging before marriage and earn more money then my husband at my job. It would be awesome tv. 

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Just now, Iamtheway said:

I'll do it! They can send Jessa or Jill to Sweden to live a week with my husband that will cook, clean, take care of his kid (1) and be a supportive partner that listens to what they have to say. And I can spend a week talking back to Derrick or Ben and tell them all about how I did naked fronthugging before marriage and earn more money then my husband at my job. It would be awesome tv. 

I'd watch it!

I still think - no offense intended, Iamtheway - that an Amish farm or some other low-technology outfit would be the best choice for these people.  Bit of a culture shock to show those entitled, lazy numpties just how lucky they are.

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3 hours ago, kunoichi66 said:

I'd watch it!

I still think - no offense intended, Iamtheway - that an Amish farm or some other low-technology outfit would be the best choice for these people.  Bit of a culture shock to show those entitled, lazy numpties just how lucky they are.

No offense taken. We'd be a horrible match for them. Which is why I think it would be hilarious to watch. :)

I wouldn't want to see them in a situation where they end up thinking how lucky they are. They already think that. 

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Just now, Iamtheway said:

No offense taken. We'd be a horrible match for them. Which is why I think it would be hilarious to watch. :)

I wouldn't want to see them in a situation where they end up thinking how lucky they are. They already think that. 

I completely agree with this!

On the second point, thinking about it, I agree.  I'm not entirely sure how to express what I meant though.

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On 12/14/2016 at 10:26 AM, SassyPants said:

For me at least, the problem with them not gardening, apparently cleaning, cooking from scratch or actually doing much of anything home related on a continual basis (remember the yards???) is that those things are at the center of their "family" mission, and particularly the role of women. So if they (or we) can come up with a million reasons why they don't garden, tend to a yard or chickens,  clean or cook from scratch,  it reflects rather poorly on their family "mission" and on women in particular; not to mention the lazy parenting.

We have seen that the married Duggar girls are not skilled homemakers or cooks...are just mailing it in and neither of them has a gaggle of kids.

Plus in most families, approaches change as the family changes; kids grow up and you do things differently because that's part of preparing kids to become independently functioning adults. With the Duggars, for whatever reason, be it control or laziness, there is no adapting to a dynamic, living world. 

Dysfunction, thy name is Duggar.

Maybe that's the silver lining in their continued show...showing the world and parents what NOT to do.

I wish I could have up voted this a million times. They are the ones who said that the women should be a 40s housewife yet none can do one of the things our grandmothers or mothers could do. Have we seen any but Jana sew?  What are they doing all day?

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1 hour ago, Bad Wolf said:

I think there was a picture of Jenni sitting on the floor learning to use a sewing machine.

WTF?  Who sews on the floor?  These people piss me off. 

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8 hours ago, grandmadugger said:

I wish I could have up voted this a million times. They are the ones who said that the women should be a 40s housewife yet none can do one of the things our grandmothers or mothers could do. Have we seen any but Jana sew?  What are they doing all day?

That's the question that boggles my mind.  Especially though about the younger kids.  Every day my kids just do so much compared to them, with homework and scouts and soccer, etc.  They're only in grade school but one is studying greek myths and they have to rewrite a story from each side like a debate, then again like an objective news article.  Then what were the conditions that drove more women into the workforce during the war, then making biomes for various animal habitats, then explaining why planets are orbiting around the sun.  Somehow I can't imagine even the kidults having learned any of this.  Probably none of this would be taught in a Christian homeschooling program because you would be touching on alternative creation myths, the big bang theory, evolution of animals, and women's rights.  (Not dissing homeschooling, but like anything you can do a job well, or do it poorly.)

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So, I have a different take.  There was an episode years ago where the family visited and helped on a farm.  I remember them all taking turns doing chores to take care of the animals.  Boob made some snide ass remark towards the end that this was not something his family was going to do because it was too much work or too gross or something like that.  Remember, JB and animals do  not go together.  And, he could mess up his hair.

In a more recent episode, I think Jessa brought a friend to the THH to show off Jana's garden.  As a gardener myself, it was impressive.  And, considering the size and scale, and apparent fertility of the soil, it is definitely not a first year garden either.  It was completely referred to as Jana's garden, and if true, Jana is making some changes to how the family eats.  She has been getting into a lot of homeopathic stuff, as there was also a reference to the various family members saving bones for her make bone broth.  

Now, would JB and M ever bother to do this?  Not a chance.  But it seems the younger generations are learning and doing things a bit differently.  

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Kind of random, but I have always wondered about TTH's septic system. A typical residential system is based on the number of bedrooms in the home, and I don't remember how many bedrooms TTH has but I don't think very many because the kids share their rooms. So I could see JB building the house on a 4 or 5 bedroom system because technically it meets code, but it's probably still undersized for that many actual people. So then maybe with the bathroom and laundry use, they really can't be running their industrial dishwashers too, which is why they exclusively use disposable plates and cutlery. I never thought it made any sense that they would buy cheap food and used clothing, then turn around and waste all that money on disposables.

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On 12/10/2016 at 5:38 PM, Bad Wolf said:

The paper plates really bug me. They have an industrial dishwasher. Everyone in the family is capable of scraping their plate and putting it in the dishwasher. You can buy Corelle which is almost indestructible, and would pay for itself in no time. Wasteful Duggars.

I KNOW!!! That drives me insane! You cant load a dishwasher?!?

On 12/10/2016 at 6:00 PM, AreYouThereGothard? said:

Potential theory: the earth is "temporary" and how we leave it doesn't matter because the next life is so much better. This sentiment was expressed in "Jesus Camp" (watch it if you have the stomach). Essentially, the textbooks used by the homeschooled children professed that global warming is a liberal scam and that we are supposed to use up God's resources (ie, fossil fuels), because apocalypse, doesn't matter, again, the temporary schtick. Shot in the dark, but maybe this is something similar? Or, they see anything that serves their beliefs as justifiable. God gave them 19 kids, so using paper plates is the best way the fulfill what the Lord has bestowed on them. Because they have so many kids, what feeds the most people is what is permissible. What's interesting is that the last sentiment is not uncommon amongst people who are financially strapped; why spend the money on vegetables when a whole fast food/processed meal is just as much? It's a means to an end, and if I were in a financially trying situation, I'd probably feel the same.  Why the Duggars' situation is aggravating is because none of them will pursue gainful employment and insist of having huge families. Necessity is one thing, deliberately putting yourself in that situation under the claim of "God's will" doesn't cut the mustard for me.

Also, someone with a nutrition background pointed the unhealthy recipes out on one of their recipe postings. Another replied that they look happy and healthy and we shouldn't judge them. Come on guys, we're better than this (note: complete sarcasm)

You'd have to live under a rock at this point to not grasp how bad they eat nutritional wise. It just strikes me odd that they claim to be living temples but eat garbage. You are correct with the whole mindset of the world being temporary.

On 12/10/2016 at 7:31 PM, pancakes said:

I'm saying this as the mom of our family of ten. Our oldest is middle school age and our youngest is an infant. While I would never, ever eat all that canned junk food on a regular basis I have taken to other wasteful practices to save time. These things have crept up on me over the years and I wonder if the same is true for them so it just feels normal now.

We use disposable diapers. After cloth diapering four children (nearly all of that time with two in diapers) our diapers were in tatters and needed to be replaced. I just couldn't keep going with the extra diaper changes, rinsing, and washing so I went back to the disposables we used with our oldest two kids. I still feel guilty when I order cases of diapers but I feel that $75 a month on inexpensive disposable diapers is giving me a good 30 minutes per day extra to spend time with the kids or accomplish other things (or just have a few minutes to relax) and that's worth it to me.

We also use paper plates, paper bowls, plastic cutlery, and disposable plastic cups most of the time. Honestly, I held out too long on this one. I do most all of our cooking from scratch and it got to where I was running the dishwasher 3-4x a day. I started turning towards convenience foods just to avoid the mess of homemade meals. Once I started buying those big packs of disposables I felt like I had the freedom to cook whatever I wanted and only have to do 1-2 loads of dishes each day. Yes, it's wasteful and I do feel bad about the extra garbage but I'd much rather my kids eat organic veggies and quinoa off paper plates than tater tots off fine china.

Thank you for sharing, this post was in no way meant to shame any one's lifestyle, I was just curious to see what we all thought about their way of life vs what they preach (The body being a temple yet eating junk food/save the Central Americans yet shop at Walmart where they use third world country workers in harsh conditions ect). 

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On 12/11/2016 at 0:43 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I definitely think they went into survival mode a long time ago and never looked back. If I had that many kids you better believe I would use paper plates and cups and disposable diapers. But that's why I have two kids. Because I want so much more for them. That's what these giant fundie families don't understand. God has given them too many kids and they can't handle it. So their kids suffer. 

I probably would too, but it just makes me chuckle how they brag about buying used and saving yet they literally throw money away by using disposables. There are enough kids to load plastic dishes in a dishwasher x3 a day. 

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2 hours ago, HomeschooledHeartThrob said:

I probably would too, but it just makes me chuckle how they brag about buying used and saving yet they literally throw money away by using disposables. There are enough kids to load plastic dishes in a dishwasher x3 a day. 

With the Duggars, I think when they first got their tv special, they were barely scraping by. So I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't use disposable dishes much when they lived in that tiny house with 14 kids. Anything they did healthy wasn't to help the environment but to get by one more month. Their first priority was to get by. Once they had more money from tlc, I believe they started using paper plates and cups more often. 

A lot of the stuff the cult pushed was also budget friendly for giant fundie families. Things like no cable or internet. Buy used and save the difference. Homemade modest matching prairie dresses. And even homeschooling can be a money saver depending on your situation (private Christian school is expensive!).

But once they had TV money, they got rid of some of the cult norms.

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9 hours ago, sj3339sta said:

So, I have a different take.  There was an episode years ago where the family visited and helped on a farm.  I remember them all taking turns doing chores to take care of the animals.  Boob made some snide ass remark towards the end that this was not something his family was going to do because it was too much work or too gross or something like that.  Remember, JB and animals do  not go together.  And, he could mess up his hair.

In a more recent episode, I think Jessa brought a friend to the THH to show off Jana's garden.  As a gardener myself, it was impressive.  And, considering the size and scale, and apparent fertility of the soil, it is definitely not a first year garden either.  It was completely referred to as Jana's garden, and if true, Jana is making some changes to how the family eats.  She has been getting into a lot of homeopathic stuff, as there was also a reference to the various family members saving bones for her make bone broth.  

Now, would JB and M ever bother to do this?  Not a chance.  But it seems the younger generations are learning and doing things a bit differently.  

I was also impressed by Jana's garden. As someone who really wants to get into homesteading (but can't due to where I'm at in life), it made me a tad jealous. From what I've seen, I think Jana really wants to have a homestead life, and she'd probably be pretty good at it. Gardening, DIYing projects, homeopathic stuff, saying she wants a dirt under finger nails guy: she doesn't seem like she wants to be the pretty preachers wife. Unfortunately, she seems like the only one besides maybe JD (or Josh lol) who seems interested in seeking out extra curricular activities. 

I also think it's funny that/s the first time we've seen the garden. Maybe TLC/Duggar shenanigans, but I'm surprised we haven't seen it before now, considering diet and not growing their own food has always been a common criticism of the duggars. 

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20 hours ago, grandmadugger said:

WTF?  Who sews on the floor?  These people piss me off. 

I would quite happily sew on the floor for larger things. We don't wear shoes in my house. If I needed the space for a larger project, doing it on the floor would be perfectly appropriate.

(I've noticed that Americans wear shoes indoors much more than Europeans do)

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