Gardening and working outdoors can be a great thing for both your health and the health of the planet — and even though it can be hard work, it can also be very rewarding.
One mom's recent TikTok story of how she and her family ditched city living to become farmers went viral, seeming to strike a chord with many people.
"I wanted to live simple and frugally," homesteading content creator Savannah (@thehotmesshomestead) told her 306,000 followers. "We got chickens and ducks and I actually started a small egg business as well as selling chicks on the side."
@thehotmesshomestead I have a Lotta new followers so I wanted to recap our journey so far. I fully understand that this is not an option for everybody. It takes a lot of hard work and pieces to fit together to make these kind of changes, and I pray that if it's not possible for you right now that at some point it will be if it's something you want ❤️❤️❤️ ##shedhouse##shedhome##chickens##chickensoftiktok##countrylife##countryliving##crazychickenlady##shedtohouse##farm##farming##homestead##homesteading##frugallife##frugalliving ♬ Paper Birds (3 min) - Jordan Halpern Schwartz
Savannah and her family's journey began with buying her grandfather's 26-acre property in the country and buying a 600-square-foot shed house that was one-third the size of the 1,800-square-foot house they had inhabited in the city. But according to Savannah, they have no regrets.
"Watching [my husband] decompress and find happiness as well as myself has been just an amazing thing to see," she said. "We realized this life of keeping up with the Joneses … it just wasn't for us."
Her story echoes another similar story of an Englishwoman who gave up her city life to become a farmer at age 63 after beginning a relationship with a man who owned his own farm. "It seemed like the right thing to do, and I haven't looked back since," she said.
According to one recent study, gardening can lead to decreased stress and anxiety levels and more optimism, not to mention the health benefits from eating the fresh (hopefully pesticide- and herbicide-free) vegetables you'll end up growing.
And, while that may be the move for some people, you don't have to give up your entire life and buy a plot of land to get into gardening — you can start a garden right where you live, even if that happens to be in a city.
"I love this for you guys," wrote one commenter under Savannah's TikTok video.
"This is the best life," wrote another. "It's not for everyone but I sure love my place."
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