> homesteading requires an almost soul crushing amount of hard work and fortitude for very small gains Disclaimer: I am not a homesteader. That said, my under

> homesteading requires an almost soul crushing amount of hard work and fortitude for very small gains Disclaimer: I am not a homesteader. That said, my understanding is if you're going all the way with it, you're basically living as our ancestors did (maybe with some modern conveniences like better housing and tools) which, yes, required a vast amount of hard labor that would be unthinkable to modern minds. They had a couple of advantages that we don't: 1. They had no other choice, so there was no temptation to quit 2. They were raised in that environment so they were conditioned for it 3. They had a community around them that could help when things got tough (this is true of some modern homesteaders, but it sounds like you've been going solo, which frankly is probably a mistake if so) My recommendation would be to sync up with other homesteaders, specifically in your area, if you haven't already and share war stories and see if maybe they have recommendations for you or if the stuff you found to be soul crushingly hard is just the way it is, and then you can decide whether that's worth it or not to you.