The old timey definition of homesteading would be living in a totally self-sufficient manner ie. providing for yourself all the necessities of life; food, shelter, clothing etc.

In this day and age I think this is next to impossible as the exigencies of modern life such as taxes, insurance, transportation (cars vs. horses) require some income - either self generated or working for the man (Bobert's Boss Hogg).

Ergo any definition of "homesteading" today implies a matter of degree of self-sufficiency.

My wife and I are living a lifestyle that is probably more self-sufficient than that of most city dwellers ( 95% of the population of North America).

We live on 75 acres of land about half of which is in hay and the rest woods and bog. The hay land we let out on a barter basis as we do not keep animals. We maintain a large organic garden which provides us with all our vegetable requirements for the year round which we preserve by freezing, root cellaring and pickling.

We both work out on a part time basis (two days a week for me, two and a half for my wife). Between the two of us we bring in enough to pay the bills and yet have enough time to ourselves to pursue those things that we really want to do. There is never a shortage of chores around the old homestead from cutting and splitting firewood to heat us during those cold Canadian winters to maintaining the property and 120 year old buildings.

Our philosophy of life is to try and live in harmony with nature as much as possible and get our satisfaction from the environment around us rather than from accumulating possessions.