7 Simple Ways To Start Homesteading
Homesteading and the homesteading lifestyle seem to be becoming more and more popular. But what exactly is homesteading and how do you do it? If you’re brand new to homesteading or find yourself daydreaming at your 9-5, these 7 simple ways to start homesteading will get you headed in the right direction!
Typically when people think of homesteading, they think of off grid, grow your own food, and make your garden with a horse drawn plow. While homesteading life could definitely look like that, it’s certainly not the only way to homestead in this modern day and age.
Home•stead•ing
I’m not typically a fan of wikipedia. However the wiki definition for homesteading is exactly what I always think of homesteading as. According to wikipedia, “homesteading is a lifestyle of self sufficiency. It’s characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also include the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale.”
So to me that’s exactly what homesteading is. Having a more self sufficient lifestyle. Growing and making things for yourself instead of being completely dependent on a store. Being more self reliant.
That’s definitely not to say that you have to be completely self reliant to be homesteading. We’re certainly not. We do raise our own beef and try to grow and preserve vegetables in our garden, but we’re not off the grid and we still buy lots of groceries every month to fill in the things that we can’t provide for ourselves. I’m sure there are many people who wouldn’t consider anything less that off grid and completely self sufficient as homesteading but for us, this is what it looks like.
Modern Homesteading
You don’t have to be “all in” or live completely isolated from society. There are so many ways to adopt a more homestead lifestyle in this modern time. First and foremost, it starts with mindset. If you’re a do-it-yourself-er and have a desire to be more self sufficient, you’re already half way there!
There are so many ways to move towards a homesteading lifestyle whether you live on a small subdivision lot, an acre on the outskirts of town, or a sprawling farm! We’re going to work through some in no particular order and I hope that you’ll be encouraged and inspired to give some of these a try. It truly is a joy and blessing to get back to some of the older ways of doing things!
#1 Cooking From Scratch
Cooking from scratch is one of the easiest changes to make no matter where you live. It doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult like most people think.
Cooking from scratch can range from simple family meals to homemade yogurt, sauerkraut, bone broth, mayo, breads whether yeast or sourdough…there really are endless possibilities! If you’re wanting to find some good from scratch recipes, be sure and check out my recipes page here. I only share things that we make and love!
When cooking from scratch you also get the benefit of healthier food without so many additives and preservatives. Plus the fact that homemade food tastes so much better than pre-packaged! As if those reasons aren’t good enough, cooking from scratch is way cheaper than eating out or even buying packaged food.
#2 Gardening
Gardening is another thing that you can start even in a small balcony apartment. A garden doesn’t have to be elaborate or big enough to feed your family all year long. You can learn and start getting the experience even with a few potted tomatoes and peppers.
There are so many garden options: container gardening, raised bed gardens, vertical gardening, hydroponics, row gardening, and more! Gardening is one of the things that you can easily scale for any stage of life. Whether it be growing enough to eat a few fresh veggies during the summer all the way up to growing and preserving all of the veggies your family eats for a whole year.
If you’re interested in building a raised bed garden, my mom, over at Rambling Rose Farmhouse has a tutorial for how to get started.
#3 Food Preservation
Going right along with gardening, another good homesteading skill is learning to can, freeze, dry, and ferment fresh produce. Even if you’re not growing all of the food yourself, you can go to a fruit stand or farmer’s market and buy lots of fresh, in season produce to preserve at the peak of it’s flavor. It’ll taste better and is usually much cheaper when buying in season.
Even if you buy fruit and veggies to preserve, you’re still learning valuable skills that will serve you well if you get in a position to be able to grow more of your own food in the future.
Related: How To Can Green Beans
#4 Backyard Chickens
As long as I can remember, my family has had chickens. It strange, but I really can’t imagine how it would be not to have them. There’s something so immensely satisfying about walking out to the chicken coop and coming back with a basket full of fresh eggs!
Chickens are one of the absolute easiest farm animals to start with. They’re so easy. Give them food, clean water, and shelter and they’ll provide your family with fresh eggs and meat if you choose to go that route.
Many subdivisions even allow for a limited number of chickens, so don’t count it out completely before you look into what you can do. If you’ve got a little more space, you could even get enough hens to sell the extra eggs and help offset the feed costs.
#5 Buying Local Meat
If you’re not at the point where you can raise your own meat, many times you can find a local farmer to buy meat from. Most will split orders so you could buy a half of a cow or a half of a pig if you don’t have the freezer space for a whole.
You’ll be getting way higher quality meat than what you can get at the grocery store. Also, by buying meat from a local farmer, you totally eliminate the middle man and become much more aware of where your food is actually coming from.
#6 Goats
If you have a little more land, goats are a great option for both raising your own meat and starting a home dairy. Goats are how many people dip their toes into the home dairy world before jumping to a milk cow.
If you’re wanting to enter the home dairy scene but not sure whether to start with a cow or a goat, check out my post comparing the 2. I went in depth through a ton of the things you should think about and consider if you’re just getting started.
Goats can be kept on a much smaller piece of land than a cow so they’re a good option if you have just a few acres, especially if it includes some woods. Goats love to eat brush! They have wonderful personalities and can add so much to a small {or large} homestead.
A word of caution…if you are getting goats for the first time, be sure and do your research. Goats tend to be much more high maintenance and can have different problems if you’re not prepared for how to care for them.
#7 Learn New Skills
The main thing is just start learning! Even if a homesteading life seems like a distant dream to you, you can start learning the skills that you’ll need now and be so much more prepared if and when the opportunity comes along to jump in!
There are so many things you can start learning no matter where you are! Soap making, sewing, medicinal herbs, foraging, animal husbandry, fermenting, bread baking, making butter, and the list goes on and on. You don’t have to live on a farm, have animals, or a garden to start learning and living a more homestead lifestyle.
Related Posts:
Milk Cow vs Milk Goat | Getting Started With A Home Dairy
Homestead Gift Guide | Homestead And Farm Essentials
Calf Sharing | Only Milk Once A Day {Or Only When You Need Milk}
How To Plant A One Container Herb Garden
Pin To Your Best Homestead Board:
