Homesteading is on the rise with more Americans starting their journey in the last 5 years than ever before. You don’t have to own a large farm or even any land to start homesteading. With the ultimate goal of homesteading to be more self-sufficient, you can do a few simple things at home to start the journey, even without owning land.
First, what does it mean to homestead? At the basic definition, it is focusing your efforts on becoming more reliant on yourself for your needs. This could be growing and preserving your own food, using alternative energy sources, or just ensuring you have minimal waste in everything you do.
If you do not own your own land, there are many ways you can homestead. You can start by purchasing your produce and preserving it. This not only helps the local farming community, but gives you a freezer and canning closet full of great healthy treats! Some areas have community gardens where you can grow your own vegetables or help in the care of the garden and enjoy some of the harvest. Other ideas include making your own soap, laundry detergent, or other household goods. Minimizing waste can be accomplished by cooking less for meals, freezing the leftovers, or composting food scraps and coffee grounds.
Once you make the decision you want to join the movement, there are so many great blogs and websites to give you ideas on what to do. We are going to focus on some tips so you do not get overwhelmed and give up.
Start small! This means in how many new efforts you take on as well as how much of each effort. Make a list of all the new things you want to do. Prioritize the impact each will have on your family and estimate how much of a time commitment each will have. Pick 3-4 that you will enjoy the most and that will not become too much work. Start small in each selection as well. Chickens are a common first thing people do. Instead of raising enough for you, the office, and the neighbors, just get a few to supplement your family’s needs. You can always add a few more over time. The same with growing your produce. If you have never raised a garden before, start with a few different varieties and a few plants of each. When you start preserving your own food, store what your family will use until the next growing season. Grow over time. As you will find, each of these tasks will take more time than expected. Master each of those, then keep growing!
Research & patience. You will make mistakes but try to minimize them by doing your research. Speak to the professionals at the local store where you are buying your seeds, vegetables, or chickens. Reach out to your county extension offices. They have experienced staff as well as brochures or can direct you to online literature or courses. When you start preserving your own food, start with some easier varieties and freezing. Keep notes from each year – what you learned in growing your crops, tips or tricks in preserving food, how much corn did you actually use, how much space in the garden do you have – these will only make you better and more productive.
Enjoy the journey! Homesteading shouldn’t turn into something you feel you have to do each day but part of the day you look forward to. Adjust what you do along the way. If you enjoy growing crops more, back off on some of your other tasks. Try to balance out and identify little wins. When growing crops, those wins can be when the seeds emerge, start to flower, and first vegetables start to appear – not just when time to pick the ripened veggie! Mixing up shorter season crops like radish, beets, or lettuce with longer season crops can help as well. If we can be of any help, do not hesitate to reach out! We have been fortunate to have our previous generations pass along knowledge, learned a few things along the way, and enjoy passing along what we know to the next generation. Best of luck along your journey!