A homestead can mean different things to different people. In a broader sense, homesteading is about living a self-sufficient lifestyle or living off the land). Homesteading typically applies to farms. It’s possible to be an urban homesteader by practicing sustainable living techniques, urban agriculture, and a frugal lifestyle. Some people believe that homesteading is more defined by the lifestyle choices that you make (rather than whether you live in the country or the city).
For most people, the main aspects of a homestead are having their own land and the buildings on it, and undertaking small-scale farming with the goal of being self-sufficient (or at least limiting their dependence on outside sources). Homesteaders practice subsistence agriculture and often preserve their own food that they harvest to last them through the winter. So skills like canning and pickling are essential for homesteaders to have. They may even produce their own clothing, textiles, and other crafts either to use within their own home (or to sell to generate a little extra income).
Homesteaders tend to live a more independent life, and may only venture into town once a week or less for supplies or to see friends. Homesteads are far more likely to rely on renewable energy sources like wind or solar electricity than the average home. In addition to growing their own vegetables and livestock, the idea of being completely “off the grid” is a massive appeal to a lot of homesteaders. Homestead living could be the best thing you’ll ever do. Of course, many people fail at homesteading because of false expectations they have. The advantages and disadvantages listed below could help you figure out whether or not this lifestyle is right for you:
Advantages
1. A big bonus of living rurally and committing to
homesteading is that you get to live somewhere peaceful. You’re free from the
noise of today’s society, and there’s no hurriedness that you get in a city. It
can be a great environment to retire to or raise a family. Nosy neighbors
aren’t near in a rural setting, and there is a better sense of privacy.
2. You can become self-sufficient if you go down the
homestead living path. You can grow your own crops, sell your own natural
products, and start supplying yourself with different things. As it shows on work.chron.com, you can earn a decent living from farming. There is
a sense of self-accomplishment knowing that you are able to provide for yourself
and your family.
3. You can save money. If you supply yourself with food
and other produce, you won’t need to spend much in grocery stores. You’ll find
your general bills are cheaper out in a rural area too. You can provide
alternate ways to produce electricity and water and save much of money on
energy bills.
Disadvantages
1. An extended vacation is not possible unless you
have a neighbor to tend the animals on your homestead.[i]
2. Homestead living requires lots of hard work and
effort. If you want to fully commit to this way of life, then your days will be
filled with manual tasks that require lots of energy. It’s not as easy as you
might think. It takes detailed planning
and knowing how to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
3. If you live in a rural area and decide to have your
own livestock, then you end up with the smell that comes with it. Your days may
be filled with the lovely smell of manure in your home, and some people can’t
handle this. As you can see on www.aromatech.com, there are air diffusers and other products you can
buy to try and mask these smells.
4. You’re cut off from modern society. This means you
might not have access to a host of things you’re used to having close by. You
don’t have access to instant care and shopping. It may be difficult to get phone
and Internet service out in rural areas.
Being
prepared before you begin to homestead (mentally, physically, and hypothetically)
is of prime importance. If you feel creating a homestead seems overwhelming,
this is a guide for you to achieve your homestead dreams, and turn them into a
reality:
Cheap chickens-You
might be able to start a chicken adventure with as little as $26. Build a small
chicken house out of scrap wood. Until that happens, keep those chicks in a box
in your laundry room (before they are big enough to live outside). Baby chicks
cost around $16 for 8, and a bag of starter feed cost around $10. We let them
free range after that. They are an easy animal to start out with if you don’t
have any experience. This process is very cheap (compared to other homesteading
ventures). Excess chickens and roosters that you can bring home from your
neighbor means free meat and eggs.
Compost-Starting
a compost pile doesn’t cost a dime. Just start throwing everything compostable
into a pile, and water and churn it every once in awhile. Composting is not a
complicated thing and it’s hard to get it wrong. The benefits of having your
own compost are a more productive and healthy garden, and free
fertilizer.
Get starters
from other people- Growing things is a big part of
homesteading whether that is plants, animals, or a family. Plants and animals
cost money. But almost everything that grows is multiplying and growing more.
Plants send up shoots, drop seeds, or re-root themselves. Animals have babies.
Instead of buying everything you need to grow plants or raise animals, get your
starters from your friends and neighbors.
Ask your friends
what things they have extra of, or what things are always producing more then
they need. Here are a few examples: Raspberries send up new shoots every year,
and gardeners just rip the new ones out. Strawberries re-root themselves
wherever the vines touch the ground, and create a new plant. Willow
trees are the easiest tree to root, or cut off a baby branch
and stick it in water.
Sunflowers produce
about a million seeds on each flower, grab a dead one at the end of the season
from your friend and sprinkle the seeds in your yard. Quaking Aspen trees send
up tons of baby trees all around it. That is why they are usually groves of aspen
trees. Ground covers spread everywhere. Just hack off a corner plant and drop
it in the dirt at your house.
When you forget
you had a bag of potatoes and they start growing? Stick them in the dirt
because they are still alive. Fill a bucket with dirt, and put the tip of a
grape vine (still attached to the mother plant) down in it a few inches.
Water it for a few weeks and it will root. Some herbs bunch up, and fill in
well like thyme. Taking starters is as easy as digging up part of the plant.
Learn to sew-Sewing
is not an all or nothing activity. You do not have to make your family’s
clothes to save money. Every small amount counts. If you don’t own a sewing
machine, that’s okay. Although it is easier and faster with a sewing machine,
you can start out with small things that only require a needle and thread.
Take for example
mending pants instead of buying new ones. How about letting out the hem of a
pair of pants so they fit for a few more months? Sewing and mending are one of
the best examples of “making it work”. It is an incredibly valuable
homesteading skill that saves you money. Make it a goal to learn at least basic
sewing skills.
Make
homesteading friends-Homesteading is significantly easier
if you have some buddies for a lot of reasons. One is that it’s nice to have
some support when you need it. If all you ever hear from people is how
fanatical you are for homesteading, and you don’t have anyone to talk to that
agrees with your madness, you’re going to get burnt out. Another reason is that
it’s nice to partner up sometimes. Let’s say you are really good at growing
tomatoes, and you have a neighbor with too many laying chickens. Trading is
something that homesteaders love.
You are going to
have homesteading questions. The best people to ask those questions are
experienced homesteaders in your area. Weather, climate, and laws are things
best answered by someone who also does homesteading. To save the most money
possible, you must borrow things. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s just a
smart thing to do. If you don’t have the money to buy something, ask a friend
if you can borrow theirs when they aren’t using it. Make friends.
Plan ahead-Procrastination
can be a lifelong struggle for many people. With homesteading, procrastinating
costs you money, time, and problems. Make lists, have a calendar, plan meals,
and map out your garden. The more you map things out, the better you can manage
your time, and the more money you will save. Let’s look at an extreme example:
think about what a difference it would make if you were to plan out an
entire year of meals. You could plan out your garden for exactly what food you
would need to grow.
You would know how
much of each thing you needed to preserve. And you could save a lot of time
always having things ready for your meals. If you fall anywhere in the middle,
you are still on your way to some great homesteading, planning ahead, and
saving money. That goes for anything, not just food. Plan ahead what tools
and supplies you will need for the whole year. You could be asking friends
early on, or keeping your eyes out for those things at the thrift
store. Think about it.
Preserve what
you grow and what you gather-Preserving food is a
dying art. There are a million ways to preserve fruits, vegetables, meat, and
nuts. The whole point of it is to save the food you have from going bad and
wasting. What better way is there to use everything that you already
have? The four largest ways to preserve foods are canning,
freezing,
dehydrating,
and cold storage. You can borrow canning supplies, but you will need to
purchase canning jars unless you know someone who has extra.
You can borrow a
dehydrator, though I feel like dehydrators pay for themselves in
the first one or two uses. If you don’t have a freezer then you
may want to wait on that one since they are hard to find for less
than a few hundred dollars. As for cold storage, if you don’t have space in a
basement or under your house, you can literally dig a hole in the ground.
Don’t think that you can’t preserve food if you don’t grow a large garden. If
you aren’t preserving, you are probably wasting, which can be the same thing as
tossing dollar bills in the garbage can.
Quit buying
things you can’t afford-Part of homesteading
is being frugal. The easiest way to blow through money is to buy things
you can’t afford. I say that because when you put things on payments, you end
up spending more money on something just because you couldn’t wait a few
months.
Make a rule for
yourself that you won’t buy anything unless you have the cash for it. Sometimes
that means waiting awhile. But there are more benefits to that habit than just
saving money. Peace of mind, better relationships with your family, and more
trust from the people you have money dealings with.
Simplify your
life-This would be the first thing to do when you want to
start homesteading. Sometimes you think you need to do more, when doing less
really well, is a much better (and cheaper) way to go. Is there anything in
your life that is draining your time, energy, and money that you could
eliminate? So if you are really serious about homesteading, realize that it is
a time commitment. You will end up frustrated and disappointed if you try to
add homesteading without taking anything else out.
Start
gardening-You can start gardening for about $5.00. All you need is
some dirt, sun, water, and a packet of seeds. It does not have to be special
dirt. Contrary to what some people believe, seeds do grow in almost any soil.
You might not have the same size tomato plants as your neighbor who uses
Miracle Grow, but your seeds will still produce.
A shovel is handy, but if you don’t already
have one you can borrow a friend, or grow a “no-till” garden. If you have no
piece of land to grow some seeds in, get creative. Use pots, sign up for a spot
in the community garden, or better yet, borrow a few feet in your friend’s
yard. I can’t think of a single homesteader that wouldn’t let you share a tiny
piece of their garden if you are willing to take care of it.
“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” (Laura Ingalls Wilder)[ii]
“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” (Laura Ingalls Wilder)[ii]
[i] This point was
given by my friend, Tom Critser.
[ii] Sources used:
·
“10 steps to start homesteading, on the cheap” by The Real Farmhouse
·
“7 Ways to Start a Homestead (Without Being Overwhelmed)” by
Homesteading Natural Living
·
“Homestead
Hints ~ Advantages and Disadvantages to Having Land” by Little House Living
·
“How to Start a Homestead: Step By Step
Beginners Guide” by GroCycle
·
“Pros and Cons of Homestead Living”
This topic was suggested
by my daughter, who hopes to do this one day in the future.
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