How to Start Your Homestead

A homestead life doesn’t have a checklist for you to complete.  It’s about changing how you interact with the world.  

Whether buy your food from a local farmer’s market, use cloth napkins, compost, or go fully off grid, homesteading can happen anywhere and on any scale.

Read What is Homesteading?

Plan Your Homestead

What’s that saying?  A plan is 9/10^th of your success? Don’t buy the goat and fences when you’ve never even owned an animal, or tear up half your yard for a massive garden when you’re a professional cactus killer. Been there, done that!

This has always been my problem. 

I have great ideas but horrible execution and planning – you want to run and start all the things at once and be self-sufficient tomorrow.  Hear me when I say this leads to burnout, failure, and feeling discouraged.

Start with a plan. Don’t try to do everything at once! 

The best way to start is to pick two things you’d like to change or learn and then learn all you can about them.  Then, put what you learn into practice for 6 months or a year and keep adding things in. 

It’s a LIFESTYLE and the change in mindset (and skill) is going to take time. Plus, starting small is also budget friendly!

Start with some container plants or switching out a few products in your house to more sustainable and non-toxic options.

Define Your Homestead Goals

What is it you ultimately want to end up with?  What’s it going to take to get there?  Part of your plan is knowing where you want to end up so you can take the steps to get there.  It’s not a race. 

I have a 20-year plan for my garden because I know I need that grace so I don’t feel overwhelmed and pressured to have it up and feeding us through the winter right away.

Think about your life and how you want it to be.  Do you want to be tied to home with livestock? Make sure what you’re doing is getting you closer to your goals, and not your idea of what you think homesteading should be. Remember, you get to define what homesteading looks like for your life!

Where to Start

• Take inventory of your property – what space do you have, what tools do you have available
• What are your current needs and how can you meet them – save $20/wk on groceries, build a side table, make your kitchen environmentally friendly,
• Make a list of projects and list them by priority
• Choose your top two items and start learning about them
• Take baby steps this week to get you to your greater goal

Set Up Your Structure

I cannot stress this enough!  Having good bones and structure to your homestead is key for long term success.  You don’t want to have to do things twice if you don’t have it. 

Just like in a house, the most important stuff often gets hidden behind a wall. But without it being done right, you’ll have to tear apart the house to fix it.

If you have any kind of property, there are a few key things you want to think about and put your focus (and money) into first and foremost.

Key Structure Items

Water – irrigation is important.  Have water where you need it and make sure the lines are protected from freezing.

Fences – if you have livestock (or deer), you need quality fencing and this may cost a lot upfront but is well worth it so you’re not chasing Bessie down the street!

Garden – place your garden where you’ll see it routinely. Spend time and energy building quality beds and soil.  This can take years so don’t be discouraged.

Compost – everyone has waste, let yours work for you!  Start small and work your way up.

Access – the worst thing is not being able to wheelbarrows, tractors, or trucks where you need them to go. Make sure you have a solid pathway.

Storage – you’ll need a lot so make sure you have it!  The last thing you want is things getting damaged by the elements or lost. 

Workshop – homesteaders do a lot of fixing and building. A place to work is crucial!  I used my dining room as my first workshop… I don’t recommend it if you want to stay in the relationship you’re in.  My husband made sure I had a shop at our next place!

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Where you fall on the scale is completely up to you.  You may start at one end and end up at the other. Enjoy the fun of learning new skills and living a healthier lifestyle!

5 Things You Can Start Homesteading This Week

1. Switch out toxic household products (Read 5 Household Toxins to Get Rid of NOW!)
2. Make a meal from scratch (Check out our Recipes section for easy ideas!)
3. Choose two herbs and start growing them in your kitchen (Check out our How to Grow Guides)
4. Start composting your kitchen scraps
5. Make something with your hands

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