12 Homestead Skills to Learn This Winter

"If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you."

You know that feeling of overwhelm when you look at everything you want to learn about homesteading, and you want to know it all NOW?

Well here’s a remedy for you: winter!

Winter is the best time to learn the skills you need come summer, and its possible.

It’s a break, you have downtime where you’re not tending heavily to garden and yard tasks.

Although winter had it’s own set of homesteading chores, it truly is the perfect time to plan. You can sit by the fire (or heat vent) knitting with your kids, practicing canning, or baking all the sourdough goodies.

You can fulfill your goal of learning and incorporating new homesteading skills each and every month.

This list can be way longer, so I recommend making your own list of things that would be beneficial for you to learn where you’re at right now. Here are some ideas from my own list to get you started:

1. Bread baking - nothing says homesteading more than delicious baked bread risen on the counter all day, topped with homemade jam from the cellar.

You can experiment with different flavours, grains, or types. If you're willing to give up the soothing act of kneading, a child can easily become responsible for making the family's bread each day.

2. Sourdough - this multipurpose dough is a staple in every homestead kitchen. As a naturally fermented food it helps make the grains easier to digest and the nutrients more bioavailable. Plus it can bes cool homeschool science project for kids to take part in.

3. Sewing - learning to repair or make your own clothes and quilts lends to the abundance mindset of homesteaders. Slow fashion and mending is a timeless skill everyone should know. Next step, make your own clothes, or kids' clothes.

4. Komboucha - more fermented foods! Komboucha is a fermented black tea that is super beneficial to gut health and you can experiment with lots of flavours found on your homestead.

5. Knitting - using a simple stitch you can make many practical items such a scarves, sweaters, and socks. A timeless skill that is very beneficial.

6. Pasta making - pasta is such a simple, easy food and let's be honest, a go-to meal for those IDGAF nights. You can get super creative with flavours and colors if you are adventurous enough.

7. Soap making - You can make a year's supply of soap for cheaper and with better ingredients. Add items from your own homestead like lavender, rosemary flowers and oats and gift some!

8. Houseplant growing - bring the garden indoors and try and keep it alive! Houseplants are great for cleaning the air. They also provide greenery for stress relief and many say they sleep better. Houseplant care is also a perfect responsibility for kids.

9. Rug making - Old-fashioned rug making is a great way to repurpose old clothes that are beyond repair or donation.

10. Seed sprouting - Sprouting allows for better digestion as it breaks through the barrier of the grains, pulses, legumes, seeds you're using. It's also a quick turnaround which makes it another fun project for kids.

11. Fermentation - fermented foods are a great way to get many nutrients and beneficial bacteria for a healthy gut and immune system. They are a powerhouse source of probiotics, vitamin B complex, and dietary fiber. Fermented foods have beneficial enzymes that help your body absorb nutrients and aids in digestion. Give this fermented salsa recipe a whirl!

12. Canning - pressure canning and water bath canning. Nothing is worse than a good harvest going to pot because you didn't were trying a new recipe and had really never canned before. Practicing in the dead of winter allows you to grow your skills and find recipes the whole family loves. Just but your produce in bulk or on discount and learn away!

Get your kids or family excited and involved. Or a friend who wants to learn with you. Sticking to something is easier when you have accountability to someone else.

I think you should absolutely learn these skills before you are faced with the rush of harvest season. Learning to can or ferment while trying to get your harvest processed is, to me, probably the worst time to be trying it for the first time.

Plus, we have such a long winter, may as well spread out the garden learning all year round!

You can try out different recipes and flavours on a smaller scale than using a whole harvest. And with these new skills under your belt, you can use them to make money from your homestead!

They also make great gift ideas for friends and family.

RELATED: 23+ Unique and Inexpensive Handmade Gifts From the Homestead

So tell me, what’s on your winter learning list?