Good question. A lot of people think of homesteading and think of people who got free land from the government or are old farmers living off-grid someplace. From the research, I have done modern homesteading is kind of more about becoming self-sufficient and taking care of the environment. You can really start homesteading anywhere you are. To me, the pressure is off and you are free to do what you want and are able to.
There are no “rules” or standards you have to live up to and you can do what you and your family have decided is right for you. I love the freedom that comes with homesteading and would hate it if I had to be held to someone else’s standard.
When I think of modern homesteading I think of smaller scale gardens, preserving food, feeding our families well, and doing all that we can on our own. I do what I can but I don’t pressure myself to be 100% self-sufficient. I realize that there are still things I need to buy and that’s okay. Each year I am learning more and understanding how to take care of my family more and more on my own. I have a lot of things in my life that are important to me and if I had to stress and pressure myself to become 100% self-sufficient I would not be able to do anything well. But if you have decided that you want to one day be 100% self-sufficient that is awesome! Everyone has a different situation.
My husband and I have decided that for us we just want to be able to take care of ourselves as much as we can…
We don’t want to live under the assumption that the government will always be there to provide for our needs and that someday we may have to do things on our own. If something happened we want to be sure that our family is taken care of and that we will be fed and clothed. We are not doomsday preppers by any means but just want to be prepared in case of an emergency.
Modern homesteading is going to look different for everyone. I personally am taking it slow and adding a few things each year. My husband works full time and I have my kids who I homeschool. So we don’t have the time to go for it full force. But some of you may have more time and can add things in at a faster pace, and that is awesome! But just know that you can begin your homesteading journey anywhere you are. You can even begin homesteading if you live in the city! You will just be starting much smaller and there is nothing wrong with that. If you feel too overwhelmed to start something why not start with learning?
Get some books, find some blogs or watch some videos on youtube. Start to expand your knowledge.
Now that we have an idea what modern homesteading is…
…..Let’s cover some of the common questions that are asked about modern homesteading.
Do have to get free land to be a modern homesteader?
NOPE!
Back in 1862, there was a deal made about getting free land and homesteading. But as I mentioned above that is not the case anymore and “modern homesteading is completely different. According to Wikipedia homesteading simply means…a lifestyle of self-sufficiency
That is going to look different for everyone. You will have the extreme homesteader who does everything themselves and is 100% self-sufficient and then you will have the beginner who is just starting out and learning the ropes. Everyone has to start someplace and the goal is to get as close to 100% self-sufficient as possible…but this takes time. Honestly, for me I don’t plan to ever become 100% self- sufficient but I plan to keep learning more and more each year and doing more and more for myself. You will have to decide what you can do and want to do for your family.
Do you have to have been raised on a farm?
No way! My family moved out to the country when I was about 12 and we got some animals. My mom always loved gardening and raising animals but I would not say that I was raised on a farm. Like my mom, I have come to love being outside and gardening and all that stuff. But I have taken it slow and added on to the knowledge I had as the years go by. It will obviously help if you have prior knowledge but it is not needed.
If you do not have any prior knowledge I would encourage you to get out into your community and find some local farmers who may have some wisdom to share. You can obviously learn from reading and videos but there is something invaluable about real life relationships.
Do you have to be a hippie?
Nope! My husband makes fun of me all the time for being a hippie but no you don’t have to be a hippie. I do love being “natural” though and continuing to get rid of as many chemicals out of my home as I possibly can…But I don’t think that is considered a hippie.
I kind of laugh when I hear this question because we tend to call anyone who does things naturally a “hippie”. But according to Wikipedia the definition to a hippie is…” a person of unconventional appearance, typically having long hair and wearing beads, associated with a subculture involving a rejection of conventional values and the taking of hallucinogenic drugs.” I don’t think that applies to homesteaders at all!
Do you have to be 100% self-sufficient?
No! We pretty much already went over this…but homesteading is really up to you as to how it will look. There are no rules or standards that you are being held to. So you don’t need to feel pressured or stressed to have your life look a certain way.
It will look different for everyone…
I know that I keep harping on this subject but with all the comparing and judging that goes on I just want you to know that you DO NOT HAVE TO be like the next homesteader. Your life is your own and you can decide how you want it to look. Sit down with your spouse and figure out what you guys want. Not what you think you should do. Homesteading is not worth it if it will just add stress onto your life. It is meant to simplify your life not add on a bunch of stress.
Now I am not saying that is will be easy because it will not be at all. But what I am saying is that there should be a balance. If it is causing you to much stress and your family cannot handle everything you are trying to do then I would recommend that you back down and not try to do it all at once. Start small and slowly add things to your life.
So now that we have that all cleared up let’s talk about some ways that you can get started as a modern day homesteader.
What do you have to work with?
Figure out what you have to work with. Do you live in the city? Do you have a few acres? Do you have hundreds of Acres? Believe it or not, you can be a homesteader with any of those situations.
I want to share with you a few ways to homestead with your current situation.
City living:
I know you probably think that if you live in the city there is no way you can homestead. But I beg to differ. Yes, I agree it will be harder but it is still totally possible. Here are some ways you can homestead while living in the city…
1.Learn
Take the time you have and educate yourself. Find some books about gardening. Find some homesteading channels on youtube. Do some research from other bloggers who have done what you want to do. Don’t waste your time! You will save yourself so many mistakes if you take the time to learn from others. Think of the things you want to do and look up those specific things. Remember to take notes as you go.
2. Brew kombucha
I am sure you have heard of kombucha by now and the amazing benefits it has for your gut health. But if you are like me you don’t wanna pay the price the store charges. Well, make your own. It is super easy (if you can make tea you can make kombucha!) and insanely cheap. If you have any questions or want to know more about kombucha make sure to check out my article here.
3. Ferment Foods
Similar to kombucha fermented foods are very important for gut health. But again the grocery stores charge an arm and a leg for fermented foods. So make your own. Even if you have to buy the veggies to ferment you are a step closer to doing things on your own. In my article, I answer questions about fermenting foods! Make sure to check it out.
4. Start a small garden
If you have a little area in your yard start a garden! Even if you don’t have much room you can begin to learn about gardening for when you do have the chance to have a bigger garden. What if you don’t have a yard? Start small container gardens by your house. This is actually quite handy when you can just open your door and pick your veggies. My friend has lots of veggies growing on her back deck!
This is just a few ideas to get you started. There are plenty more ideas. I just wanted to get your wheels turning on the fact that you can do things with a small space. Don’t let your minimized space stop you from beginning your homesteading journey.
5. Hunting
Even if you live in the city you can still find the property to hunt on. Maybe a friend has land that you can use or you can use state land. Whatever it is I would recommend looking into it. Good quality meats cost a fortune and if you can supply your own meat you will save yourself a ton of money. And You might find that you really enjoy being out in nature. Or in my case, your husband does the hunting.
A few acres:
I just want to show you that even if you only have a couple acres you can still do quite a bit. So obviously you can do anything from the list above so I will just share with you a few extra things that we do with our 2 acres.
1. Chickens (for eggs)
We built a coop and have 12 chickens that lay eggs. This really does not take much space at all and they give me exactly enough eggs for my family. I even have space for them to eat the grass so that their diet is healthier. And believe it or not, they are not that much work! You just feed and water them.
2. Chickens ( for meat)
The last couple years we have done meat birds and even though we do not have much space it has worked out fine. We move them to new pasture every day and it works out great. By pasture, I mean our yard. If you want to learn more about how we do that check it out here.
3. A large garden
We also have had a pretty large garden for the last few years and have had pretty good success. I have been able to can and put away lots of yummy food for the winter. I really enjoy having a garden and it is great for my kids to learn and help me along the way.
Hundreds of acres:
This one is pretty self-explanatory and You can do pretty much whatever you want but I will give you a few ideas in case you are overwhelmed and just don’t know where to start. Again, You can do any of the ideas mentioned above but here are a few more.
1. Animals to butcher
Start thinking about getting animals that can be butchered. Like I said if you want to buy grass fed or higher quality meat it is going to cost a fortune and you are relying on someone else right? So why not do it on your own? I would love to do a cow and a pig. We don’t have the room for that now but when I get more land that is on my “dream” list.
2. Rent your property
As you are just getting started…or anytime really a little extra cash is nice. If you have some fields that are not being used see if any local farmers would want to rent them out. You would be surprised at how much farmers will pay to rent a field. I am a pretty frugal person and like to find all the ways that I can utilize what I have. So if you have a field that you do not plan on using check into this as an option.
3. Solar power
This is honestly an area that I do not know much about…But I do know that the extreme homesteaders want to get to the place of being off the grid. So if that is something on your “dream list” Then, by all means, start doing your research and start to become self- sufficient in this area.
I know I keep mentioning your “dream list” and don’t worry I will explain what I mean in just a second.
Figure out your budget
Now that you know what you have to work with you will need to figure out what your finances look like. I know that it is the American way to spend what you don’t have but I personally don’t go into debt for anything but my house. So I would encourage you to do the same. I know it is tempting but if you get into debt for homesteading that kind of defeats the purpose. You are not really self-sufficient if you are in debt to someone else.
So how is that possible? well depending on the amount of money you have you might just have to start slow. I know that is not the answer you want to hear but that’s the way it is. And there are ways to make money on your homestead so that you can move at a little faster of a rate. I wrote an article on ways to make money on your homestead. If that is something that you are interested in check it out here.
I would suggest that you use a simple excel spreadsheet to make a budget. If you already have a family budget then you are ahead of the game. I would just look at your budget and see if there are ways you can cut back and put that money toward your homestead. Or maybe you decide that your homestead is an investment and you are willing to take a little money out of savings to get you started.
Whatever you decide is up to you but your finances will play a big role in your homestead and defiantly something you want to look at.
What are your dreams?
Okay, onto your “dream list”. We all have ideas in our head of what we want our homestead to look like someday. But now you can see that the land you have and the money will play a big role in what you can do right away for your homestead. But there is nothing wrong with having dreams and I would recommend that you keep those dreams. I mean you have to have something to shoot for right?
And it will be a huge help for you on those rough days. So why not make a dream list? List all of the things that you would like to do someday and have them someplace that you can see them.
Prioritize those dreams
Everyone has heard the quote “dreams only work if you do” and that is so true. We all have dreams but if we don’t do anything about them nothing will ever happen and they will just stay dreams. So since we don’t want that to happen let’s put a plan in place to make your dreams a reality.
Look at your “dream list”. Start putting them into the order of priority. What would you like to see happen first? What is most important to you? What would benefit your family most?
What can you do this year?
Now, look at your list again. What do you think you can do this year? This will take a little bit of time because you will have to look at the land that you have and see what is all possible. You will also need to look at your budget and see what your budget will allow for this year.
Now some people can’t think farther than a year…and that’s okay. If it is too overwhelming for you to think that far ahead than just skip the next step.
Make a longer-term plan
If you are like me and love to plan ahead this step is for you.
Make a 5 or even 10-year goal. What do you want your homestead to look like in 5 years? What do you think you can accomplish from your “dream list”? What will your budget allow?
Be Flexible
A big lesson I have learned is that I need to be flexible. Having dreams and goals is great but make sure that you are using them as a guide. There are so many variables with homesteading and so many things that you will not anticipate. So make sure you are not holding onto your list to tightly.
You will have to be willing to tweak and change things as you go. Some months will feel like you accomplished absolutely nothing and others you will get more done than you thought you would.
I know this is common sense but sometimes we all just need the reminder…
Start learning
Before you jump into homesteading I would suggest that you take some time to learn. I personally have a hard time with this because I am very impatient and always want to dive right into whatever I am doing. But I promise you will save yourself some frustration and a lot of mistakes if you take the time to learn.
I know I have mentioned it before but there are so many resources available. Just decide what you want to learn and type your question into youtube or google and go from there. There are so many people who have done the same thing and have already made the mistakes for you…I have learned so much from the resources I have found online. There are also plenty of books if you like to learn the “old fashioned” way as well.
And don’t forget to take notes. I can’t tell you how many times I have read something and can’t remember where I read it when I need the information. So do your best to take notes of the things you think you will use in the near future.
Final Thoughts
Why I love Modern homesteading…
I guess I don’t have anything to compare it to since I was not a homesteader back in the day, but I really love homesteading today. The resources I have online and the people that I know are invaluable to me. I love being able to become more and more self-sufficient and not having to rely on the government for everything in my life. Being able to teach my kids and the next generation skills that they might not otherwise have learned is such a joy. Being on this journey is so fun and I am so grateful for it.
My husband and I are doing everything we can to raise our kids to become self-sufficient people and we feel like homesteading is very helpful in this goal. We want our kids to know how to do things themselves and not always rely on others to do it for them. Along with homesteading we also homeschool which I feel helps immensely with this goal. If you have kids and homeschooling is something that you have an interest in make sure to check out my post here.
As you can see modern homesteading is very flexible and looks different for everyone. You don’t have to feel stress and think that you have to rise to a certain standard. You just do what you can do for your family and keep pushing forward. Everyone’s goals will be different and that is totally okay.
As always if you have any questions and would like to see an article about a certain topic please let me know in the comments. I love to hear from my fellow homesteaders.
Happy Homesteading!
~Courtney