Are you interested in this whole homesteading lifestyle? We’ve seen a rise in the popularity of this lifestyle and I am so excited so many people have come together to share their journey, experience, and knowledge forming a beautiful community across North America and beyond. I hope that I can encourage you to start your own homesteading journey whether it be on acres of land or in your city apartment.
There are so many ways that you can start this way of life, no matter what your living situation is at this current moment. With a little bit of planning, and goal setting you can build your very own homestead. So continue reading to find out why you should start homesteading now!
1. Self-Sufficiency
Homesteading allows you to produce your own food, generate energy, and meet basic needs without relying heavily on external sources such as the grocery store. This can contribute to a sense of self-sufficiency and resilience.
Food Production: Living a more self-sufficient lifestyle means that your primary goals of homesteading is to produce your own food. This can look like; growing a variety of fruits, fruit trees, fresh vegetables, herbs, and start animal husbandry, raising animals for your own meat, eggs, and dairy. The goal of many homesteaders is to be able to produce enough food within the growing season for their family during the winter months.
Energy Independence: You may want to adopt renewable energy sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, or micro-hydro systems to generate electricity. This reduces reliance on centralized power grids and provides you with an off-grid lifestyle.
Water Management: Homesteader living can also include investing in water management systems, such as rainwater harvesting, wells, or efficient irrigation methods. By carefully managing water resources, you can reduce dependence on municipal water supplies and ensure a more reliable water source for your needs.
Waste Reduction: The homesteading lifestyle also involves minimizing waste and recycling materials however you can. This involves composting, reusing, and repurposing items in creative ways.
Ways to be More Self-Sufficient as a Beginner Homesteader
Start a Vegetable Garden: Start with easy to grow vegetables and herbs to begin with so you can learn how to produce a thriving garden with good food. You will want to learn about soil preparation, planting, and basic garden maintenance. If you don’t have enough space for a large garden, you can easy produce food in a small garden or join a community garden.
Learn Basic Food Preservation Techniques: In a modern homesteading lifestyle we are blessed with the access to the internet where you can start learning the skills for simple preserving methods like freezing, dehydrating, or canning. Learning how to preserve your own vegetables and fruits takes a little bit of time commitment, but it is worth it for a more simple life.
Build a Chicken Coop & Raise Chickens: Consider keeping backyard chickens for eggs or rabbits for meat. Learn about their care, housing, and basic health needs. This is a great way to have an endless supply of fresh eggs. You can even sell your fresh eggs at the roadside or at your local farmer’s market for some extra money.
Composting: Even if you are urban homesteading you can set up a compost bin or compost pile for kitchen scraps and yard waste. Learn how to produce your own nutrient-rich soil that your garden vegetables will love.
Rainwater Harvesting:ย Install rain barrels to collect and store rainwater for garden irrigation. This reduces dependence on municipal water supplies and helps you cut costs on your water bill. Your plants love natural rain water so much more than treated town water anyways!
2. Healthy Living
Increased Physical Activity: The homesteading lifestyle often involves a lot of hard work such as gardening, animal care, and maintenance. You will learn to have a strong work ethic with lots of physical activity which will contribute to your overall fitness and well-being.
Access to Fresh, Nutrient-Rich Food: Growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs provides access to fresh and nutritious food. In my humble opinion, a diet rich in homegrown, whole foods can positively impact you and your family’s health.
Stress Reduction: I can’t even begin to describe how much embracing a homestead lifestyle has impacted my stress in a positive way. Spending time outdoors and moving your body they way it is intended to and just living a simpler lifestyle can help reduce your stress in a big way.
Connection to Seasonal Rhythms:ย Homestead living involves working with the seasons, aligning your daily activities with the natural rhythms of the season. This connection to nature can have positive effects on circadian rhythms and your overall health.
3. Connection to the Land
Getting Your Hands Dirty: Tasks such as gardening, planting, and harvesting allows you to have direct, hands-on interactions with the land.
Observation of Natural Cycles: As I mentioned above, homesteading involves working in harmony with the seasons. We are taught to observe and adapt to the natural cycles of the seasons, and adjust our activities based on the changing weather and daylight.
Sustainable Practices: Much of the homesteading community chooses to adopt sustainable and regenerative practices instead of following the typical commercial farming practices. Small-scale farming methods are instead used such as, permaculture, agroforestry, and organic farming, all of which work with the land’s natural processes rather than against them.
Respect for Natural Resources: You gain an appreciation of the value of natural resources such as water, timber, and fertile soil. In homesteading, you should actively work to conserve and use these resources responsibly, recognizing their importance for long-term sustainability.
Connection to Food Sources:ย Growing your own food on gives you a direct connection between what you eat and the land it comes from. This connection is one of the top reasons I have gained appreciation for the origins of our food and how it is made.
4. Financial Independence
Homegrown Food Production: Growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs reduces the need to purchase these items from grocery stores, saving you money on your grocery bill. You can also selling your homegrown produce at local farmers markets to generate income on your homestead.
Handmade Income Streams: You can explore alternative income streams based on your own skills and knowledge, such as selling homemade personal care products, crafts, or surplus produce. Participating in farmers’ markets or establishing a small roadside stand can generate additional revenue leading to a full time income.
Off-Grid Living: Investing in renewable energy sources like solar panels or wind turbines can lead to reduced energy bills or, in some cases, the ability to sell excess energy back to the grid. This can result in savings and potential income from energy production.
Bartering and Community Sharing: Engaging with the local homesteading or farming community allows you to explore bartering and sharing resources. This usually involves exchanging goods and services which can lead to cost savings.
Minimalist Lifestyle: Homesteading often encourages a more minimalist approach to living, focusing on essential needs rather than excessive consumption. Reduced spending on non-essential items contributes to financial independence.
5. Reduced Environmental Impact
Organic Farming Practices: Avoiding synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in favor of organic and sustainable farming methods helps maintain soil health and reduces chemical runoff into water systems.
Composting and Waste Reduction: Composting kitchen and garden waste reduces the amount of organic material sent to landfills and creates nutrient-rich soil for gardening. Minimizing your overall waste through recycling and reusing items also lessens the environmental impact.
Local Food Production: Growing your own food and supporting local farms reduces the environmental impact associated with long-distance transportation, storage, and packaging of commercial produce.
Reduced Reliance on Commercial Goods:ย Producing homemade goods, such as cleaning supplies and personal care items, reduces your need for purchasing commercially produced products with potentially harmful chemicals and excess packaging.
6. Skill Development
Gardening and Agriculture: When you are homesteading you learn how to cultivate and care for a variety of crops, gaining knowledge about soil health, planting techniques, and crop management.
Animal Husbandry: Raising animals for food, such as chickens, goats, or rabbits, involves a lot of work learning about animal care, nutrition, breeding, and their health management.
Carpentry and Building: As a homesteader you are most likely going to be building and maintaining your own structures on your homestead, such as chicken coops, garden sheds, or even homes, which develops carpentry and construction skills.
DIY Repairs and Maintenance: In this kind of life, instead of calling out to the trades you will probably do various repair and maintenance tasks on your own, including fixing fences, plumbing issues, or equipment repairs, fostering a hands-on approach to problem-solving.
Home Preservation of Food: Learning techniques such as canning, fermenting, dehydrating, and pickling helps homesteaders preserve the harvest for later use, reducing food waste and extending the availability of homegrown produce.
7. Community Building
Local Homesteading Groups: There are many online homesteading communities, and there may even be some that are local to you! Find the local homesteading or gardening groups in your area, attend meetings, workshops, or events to meet and connect with other like-minded homesteaders like yourself.
Community Gardens: Another great way to build community is by participating in or starting a community garden where individuals can share gardening tips, resources, and surplus produce.
Farmers’ Markets: You will most likely find your people at local farmers’ markets to meet and support other homesteaders and local farmers. Engage in conversations, share experiences, and build connections!
Online Forums and Social Media Groups:ย Join online forums, social media groups, or platforms dedicated to homesteading. Engage in discussions, ask questions, and share your experiences with your HUGE online community.
8. Stress Reduction
Nature Therapy: Spending time outdoors and engaging in activities like gardening, farming, or simply enjoying the natural surroundings can have therapeutic effects, reducing stress, making you feel relaxed.
Mindful Living: Homesteading encourages a more mindful and present way of living. Being actively engaged in tasks like planting, harvesting, or caring for animals fosters a sense of mindfulness, which can help alleviate stress.
Simple Living: The simplicity of homesteading, with a focus on essential needs and a reduced emphasis on materialism, can lead to a less stressful and more fulfilling lifestyle.
Community Support: Building connections with other homesteaders or local communities creates a support system. Sharing experiences, resources, and knowledge can alleviate the stress of facing challenges alone.
Connection to Animals: Caring for animals on a homestead can be emotionally rewarding. The companionship of animals and the responsibility of their care can provide stress relief and comfort.
Regular Routines: Homesteading follows the natural rhythm of the seasons. Establishing regular routines and being in sync with nature can create a sense of stability and reduce the stress associated with hectic, unpredictable schedules.
9. Emergency Preparedness
Food Security: As homesteaders we often grow our own food to reduce our reliance on external sources. This provides us with a more secure and sustainable food supply, giving us a piece of mind during disruptions to conventional distribution systems.
Water Independence: If you implement water harvesting and storage systems, it reduces your dependency on municipal water supplies. This ensures a more reliable water source during emergencies or disruptions.
Energy Self-Sufficiency: Investments in renewable energy sources, such as solar panels or wind turbines, contribute to energy independence. This allows you to have alternative energy sources during power outages or other emergencies.
Skills and Knowledge: Homesteading involves acquiring a diverse set of skills, from gardening and animal husbandry to basic carpentry and first aid. These skills can be crucial during emergencies when self-reliance is essential.
Food Preservation Techniques: Homesteading requires you to be familiar with various food preservation methods such as canning, drying, and fermenting. These techniques allow you to store a surplus of produce, ensuring a stable food supply during possible emergencies.
10. Educational Opportunities
Homesteading offers a wealth of educational opportunities that go beyond traditional classroom learning. Engaging in various homesteading activities can provide hands-on experiences and practical knowledge in a wide range of skills, experience, and knowledge.
When you are homesteading you are never short of learning new skills. There are always different things to expand on, such as learning to do things in different ways or finding a better way to do certain things. You will always continue to learn.
11. Quality of Life
Homesteading can profoundly influence your quality of life through so many factors. The journey of homesteading through growing food and producing goods on your own property, fosters a sense of security and independence. Living in closer connection to nature on a homestead leads to a slower-paced, simpler, and healthier lifestyle. This reduces all of the stress associated with modern living.
Homesteading also offers opportunities for community and social connections, as like-minded individuals often form strong bonds, sharing resources and support for one another.
The development of your personal skills, from gardening to carpentry, is so rewarding through the good times and even the hard times. Despite the challenges, the rewards of homesteading can be huge, offering you a fulfilling and meaningful way of life.
12. Teaching Values to Children
Work Ethic: Homesteading involves hands-on, daily tasks such as tending to animals, gardening, and maintaining the property. Children who are raised on a homestead often learn the value of hard work, responsibility, and the satisfaction that comes from contributing to the family and community.
Self-Sufficiency: Living on a homestead teaches our children the importance of self-sufficiency. They are able to witness firsthand where their food comes from, respect the effort involved in producing it, and gain a sense of independence by being raised in a homesteading lifestyle.
Patience and Delayed Gratification: In a world where everything is on demand, the homesteading lifestyle involves waiting for crops to grow, animals to mature, and projects to come to fruition. Children can actually learn the value of patience, delayed gratification, and the rewards that come with perseverance.
Appreciation for Simple Living: Homesteading encourages a simpler way of life. Children raised in this environment often develop an appreciation for the basics, understanding that happiness is not solely derived from material things.
13. Escape from Consumerism
Make Your Own Things: Homesteading lets you be in control of producing your own food and generating your energy. You become less dependent on big stores and more self-sufficient.
Simple Living: Homesteading is about appreciating a straightforward and purposeful life. It’s about finding joy in having just what you need rather than accumulating unnecessary things.
Do It Yourself:ย On a homestead, you take on tasks like building and growing. This self-reliance means you don’t need to constantly buy things from stores; you can create and maintain on your own terms.
Use What You Have: Homesteading encourages resourcefulness. Instead of always buying new things, you learn to find clever solutions using what’s already available around you.
Invest In Quality:ย Homesteading is about choosing quality over quantity. It’s about investing in items that are durable and serve a practical, long-lasting purpose.
14. More Time
Simplified Lifestyle: Homesteading often involves simplifying your life by focusing on essential needs. By reducing the clutter of unnecessary possessions and commitments, you free up mental and physical space, creating more time for meaningful activities.
Focus on Priorities: Homesteading encourages you to prioritize what truly matters to you. By aligning activities with your won personal values and goals, you are able to eliminate time-consuming distractions and focus on activities that bring you joy.
DIY: The hands-on nature of homesteading encourages a do-it-yourself (DIY) mentality. While this involves investing time in various tasks, it fosters a sense of self-sufficiency and reduces dependence on external services, ultimately saving time and resources.
15. To Inspire Change
In today’s world, dominated by consumerism and environmental concerns, homesteading is a lifestyle that actively addresses all of these issues. It encourages sustainable living and a simpler way of life. It brings us back to our roots, and reminds us of who we actually are and what life truly is.
Homesteading allows us to break free from the rat race and actually enjoy our time here on earth with our friends and family.
I want to encourage you to start you own homesteading journey, whatever that may look like. Homesteading is the most fulfilling way of living in my own honest opinion.
I would love to why you started your own homesteading journey in the comments below, or send me a DM on Instagram!
