The Quick 4 Step Guide to Get Started with Homesteading

Have you have been dreaming of a lifestyle of self-sufficiency, but wondering where to begin? Do you live in the city and are hoping to retire in the country, so you can start homesteading? If you answered yes to either of those questions, keep reading. Here are four great ways to get started with homesteading today.

1. Learn About Living Off the Land

The first step is to learn all you can about living off the land. That can be hard if you have never owned land or lived on a farm. Next, choose a small project that you can do that relates to homesteading. Make sure it is also something you are interested in and want to know more about.

For instance, if you are a suburbanite, you can keep hens for eggs. Read books and search the internet for tips on raising chickens. Find out if it’s legal in your area, then go ahead to buy or build a chicken coop. You’ll also need supplies like lighting and bedding, as well as chicken feed. Lastly, when all is in place, order baby chicks or start with older pullets.

If raising chickens for eggs sounds like too much or just isn’t possible right now, start with a smaller project. Try growing herbs and vegetables in sacks or pots in your kitchen foyer or on your patio if you’re a city dweller. If you have a backyard, you can raise beds and plant an assortment of vegetables. Again, this is a learning experience, so read up on gardening vegetables and herbs as much as you can.

2. Find Out to Get Started with Homesteading

Soak up as much knowledge and information as you can about homesteading. You can read books and browse the internet for ideas, DIYs, tutorials, and solutions. Books such as The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It and The Weekend Homesteader will give you a good head start.

3. Prioritize

Homesteading means growing and preserving food, raising animals and producing energy. So, prioritize what you want to do to be self-sufficient. That means learning about all the different aspects of being a homesteader. But aside from the aforementioned books, you should start living like a homesteader.

So, find out about the various ways to produce energy for the home and decide what will work for you. When you homestead, will you put up solar panels or buy a wood stove, for example. How many animals and what kinds will you have? How much room will you need to grow food? Make a list of the things that matter to you and tick them off one by one.

4. Think About Buying Land and Make a Plan

If you want to get started with homesteading in a rural area, start looking for land or property as early as possible. Find out about financing and buy a parcel of land, depending on what you want to do. Homesteading can be successful on just two acres if you intend to raise animals and grow and preserve your own food. But if you wish to have a woodlot, you’ll need more land.

There is so much to get started with homesteading, and people have different goals and desires. But you don’t have to postpone your homesteading dreams. Just start working on self-sufficiency in small ways and build on them. Learn all you can and make a plan. Break it into small, digestible steps and get started today.

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