How to Start Homesteading Today with Baby Steps

Many homestead beginners jump the gun and take on more than they can handle, leading to burn out and sometimes failure. If you want to meet your goal of self-sufficiency it is important to take things one step at a time.

One of my strengths, and often one of my weaknesses, is jumping headlong into a new project. When my husband and I first started to dabble in the world of homesteading I was so excited about all of the possibilities our acre and a half afforded us.

Egg laying hens

When I first started, I talked to farmers in the area about goats, dreamed about what chicken breeds I would get first (you know buying chickens is a lot like buying pretty shoes, right?). Wait, there are ducks in the chicken catalog too; and it is even cheaper if you buy some geese to go with the ducks.

Can you see the snowball happening here?

Not only had I never raised any kind of bird, we didn’t have even one coop or fenced in yard to keep them in. Let alone places for three different kinds of birds. We ended up with birds in the garage and birds in the bath tub. It was crazy! We muddled through it all but it caused a lot of unnecessary work and stress for both my husband and myself.

We operate a lot different now. As much as I want to charge ahead and have all of the animals and every color of bean and tomato in my garden, I know that I can’t learn everything at once. Being able to devote your full attention to one skill at a time gives you a much greater margin of success and will save you from burn out. Not to mention, time to really enjoy each new skill.

There are so many skills and activities that fall under the title of homesteading. How do you know where to start?


Step 1: Know your goals

Do you want to be a homesteader in the country with acreage or are you an urban homesteader? Will you focus on fruits and vegetables or meat production? Knowing what the end goal is, will determine what skills you need to hone in on.

Step 2: Start today

There is no reason to delay your homestead journey. Learn to can, start a backyard flock of chickens, grow a container garden. There are so many things you can do in the place you live right now. Some of the most amazing homesteads have grown out of what appeared to be an impossible location. Once you get started you will see all of the possibilities.

 

Step 3: Do what you love

I love chickens! I love the eggs, their ability to turn organic matter into compost, and the way they can clear the weeds and get rid of bugs. Even more than that, I love watching them and interacting with them. Bringing them kitchen scraps and taking care of the mundane chores is so much easier when you are taking care of something that you love. Wanna learn more about chickens? I will help you pick out the right breed in this post.

Step 4: Pause

Don’t add anything new until you are comfortable with the skills you have already taken on. It is so easy to get excited and expand the garden beyond what you can take care of or add another animal before you truly understand and appreciate the daily commitment it takes to keep it up.

Step 5: Add a complimentary skill

Let’s say you started with a small garden. A natural progression would be composting. Maybe you grew a bumper crop of apples. Learn to can or dehydrate! Complimentary skills are like bunny trails – there are almost limitless possibilities. Allow yourself time to learn these skills one at a time. Biting off more than you can chew quickly leads to burnout.

By tempering my stride I have gained new skills every year. Remember the building blocks we played with as kids? Lay down one block at a time and soon you have built a homestead.

Your Turn!

  • Are you a feet first, all-in starter, or a baby-stepper?
  • Have you ever bit off more than you can chew?

 

5 Comments
  1. Good article about baby steps! I am starting with gardening. Planted 9 fruit trees this year, and growing a 10 x 4 foot garden plot. Might do chickens later on. Sincerely, Linda

  2. Good article! Thanks for sharing your post. Starting homesteading is not an easy task. But you make very easy if you learn basic things about homesteading. Do what you can do effectively.

  3. Great information. I am an urban homesteader who is working on finding some land to move to. I agree that you need to start small, I have way too many tomatoes for 2 people and my extended family still thinks commercially canned food is better than fresh. We bought a dehydrator and it has helped a lot. Also learned a bit about canning but my pickles still need work!!

  4. I’m just getting started, thanks for the clear and concise info. I’m all about lean,efficient and productive being a business owner.

  5. I WILL MOVE INTO 88 ACRE FARM DIVED INTO 7 ACRE FAMILY AREAS WHICH I WILL SUPPLY THE FOOD, SO I CAN USE THEIR ACREAGE FOR OATS.CORN, WHEAT,
    ALFALFA,ETC,
    I PLAN ON WAITING TIL AFTER ARMAGETTON AND THE RESORRECTION OF FAMILY
    MENBERS .
    READ JW.ORG SO YOU CAN ALSO LIVE FOREVER WITH ALL YOUR FAMILY FOREVER.
    PLEASE DO SO NOW ,AS YOU CAN SEE THIS SIDE OF WICKEDNESS WILL NOT BE HERE LONG,REV.18, THIS IS FROM THE AUTHOR OFTHE TRUE GOD .
    YOU WILL FIND ALL THE INFO YOUR HEART NEEDS FOR YOUR LIKE FOREVER
    MAY JEHOVAH BLESS YOU FOR YOUR EFFORT,
    ANNA BLYSARD

    LONG .,,LO

Leave a Reply