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So you’re wondering how to start a homestead, did you know there are several benefits of living on a homestead that you might not have thought about? Here’s a list of 12 that I thought of off the top of my head.
Homestead, homesteading can mean different things to different people. Some might think that you have to go out and milk the cow each morning to live on a homestead. Well, you don’t have to do that.
First, let’s look up the meaning of homesteading
If you look up the meaning of homesteading. You’ll see that it’s really just a dwelling with land that has buildings on it. Back in the day, they wanted to have people move out west so they offered people land if they would travel out west and start growing crops and living on the land.
If they stayed there for over five years then they could keep it. Today it just means a person that lives on land and grows their own food, with some livestock. Most people living out in the country do just that, but they don’t really think of themselves as homesteaders.
I myself live on 25 acres of ground, we have chickens and grow a garden. Several years ago we had over 100 acres and raised crickets for a living on our land. We’ve since retired from the bug business, sold the big farm, and downsized to a smaller farm.
How to Start a Homestead
The homesteading movement is growing by leaps and bounds. More and more people want to learn to be more self-sufficient. Grow their own garden, have a few chickens so they can have fresh eggs to eat. You don’t need to have several acres of land to have your own homestead. You can start no matter where you live.
Here are a few tips to getting started:
- Start simple
- Try and grow a tomato plant on your patio
- Harvest those tomatoes, freeze several in bags to add to chili during the winter months
- Next year add a plant or two to your garden, like peppers, onions, and some squash
- Learn to make salsa when you harvest
- Each year add more to your garden and to your little homestead and before you know it, you’ll have a pantry full of food that you grew yourself!
12 Benefits of Living On A Homestead
There are many benefits to owning a homestead. Here’s a list of just a few.
- Growing your own garden.
- Having fresh nutritious food for your family to eat.
- Chicken eggs and meat for the table.
- Simple lifestyle, less stress.
- Work for home, more time with family.
- Fresh air, no pollution.
- Find a pond full of fish, for an afternoon of fishing fun.
- Kids growing up in the outdoors, learning to be more self-sufficient.
- Learning how to become more self-sufficient yourself.
- Friendly neighbors and community.
- Living on a farm with no crime.
- Kids in 4-H with their homestead animals.
Gardening
There are so many benefits of growing your own garden, fresh air, sunshine, and getting exercise while working in the garden. Then after the harvest, you’ll have a closet stocked full of fresh veggies for your family to eat over the winter months. You’ll feel better after eating fresh food, and you will know that there are no deadly chemicals on the food you’ve grown yourself. I think that alone makes it worth growing your own food for your family.
Raising Chickens
Raising chickens is very rewarding, not only for the fresh eggs you get to eat, but they become real pets. You might not want to eat any of your pets. But you will have that option if times are bad. Or you can grow up just a small few (that aren’t pets) to butcher in early spring for the freezer to supplement your food storage.
Kids Joining 4-H
4-H is a great thing for kids to join. They usually have one project that they work on all summer. Say a rabbit, cow, or chicken. If they have a cow to raise up for a few months, and learning how to take care of it, washing, keeping the pen cleaned out, and walking the animal around with a led, then when the fair comes around in late summer.
They show the cow in the ring and win some ribbons, that’s when the cow is bid on as they show it, the better the showing the more money the kids can make. Most parents let the kids keep the money.
This can be several hundred dollars for working with an animal all summer. That money and the ribbons can be a great incentive for the kids to get outside and work with their animals during the spring and summer months.
They can do many farm-related projects, from sewing to riding a horse. The skills they learn with 4-H and the memories they make will stay with them forever.
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Hi! I'm Michelle. You can find me planning, cooking, and often wrangling chickens in my spare time (who am I kidding? I have no spare time). I am the CEO and creator for homesteadingforwomen.com. All posts are reviewed and updated personally by ME - if you have any questions, feel free to contact me here.
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