Lets jump right in…
6. Learn to make your own soaps and lotions
This one is something I have a little extra practice in, but for me it started as a way to provide my family with quality products with clean ingredients. Soap making needs a little bit of equipment, which type depends on if you want to make hot process or cold process soap, and a little bit of learning before jumping in. Personally, I learned from family members that had been making soap for years, but since then I have also picked up a few books on the subject as well. Lotions are also a good item to make, just make sure that if you are using water in a recipe then you need to have a preservative (natural or otherwise) in place to prevent mold and bacteria. Otherwise, small batches are best.
7. Learn a new skill
Has there been a skill that has caught your interest lately, or you walk through a market and see something and go “that would be so cool to learn how to make”. If so, then look into it more. Look for youtube tutorials that can show you how to get started, or better yet see if you have a friend or family member who can teach you. Some skills that I have been interested in learning or growing my skill in lately are crochet, sewing, fresh milling wheat for bread making, pasta making, and embroidery.
8. Figure out a good budget that works for you
This one may sound a little boring and nuanced, but it is so very important when looking at wanting to start homesteading. Unfortunately, with most passions and dreams comes an extra budget line item, and so learning to be frugal and save where you can are important skills to learn and be disciplined in now. What are your goals? Do you want property? Do you want to start your own business? Start thinking of those things now and what they will take. Planning for them can be so important.
9. Plant Fruit Bushes or Trees
This one does take having a little bit of a yard, but honestly you don’t need to have a big yard to have a fruit tree or a couple fruiting bushes. Think apples, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. Just make sure to check your climate and to pay attention to the pollination needs. Some plants can be self pollinating while others may need a companion for pollination. But there can be some work arounds for finding a companion as well. For example, we planted a honey crisp apple tree, and it needs other apple trees nearby in order to pollinate properly. The way we made it work is we found that multiple neighbors of ours had apple trees that could pollinate with ours that were close enough to where we planted our tree.
10. Read!
(Learn about the animals and skills you want for the future)
One of my favorite things to do is learn about topics I hope will benefit me and my family in the future. Currently my favorite topics to learn about is breeds of animals, specifically cows, goats, and sheep. I also have been trying to learn more about beekeeping.
The best part about learning like this is that there are so many free resources. Some ideas to look into for free sources: online, blogs (make sure they are knowledgeable/that they are writing from personal experience and well researched facts), your local library, free online classes (I especially like the School of Traditional Skills, Homesteading Family, Melissa K Norris, and Venison for Dinner). If you are like me and love the idea of a giant home library, here are some of the ways we have cheaply acquired our books: estate/garage sales, thrift stores, used book stores, online thrift books.
If you have the ability to invest in some learning materials, I highly recommend starting with something that you can begin using right away. What I mean is, if you live on a tiny town lot, like we do right now, think about investing in some bread making classes/books, rather than books on dairy cows. That way you see the benefit of the investment. If you like the idea of classes, I highly recommend checking out the School of Traditional Skills, Homesteading Family, Melissa K Norris, and Venison for Dinner; these are the ones I have or would like to invest in myself.
Homesteading is something that I am very passionate about. I firmly believe that it is more about a mindset and lifestyle choices than the amount of land and animals you own. I also love the idea of living sufficiently within our community, and while I still depend on the grocery store for some things, I love knowing that I have our basics covered.
There are so many ways to get started, so I hope this has encouraged you to jump in and learn something new. I know one day that my future self will thank me for learning now the information that I will need then in order to jump in and get started the moment I can. Hopefully your future self will too.
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