What is Homesteading
If you have been looking into possible alternate ways of living or want to learn about self-sustainability, you have no doubt run into homesteading. While it is not a new concept, homesteading has changed a lot since its first development. Nowadays, modern homesteading is more about making and growing your own food, raising your own animals and making from scratch anything and everything you possibly can. Some homesteaders live in the city while others live in the country.
About Homesteading
In the past, homesteading was a term used for homes built for settlers but it is now used for people who decide to live self-sufficiently and value sustainability as a way of living. They make as much of their own food as possible, including growing fruits and vegetables, raising animals, and even utilizing solar power. Not all homesteaders live off the grid without power and electricity, though many do. You can incorporate homesteading values in any environment from rural to urban. Homesteading gained popularity in 2010 when many families were choosing to live in the old way including raising their own meat and growing their own food but it has spread to other ways of life as well.
Basics of Homesteading
There are a variety of ways to be a homesteader and your choices depend on your personal preferences, where you live and how much space you have. Some of the basics of homesteading include growing your own vegetables and fruits, raising chickens or other animals for meat and eggs and milk, collecting rainwater to be filtered and used in your home, getting heat and hot water from solar panels in your home, canning fruits and vegetable to feed your family during the off-seasons, knitting, spinning wool, making your own butter and cheese and many other basics of living on the bare necessities.
Benefits of Homesteading
You will find many benefits of homesteading, regardless of where you live and how serious you are about it. First of all, you will end up saving a lot of money. You're using less electricity (or none at all) and making most things yourself. No more will you be spending half your grocery budget on fresh produce because you're growing it in your own backyard. The pigs, chickens and goats you raise can be used for eggs, milk and even meat if you choose to do so. Another benefit of homesteading is self-sufficiency. You don't rely on technology when you're homesteading. Some people do still live in the city and have electricity and other luxuries, but you can be as self-sufficient as you want with homesteading. You will not only be living a greener lifestyle, but a healthier one as well.
Homesteading Basics
Homesteading is a way of living that incorporates growing your own food, raising animals for eggs and milk, and making your own clothing items. There are many different ways to become a homesteading household, not all of which have to be to the extreme. The following covers the most basic of ways to homestead which will be quick and easy to begin with. You can decide how much or how little you want to do in your own homesteading lifestyle.
Growing Food
The easiest step to take in homesteading is beginning to grow your own food. Not ever ingredient needed will be grown in your backyard but you can make the majority of your produce. For example, you can start a vegetable garden and either can or freeze the vegetables for the cold winter season or when certain vegetables are not in season. You can also grow fruits with various fruit trees, depending on how much space you have. Herbs are very easy to grow, indoors and outdoors. If you want a small container garden, growing your own herbs is a great start to homesteading.
Raising Animals
Another great option is raising animals. This will require a little more room and effort. You should know about how best to raise animals or be willing to learn. Raising your own animals on your land is a full-time job and not something you do part-time like gardening. Some animals that are perfect for homesteading are chickens for eggs, goats for milk, and hogs for meat supply. The chickens can also be used for meat in your home and the goat's milk goes a long way as it also helps you make your own cheese, butter, mayonnaise and other food staples.
Solar Energy
Solar energy, which is energy provided by the sun's UV rays is a wonderful option for homesteading. Solar energy, through solar panels installed in your home, can provide you with heat and electricity. It will save you money on your energy bill and help you live off the grid if you decide to do so. You will also have hot water which is a big bonus. Solar energy can cause a small investment in the beginning but it will be well worth it in the end.
Making Clothing
The last homesteading basic is making your own clothing, as well as linens and bedding for your home. You can purchase yards of fabric or yarn at your local craft store and begin making everything from your children's school clothing and pajamas to curtains for decorating your home. With fabric and some simple sewing or knitting instruction, you will be on your way to living old-fashioned and making everything from scratch.
Benefits of Homesteading
Homesteading allows you to grow your own food, raise your own animals, sew your own clothing and live freely and independently. How far you go into homesteading, such as living in the countryside without electricity or in the city as a modern homesteader, is up to you. With homesteading, you will find a wide variety of advantages which can help you decide if this is the right lifestyle for you.
Save Money
One of the benefits people often don't think about is how much money you will save. For example, by raising your own animals, you no longer have to pay for eggs or milk and sometimes not even meat. Growing your own fruits and vegetables cuts your grocery bill in half and if you learn to sew or knit, you can even make your own clothing and linens for the home. If you chose to live as a rural homesteader without electricity, you don't have an energy bill to pay either.
Self Sufficiency
The most common and popular benefit of homesteading is self-sufficiency. You don't have to rely on modern technology, electricity or the issue surrounding the comforts of modern living. By living on your own, everything becomes your responsibility. When living self-sufficiency, you don't worry about things such as power outages, a car breaking down and not being able to go to the grocery store, or internet service failing. You don't need any of these things so it doesn't become an issue for you.
Healthy Living
Not only is homesteading better for the environment but it is better for your health as well. Most everything you eat is fresh, organic and locally grown whether by yourself or purchased at a local market. You aren't eating anything with chemicals, additives or preservatives and avoiding boxed food or fatty fast food. Making your own butter, getting milk from your own goats and picking herbs from your garden is the healthiest possible way to cook and eat. Independence
Homestead Anywhere
You also have your choice of locations when you homestead. If you want to live out in the country without electricity, that is definitely an option. But if you don't have the space a rural homesteading provides, you can live just about anywhere in corporate some of the basics of homesteading. Urban and modern homesteading is done such as having a couple chickens in your small yard, growing your own fruits and vegetables, or even having an indoor container herb garden. Homesteading is not defined by how much you do, but that you do your best to live as self-sufficient as possible.
Modern Homesteading
If you have been researching ways to live more natural, green and healthy, you have no doubt run into homesteading. Many people in all different walks of life are starting to homestead. Homesteading nowadays means to start doing more things yourself, such as growing your own vegetables, having fruit trees, raising animals for meat, milk and eggs, baking bread, making clothing from fabric instead of buying it at the store, and utilizing solar energy for living off the grid. These are all great options, but you don't have to go to such extremes to be a homesteader. Modern homesteading lets you enjoy some of life's luxuries like indoor plumbing and electricity while also benefiting from fresh produce and natural living.
Be a Homemaker
To be a homemaker, you will begin making more things from home, many of them from scratch. This may include your own cleaning products made from vinegar and baking soda, cooking meals from scratch, sewing your children's clothes instead of buying them from the store, and baking bread for your meals. All of these things can be done with a little more time and effort. You may need to learn certain sewing techniques and how to properly use herbs from your garden for fresh foods in your meals, but in time you will learn the many benefits of being a homemaker.
Grow Your Own Food
Another way to be a modern homesteader is to start growing some of your own food. This can be anything you want and based on what your family will consume the most. If your kids eat a lot of fruit for breakfast, you can grow fruit trees such as orange, apple, lemon or grapefruit. Families that want to cook with fresh produce can start vegetable gardening by growing your favorite vegetables. If you know you want to cook a lot of Italian meals, tomatoes, zucchini squash, onions and bell peppers are perfect for these types of e. You can also start an herb garden which doesn't require a lot of space, is easy for beginners and can be used every single day.
Raise Animals
If you have a little more time and space, you might want to raise some small animals. Even modern homesteaders can raise a few chickens for eggs or a goat for the milk. If you want to be so bold, you can even use the goat's milk for making butter, milk, mayonnaise and other dairy products. If you aren't familiar with how to raise animals, chickens are a good start because they don't require as much work as some of the other animals like cows, goats or hogs.
How to make an Urban Homestead
Homesteading gives you the unique opportunity of living more old-fashioned and natural. There are many benefits to homesteading including being kinder to the environment by not using as much electricity or energy from technology, saving money and living a healthier lifestyle. But you don't need to live in a rural country side to be a homesteader. Right there in the city, whether you live in an apartment, condo, house or mobile home, you can begin incorporating a homesteading lifestyle. The following tips will help you learn how to make an urban homestead.
Container Gardening
If you live in an apartment or condo without a yard, container gardening is a perfect option. With container gardening you can grow vegetables, herbs and even fruit in small fruit trees meant for container gardening in small spaces. As long as your patio or porch get sufficient sunlight and you remember to water your plants you can have fresh herbs and produce every day. Instead of driving to the market for vegetables to make dinner or herbs to spice up your tomato sauce, you get all of these ingredients right at home. One of the basics of homesteading is growing your own food, including fruits and vegetables, so container gardening is a great start when you live in an urban environment.
Bake your own Bread
Another way to be an urban homesteader is by baking your own bread. This is another simple change that is easy to do. But to be a true homesteader, this doesn't include using a bread maker. It is very easy to make your own bread products without a fancy machine that uses up electricity. All you need is yeast and basic supplies like eggs and ingredients you want in your bread whether it is raisin cinnamon bread for breakfast or a garlic cheese loaf for an Italian dinner. Basic supplies and a good recipe will take you far in baking your own bread.
Use Natural Cleaning Products
Being an urban homesteader doesn't always mean making large changes. A small difference makes a huge impact. Something as simple as making your own natural cleaning products gives you a more homesteading environment. In the old days, they didn't go their local market and pick up a spray of toxic chemicals to dust wooden furniture or bleach their countertops. They would make their own cleaning products. The basic staples that can clean nearly every surface of your home are baking soda and vinegar. Diluted with water, vinegar removes stains, disinfects surfaces, shines furniture and appliances, and removes odors from pets and smoke.
Homesteading Anywhere
Homesteading is a way of living where you do everything natural and old-fashioned. Such as in the way of the old days, you will make your own clothing, cook everything from scratch, churn your own butter, grow your own food, and raise your own animals for eggs, milk and meat supply. The extent of homesteading is entirely up to you though. You don't have to go without electricity or make your own butter and cheese from your own goats if you don't want to. There are ways to homestead no matter where you live. Most people think you can only homestead out in the countryside, but this isn't further from the truth. You can homestead anywhere.
Urban Homesteading
One way to homestead is urban, also known as modern, homesteading. This involves making some homemade and natural changes in your urban environment. Whether you live in a house or apartment in the city, you can live a homesteading lifestyle. Gardening ' One way to do this is by starting your own vegetable and herb garden. You only need a small plot of land to begin growing herbs and vegetables. Herbs don't take up much room and can also be done in a container garden if all you have is a small patio, such as in apartment living. If you have a small yard, choose the vegetables your family would use the most such as lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, squash or green beans. Purchase the required vegetable seeds and start planting! Fruit Trees ' You can also grow your own fruit trees. Whether you have room for 1 or 10 fruit trees, this will give you fresh fruit so that you can begin living off your own land. If you have a small apartment patio, you can still have fresh fruit with the 'mini' container fruit trees found at most gardening centers and nurseries. Rural Homesteading With rural homesteading, you have more options since you have more space in the country. You can also grow fruit, vegetables and herbs and do some of the following additional types of homesteading. Raise Animals ' Any type of farm animal can be raised for homesteading, whether it is to provide meat, milk or eggs. Goats and cows can be raised for milk as well as meat, chickens can be raised for eggs and meat. Can Vegetables ' Since you have more sufficient room for gardening in your yard as a rural homesteader, you can begin canning vegetables. It is an easy process and with the right storage capacity, you will have enough food from one growing season for the next year's worth of meals.