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Until recently I always associated homesteading with owning a large piece of land, growing your own food, owning farm animals like chickens, goats, cows etc., and basically being self-sufficient. However, when looking at the term "homestead", none of that is actually needed in order to call yourself a homesteader, or to participate in a homesteading lifestyle. According to Merriam-Webster, it means no more than "the home and adjoining land occupied by a family", and, according to Wikipedia, "is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale."
In fact, it does not even matter whether you own a "home and adjoining land". What matters is your lifestyle.
So here are some – smaller and bigger – ways to homestead that don't depend on having a farm or a garden or even a permanent home! Some of the listed ideas do require a backyard or a balcony, but most of them don't.
I am definitely not saying that you need to do everything on this list in order to be "homesteading". Do what you can and what fits your personality, your preferences, and your lifestyle.
And who knows, perhaps you will – like me – find that you are already a homesteader after all!
If you want to know some of the ways that I myself practice homesteading, check out my blog post on Why Homesteading? + Homesteading on a Small Scale.
KITCHEN
- Eat seasonal foods
- Cook from scratch
- Buy locally (e. g. from local farmers)
- Preserve foods (dry, can, pickle, freeze etc.)
- Grow kitchen herbs indoor (e. g. mint, basil, parsley)
- Make fermented foods
- Make your own jams and chutneys
- Make apple butter and apple sauce
- Bake your own (sourdough) bread
- Make kombucha at home
- Make yogurt at home
- Stock up your pantry for the winter months
- Make your own broth from kitchen scraps
- Compost your food scraps and garden waste
- Start vermicomposting (great for kitchens or for balconies – can double as seating area)
GARDEN *
- Grow kitchen herbs or medicinal herbs (e. g. mint, rosemary, dill, garlic mustard, garden sorrel, chamomile, calendula)
- Grow your own vegetables (e. g. tomatoes, radishes, potatoes, beans, squash)
- Learn to identify edible wild herbs in your garden (e. g. dandelion, nettle, ground elder, creeping charlie, plantain)
- Grow strawberries
- Plant berry bushes and/or fruit trees (e. g. raspberries, blackberries, apple tree, peach tree)
- Grow pollinator plants (e. g. calendula, lavender, cosmos, nasturtium, echinacea, chamomile)
- Set up a compost for your food scraps and garden waste
- Set up a worm bin for vermicomposting (also great for balconies or indoors)
- Keep backyard chickens
- Use a rainwater tank to water plants (this can also be done on a smaller scale on a balcony!)
- Install a water pump
- Install solar panels (again, also possible for a balcony)
- Put up an insect hotel
- Set up a watering station for bees and other insects
- Set up a bird bath
- Save seeds for future crops
* If you don't have a garden, almost all of these things can be applied to a balcony or a roof terrace, using raised garden beds.
WARDROBE & BEAUTY
- Sew your own clothes, pillow cases, lavender bags etc.
- Mend your own clothes
- Purchase clothes second hand
- Choose practical clothes that fit your lifestyle (I prefer natural fabric such as cotton or linen)
- Make your own beauty and skincare products (such as lip balm, rose water or herbal hair rinse, which are all great for beginners)
- Make your own toothpaste
- Make your own sunscreen
OTHER
- Focus on a quiet, slow, simple life
- Do grounding activities (digging in the dirt, picking flowers from the garden, baking bread, cuddling your pets, going for nature walks, reading etc.)
- Read books on homestead topics (permaculture, fermenting, beekeeping etc.)
- Keep a homesteading/homemaking schedule
- Go to a pick-your-own farm
- Go wildcrafting
- Propagate your plants (and give away or sell)
- Make your own pottery
- Make your own candles
- Make your own cleaning supplies
- Make your own laundry detergent
- Dry your clothes on a line or a drying rack
- Heat your home with a fireplace in the winter
- Make a campfire in the summer, and cook over the fire
- Keep a first-aid kit (with homemade goodies)
- Purchase plastic-free / unpackaged foods
- Maintain, repair, install and build household objects
- Reuse, recycle and repurpose items
- Purchase items second hand
- Sell decluttered clothes and other items
- Give away or sell homemade products (e. g. healing salve, hand soap, rose water, jam etc.)
- Make homemade gifts for birthdays and holidays
- Invite friends over and host a (homegrown) dinner
- Volunteer / Work on a nearby farm or orchard
- Partake in community-supported agriculture (CSA) or cropsharing
- Trade your skills/products for other skills/products
What are small or big ways in which you are homesteading? Is there anything else I should add to this list?
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