The goal of everyone who is interested in homesteading is to become more independent and less reliant on the “machine” that seems to run the lives of most people. Many today have no real idea of where their food comes from or what would happen if they no longer had easy access to electricity. They need the modern conveniences of the world to live. You do not want to be like those people, and you do not have to. The following are some easy things that you can start doing now, and expanding upon later, to help increase your level of self-sufficiency.
Step #1 – Learn to Grow and Preserve Food
You can do this whether you have a large plot of land for your homestead or you are still living in the suburbs and waiting to make the change. Start a garden and learn how to grow different types of vegetables and fruit that your family likes to eat. You can start out with a small garden and then expand when you start to learn more. Once it is time to harvest, make sure you are preserving and canning items that you will not be eating right away. Dehydrate some of the food or freeze it, as well. With a large enough garden, you will find that you can have the food you need through much of the year.
In addition, it is a good idea to start researching the wild plants that grow in your area so you will have a better idea of how to forage if the need should arise.
Step #2 – Start Collecting Water
If you are sick and tired of having high water bills, or you worry about your well running dry, it is time that you started to collect water. You can get rain barrels and collect the rain that comes down from the gutters of your home. You could even set up tarps that can funnel the water down into barrels if you would like to collect even more. There are plenty of things you can do with the water that you collect, such as water your plants or wash things down.
Step #3 – Learn to Reuse and Repurpose Items
Many people are far too willing to throw away the items that they own when they feel they are no longer useful. However, you will want to start looking at them with a different eye and find ways that you might be able to use them in other capacities. In some cases, you might want to cannibalize parts from an item that you can use in other projects or repair different items.
Step #4 – Learn to Make Your Own
Another thing to do is to start learning how to make things on your own. Even if you are not a skilled woodworker, for example, you can start to learn the basics of woodworking now and create much of the furniture that you use in the homestead. You can learn to make your own candles, soap, and much more.
Starting with these simple steps, you can start to reduce your reliance on others for some of the basic things that our ancestors were doing for themselves. You will feel more confidence, and you will find that many of these things will help you to save some money.
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