Building A Homestead Dream
I just want to ramble for a bit about my homestead goals/process, mostly to put them in writing, but also to throw them out there in case they help someone else get started.
The very first thing I did was to figure out where I was, which was renting an apartment with $20k in debt, and working as a pizza delivery driver making okay money. Next was figuring out where I want to end up, because you can't plan a journey if you don't know where you're going. I knew I wanted to rely on external systems as little as possible, which meant needing to be as self sufficient as possible. I want to be able to produce and preserve all of my own food, clothing, medicine, heat, cleaning and hygiene products, and animal feed from my own land. A lofty goal, and one I realize I may never reach. It's certainly possible, just not easy. So how would I realistically get there?
I did (and am still doing) loads of research. Read books, articles, and blogs, took classes, chatted with people who already have their homesteads, googled every question that popped up in my mind, went down rabbit holes of information, etc. Any and every bit of information I could lay my eyes or ears on, I did so. Through this research, I figured out the details of what I wanted, and that gave me a clearer picture of how to get there.
While I was doing the research, I chipped away at my debt. There's no way I could even attempt a homestead with the payments I had, so I got a consolidation loan which lowered my monthly payments and my interest rate, making it a lot easier to get rid of my debt. I started meal prepping so I wouldn't be tempted to stop and get something easy. I made rice, beans, and pasta my main staples because they're cheap. I went through my finances and canceled all subscriptions that I wasn't actively using. I found ways to lower my electric bill. I also saw a hiring sign for a better job that paid more money with no experience necessary, and I acted on it. I got the job, so I was able to make bigger payments. 6 months after changing jobs, I was debt free. One of the benefits of this job is tuition reimbursement, so I went back to college, finished my associates degree, and am currently getting my bachelor's. I should be done in December of 2027. If you have a job that offers benefits like this, take advantage of them. I am going to school for free because I'm willing to fill out a little paperwork.
Two years after getting that better job, I bought a house. It's a tiny postage stamp of a thing, only 1025sqft on 0.15 acres, but it's mine. I'm now building equity instead of lining someone else's pockets. I've made a few upgrades like solar panels and a couple new doors which have put me in debt again beyond my mortgage, but they will pay for themselves in the long run. I've also replaced the dilapidated and oversized "shed" with a chicken coop and run (and chickens), added 6 4x8ft raised beds, and replaced the pretty but mostly useless hibiscus hedge with heat tolerant highbush blueberries. I have a few ultra dwarf fruit trees in oversize pots. The lawns are slowly getting replaced with clover and other flowering wild ground cover. A few things remain to do, like cutting down the sycamore tree that is too close to the house, fixing/replacing the garage doors, and getting new gutters. All in good time.
Eventually though, it'll be time to start looking for land. I hope to have 20+ acres up north in maple country so I can tap maple trees for syrup. I want to run miniature cheviot sheep on silvopasture, produce my own firewood, have a perennial food forest with several fruit and nut trees and plenty of berry bushes, have a large kitchen garden, grow edible mushrooms, raise chickens and muscovy ducks, and have a small pond. I want to learn how to preserve food by canning and drying, process animals for meat, shear my sheep, spin their wool, and knit/weave/crochet it into clothing and fabric, tan hides and make leather, make soap from wood ashes and animal fats, forage wild edibles, grow and harvest mushrooms, tap trees and refine their sap into syrup, and so many other things. A lot of this stuff I can learn before I have acreage, like knitting, crocheting, canning, drying, and foraging. But some of it I'll have to learn hands on, like sheep shearing. Maybe I could take a class, or help on a sheep farm to learn.
But those are my goals. Pay off debt, save money, sell the house and buy acreage. So far I'm just starting with chickens and a small garden, as well as planting fruit trees and bushes. I'll add more skills and tasks as I'm able, both so I don't get overwhelmed and so I don't go broke in the process. Building a dream properly is a slow process. I guess that's the real trick: don't try to do everything all at once.
