Our Homesteading Journey

Every homesteading journey is different, but they all start with a spark.

Our homesteading journey was sparked just after COVID changed the world. There were times when the grocery store had sparce shelves. I became worried and anxious of what the implications would be if this supply chain were to fail completely. This stirred the desire to be more self-sufficient and that is why my family, and I are on this homesteading journey.

We live on .7 acers on the outskirts of town in a small neighborhood. We may not have a lot of land but that is the beauty of Homesteading, you can do it wherever you are right now. Homesteading is not about being 100% self-sufficient but rather taking the steps and learning the skills you need to get there. If you have the desire, you can do it.

I started my journey in the fall of 2022. This was not the time of year to be starting a new garden, but I didn’t want this spark to go out. Where to begin, and how to start when winter was upon us? A great place to start I found, was with skill building.

If the grocery store was out of bread (which it was on a few occasions) I wanted to be able to make my own bread. I had never worked with yeast before and though I like baking I had always found yeast to be intimidating. This was a challenge to be faced head on. My first few attempts failed for one reason or another (don’t forget to add the salt…). Eventually I had a successful loaf of bread made from scratch. From loafs I moved on to dinner rolls, and of course my children’s favorite: Pizza crust.

It was too cold to plant anything outside but why not grow things inside? I started a hydroponic garden. I liked it so much I got a second one. In the first I grew lettuce which we would mainly use as a taco topping but did make a salad or two as well. The second hydroponic garden was used for small tomatoes and parsley. The tomatoes did not compare to a plant grown in sunlight, but they were great for topping a taco or avocado toast.

There is no right or wrong answer to the question “Where do I begin?” you have to figure that out for yourself. The question I can answer is this: “When do I begin?” Now. Search the internet, read books, grow an indoor garden, build valuable homesteading skills like canning, baking from scratch, building or repairing things at home, knitting, sewing, or anything else you can think of.

If you have that desire to be more self-sufficient you can start your journey now! Your journey may be well underway, or just beginning but don’t let your spark go out.