So you want to homestead? There are a lot of things to consider when looking into making this change. I know it is a pretty popular trend right now. Here are some of my top things to consider.
- Land – Unless you are a millionaire I think it is safe to say you will never find “the perfect piece of land”. There are a lot of things to think about with land. What are your plans? Do you want livestock? Do you want a large garden? What is your ultimate purpose? Then figure out how much land you would need to fulfill those plans well.
- Animals – What animals do you want on your property and for what purpose? We have started with chickens – the gateway animal. Then we got Kune Kune pigs, and then ducks. We have plans to get dairy goats too. Making sure you find a homestead property that will enable you to have the animals you want is key. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to keep moving to a different homestead to meet the needs of our farm.
- Crops – Ah a beautiful, lush, garden that is everyone’s dream right? Here on the high plains of Wyoming the growing season is short and brutal. Picking a homestead location that allows you the ability to grow what you want is important. I will say though, it is possible to make things work wherever you need to be.
- Time Constraints – Homesteading is a lot of work and unlike most social media posts – not elegant. How much time do you have to put into it? For us, my husband works 40 hours a week at his regular job and I spend my days chasing our wild boys around. Eventually, I will be able to do more on the homestead but three kiddos aged 4 and under make that difficult right now.
- Money – Buying property is not cheap. Raising animals is not cheap. Building pens is not cheap. Now there are ways to make it work. We are building the pig pen using pallets that we got for free from different businesses around town. We did the same with the fence for the garden. To quote my mom, “Where there is a will, there is a way!” However, at some point in time you will have to invest money into it.
Starting a homestead is such a rewarding process. Eating a meal that was grown in your garden or raised on your pasture is amazing. However, there are many things to consider and a lot of ups and downs in the process. Don’t let that stop you just be ready to dig in!