Imagine with me for a second. You’ve spent years saving up extra cash, looking at every listing, weighing costs and benefits, trying to make the right moves, and you finally find your dream homestead property. A few acres (or a few hundred), the best soil imaginable, a well-kept old-fashioned home, plenty of space for goats and chickens, a few cows, and children. You close on the property, you move into the house and think “what do I do with this place”.
You suddenly have so much potential and yet so far to go.
This may be the situation for some, or maybe you were thrown into this homesteading thing, and your circumstances are by no means hopeless! But as a ‘bang-for-your-buck’ kind of gal, I want to have a handle on some homesteading skills before I have the homestead. When we eventually reach that goal, I want to be as prepared as possible to take on the challenge.
While there are so many things that I know can only come from experience and being in that environment, there are also many skills you can begin to develop right where you are! As I’ve said before, when I left my job in the medical field, I knew that I wanted to use my time learning these things I didn’t grow up with. So, I made a sort-of mental list of things I wanted to learn how to in the coming year.
In this post, I dive into the short list of things I’ve begun to learn this year. Some are big, some are small, but each one of them brings a new way to glorify God and serve my family, friends, and local church. And the coolest part is, you can do these things too!
1. Cooking From Scratch
This is one thing I had started previously as a means to save some change, but it’s a great starting point for someone looking to cut the grocery bill, use better ingredients, or just experiment in the kitchen. I know many people claim that eating “healthy” is more expensive, but that doesn’t have to be the case. You can develop a set of meals for your own family’s needs that is not only healthy from scratch, but also budget friendly.
Developing the skill of cooking from scratch may seem daunting at first, but if you’re able to find a friend, family member, or even a few video tutorials on how to hold a knife properly, you’ll make it through just fine and just might discover a love for cooking you never expected!
I find many great recipes from gifted or thrifted cook books, YouTube videos, Pinterest, and other blogs! There are loads of resources and they’re not too hard to find!
2. Canning (Pressure and Water Bath)
Both pressure canning and water bath canning are methods of food preservation that allows many foods to be shelf-stable for 1-3 years on average.
The skill of canning is one that is adopted by many homesteaders as it allows you to preserve much of their harvest and have food on hand in the case of an emergency. With recent inflation, I decided that it is absolutely necessary to have a few months worth of dinners in my pantry. That way if my husband is out of work for a while, if there’s a natural disaster, or any other reason we can’t go to the store, I can still put food on the table.
I know, I know. Canning your own chicken sounds like something that should be illegal, but if the big companies can do it, you can too! And even better, you won’t load it up with preservatives or massive amounts of salt. You control what goes in, and can make adjustments on how you season them.
Pressure canning does have a moderate upfront cost, but if you’d like to start with water bath canning, you can add some high-acid foods to your own pantry or make some as gifts for the holidays this year!
3. Bread Making
This particular skill was a stepping-stone to sourdough. I wanted to know how different kinds of bread dough feel, stretch, shape, rise, and are affected by other ingredients before I dove into starter upkeep, and I think it worked out pretty well for me. I started with a no-knead beer bread from a cookbook in my mom’s attic. It was easy, loaded with butter, and turned out well! It was similar to baking a cake, but certainly gave me some confidence when I told my husband, “I made bread”!
I then moved on to a 2-hour artisan loaf recipe that has evolved into my weekly sandwich bread with a few tweaks. I now have the confidence to look at any bread recipe and say “I can make that”!
But why should you learn to make bready anyway?
Well, while I’d love to tell you that you’ll save lots of money at the store, that’s just not the case. In fact, you might actually spend a bit more. You can buy a loaf at the store for about a dollar. When you factor in the cost of flour, yeast, and energy to run the oven, you may come out spending more than a dollar, but it will be so worth it! Many store-bought loaves contain additives and preservatives that you can avoid, and you can adjust the ingredients of your loaf to make it stronger, softer, buttery-er, and even flavored! Last I checked, you can order a custom loaf from the store.
3(b): Sourdough
After learning breads, it only made sense to try my hand at sourdough! You can make your own starter, buy one online, or ask a friend for some of theirs! Sourdough can be as simple or as scientific as you want it to be. I choose the simple way, but there is a wealth of information on fermentation processes, shaping and scoring and lots more.
Sourdough has so many health benefits, is extremely versatile, and, in my opinion, the most flavorful of breads! It makes a wonderful addition to any diet, and if you’ve made any other bread before, you probably have everything you need to start!
4. Gardening
As one of my newer projects, this skill is one that I’m still getting the hang of. In our first house, we were renting and knew we were moving soon, and in our previous apartment, we had an east-facing balcony that got maybe an hour of morning sun due to other buildings and trees, so my attempt at container gardening didn’t pan out. This year, our balcony faces west and we had some neighbors move and leave their raised bed behind.
We seized the opportunity and moved it to our balcony! I’m currently growing cucumbers, okra, and bell peppers in the vegetable bed, and we recently added a flower bed to attract pollinators. I can’t say it was a success, but it’s further than I’ve ever gotten, and I’m proud of us for doing what we can with the space we have.
Just a quick Pinterest or YouTube search will pull up oodles of people making dreamy and high-producing gardens in small spaces, apartment balconies, sun rooms, kitchens, wherever you can imagine! Having a small garden and growing just one or two things doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, and can benefit your family (and your wallet) in many ways.
5. Sewing
This is my newest adventure, and I’m loving it! I recently purchased a sewing machine on Facebook Marketplace for $65, replaced a few pieces for about $5 each, and got straight to sewing! I’ve been able to make a set of vintage stuffed animals for a friend, clothes for them to wear, and a few other small things. I have so many things on my sewing docket, and can hardly wait to tackle them. Learning how to sew opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to self-sufficiency and saving money. You can make your own clothing, pillow covers, duvet covers, curtains, bowl covers, tea towels… and truly so much more!
Like canning, learning to sew does have a bit of an upfront cost if you want your own machine, but you could always borrow from a friend and see if they would be willing to teach you a few tricks as well! Along the way, you can save up here and there for a low-cost used sewing machine.
6. Fermentation
Fermentation is another method of food preservation that actually adds to the nutritional value of a particular food! By adding salt or sugar to foods, allowing time to pass and bacteria to grow, you can create foods (and drinks) that support gut health and taste wonderful! Personally, Sourdough was my first fermentation, and I’ve only made kombucha also, but I hope to make sauerkraut soon! depending on space, you may need to be constantly moving different ferments around your house, but it’s fun nonetheless!
Fermentation can be a bit tricky, so do your research and take it slowly. And remember, fermented foods can be an acquired taste, so you or your family may not be fanatics at first, but your palettes can change over time.
7. Cheese Making
If you think you might want a dairy cow on your future homestead, knowing how to make cheese can really offset the overwhelming amount of milk production. BUT, you don’t need the cow to pick up this skill. Store-bought milk will do just fine. Some cheeses require pressing and aging, but some only require a big pot and a few ingredients!
I have yet to dive into harder cheeses that require aging and pressing, but a 30-minute farmers’ cheese is my current favorite! You can too, and you probably already have everything you need! Cheese is another one of those things that seems like us regular people aren’t allowed to make, but it’s truly so easy, and again, allows you to control what goes in your cheese.
8. Handmade Gifts
For my artsy friends, this is one that you may already do, and it’s a skill that I have grown to love! Last Christmas, I decided to give everyone a loaf of bread and a jar of jelly, and I realized that people don’t want you to spend a lot of money on them, but they love when you spend time on them. We know gifting can be pricey, but what is truly shocking is the price of cards! Good golly, they’re proud of their paper! This year, I started making my own greeting cards! Sometimes I’ll sit and make tons of generic cards and have a small stock, and other times, I’ll take a little time to make one special for the occasion. Making your own gifts and cards allows you the freedom to do them in spare time and helps avoid the last minute panic because you couldn’t make it to the store.
I’ve loved being able to let someone know that I’m thinking of them and show them my love where funds lack. There are so many gifts that can be handmade, and you’d be surprised how much people love them.
9. Learning
Yes, you read that correctly. You can learn how to learn. And not just how to learn, but what kinds of things you like to learn about! This can cost you no more than gas money if that’s what you’ve got! Take a trip to your local library and check out their books on homemaking, gardening, raising animals, sewing, or whatever you’re interested in! Public libraries often have activities throughout the week, and not just for kids! In fact, our library is hosting a free pottery class for adults soon, and that could be another valuable skill! See what your library has to offer. You’re paying for its services anyway!
10. Discipline
This one is a hard one for me. I’ve never been one for routines, or chores, or the mundane, but it is so necessary. If you aren’t disciplined to check your garden, feed your starter and scoby, keep working on that sewing project, or sit and read your Bible, growth in any of those areas won’t be consistent. I’ve put this last because I am terrible at it, but it is probably the most important of the skills. You can’t expect to keep chickens alive if you never tend to them. So if you’d like to do better than me, start here and work on discipline first.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24 ESV
Well, that’s it, friends! There are many more skills you can learn before you ever set foot on your homestead, and I hope you’ll follow me on social media to keep up with us on this learning journey. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what valuable skill you have been learning recently! I’d love to hear from you and be inspired myself!
Until next time,
Rebekah
