Dream Homestead? Do you have one in mind? What to do while you wait on your dream homestead? There are so many things you can be doing as a homesteader while you work to get to your dream homestead – even if you’re in an apartment!
What to do While You Wait on Your Dream Homestead
Educate Yourself.
Start reading everything your library has on homesteading, gardening, farm animals and the like. I would also suggest reading about purchasing land, dealing with wells and septic tanks and housing options for property.
Use the Space You Have to Start Homesteading.
If you have a backyard then you have space to garden, compost and possibly raise some small livestock like chicken, quail and rabbit (check zoning laws). If you are in an apartment then you can do some container and vertical gardening. You can even do some counter top composting with a Bokashi bucket.
Learning to milk a goat is just one skill you could learn with a mentor.
Learn Some Vintage Skills
Canning, cheese making, cooking from scratch, sewing or any needle work craft. Check out 10 More Vintage Skills We Still Need in the Modern World. These skills will help you when you are on your dream homestead.
Find a Homesteading Mentor/s.
Find someone that is living the life that you want. Ask them if you can help them on their homestead with their garden or animals. They may also be able to help with canning and other “indoor” lessons as well. This mentorship will give you a head start in preparation for working your own homestead.
See Homesteading Skills We Need to Learn and Teach.
Decide where you want your dream homestead to be located.
Do you know where you want to settle down? If it is a place you haven’t spent a lot of time then you’ll want to do that. Get established in the community as much as you can and make sure this is the right place for you.
See Where You Can Still Find Free Land in the 21st Century
Create a Budget.
Are you saving for your down payment on that dream homestead? What about money for fencing, animals, tools, etc? Start saving now by create a budget that allows for this, even if your dream homestead is years down the road. Can I suggest you get yourself out of any debt first as well?
See The Importance of Being Out of Debt and How to Do It
Make Dream Board.
Put together a book or board with pictures of your dream homestead. Maybe it is a big red barn or some free range chickens? Get some magazines or print things out from the internet that help you “see the dream”. Seeing it there will help you to not lose focus!
Create a Mission for Your Homestead.
Is your dream homestead going to be a business or simply where you grow your family’s food? Is this where your you’ll grow a family or retire? Consider making a mission statement that aligns with your dream homestead and add that to your board.
Whatever your dream homestead is, you can start planning for it now. You can start obtaining the skills and knowledge you’ll need then, right here in the present. Don’t let space be an issue! Work with what you have, dream big, get connected and start planning today.
You are so right. Planning is everything. I saved so much money while planning my off grid life (while still in my existing home).
And there is so much we can do while we are in that planning stage. I think it gets us ahead of the game when we finally get the dream place. 🙂
We’ve been planning for about a year now. Figuring out exactly where we wanted to settle was the hardest part and we’re still a little unsure. We’ll be taking a trip to Maine this Spring. Maine is the #1 top contender for us right now, but I have a few things to figure out first. I’ve learned so much though throughout the whole process. I’m very happy I’ve had this time to learn. I think it’ll help me to not feel so overwhelmed when the time comes.
Becca – I’d love to hear what made you choose Maine. I’ve never been myself.
So encouraging. We are a few years away from purchasing a homestead, and this is just the pep talk I needed 🙂