It seems that since the pandemic, when everyone was forced home for weeks on end with nowhere to be, the things our grandparents used to do for survival have become the new fad hobbies. It’s now cool for people our age to bake bread, raise backyard chickens, and can our own food. But, what if this new “fad” is actually a really great shift in our society to become more self-sustainable? I have always done all these things and am so excited to see so many families join the ranks of “homesteader.” I know that term is usually used for people who move out onto acreage and get chickens and maybe a family cow, but I think even families in a neighborhood with an HOA can get the homestead vibe and run with it. If you don’t happen to have a “Back 40” acres to plan your self-sustainable living, that’s totally ok.
Here are a few things you can easily do to make your life a little more reliant on yourself:
Start a kitchen garden. This is the easiest one to do, even if you have an apartment. Use anything from a large pot to a large plot in your yard and grow some of your own food. Start small and in no time, you will be adding so much value to your own pantry. Tomatoes and lettuce are simple to grow in a small container or flowerbed. Basil and oregano thrive on a windowsill or in an outdoor pot.
Make or buy a rain barrel to use rainwater to water your plants. Even something as simple as setting out a bucket under your downspouts or just letting the rain fall directly into it and then collecting that in a jug for use works just fine! I swear plants know the difference between rainwater and hose/city water. It’s also free (and legal here) so you can reduce your water bill at the same time.
After you grow your own food, you will want to preserve some of it. There are a lot of options to do just that. You can simply refrigerate it and use it up fresh. You can clean and freeze it. Pro tip: for foods like berries or corn that are small, spread them on a jelly roll pan and freeze them, then transfer to a container for the long term. This means you don’t have chunks of ice; instead, you have individual pieces you can use at meal times. Once you’re ready to move on, read up on home canning and look at your local thrift stores for a pressure canner. They are really easy and inexpensive to find that way. Just check that all the seals/gaskets are not dried up and you’re good to go. It’s all gateway from there.
Compost your kitchen scraps and feed your plants. You don’t need anything fancy to compost. A pile in the corner of your yard will work just fine. You can save things like used coffee grounds and old garlic cloves for natural pest repellents. You can also add yard waste like leaves and small sticks. Just remember no meat in a compost pile.
Don’t start with the crazy bread recipe that takes days to make. Try a simple recipe a few times before you really commit. The whole sourdough trend is kind of funny to me. It’s a slightly complicated process and there are so many bread recipes that are so much easier for newbies! (Don’t get me wrong; I do love a good sourdough, but not enough more to put in extra work myself.) I bought a bread maker for $5 at my local thrift store and it does ALL the work and my family eats fresh bread really often because of that.
Chickens. If you want to start raising your own eggs and you have the ability in your backyard, do not buy chicks. I repeat: do not buy baby chicks. Most people end up with unwanted roosters (males) in a neighborhood and that’s a big no-no (and not needed for eggs.) Plus you need almost a year of raising them before you get any eggs! Start by buying 4-5 currently laying hens. Craigslist or even Facebook contacts are an easy place to look. They will usually range from about $10-20 each. Something as simple as a dog chain link kennel (with a top) and a dog house will work. You don’t have to buy the $2000 coop right off the bat. Protect them from predators and feed them, and you’ll get eggs. And if you decide that chickens are not your thing, you can easily resell hens. And if they ARE your thing, then buy some chicks and add to your collection. (And save those eggshells for your garden.)
Find a local dairy farmer and get fresh milk. You can easily use this to make your own butter in the blender. Tennessee does not allow the sale of raw milk, but you can buy herd shares and consume the milk from “your own” cows or goats. After butter, mozzarella cheese is easy too.
Buy your meat from a local farmer and do some of your own “processing.” Check in with your social media contacts and you will find small farms easily. Freezer paper or a vacuum sealer makes storing and labeling the meat really simple. I even pre-season beef for fajitas and pre-cook taco meat and then freeze it that way for easy dinners later.
Switch to reusable items where possible in your home. Less reliance on store bought products is all part of homesteading. But don’t feel bad if it’s not your thing. Life is all about balance. You can use things like glass jars or containers and freezer paper for food storage instead of zipper bags. Trade paper towels for fabric. My family has been using the same 50 pack of cloth “paper” towels from Amazon for three years now. We do use actual paper towels for really gross stuff. Switching to cleaning products like Norwex or E-cloth cloths for counters, windows, dusting, and such will save on disposable paper towels too. I have a bin they all get tossed into when used and then they are washed when it’s full enough. Fabric makeup remover cloths and period wear/fabric pads can be washed too and you never run out that way. Don’t worry; toilet paper is still a staple in our house. (Although adding inexpensive bidet options to our toilets has reduced that usage too. I really didn’t expect that part!)
Find a local water source if possible. We drive about 30 minutes once a week and fill three-gallon water jugs from a public spring. Then we have a water cooler in our home that dispenses our drinking and cooking water. We are in a really great location here in East Tennessee and have so many options for (tested safe) spring water!
