I want to start homesteading, BUT I LIVE IN THE DAMN CITY!
There are many misconceptions about Homesteading that we hear all too often! A common one is, “I can’t start homesteading because I live in the city”. Some others are, I live in an apartment, I do not have a yard, my yard is too small, and I am stuck living with a damn HomeOwners Association.
Well, I have one word for people with this ridiculous mindset. Laziness! We will give you five easy ways to get started if you are stuck in the city. So let us move on from all the nonsense and get that homesteading lifestyle momentum rolling.
Table of Contents
- 5 Ways You Can Start Homesteading in the City:
- 1. Your Idea of Homesteading is WRONG!
- 2. Start Small when thinking about homesteading in the city.
- 3. Get Familiar With the Importance of using natural products.
- 4. Start a Garden.
- 5. Get Some Chickens.
5 Ways You Can Start Homesteading in the City:
1. Your Idea of Homesteading is WRONG!
If you believe that if you begin to homestead, you will have to have an extravagant garden right away. You Are Wrong! If you believe that you need to quit your job, wash your clothes by hand, buy a cow, live off your garden, learn how to preserve food overnight, all at once. You Will Fail! And with this mindset, you are already setting yourself up for failure. Starting slow will birth momentum.
Filling your head with too much too fast will kill momentum. Finding momentum and building upon it are key ingredients to success. So This Is Your Chance to start breaking the rules you thought existed and begin living a healthier, efficient, more fulfilling life, by starting out slow.
2. Start Small when thinking about homesteading in the city.
I can not emphasize this simple concept enough. You can start a small garden, learn how to preserve food, learn how to make bread using sourdough, get some chickens and learn how to care for them, learn how to make your own cleaning products, etc. But, Start Small! Pick one new skill to learn and spend some time getting familiar with it. We made it easy for you to do so as well.
Do Not pick another topic right away and try to learn them both. If you are in a hurry to call yourself a homesteader, you might as well move on to barber college. Homesteading is a lifestyle and a mindset and this takes awhile to adopt. So, slow your roll and start small.
3. Get Familiar With the Importance of using natural products.
This simple yet effective approach is a great way to get used to a new way of life. A homesteading way of life. Homesteading has a lot to do with health, believe it or not. Discarding harsh and toxic household items and replacing them with homemade all natural items is not only easy, but will fill a void in your life you didn’t know existed.
Most all purpose cleaners, aerosols, bleach, toilet bowl cleaners, etc. that are found at the grocery store contain toxic ingredients. These products that you may have grown up with and have been using ever since you can remember, contain toxic ingredients that are poisoning you and your family. Most Deodorant and Toothpaste contain harmful ingredients as well.
These facts were important enough for us to begin making our own all purpose cleaner, toothpaste, deodorant, and several other items. It is a combination of simple moves like this and others that can get you started as a “homesteader”. But do not make the mistake of concerning yourself with the term homesteader.
Trying to live up to, or play the role of a homesteader will only take you farther away from your goal of homesteading, especially when living in the city.
When family and friends began noticing these small changes we were making, they said, “what are you, homesteaders or something”? We never considered ourselves homesteaders or called ourselves homesteaders. We simply “woke up” and decided to live a different type of lifestyle. So, think of just one household item and learn how to make it yourself. Then, get familiar with keeping that item “in stock” at all times.
Get familiar with your new product and tweak any recipes to your liking. Then, and only then, should you move onto replacing another store bought item. After this becomes more of a lifestyle, you will notice wanting to make more all natural products. This is the valuable momentum I mentioned. This process seems like a lot of work to most, but when you feel and see the rewards, you will not be thinking about it as work.
4. Start a Garden.
But I don’t know how! SO LEARN! If you learned how to use TIK TOK, then you can learn how to garden. If you need somewhere to start, we have a detailed blog post about this very subject. But, remind yourself that nothing in life is a breeze in the beginning. But I do not know where to start and I do not have the space! Wait! What is that smell? I smell another Excuse! Slap yourself for thinking such things and get creative.
We all have at least one creative bone in our body. So, USE IT! Use a sunny window in the house. If you only have a small patio, it looks like you will be slowly collecting buckets, because you will be growing your food in some sort of a container. Next time you are at the grocery store, ask the cranky person behind the counter, in the bakery department, if they have any empty icing buckets. Ask the deli department and floral department while you are at it.
Most of the items in the floral department needed water during transport. These items are shipped in small black pots with water. Most floral departments will feed the landfill with these containers.
AGAIN, find that creative bone in your body and use it!
If you simply can not find buckets, buy some at Lowes or Home Depot. If you can not afford to buy buckets, time to start saving containers around the house and using them. You can also search for a community garden you can join or grow indoors under lights. Remember to start small so that you can gain positive momentum when starting your first garden.
Grow some herbs to start out with. When your herbs are ready to harvest, figure out how you will be using them to take the place of your store bought herbs. Then slowly expand the food you will be growing.
5. Get Some Chickens.
If you have the space. You do not need a lot to start out with. Our first time sharing life with chickens, we only had 4. We were also in a city that only allowed two and a HomeOwners Association that did not allow any at all. Sometimes, at least for us, rules need to be broken when homesteading. You might even enjoy it, if ya quit being such a square.
The reason I suggest chickens is because they are known as the gateway animal. Meaning, you will want more animals after having chickens for a while. They are also easy to care for, will help you out with garden chores, and will give you free eggs that are healthier than any egg you can buy at the grocery store. For more details on how to get started with chickens head on over here. And if choosing a breed feels overwhelming…we got you there too, head on over here.
So there you have it!
Five Ways Anyone Can Start Homesteading In The City. If you really want to make a change in your life that is more sustainable, healthy, efficient, and joyful. Homesteading might just be your ticket out of a life, where you have been a slave to the system.
The Choice is Yours!
If you find yourself with a partner who is just not into this homesteading lifestyle, read this article!
Until next time…
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