We are going to discuss 4 ways to stop the panic and start homesteading now.
The desire to start homesteading can feel like one of those roundabouts we use to play on at the park.
You know those incredibly unsafe spinning wheels that you use to run insanely fast around, spinning it in circles, only to attempt to jump on without missing and scraping your knee at full speed in the sand?!?! Anyone remember those or did I just age myself?!? Anyway, that is one of the best ways I can think of to describe how we felt when we first started our homesteading journey. It was a wildly overwhelming adventure that felt like we were running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
We were building container gardens. Trying to learn how to build fires using two sticks. Attempting to learn how to preserve food. Building bug-out bags for our cars. Trial and erring homemade deodorants. ALL. THE. THINGS. And we felt like we had to do ALL. THE. THINGS at once.
And you know what…
…We burnt ourselves out like you wouldn’t believe. Well, actually you probably can believe. You may be feeling this very way this very moment. 12 years ago our journey was prompted by the world supposedly ending. It was like a panic button was turned on and we had no idea how to turn it off. Until one day we slapped each other in the face and told each other to get a grip. It wasn’t about being in panic mode that got shit done, it was about building skills that allowed us to stay calm in times of uncertainty. And that is the very thing we are going to discuss today.
The trouble is, the world feels like it is going down in flames at the moment and many individuals are starting to open their eyes. And this is where we are seeing an influx of individuals having the desire to homestead. Which is not a bad thing. What is bad is that many are feeling the panic of needing to know and do and get ALL. THE. THINGS.
But that is impossible.
What is possible is breaking ALL. THE. THINGS into small bite size chunks that not only builds you a skill that will stay with you a lifetime but allow you to keep your sanity. We are doing to discuss…
Table of Contents
- 4 ways to stop the panic and start homesteading now.
- 1. Slow the fu*k down
- 2. Build your homesteading skills
- 3. Start a SMALL garden
- 4. Get the bare essentials for homesteading
- ALL. THE. THINGS. are extremely overwhelming.
4 ways to stop the panic and start homesteading now.
1. Slow the fu*k down
It is impossible to jump right into homesteading and not completely losing your shit. There is SO much that comes along with the word “homesteading.” And homesteading can look a thousand different ways. I encourage you to stop and think about what your goal is exactly.
Is it to be self-sufficient?
Self-reliant?
Grow 100% of your own produce?
Meat?
All these things TAKE TIME. Sure there are things you can do to work towards all these things but know right off the bat, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO IT ALL RIGHT OFF THE BAT. As bad as the world seems, there is nothing you can do but to do what you can with what you have right now. If that means you have to build your food storage one ketchup bottle at a time, then so be it. As long as you stay busy and keep your goal at the forefront of your brain, you are headed in the right direction.
It is easy to get discouraged by the social media pages you follow or YouTube channels you watch where it seems like they are doing this homesteading thing flawlessly and you are light years behind them. DON’T!! Don’t even look up right now to see what anyone else is doing. JUST STAY THE COURSE. And that is, every step forward you take is a step in the beautiful homestead direction.
2. Build your homesteading skills
No matter what your goal is, if you do not start building your skill now, then you might as well just stop!! Was that too harsh?! It may have been but I am dead serious. You cannot panic start a garden with the sole purpose of growing 100% of your food without knowing how to preserve that food. Whether it be fermenting, freeze drying, dehydrating, canning or even freezing. Building into your muscle memory on how to keep that food shelf stable is crucial no matter what your goal may be.
Some things like making your own laundry detergent or deodorant or cleaning products may sound so, “oh that’s nice.” But in fact it is more than “nice” it is detrimental to build that skill set so that when you are pressed up against a wall, you know what to do.
Here is the thing y’all, if shit hits the fan you CANNOT be running around like a chicken with their head cut off. If you notice laundry detergent is wiped off the shelf when you go to buy it, you need to know what else to look for next on that very isle that will do just fine. WITHOUT PANIC.
We highly suggest building one skill at a time. This helps to build onto each skill set making you more confident and knowledgeable. There is no way I could’ve started my food preservation journey canning beef stew right off the bat…I needed to slow the fu*k down, like mentioned above, and start with something easier like, strawberry jam.
Building your skill set can be overwhelming that is why we created 15 skills that build onto one another that helps you to organize your journey into homesteading. You can grab that digital download right below!
3. Start a SMALL garden
Again, we cannot stress this enough…start small, start manageable. If this is your first year ever attempting to grow ANYTHING, do not jump to trying to understand companion planting or the three sister method. That is just going to paralyze you and making you want to pull out an eyelash rather than propel your forward on your journey.
The key here is to start small. Choose 5 fruits or veggies that you and your family EAT. Don’t try and grow bok choy if y’all have never even eaten bok choy. Grow the things you love to eat and for your first year just grow a handful of things. This is not the year to plant a field of corn or 60 potato plants, not until you build your skills and know exactly what you are going to do with those potatoes once they are harvested.
If you live in an apartment, container gardens are a fantastic way to grow food. One trick is to head to the grocery store, go to the bakery department and ask them for icing buckets. Sure you may have to go home and clean nuclear green colored icing off but they are free. Drill some drain holes, add some soil and boom son, you got yourself an instant garden.
If this is your first year in your home or even gardening, as you start SMALL, remember to watch what happens in your garden space. How long does the sun sit in specific areas. Which way is south facing. What grows well in certain spots. We encourage you to journal all this while building your skill by starting small.
And remember…You do not need a garden to build your food preservation skills or to build your food storage pantry.
Farmers markets, grocery store and/or neighbors are all amazing resources to begin that journey.
4. Get the bare essentials for homesteading
This is where it can get overwhelming. Buying the essentials you need to do ALL. THE. THINGS. The trick is, you want to build these things slowly. As you approach each skill, try to do it with the bare minimum when it comes to the tools. This eliminates cost, the need for storage, and again you losing your sanity.
I’ve learned this the hard way. I would learn about a new skill and before even attempting it, I would buy ALL. THE. THINGS. Half the time resulting in never utilizing those things to do the skill. So be mindful here. Attempt to do the skill first then get all the fancy shit if you really need it. With all that said, there are essentials you’ll need but do the work first then allow yourself to gain insight and understanding as to what you need to make the end result better, more efficient and productive.
***Side note: buy the things you need from WHERE EVER it is available. I understand we are in a time where Amazon and Walmart are labeled as the devil and by boycotting them the whole country would be better off. And believe me…that stance is an incredibly important stance to take but the way I see it is, the world is going to poop right now and if Walmart has a water bath canner for $20 and I can’t find it anywhere else by golly I am gonna get that canner from Walmart. At this moment, that is not the hill to be dying on. At least not in my eyes. So, just get what you need WHERE EVER you can to get your homestead going.
If this is the hill you want to die on, I applaud you. In that case, I would highly recommend checking out Lehman’s. This place is like the homesteading mothership!
ALL. THE. THINGS. are extremely overwhelming.
We totally get it. but you HAVE to give yourself grace. Or this whole thing will collapse. Our goal here is to keep our shit together, right?!? So, take a deep breath. You got this. You are doing it. It may be at a slower pace than you’d like, BUT YOU ARE DOING IT. And we applaud you. For more tips read this article on 3 essential things to get homesteading now.
Until next time…
Homestead on our friends,
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