What do you picture when you think of an apartment? Maybe you live in one, maybe you think about boxes lumped together in one big building. Whatever your definition is, you may be thinking that self-sufficiency and apartments just don't mix. Sure, you can't have a milk cow, or chickens, but there are other ways you can live more(or totally) self-sufficient, even in an apartment! We lived in a small apartment, with a balcony. Lucky for us, it had great light, so this gave us s

Getting finances in order is important for buying that homestead and building it up. Even a "finished" homestead still needs seeds for the garden, animals and supplies! That's why it's so important to find a money-saving method. Here are 5 different ways that future homesteaders can save to buy a homestead: Envelope Method This is a fun method of saving money. Figure out a smaller goal amount, like $1,000, then write down random amounts on envelopes. $5, $10, $20 or even $100

This post contains affiliate links. If you click these links, I may earn a commission. Thank you for understanding. The run down: Easy to Use? YES. Easy to Clean? YES. Worth the money? YES. YES. YES. This thing saved my life(and my back.) I had just started making bread and didn't want to invest a lot up front. So, I originally purchased a dutch oven. I was making small loaves of bread, which was fine, but I wanted something a little "loafier." So, I broke down and purchased

Tennessee is a beautiful state with gorgeous views. The Appalachian mountains run through the eastern part of the state, giving amazing scenery, like this unfiltered picture here on the right. Yes, the mountains really are that blue. They're even more breathtaking in person. There's also filled with rich history, caves and even water that pours right from the rock. Gorgeous mountains aren't the only thing this state has to offer, Tennessee is a great place to start a homestea

We started traveling not long after we got married. It's been a fun ride and we've seen some pretty great things along the way! This gave us an advantage in deciding where to settle down and build our homestead at, too. After doing all of this traveling, we've found places we've fallen in love with and places you couldn't pay us to live. We want to use this knowledge to help some fellow aspiring homesteaders make this decision! Here are our top ten list of states to homestead

In an emergency situation, you'll have to rely on your own skills. There may not be a doctor nearby or even an accessible grocery store. With no survival skills, this could mean no food, no soap and no way to get these essentials. Sure, one could scavenge for these things in stores, but how dangerous might that be? Here are 25 essential skills and links to tutorials: 1. Making Lye Without lye, you can't make soap. Lye can be made by draining water through ashes from a fire, b

This post contains affiliate links. If you click these links, we may earn a small commission. Thank you for understanding. Collecting rainwater is a great idea, even for a small homestead hooked up to the public supply. It can provide a source of water in case of emergency, cut down on water bills or even support the homestead completely. Step 1: Determine your need. Collecting a little rain to water the lawn is different than collecting enough to support an entire homestead.

Choosing land to buy is the most important decision you'll ever make for your homestead. Location, weather, terrain and so much more will determine your success for years to come. What should I look for when buying land to homestead on? This all depends on what you're doing, your location and how much you have to spend. Someone homesteading in Florida may have different expectations than someone in Iowa, so while this list is long, it isn't all-inclusive. Here's some things

Airbnb is a website where you can offer an extra room, guest house or even a tent in your backyard as a short-term place for someone to stay. This is a great way to make an income on the homestead, but Airbnb also offers something called "experiences." This is where locals, or travelers, can book classes, activities or events to attend. This is where agritourism comes in. With more and more people becoming interested in homesteading, or even just learning where their food com

Diversifying income on a homestead is important. Why put all of your eggs in one basket? Figuring out how to diversify that income, especially on a smaller homestead, can be difficult. Working online can be great, but it isn't for everyone. That's OK. There's still tons of ways to bring in that extra bill money. I did some brainstorming and thought up six different ways that homesteaders can bring in an extra stream of income! 1. Airbnb Experiences/Agritourism Not only does A

This page contains affiliate ads. If you click on these links, we may earn a compensation. Thanks for understanding. Homesteading is hard enough. It can be back-breaking, laboring work. Lucky for us, there have been products developed over time to make this job easier. Here are ten products that can make the homesteading life easier: This solar powered light. Don't want to run electricity to the chicken coop? Off-grid and don't use electricity? This light has it's own solar p

an I start homestead on less than an acre? The short answer is: YES.

When estimating how much rainwater is needed to store, it should always be kept in mind that a drought or dry-period could happen at anytime, any year. That's going to factor into how much extra water to keep on hand. It's a good idea to look up the 100-year records and study them. It's also important to find the months that get the least/most amount of rain, recurring dry-spells, drought patterns and average rainfall numbers. Some records can be found, here! These numbers ca

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on these links we may earn a commission. Thanks for understanding! Reducing your bills is the first step to living a more self-sufficient life. The less your monthly bills cost, the less income you'll need to bring in, giving you more time to work on your homestead or even switch to a lifestyle in which the homestead is completely paying all of your bills. A lot of people are under the misconception that they need to cancel eve

Beef cows can provide a homestead with meat, hide and fertilizer. They can also provide milk, although not as much a dairy cow. Cows can be beneficial for some homesteads, but are they right for yours? What are meat cow breeds? Angus Angus are by far the most popular breed of beef cattle. They are at least 80% black. They can be registered through the American Angus Association. We had several bulls and they were all generally as well-tempered as a bull can be. Hereford Heref

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on these links, we may earn a commission. Thanks for understanding. Homesteading is all about living a simple, back to basics life. Part of that is reducing debt, "stuff" and just living a more stress-free life. This is where the tiny lifestyle comes in. What is a tiny house? Technically a tiny house is under 400sq'. "Small houses," which are part of the tiny house movement, are under 1000sq'. Then, there's micro-houses, which

Stubborn, loud and a pain in the... Behind! Those might be words someone may use to describe a donkey. The truth is, there's a reason why they're utilized all over the world. They serve countless purposes on the homestead. Big and small, mini and mammoth, they all have a purpose. They can serve the role as companion animal or even a livestock guard animal. Not only can they keep an eye on the cows, they can work, drive, show or take you for a ride. What? Donkeys can be ridden

Coyotes, wolves, feral dogs and even big cats are all threats to livestock. That's why it's crucial to have eyes on your herd when you can't be there. Lucky for you, there's many options, even for small animals. 1. Alpacas An alpaca can serve many purposes on the homestead, but one of their many uses is a livestock guard animal! On top of this, an alpaca can provide your homestead with wool! Alpaca fur is considered luxurious and can also bring in an additional income! 2. Ge

You can minimize your grocery bill by growing your own fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs, even if you live in an apartment. Tomatoes, strawberries, green beans and herbs can all be grown in a window, or on a balcony! Tomatoes can be grown in 5-gallon buckets, hanging upside down or even in large clay pots. Green beans can be grown in $5 tote from the dollar store or in a 20-gallon utility tub. There's so much that can be grown, even in a window! I started my container garden

This recipe makes two loaves. Bread Recipe 6 1/2 Cups of Flour 5 1/2 Teaspoons of Sugar 1 Tablespoon of Salt 2 Tablespoons of Butter (melted) 4 1/2 Teaspoons of Yeast 2 1/4 Cups of Very Warm Water With this recipe, I've used bread flour, all purpose flour and wheat flour. They've all turned out just fine. I've also substituted the butter for oils and it's turned out fine as well. Don't be afraid to tweak this recipe and share your results with us! I suggest halving this recip