For many years my husband and I sit down on New Year’s Eve and discuss our goals and plans for the homestead. We try to pick two new things to learn in the new year to help us continue to grow and build skills. Some years it was gardening, others, it was raising meat birds, rabbits or turkeys. Regardless, we always made a point to try something new.
Over the years, we’ve learned how to “map out” our homestead to best fit our family’s needs.
It’s easy to say “I want to grow/ raise as much food as possible” but if you want to do that then you really need to have a plan. It won’t just happen overnight!
For example, in 2022 we successfully reached our goal of raising 100% of our own meat. It was five years in the making with much trial and error . It’s taken much forethought and effort to get to this point and it feels very rewarding to see it all come to fruition.
Here are some questions we've asked ourselves in the past as we developed our homestead goals:
Why do you want to homestead?
Is it for better quality of food? For outdoor hobbies & exercise? Is it to be a little more prepared and self-sufficient?
Your why really matters, it is the living idea you will hang onto during the rough days. It will keep you motivated on the days when it’s freezing outside, you feel like you’re killing everything or just flat out wasting your money.
What do you like to eat?
What are some of your family’s favorite meals and what are the ingredients in them? Chicken? Carrots? Onions? Let this be your guide. It’s not fun growing foods people won’t eat.
How often do you want to eat those meals?
Once a week? Once a month? We usually eat a chicken meal once a week. That let us know we needed to raise at least 52 meat chickens for the year. Knowing the frequency of the meals will help you to know how much to plant or to raise.
How much help/ participation are you able to get from your family?
This is a hard one, but be realistic. Is your whole family “all in”? Or, does your spouse have a different idea of how they’d like to use their free time. Expecting a spouse to help you who doesn’t want to will only cause frustration and resentment. Maybe you can start with a small garden and let them watch you experience the joys over time.
What resources are available to you right now?
Think about the layout of where you are homesteading. Do you have access to an outdoor water source? You might want to plan to put animal pens or the garden close to that area. Do you have pine trees nearby? Their needles might make good ground cover for some raised beds. Do you have some space you could stop mowing and let the grass grow for grazing animals? All of these extra things will either save you time or money.
What resources will be difficult to obtain?
The year I wanted to start a “Back to Eden” style garden I quickly realized free wood chips are extremely difficult to source in my area. I called many tree companies to see if they dropped off, many said yes- but no one ever showed up. Here are a few other things to think of, if you are building a project, do you have a way to pick up materials? Do you have to borrow a truck or a trailer? Again, all of these challenges will add time or extra expense.
What skills do you already have?
Are you good at cooking? Do you know how to operate most power tools? These areas will be your strengths, see if you can find a friend to compliment you in your weak areas. Maybe consider bartering and trading labor when the time comes.
How much time are you willing to dedicate each week? Each day?
If you have a busy schedule, maybe try to keep a small garden and a few chickens the first year. If you work from home, then you might be able to consider larger, more time consuming animals like a goat or a cow.
After answering some of these questions you now have a basic framework for your homestead. You can have direction for what vegetables you want to grow in your garden, plan ahead for challenges and weak spots as well as focus in on the areas you will thrive.
Want to stay organized this year on the homestead? Check out my Homestead Planner, it is on sale right now until January 7th! Use the code “newyearnewplanner” for 10% off.
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