When the homesteading bug first hit us, we were living in a camper with plans to travel following Josh’s welding profession. That was the year Covid-19 hit the world like a sledgehammer and the traveling option for us vanished.
We hunted our first homestead property in Upstate South Carolina and bought our chickens before we even closed on our new home. We moved to a property with just under two acres and only the information we had read on the internet and in books.
Little did we know that it was a fantastic time to start homesteading with the tsunami of people seeking to learn how to become more self-reliant after the grocery stores were forced to close down to “slow the spread”
Here are a few skills that we started working on in our first year and even before while we still lived in our home on wheels!
HERE ARE SOME Beginner Homesteading Skills to Get Started:
Bake Your Own Bread
Is there anything better than fresh bread out of the oven? Slather it with butter and there is nothing closer to heaven itself. Learning the skills to bake your own daily bread will save you money and truthfully, it tastes so much better than anything you buy in the store.
You don’t need a bread machine or a list of tools! Some of the simplest recipes are the most delicious. I treasure my grandmothers’ bread bowl that was used for her famous potato bread rolls and she didn’t need any fancy tools to make it.
Make Homemade Butter
You don’t need to wait until you have a family cow to make homemade butter. After you learn how to make your own, then you can experiment with adding herbs and spices to create delicious variations to impress any dinner guest. This is also a great activity to get your kids in on!
Learn the basics of preserving Your Food
A fundamental homesteading skill to know is what to do with your bounty once you have reaped it. Learning how to can, smoke, dehydrate and freeze correctly is vital to keep your family eating fresh food all year long.
Ferment Fresh, Seasonal Foods
Purchase local, fresh, seasonal foods and learn to ferment them in recipes that your family will enjoy! Once you have had fresh, homemade sauerkraut, you will never buy it from the store again. It’s so simple.
Prepare Simple, Soft Cheeses
Nothing makes my Italian husband happier than fresh, soft, mozzarella cheese. You would be amazed at how simple it is! Soft cheeses don’t require too many extra ingredients, lots of prep time, aging, or special equipment, but give you the know-how and confidence you need to explore more in the future.
Make Homemade Yogurt
Homemade yogurt tastes better, has no artificial ingredients, and is a very frugal alternative to store-bought yogurt. I love using my Instant Pot for this task and I can rest easy knowing my children aren’t eating the extra garbage.
Scratch-Made Cooking
This was a challenge for us. As a typical millennial, I am always looking for a quick fix around dinner time. After starting the homestead journey, we have learned how much healthier our bodies have become by eating real ingredients instead of preservatives and chemicals. Don’t wait! Learn to prepare the foods you plan to grow and raise now so it’s nearly effortless later.
Eat From Your Pantry
Another challenge was cooking from our pantry. I’d much rather go out to eat than get creative with a can of tuna! Every now and then plan a “no-spend” week where you won’t buy any food from the grocery store or restaurant for a week to practice being frugal and creative in the kitchen. Your budget will thank you!
Grow Herbs Indoors
Learn to cook with fresh herbs by growing a few pots of your favorites on a windowsill. Indoor plants are beautiful and (I think) therapeutic in the home. It’s great practice for seed starting and plant care.
Render Tallow & Lard
Learning to render fresh lard is simple and you can use it in many recipes! This is another great way to ditch preservatives and chemicals in your diet. Plus, you’ve never had fried chicken till you’ve fried it in tallow!
Care for Cast Iron
Before we started our homestead, I didn’t know that there is a bit of a learning curve when you first use cast iron. I assumed such hearty cookware could survive a war and was shocked when I found out it was barely surviving my kitchen! After some failed attempts, I gave up and it collected dust in my cabinet. Once I finally learned basic care and seasoning, I use my cast iron regularly.
Learn How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken
I’m embarrassed to say that this intimidated me for many years! I asked my mom to show me and politely nodded while she flipped and trimmed and chopped, but the basic cuts never really made sense to me. It’s really empowering once you figure out how to cut up a whole chicken into individual pieces. Don’t be embarrassed like I was and learn this today!
Roast a Whole Chicken
Put your fresh herbs to good use by Roasting a whole chicken. It is a great way to showcase your homegrown chicken! There’s no need to wait to cultivate the skill and you will be pleasantly surprised how simple it is!
Make a Nutritious Bone Broth
Making your own bone broths not only taste wonderful, but are incredibly healthful, convenient, and economical. Most importantly it grows the mindset of wasting nothing!
Reduce Your Waste
Become mindful of how much you consume and dispose of. It will help you live a more frugal, orderly life now, and when you get to your homestead, you will have created habits that will help you use your excess and live below your means.
Learn Some Basic Sewing Skills
And in the name of reducing waste, knowing simple sewing techniques, particularly hand sewing, is incredibly useful for mending clothes, replacing buttons, finishing knitting projects, etc… Let’s make a pact to repair rather than replace if possible!
Prepare Herbal Home Remedies
It’s astonishing that the Lord grew a plethora of herbs, roots, and flowers on the earth to heal our bodies. Learning to create homemade medicine with herbs is empowering and a valuable tool for your homesteading toolbox.
Make Homemade Cleaning Products
One big way to save big money is by learning to make your homemade cleaning products. You can find an abundance of excellent natural cleaning recipes to try including homemade laundry detergent, window cleaner, and more!
SEEK EDUCATION
You should spend time together learning everything you can about homesteading before you decide to make any kind of commitment. Attend festivals, read books, take classes and fully immerse yourself in the homesteading mindset.
If you’ve got friends or family who already have a homestead of their own, see if you can spend a few days helping out to get a feel for what the daily routine is like. Be sure to ask them lots of questions too!
Thankfully, at some point, you are going to have to put down the books and dive in! You aren’t going to learn absolutely everything before real life happens. We have learned the biggest lessons in the trenches, but the fantastic feeling when you figure something out and can grow as a person and a homesteader is invaluable.
I can’t wait to see where you start! What skill have you acquired in your homesteading beginnings?
