Building your family homestead begins with the dream.
First things first
What is the dream? Everyone’s vision of a homestead is different. What do you want yours to be like?
what does it look like?
What does it feel like?
What does it sound like?
What does it smell like?
And what is the lifestyle like?
What are your daily and weekly routines?
What are your family members doing?
Draw the picture. Write it down. Get to know it.
Next step
Look around at your home right now. How can the above vision be included in the home that you have right now, in the daily routine that you have right now?
I think that this step is the biggest and most important, because
YOUR HOME IS YOUR HOMESTEAD
Don’t wait “until”. Don’t put off living the dream when the dream is right here, right now. Yes, that bigger picture is unfolding and is something you are creating but you already have a home, even if it is a tent or a small apartment.
I think this was my biggest wow, when I started thinking about my homestead. The mindset shift of seeing my current home as a homestead changed everything. The homestead dream was no longer just a wish but, rather, a clear picture of how I wanted to live my life - and I began living it right then.
Practice makes improvement
Wherever you are right now in the unfolding of your dream, you get to put different elements into practice, learning what fits, and how to fit them into your life.
You get to find out what your priorities are and your areas of compromise and that of no compromising. You get to experiment and develop skills, getting ready for the next part of the journey, whatever that might be.
Do you want to have a garden? Start with some container gardening, with a plant on the balcony or on a windowsill. Find someone who needs help with their garden and volunteer to help out, developing your skills and building community at the same time.
Tip: There are lots of elders out there who have always had a garden but can no longer tend to it themselves. Ask around. Someone knows someone that you could help.
Do you see yourself baking your own bread? Start experimenting with recipes to find the ones that you want to use on a regular basis.
You want to have chickens? Find a mentor, someone who already has chickens and start to learn from them so that you are ready for when it is your time. Maybe get a Guinea pig so you can get in the routine of daily animal care.
Test the waters
Now, you get to see if you really want the dream. Are you ready, willing, and able to live the life that you have envisioned? Can you do it on this smaller scale?
The “yah buts”
Be aware of your self-talk, of your “yah buts” because they may just be excuses. Be honest with yourself about where you are at and what you really want.
This is your dream.
Homesteading is full of challenges and situations that need creative thinking to find solutions. If you want it, you will find ways to make it work. If you don’t want it, that’s ok, too. It is your dream.
Change the “I can’t”, to “how can I?”
.. or change the vision.
Next step
The next step is that next step, that one little thing that is part of your homesteading vision that you can implement right now - even if it is just looking around with a new outlook and mindset.
Today is Day One of the next phase of your homestead build. What is the step for today?
Homesteading: living the dream.
Next Step of the Beginning
Share your dream. Post a blog here at Homesteadian.com. Leave a comment below. Make it real.
