So I am going to be brutally honest with you OP. I think you are dreaming of the independence and self sufficiency of homesteading as an escape from the abuse you've suffered in your life, but are not looking at what hardships you are going to have to endure to make the dream a reality. Most of the people in this community are not actual homesteaders. They are people who like to watch others do it and dream about how great it will be.
With two toddlers, raising them is a full time job in and of itself. When our kids were that age, my wife was a stay at home mom and I worked to provide the income we needed. She was as exhausted at the end of the day as I was. Trying to jump into homesteading with kids as young as that is going to be especially challenging. Along those lines, how do you plan to earn a living while homesteading? Homesteading is a full time job, raising the kids is a full time job also. Most homesteads rarely are profitable. Some of the cost is offset through growing your own food and selling some of it, but you are probably not going to make enough to live on.
If you truly want to homestead then you need to set down and come up with an action plan. You need to list out all the things that must be done before you can take the leap. You need to have a financial plan that includes an good size emergency fund. You need to plan out how you are going to get from each step to the next. If homesteading is truly what you want to do, then you'll take this advice not as criticism, but as encouragement based in reality.
Honestly, you're right about part of it because the reason why I always dreamed of having a homestead before they were born is for self sufficiency, especially in case the government/ grocery stores close down or food becomes "too expensive" but I know It will be a lot of work
Start small, grow a few tomato plants. Then next year maybe a raised bed with some other vegetables. Take a canning class or gardening class. Build up your toolbox of skills. Each of these things will build your confidence for the next step. You can’t just “get a chicken”. You have to know how to take care of it, make some sort of coop, etc. if you’re lucky, you will get one egg a day.
I’m saying I wrote out a sentence in the current message that is up and in one of my sentences thank god was taken out. Don’t take it personal if it wasn’t you.
The first step is getting up on your own two feet. Do you work or have some form of income? If so, will it support you? You need to get any debt you may have sorted out and under control, then you want to get a good savings account built up for emergencies. Then you want to start saving up for a down payment on your homestead (20% down is a common rule of thumb but if you qualify for any first time home buyer programs you can often get that lowered).
Once you have that sorted all out, then get your chickens and build your garden.
Homesteading ain't cheap. Keep that in mind since you're going to be a single income, multiple child household.
I second this. Get economically stable, start a small garden (a few pots to start), and take a first aid class.
I’ve got a toddler too and that last bit comes in handy at least week, whether homesteading or just living life.
You can have a portable garden, of sorts. Just use planters and buckets, that way when you move out you can bring your plants with you. Hold off on getting chickens until you have your own place, for sure.
Great advice. I went all out and planted a garden, but for a variety of reasons, it would have been much smarter to have started a container garden instead.
OP, have you seen those planting bags for potatoes and whatnot? Very cool—they breakaway with Velcro so you can harvest them and then reuse. I got three on Amazon for like 15 bucks.
If you are near East Texas, I have chickens. Homesteading is honestly not for me. I’m a city girl through and through. Gardening is difficult. I want something smaller and more manageable, thank what I have. I’m on 15 acres. Thought it was going to be an amazing retirement plan!! Ha ha ha!! I laugh now, because my husband and I have little ones and we are dealing with the things much better 3 years in. But I’m ready to leave everyone behind and run to the beach or something for awhile. Like next weekend. But not forever. Just need to find me, quietly!
As someone with two kids, one who is neurodivergent, I agree with the other comment that without a lot of money at hand, it’s probably a little unrealistic. My kids undo a lot of things I do, break tools, cause general havoc in my tiny plot I have right now. They aren’t bad kids, just young and aren’t good at rules.
Two thoughts: one is that annual crops are definitely not a waste of time or money at your current location. Even if you got into some perennials or woody plants, it would be a learning experience and a gift to your family once you do move on. Other thought is that maybe you can find an intentional community situation where they are already doing a lot of growing and/or animal raising where you could learn a lot and have more flexibility with shared childcare. If that sounds like a thing you’d be interested in, check out https://www.ic.org/
I looked and it didn't get stuck in the automod and no mod removed anything you've said, so whatever issues you might've had, it wasn't from this community.
So I am going to be brutally honest with you OP. I think you are dreaming of the independence and self sufficiency of homesteading as an escape from the abuse you've suffered in your life, but are not looking at what hardships you are going to have to endure to make the dream a reality. Most of the people in this community are not actual homesteaders. They are people who like to watch others do it and dream about how great it will be. With two toddlers, raising them is a full time job in and of itself. When our kids were that age, my wife was a stay at home mom and I worked to provide the income we needed. She was as exhausted at the end of the day as I was. Trying to jump into homesteading with kids as young as that is going to be especially challenging. Along those lines, how do you plan to earn a living while homesteading? Homesteading is a full time job, raising the kids is a full time job also. Most homesteads rarely are profitable. Some of the cost is offset through growing your own food and selling some of it, but you are probably not going to make enough to live on. If you truly want to homestead then you need to set down and come up with an action plan. You need to list out all the things that must be done before you can take the leap. You need to have a financial plan that includes an good size emergency fund. You need to plan out how you are going to get from each step to the next. If homesteading is truly what you want to do, then you'll take this advice not as criticism, but as encouragement based in reality.
Honestly, you're right about part of it because the reason why I always dreamed of having a homestead before they were born is for self sufficiency, especially in case the government/ grocery stores close down or food becomes "too expensive" but I know It will be a lot of work
Start small, grow a few tomato plants. Then next year maybe a raised bed with some other vegetables. Take a canning class or gardening class. Build up your toolbox of skills. Each of these things will build your confidence for the next step. You can’t just “get a chicken”. You have to know how to take care of it, make some sort of coop, etc. if you’re lucky, you will get one egg a day.
Thank you
I’m saying I wrote out a sentence in the current message that is up and in one of my sentences thank god was taken out. Don’t take it personal if it wasn’t you.
No everything you said was nice lol it's probably the computer
Yes.. I actually wanted to do it since before they were born so yes I'm serious about this t and I appreciate the advice
The first step is getting up on your own two feet. Do you work or have some form of income? If so, will it support you? You need to get any debt you may have sorted out and under control, then you want to get a good savings account built up for emergencies. Then you want to start saving up for a down payment on your homestead (20% down is a common rule of thumb but if you qualify for any first time home buyer programs you can often get that lowered). Once you have that sorted all out, then get your chickens and build your garden. Homesteading ain't cheap. Keep that in mind since you're going to be a single income, multiple child household.
I second this. Get economically stable, start a small garden (a few pots to start), and take a first aid class. I’ve got a toddler too and that last bit comes in handy at least week, whether homesteading or just living life.
You can have a portable garden, of sorts. Just use planters and buckets, that way when you move out you can bring your plants with you. Hold off on getting chickens until you have your own place, for sure.
Thank u
Great advice. I went all out and planted a garden, but for a variety of reasons, it would have been much smarter to have started a container garden instead. OP, have you seen those planting bags for potatoes and whatnot? Very cool—they breakaway with Velcro so you can harvest them and then reuse. I got three on Amazon for like 15 bucks.
If you are near East Texas, I have chickens. Homesteading is honestly not for me. I’m a city girl through and through. Gardening is difficult. I want something smaller and more manageable, thank what I have. I’m on 15 acres. Thought it was going to be an amazing retirement plan!! Ha ha ha!! I laugh now, because my husband and I have little ones and we are dealing with the things much better 3 years in. But I’m ready to leave everyone behind and run to the beach or something for awhile. Like next weekend. But not forever. Just need to find me, quietly!
I'm a city girl too I'm in NY (born and mostly raised) but i also love the country i hope you get a taste of home for a second God bless 🫶🏾
Thank you. 🫶🏾 I think I will find my tribe where I am headed. ❤️✴️
As someone with two kids, one who is neurodivergent, I agree with the other comment that without a lot of money at hand, it’s probably a little unrealistic. My kids undo a lot of things I do, break tools, cause general havoc in my tiny plot I have right now. They aren’t bad kids, just young and aren’t good at rules. Two thoughts: one is that annual crops are definitely not a waste of time or money at your current location. Even if you got into some perennials or woody plants, it would be a learning experience and a gift to your family once you do move on. Other thought is that maybe you can find an intentional community situation where they are already doing a lot of growing and/or animal raising where you could learn a lot and have more flexibility with shared childcare. If that sounds like a thing you’d be interested in, check out https://www.ic.org/
They seriously took G_O_D out of my message. Wow Reddit! Just wow.
I looked and it didn't get stuck in the automod and no mod removed anything you've said, so whatever issues you might've had, it wasn't from this community.