I dream of living on a huge plot of land with all the room for goats, a dairy cow, vegetable gardens, and a greenhouse. However, that’s not our reality right now while living in the city.
Instead of sitting around waiting for “one day” when our dreams can come true, we’ve worked hard to do what we can in our little homestead in the city!
OUR PROPERTY
We currently live on about 1/4 acre lot – right inside the city. We have neighbours on all sides and like many of you we are limited by space, finances, and city laws as to what we can do with out land.
But we’ve still managed to create a home and urban homestead that we love and can enjoy during this season of our life!
Here are 10 ways you can homestead in the city!
START A GARDEN
Gardening is one of the most obvious things that comes to mind when we think about homesteading. And it’s something that anyone can do regardless of the space they have!
Whether you are just starting with a few herbs on your kitchen windowsill, or you have a 1000 square foot garden that produces most of your family’s food for the year – anyone can start growing food!
Before we moved into this home I had a container garden on our balcony. When we moved June 2018 the first thing I did was build a raised bed in the backyard! I started out really small and have added onto it every year since.
GET CHICKENS
Getting chickens felt like a big step for me! I didn’t grow up on a farm and had never raised any animal before. In March 2020 when the whole world shut down I figured there would never be a better time to try!
We started with four white leghorns. They’ve been SO much easier than I imagined. Just a few weeks ago we decided to get a few more baby chicks to add to our flock!
This year’s chicks are a variety of breeds. They should be much more friendly than our hens, and they’ll lay beautiful coloured eggs. I can’t wait to have a basket full of multi-coloured eggs in a few months!
In the spring and summer we get four eggs every day from our four hens (the babies aren’t laying yet!) which is more than enough for us and feels like a huge step in self-sufficiency.
If you dream of having chickens but your city doesn’t allow it – get involved! Backyard hens have only been allowed here for a few years, and just this year they increased the limit. All because people asked for it!
I was connected to a local Facebook group for chicken owners (and want-to-be chicken owners). I often see members in other nearby cities talking with one another about how they can approach their local city representatives. Often it only takes a few people asking for the laws to be changed 🙂
START A COMPOST PILE
Composting is a really easy way to reduce waste as well as feed your gardens! I love that every food scrap, every time I clean out the chicken coop and all our yard waste gets a second life.
Composting is fairly easy and as long as you have the right ratio of browns and greens, it shouldn’t be stinky or attract animals!
I have a whole post about how to start your own backyard compost pile.
COOK FROM SCRATCH
Cooking from scratch is one of my favourite hobbies. Ever since I was a little girl I loved baking. The past few years I’ve learned how to brew Kombucha, make homemade sourdough bread, and more! It’s one of the most rewarding (and delicious) hobbies. Not to mention, a freshly baked loaf of bread will always impress your friends and family!
If you’re wanting to learn how to make sourdough from scratch, I answered all of my frequently asked questions here!
LEARN FOOD PRESERVATION
Preserving food was something that overwhelmed me for years. But the reality is that when you have a large vegetable garden, you often end up with more than your family can eat at once!
In order to not waste that extra food there are lots of ways you can preserve it for later!
Methods of Preservation:
- Freezing
- Dehydrating
- Drying
- Canning
- Fermenting
- Pickling
LEARN TO SEW, KNIT, CROCHET
We often overlook these creative, indoor skills when we think about homesteading! But learning how to make your own clothing, or mend what you already have is an important homestead skill.
I’m still very much a beginner at these skills! In fact, I’m currently just finishing my first crochet blanket ever for our September baby!
I dream of learning how to sew so I can make beautiful quilts in the future! These are perfect skills to work on during our long winters when I’m dreaming of being in the garden.
MAKE YOUR OWN CLEANING/HOME PRODUCTS
This has really gained popularity in the past years – even to those who aren’t pursuing homesteading. As people become more and more aware of the ingredients in their products, many are turning to DIY options – which I think is so exciting!
Making your own products can save you money, reduce waste, help you become more self-sufficient, and allows you to know exactly what is being used in your home and on your skin!
Some products I love to make myself are cleaning solutions, bug repellants, after-sun spray, detangling spray, bath salts, hand soap, air freshener.
I’ve found that you really only need a handful of ingredients to make endless amounts of products! Some helpful ones are castile soap, baking soda, borax, vinegar, essential oils (lemon, tea tree, lavender, peppermint, orange).
LEARN HOW TO FIX THINGS YOURSELF
A huge component to homesteading is self-sufficiency. I’m a believer that everything is “figureoutable”. Meaning we can pretty much figure out how to do everything ourselves with a little bit of research, resourcefulness and practice. Don’t get me wrong, there are still times when I’ll hire a professional to do a task. But most of the time either my husband or I can figure it out!
When starting a homestead there are endless projects to be done. From fencing, to building garden beds, ammending soil, building animal enclosures, etc.
Even while you’re still living in the city, you can work on basic carpentry skills! Invest in and become familiar with a power drill, table saw, and other basic tools. You’ll be shocked at what you can do yourself!
PRACTICE FORAGING
Foraging is something I haven’t done much of yet! It doesn’t matter where you live, there are plants you can forage!
From wild blackberries for jam, to dandelions for herbal tinctures, or assorted leaves and plants to die fabric – foraging opportunities are endless!
This year I made dandelion jelly for the first time – it tastes similar to honey! I would love to learn how I can take advantage of more plants that grow wild in my area!
READ ABOUT NEW SKILLS
Maybe you dream of having a dairy cow, but don’t have the space for it right now *raises hand*. Or maybe you live in an apartment and having backyard chickens isn’t a reality. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to do these things in the future!
My husband loves to watch Youtube videos on building log cabins and surviving in the wilderness! These aren’t things that we’re currently doing, but something he’d love to do one day.
Sometimes learning about a new skill might even convince you to try it – even if it wasn’t something you were initially interested in!
I love following homesteading accounts on social media, watching Youtube videos and reading books to inspire me.
I compiled all of my favourite homesteading books for you here!
HOMESTEAD IN THE CITY
As you can see, there are many ways you can begin homesteading even when you live in the city!
Instead of sitting around wishing you had a different house, more time, more money or more property – start doing whatever you can right now!
