Planning Your Homestead

So after reading our last blog or maybe just with the help of our last blog, you've decided you want to homestead.  This blog will show you  what is possible on your Homestead, we'll be sharing some more blogs and articles from other bloggers and authors and we're going to also be sharing some great video advice from Joel Salatin and a couple of our other friends.

Planning your Homestead

Planning and designing your homestead is as unique and individual as everyone of us. There simple is no right or wrong here, it is whatever works for you and your situation.  These are just some ideas to help with the planning process.

For me, homesteading involves lots of sweat equity and re-purposing things as I have shared in other blog posts.  The chicken coop I am working on and will be sharing with all of you is being constructed with reclaimed pallets, old political signs, reclaimed T-posts, PVC, milk crates, chicken wire and tarps.  One day if we hit the lottery and money is no longer an issue, I'll get all new wood and make a nice fancy coop, but for now this works for us.

This great guide, Planning Your Homestead,  was provided by Survival at Home.  It contains some great ideas about not biting off more than you can chew financially, laying out and designing your homestead.  My best friends through this process- other than my girlfriend and partner, Elizabeth and my dog Enzo has been a tape measure, a wirebound graphpad, a notebook and bailing string to lay things out.  That may sound odd, but it works for us and has saved lots of headaches.

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Along with the importance of planning comes goal setting.  I must confess, I have difficulty with this one.  I know what I want to achieve and how I want to do it, but I don't always set milestones for myself  The reason I feel that goals and milestones are important is that it gives you something to celebrate once you hit them.  It also encourages and motivates you to continue.  Here's some suggestions and ideas from Grit  in Goal Setting for Modern Homesteading: Getting it all Done.

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Besides planning and goal setting, Time Management is a huge factor to success.  As I said in another post, you can't control Mother Nature and she has her own schedule agenda.  This gem, Time Management Tools for the Homestead from Mother Earth News will help though.

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Mother Earth News has these great articles and blogs on designing and laying out your homestead, plus a lot more on their website:
Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead
Expert Advice on Homestead Living
Designing a Homestead Property for Maximum Efficiency
Building a Sustainable Homestead for Little Money
Life on the Homestead: On Becoming Self-Sufficient

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Here's some more resources for some of the things you may want or need on your homestead.

Grit Magazine has these articles and blogs on  homestead structures and needs and a lot more on their website:
Resources for Building Barns and Outbuildings
Barns and Outbuildings: Plan With the Future in Mind
How to Choose a Tractor for Your Homestead
Electric Fencing Basics
A Year Of Passive Solar Living
Building Chicken Coops From Recycled Supplies

Mother Earth News has these helpful and informative articles and blogs:
Types of Fences for the Homestead
Living Fences: How-To, Advantages and Tips

PrimedPreppers brings us this post,  Going Off-Grid with Solar Power,  which discusses some important considerations in choosing solar power.

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Here's another handy guide, Selecting a Solar Electric System for our Homestead by our friend Teri at Homestead Honey. 

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There's lots of good information and ideas out there and these are just some of the ones we've found and read and not meant to be all inclusive by any means .  If you have some other articles or even your own please feel free to include them in the Comments section.  Thanks for checking out this blog and as always, if you've found it educational, informative or even inspiring, please pass it along to your friends and neighbors and drop by our Facebook page give us a like, follow us on Twitter, Pinterest,  Google+ and check out our new YouTube Channel .