Homesteading might not save you a ton of money on your home loan, but it can save you money in other places. Homesteading is the simple act of living off the land as much as you are comfortable doing. This is not a hard process to do. Here are just a few items to consider before you invest your home loan into homesteading.

Tips for designing your home
There are several degrees of homesteading. Before you build a new home, you should know just how far you are willing to go. Maybe you just want to grown your own fruits and veggies. Maybe you want to take this to the extreme and live completely off the grid. No matter how you go, your home design will play a large factor in your life style.

You need to consider heating and cooling. Try to build your home to conserve as much naturally produced heat is ideal for those long cold winter months. Make sure you consider cooling your home in the summer as well. This will play a role in how your home sits on the land and where you place windows.

Storage will be a big part of homesteading. You will need a place to store all your home canned goods. You don’t want to be wading in a sea of dehydrated food when you stagger out to get your coffee.

Join a farmer’s co-op
Just as you tried to save money on your home loan, you will want to save money on the foods you eat the most. This is an excellent time for you to join in a farmer’s co-op. Depending on the co-op, you could end up with a freezer full of meat and a kitchen full of veggies.

Some special considerations come with the co-op. Most co-ops will only deliver you food during months of harvest. This usually means summer and fall will be bountiful months for you. You will need to plan how you are going to store this wealth of food.

Gardening takes a fair amount of work
Gardening is a great way to grow your own fruits and veggies. Gardening is no small undertaking though. Be prepared to get dirty on an almost daily basis. There are weeds to pull, plants to check, and watering to do.

A good garden starts in your prep work. Find a farm where you can take some of their animal manure. This will be your major source of fertilizer. Make sure you choose a spot that does not flood. It would be sad to see all your hard work wash away in a biblical flash flood.

Lastly is some garden protection. Just as you enjoy the fruits of your labor, little Peter Rabbit will enjoy it even more. It is time for you to protect your garden of love with some fencing. There are some natural repellent methods including fermented ferret droppings and water, but you are on your own to research that potent combination.

Homesteading does take some dedication. You might be homesteading and you don’t even realize it. That garden in your back yard, or those herbs growing in your kitchen all count as small forms of homesteading. You went through a lot of work to get a good home loan, enjoy the fruits of your labor with some fresh fruits from your own garden.

Photo via woodleywonderworks