10 ACTIONABLE STEPS to help you achieve your sustainable homestead GOALS
Do you have big dreams and sustainable homestead goals to grow food and create your dream self-sufficient lifestyle but it feels so far off? You may be renting or in an apartment. Today, I’m going to share 10 actionable steps to help you achieve your sustainable homestead goals no matter how far away they feel. This is the path I have been on and I think this may help or inspire you too.
Are you ready? because your dream life starts now!
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I was listening to a podcast the other day and they were talking about you are where you are for a reason and that is because you still have more to learn. If I got /my big break and had 100s or 1000s of people flocking to join my garden-to-plate membership would I cope? the answer is probably not! My systems have been built on a small scale and I still have lots more work to do before reaching that level (goals!). Hopefully one day I will be able to help 100s and 1000s of people grow food so I’m continuously working on improving my systems.
The same with getting your dream homestead, if you suddenly found yourself dropped in the middle of an off-grid property would you know exactly what to do? Would you know how to improve your soil, plant trees, care for animals, or afford a house, infrastructure, and the bills that come along with it? or would it be an overwhelming chaotic mess?
There are so many small steps you can start taking today and these are the 10 stages I have been working through to bring my dreams to life. so hopefully they help and inspire you too!
10 ACTIONABLE STEPS to start your Sustainable Homestead Goals now
1. What are your goals?
Write them down. Where do you want to live? What lifestyle do you want to achieve? How do you want your days to look?
The great thing about having clear goals is that decisions along the way become easier (great for people like me that struggle with decision-making!) Does this align with my goals or not? Start at the end and work backward. Will this change along the way? Probably but at least it will give you a direction to start working towards and not be stuck doing nothing.
2. Make a vision board
I like to do this every year and I use Canva and put together a collage type of document. I then have mine as my screen savers on my phone and computer for constant reminders but you could just print out some images and put them on the fridge or the wall. I am a real visual person so this works for me.
3. Pay off debts
Ditch after pay and all that. Don’t buy things you don’t need with money you don’t have. That has always been part of my mentality so I have never financed furniture or anything like that…Hence why my house looks a little bare π I prioritize money in other ways.
One of the hardest things I did was prioritize paying off my student loan. It took me a few years and I set up automatic payments to come out after each pay. If I was still buying coffees and let’s be honest probably plants…then I would increase my repayments a bit because I obviously still had disposable income. ..and repeat. As a student, I knew how to live off the minimum. Lifestyle creep is inevitable but if your dreams are big and solid you can do it!
Hard now and easy later!
Something I found so useful was the debtfree charts. You can choose a relevant one and divide the amount into sections. Each time you pay one down you can highlight it. For a visual person like me, this worked a treat. I just wanted to pay one more line . These also work great for savings too.
4. Start savings
Once you have your debts out of the way start saving. You know what you are capable of paying after paying off your debts so switch to a savings mode. Don’t get into the continuous reward stage. Remind yourself of the goals you are working towards.
5. Start growing food
This can be started from day one. You don’t need all the gear or all the nice raised garden beds, that will come. Start with what you have. Keep an eye on marketplace there are so many free pots and random things that you will be able to turn into gardens. Both my compost bins were free and I even got a free fruit tree recently.
If you dream of creating these thriving edible gardens that produce a whole lot of food then the only way there is through it. There’s no quick fix. you have so much to learn and you will learn faster by doing.
So get seeds in the soil and start growing.
6. Learn learn learn
We are so lucky to have incredible resources at our fingertips. Watch YouTube, listen to podcasts, invest in the skills you want to have, and visit community gardens. Learn to love the process because continuous learning is so important!
7. Take action
Take what you have learned and put it into practice. Grow cuttings, and plant fruit trees in pots, if you plan to have a homestead in the same state then you can be growing your future plants and trees in containers to eventually take with you. Or even sell at a higher price to add to your savings.
8. Surround yourself with Like-minded People and Communities.
This is a great way to stay motivated and learn so much. Not just about how to grow food or raise chickens but just about their outlook on life and values. People are so generous with their time and resources. Offer to help someone in their garden, this is a great way to learn and you may even receive cuttings or seeds from special plants.
9. Start working on Financing the Dream.
We all need to make money its just part of the world we live in. Does your current job and career align with the sustainable homestead goals or lifestyle you are working towards? It may do, you may already love your job but it also more than likely does not. Start a side business or grow your hobby with the direct intention of it becoming your career. Keep coming back to that lifestyle you set out in stage 1. If you want to have time to go on adventures or spend days in the garden then make sure what your working towards actually allows for that.
Do you dream of starting a flower farm? What can you do now? Start social media and grow a following. It’s free and it’s a real actionable step toward that goal. If you need some ideas check out this video on 100 ways to make an income from your property. I guarantee if one of those things excites you, there is an actionable step you can take today to make progress.
10. Re-evaluate and check in with yourself.
This is really the stage I am at now. I have been working on the last 9 steps for the last 10 years and it’s important to make sure my sustainable homestead goals and visions are still aligned. Don’t be afraid to pivot. Maybe after growing food or doing cut flowers your are unsure if that really fits anymore. For me, annuals just aren’t really it ( I LOVE PERENNIALS) and I’m actually unsure about all the 100s of animals I initially wanted. Animals are a lot of work and commitment I kind of want the freedom to come and go more often.
My dream is still real and I would love to have land to rewild and have my dream homestead but lots of things have changed. I also want to be able to travel and explore more. So I’m creating new visions that I can’t wait to share with you along the way.
Sometimes it will be really tough. But find joy in the journey, IN THE INBETWEEN, the learning!. and absolutely celebrate the small wins! because they are aligned to stage 1 so they will all add up to be something incredible.
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