Suburban Homesteading Ideas
Living a more self-sufficient lifestyle is a great way to be more in control of your food, your home, and your finances. If you live in the city, you may think this is not a life you can try, luckily that is no longer true. This article will give you easy suburban homesteading ideas that you can start trying today.
Homesteading tips that can be done no matter where you live and help you to live a more self-reliant lifestyle.
Living in the suburbs doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your dream of a self-sufficient lifestyle. There are plenty of ways to homestead, even if you don’t have acres of land or a sprawling back yard.
With just a few adjustments, you can turn your porch, deck, or balcony into a thriving homestead and carry that approach into your kitchen and home.
Even after living a homesteading lifestyle for over 17 years, I am still always looking for ways to do more. The more I can make do with what I have, the less money I spend, and that is, after all, the goal of homesteading.
What does homesteading mean?
Homesteading is a lifestyle that focuses on self-sufficiency. It usually involves gardening in some form, raising animals for food or to bring in additional income, and using self-reliant skills whenever possible.
The good news about homesteading is that it can be anything you want it to be. Use our catchphrase to help you embrace this way of life: “Make it, grow it, or raise it so you don’t have to buy it.”
Be sure to grab the FREE Homestead Layout Worksheets below!
Suburban Homesteading Ideas
Whether you live in a subdivision, a town, or a small city, there are ways you can incorporate the homesteading lifestyle. Small, subtle changes will get the ball rolling and give you the motivation to keep adding more.
Let’s look at a few easy ideas that you can start to incorporate in and around your home.
Gardening in Small Spaces
The core of homesteading involves growing the food you frequently eat. With so many unique and innovative ways to garden, you can get started any time of year in any location.
#1. Containers – You can grow vegetables in recycled containers, allowing you to have a garden on a porch or balcony. Buckets, washtubs, and even large bowls will all work great to grow in. Just be sure the size matches the plant you are growing and there is plenty of drainage for the roots to grow.
#2. Grow Bags – You can purchase grow bags that are specially made for growing produce. They are porous, giving the drainage needed, and come in various sizes so that you can grow anything from herbs to tomatoes or pumpkins. Grow bags can be setup on a porch or tucked into a flower bed.
#3. Hanging Containers – If you are short on space, you can purchase grow bags that hang on a wall. These are great for herbs and small plants such as lettuce or radishes.
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Raising Small Livestock options
Before you add any animals to your setup, be sure to research your local laws and regulations. Raising chickens, rabbits, or even bees in some areas is perfectly legal, while it may be prohibited in others.
#1. Chickens – Raising chickens is a great way to homestead and by adding 2-3 hens in a small coop, you will have plenty of fresh eggs to enjoy. Get free coop plans here and DIY a small setup!
#2. Rabbits – Another small-scale option is meat rabbits. They are easy to raise and thrive in small hutches, making them a good option for a suburban homestead. Read how to start raising rabbits for beginners for easy starter tips.
#3. Bees – Bees are a great addition to an urban homestead, and many times, you may find you are allowed to have a hive on your property when other animals are not permitted.
Where we live you are allowed to have one bee hive in town. Raising bees is a great way to homestead giving you fresh honey to use or sell.
Homesteading Indoors
Homesteading is not limited to the outside, there are also things you can do indoors that will help you lead a more self-reliant lifestyle.
#1. Preserve Food – Learn how to can, freeze, and dehydrate foods so you can fill your freezer and pantry with the best quality of produce and herbs.
If you do not have room for a garden, you can purchase food in bulk from a local farmer or farmer’s market.
#2. Stock your Pantry – Stock up on staples like beans, rice, and flour storing them in air tight containers to ensure they last. You can also invest in homesteading tools such as a canner, dehydrator, or food sealer.
#3. Learn Recipes – Look for recipes for making pickles, jams, sauces, and dry mixes. Make more food at home so you know all the ingredients used. This is a great way to homestead no matter where you live. Start a recipe book of your favorites and put them into a binder so you can refer to them again and again.
#4. Grow a Windowsill Garden – Reuse small containers to grow herbs you use often. If you can’t keep up with your plants, you can freeze herbs in ice cube trays or you can dry herbs using a few different options.
You can grow one herb per container or plant a collection of herbs in a large pot giving you an all in one herb garden.
Frugal Homesteading
One of the benefits of suburban homesteading is the money you will save on food, groceries, utilities, and other household expenses. Use these ideas to start and add in a few of your own as you get the hang of things!
#1. Cleaning Products – It is easy to make your own DIY cleaning products since most of the core ingredients you probably already have on hand now.
Vinegar, baking soda, bleach, and hydrogen peroxide are great ways to clean toilets, sinks, and clear drains. Here are 15 DIY cleaner recipes you can try out first.
#2. Stop Using Paper – Use cloth instead of paying for paper towels and napkins. Small washcloths work great to dry up spills or to clean different areas in your home. This tip alone is an easy change and will save you so much money.
#3. Repurpose – Before you toss something in the trash, see if you can find another use. Old t-shirts can be made into rags, ice cream buckets can be used for cleaning, coffee containers can be used for storage, mesh produce bags can be made into scour pads, an empty bucket can be used as a growing container, and more.
Get creative with what you have and DIY a purposeful use for your things; it’s easier than you think! Just be careful not to keep everything giving a cluttered look to where you live. Keep only what you feel you can use and let go of the rest.
Living a self-sufficient lifestyle can be done no matter where you live. By changing your outloolk on homseteading you can find ways to make changes both inside and outside of your home.
Whether you’re growing your own food, raising bees, or repurposing your things, you’ll love the feeling you get when you reduce your need for the stores. With a little bit of creativity and a unique approach to how you live, you can use these suburban homesteading ideas to make a change today.
