Homesteading with a full-time job isn’t easy, but it is possible if you’re willing to put in the time.
When we started on our homesteading journey I followed as many blogs as I could. I loved the idea of producing our food and being self-sufficient. The only problem was the time it would take to do all of those things.
Because I didn’t think we had time to homestead, we stayed stagnant for a while. At some point, I realized that people have been homesteading for hundreds of years. While it was a part of their life, it wasn’t their whole life. Certainly, there had to be a way to fit it in without giving up everything.
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Our Homestead Story
Both my husband and I work full-time jobs that demand a lot of our energy and time. We’re very active in our church life and activities. We also have four active kids that attend public schools.
Despite all that we have a thriving homestead with gardens, fruit trees, chickens (both layers and broilers), ducks, pigs, and seasonal turkeys. It is a lot of work, and requires a time commitment. However, producing our food and raising our kids with homesteading skills is well worth the sacrifice of time.
We didn’t jump right into everything though. We’ve been slowly building up to this over the past 8 years. Here is the truth about how we manage homesteading with a full-time job.
Learn one skill at a time
When you making the transition into homesteading the amount of skills you need to learn can be overwhelming. Gardening, animal stewardship, construction, and kitchen skills will quickly have you second-guessing if the lifestyle is right for you. When you’re working with limited time due to your job commitments homesteading can seem downright impossible.
As the old saying goes “eat the elephant one bite at a time”. Learn to homestead one skill at a time. If you are learning to make bread, focus on that skill. Learn it completely so that it fits into your everyday routine. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to learn skills and add them to your schedule if you’re doing them one at a time.
Reexamine your time priorities
While you don’t have to give up your career and goals to homestead, you will have to make some lifestyle changes. Raising animals especially requires commitment. At a minimum, they’ll need food and fresh water daily.
You will need to reexamine your priorities when it comes to homesteading. If you like to travel frequently, while not impossible, you’ll need to hire someone to care for your home. Read more about traveling with a homestead. If you have an active social life, or your children are heavily involved with extracurricular activities, you may need to make adjustments for your home commitments.
The best thing you can do is look at your life and determine what’s important. Then, make changes accordingly to leave more time for homesteading.
Decide what skills are the most important
Determine what skills are most important for your lifestyle and scale your homestead.
Personally, this was the biggest way my family was able to fit homesteading into our lives. Realize that you may not be able to do all the things.
It’s OKAY not to do every single skill out there. If you follow along with famous homesteaders it’s easy to fall into the assumption that you need to do everything to be a true homesteader.
For example: While I love fresh milk, a milk cow just wouldn’t fit into our schedule. So I opt to buy fresh milk instead of producing my own. The reality is there are just going to be some things that don’t fit into your life and that’s just fine.
Choose the things that are important to you and focus on those. If you are buying things from a small farm instead of doing it yourself you’re still supporting a community sufficiency lifestyle.
Wake up earlier
Waking up earlier is just one way to add a few extra hours to your day. Waking up an hour earlier will give you time to start some bread, or take care of animals. A lot of productivity can take place in the morning with a little effort. You’ll be surprised at what you can fit into your day.
Get a partner
Homesteading isn’t necessarily impossible for a single person, but working a full-time job and homesteading all by yourself can be a challenge. If you work from home, the tasks may be easier, but there will still be times when you need some help.
Having a husband on the same page as me helps tremendously. We can split tasks and save time by working together. If you don’t have a spouse to help you with the homestead chores, maybe an older child, neighbor, or friend could share commitments with you.
I highly recommend having someone you can count on if you’re homesteading with a job. A crisis will inevitably happen while you’re away at work, and you’ll need someone you can call.
Just get started
Getting started is the biggest step. Move from just reading and watching other homesteads, to starting a homestead of your own. It’s amazing how much confidence a few chickens will give you to move forward.
Start somewhere small and manageable. Research animals that are low maintenance and will work on your land. Grow a few vegetables in a raised bed in your backyard. Learn to make sourdough bread from scratch. Little skills like these will give you motivation to move forward to bigger things.
Use modern technology to help you on the farm too. There are plenty of gadgets available that make homesteading easier when you don’t have unlimited time to spend. Modern homesteading is the way to go.
Work ethic
If you are choosing a homesteading lifestyle you have to like working. There is ALWAYS something that needs to be accomplished. While the lifestyle has been called simple, it’s not laid back or passive. You’re going to have to put in a lot of hours and time on growing your homestead.
Being okay with hard work is essential to growing and maintaining a homestead. Many people throw in the towel after realizing how much work it is. Take some time to examine your work ethic and what you’re willing to commit to before you jump in.
I will say that working on the homestead for us is very fulfilling. I feel so much more purpose in life working around the farm rather than lounging all day inside. Being willing to work hard is an essential part of being a homesteader.
Closing
Can you work full-time while running a homestead? Yes, you can work if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, prioritize your skills, and choose the skills that are most important to you. Start slowly, but just get started and you’ll be surprised at how far you can go.
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