Suburban Homesteading – More Than Just a Dream

Is suburban homesteading really possible? When you think of homesteading, what comes to mind? Do you picture large properties and numerous types of livestock? Is that the only way to be a homesteader? Technically, a homestead is simply a family’s house and the land on which it sits. By that standard, a suburban homestead is certainly possible. But Wikipedia provides a description that sounds more like what most of us probably envision. “Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale.” OK, so that sounds much more like what I have in mind.

A Bleak Beginning

I bought my house in 1999.It is a modern tract home, with its typical features. It is a far cry from the late 1800’s stone home where I was raised. My family’s need for a house was my first priority, however, so homesteading was not the first thing on my mind. I did have some ideas though about what kind of lifestyle I wanted.

But what could I do? Eventually, I realized that a homestead can be a state of mind. It doesn’t necessarily need a farmhouse and lots of acres to become a reality. Suburban homesteading is just a matter of applying homesteading ideas on a smaller scale.

The house and property are fairly typical – a split foyer design with four bedrooms and two baths, neutral walls and beige carpeting throughout. The front lawn had two former Christmas trees and a small sycamore tree. The back yard was a steep, barren hillside with very little flat space.

The picture at the top of this post gives an idea of just how barren our back yard was shortly after we first moved here. Quite depressing, actually, just an empty yard with a steep slope.

Making Improvements

I had a few ideas that I wanted to implement right way at our new home:

• Add a wood stove – the very first project, actually done within the first two months in the house. You can see its stack on the right in the photo.
• Make curtains – privacy matters to us and curtains make a room look much better
• Plant tomatoes – this one had to wait for a few months as we moved in November.
  

That list is from more than 20 years ago. Today, the list looks a lot different Above all, it’s a process.

To my mind, homesteading involves developing self-reliance and the ability to do things for oneself. In part, the idea is to reduce the need for outside help as much as possible. I think of it as a learning process. However, every property is different. And every family’s needs and desires will influence their own version of suburban homesteading. Keep this in mind as you read my stories. Hopefully, you’ll find some ideas that will work for your situation. I’ll be adding a lot of posts under this heading, covering various aspects of our homestead’s development.

The photo to the right shows a portion of the yard from a few years ago. A lot has happened and much more is on the way.