Our homestead journey started off in a regular-looking home, just outside the downtown area of our small mountain town.

We fell in love with this location after seeing all the small farms, homesteads and permaculture scene and decided it was a good place to start. Beth had been living downtown in a large city for the past few years, so she wasn’t ready to be out in the boonies just yet.

We compromised, and found a cute house on about a 1/4 acre of land, complete with a wood stove, clawfoot tub and a few fruit trees.

It was far from the rural homestead dream, but it was a perfect start in the right direction.

While living there, one day a week I worked on an organic farm. Lots of time was spent learning different food preservation skills, like canning, to store all the food we got from the farm.

We built a funny little chicken coop and kept 6 chickens in the backyard. It was here we got to have our first small garden and start to learn about growing our own food.

Even though it was a regular home (nothing special about it) we learned there was still so much homesteading we could do.

Plus, with each project that was completed or event we attended, the more opportunities to learn essential skills unfolded.

The local organic garden store held classes where we learned some great tips. There was a seed exchange where local farmers shared seeds from what they grew. I helped a friend with a broken leg tend to his sheep. It was the first winter I had the opportunity to split our own firewood and heat with wood.

Homesteading is all about doing what you can, wherever you are.

And we were quick learners, plowing through relevant books, and gaining lots of hands-on experience.

It’s no surprise that after a short amount of time, we started finding that this location was limiting for us – both because it was a rental and the desire to experience homesteading on a bigger scale. Our vision included at least several acres, livestock and more, which this rental could not provide. We wanted to take another step closer to our big homestead vision.

Maybe this is you too.