My dream has always been to live on an acre (or more) of land, surrounded by a lush garden and too many animals to count.

While that dream isn’t ready to become a reality, just yet, I have found some easy ways to start practicing for that day in our condo.

Today we’re diving into steps you can take towards fulfilling your homesteading dreams while living in an apartment or condo!

Gardening

You would think you need the most space for gardening, but you really don’t! There are so many solutions to creating a small garden that you and your family can eat from while living in a small space.

If you have absolutely no yard, you can try window box gardens or planting micro-greens indoors with artificial lights. There are some seriously great systems out there that allow you to have the feel of a garden without needing all the extra space.

There is a brewery we like to go to that has a full hydroponic vertical planter with lights and all that probably takes up a foot and a half of space!

If you’re like us and have a balcony or patio, there are endless options to choose from! You can do inground gardening (if your HOA allows) or stick to container gardening for a less permanent option.

We have a tower garden that I like to bust out in the warmer months. I kinda let it go to shit when the colder months started approaching and my toddler took up more of my time! But with spring quickly approaching I am excited to break it out and get the toddler involved this go around! The tower gardens or strawberry planters are great because they’re vertical and take up very minimal space. Ours has 5 levels with 6 planting holes in each one. That gives us 30 spaces to plant things! I’ve grown peppers, herbs, spices, strawberries and even pumpkins!

The classic self-watering containers are another great option for gardening in a smaller area. I plan to do tomatoes in a self-watering container when the weather starts to warm up a bit here.

If you have a railing around your balcony or patio, it would be great to utilize the space by hanging planters on that! Then you don’t have to worry about floorspace being taken up since everything is hanging.

The options truly are endless with gardening when you start to think outside the box.

Cooking from scratch

This is where I’m currently getting hung up! I love the process of cooking from scratch, but the time commitment really irritates me sometimes. I’m a working mama and it just isn’t always the most convenient.

BUT it is a great way to learn a new skill and utilize what you’ve grown in the garden.

I’ve noticed it is more enjoyable now that I have a little one that is interested in helping me cook. It’s a great bonding activity and has really helped us cut down on the screen time.

Breadmaking has been my favorite way of cooking from scratch. I made a sourdough starter about 6 months ago and have really enjoyed playing around with recipes and different styles of baking bread. You can read more about how to start your own sourdough starter here.

I just got a bread machine for my birthday so I am very excited to elevate my breadmaking skills and learn how to use it! We’re trying to not buy any bread this year, not even bagels - pray for me!

Freezing / Canning / Dehydrating

I’m going to preface this by saying I have not learned the art of canning. We have very limited cupboard / closet space so a pressure canner or even water bath canner are not the top storage priority just yet. Also, storing all the glass jar (filled and unfilled) could be complicated with our current pantry situation. But I love the practice of canning and hope to start dipping my toes in this water very soon!

Freezing is where it’s at! I have always been an avid freezer. I freeze everything. I recently started making homemade chicken broth (so easy, by the way!) and freezing that to keep on hand. I’ve made beans in the InstantPot (also, SO easy!) and I’ll even freeze bulk oatmeal, chilis and soups. This is the easiest way for me to keep food on hand and not have to cook a fresh meal. Every. Single. Night.

We recently started dehydrating. This one is very new to us but hubs wanted a dehydrator to start making beef jerky to have as a snack at work. I’m vegetarian, so this didn’t excite me in the slightest. BUT I have found many a cool recipe as far as making homemade fruit leather, dehydrated fruit chips and more. This is another great way to use up food scraps, learn a skill and add another appliance to your counter or cupboards. We’re maxed out!

Become a DIY queen

This has been a fav process of becoming a homemaker / homesteader. I’ve always been crafty, but this just really elevated that for me.

The amount of things you can make yourself is unreal. Hand soap? Done it. Salves? Yes, ma’am. Cleaners? Oh, yea!

You have unlimited resources at your fingertips to DIY anything your little heart could ever imagine. It’s also a great way to switch to a more natural living approach. Ditch some of the toxins and get some of that wholesome goodness into the lives of your family!

Reduce / Reuse / Recycle

Sounds so simple but we all forget about it. There are infinite ways to save money and time by using resources that are already available to you.

For example, cut up old shirts and now you have cleaning rags. Throw your old fruit and veggie scraps into a compost bin to create soil (or just do your part in recycling). Use old jars and bottles to store your from-scratch foods. Old maple syrup bottles make the best coffee syrup containers, I must say!

I’ve seen awesome machines like the Lomi that will turn your old food scraps into rich soil for your plants, but again, the counter and cupboard space is a-lackin in our apartments and condos!

When in doubt, reach for community

If you’re on the fence about homesteading or homemaking in your space, reach out! Chances are you have a community of like-minded people closer than you think.

Get on Google and look up your local community garden or homestead meetup. Attend your local farmers markets and pick the brains of the small business people that are actually living your big girl dreams!

Resources are always available to you, you just have to be open and willing to learn!