When you first establish a homestead, you have to really focus on its basic necessary functions. Preparing to break ground, find a water source, choose an energy method, and start growing your food is much to undertake all at once. Expanding your homestead is a little less work, but it also requires your full focus.
These next three things to prepare for as you expand your homestead will prevent you from wasting your time or valuable efforts.
Making Sensible Expansions
With a homestead, the one element that is basically universal is having a good deal of available land at your disposal. Depending on where you establish a homestead, it could be possible for all of your properties to run off single central septic, electrical, and water systems.
Alternatively, you could have all of your buildings, homes, and other structures operate independently of themselves, in order to prepare for widespread outages.
If there is the possibility that you will be buying adjacent land, then your current and future plans of expanding your homestead need to take that into account. Making sensible preparations makes for smart homestead expansions.
Zoning Requirements and Expansion Purposes
During the course of expanding your homestead, you might also face zoning concerns. Every municipality has its own set of rules, standards, and inspection requirements.
A general building permit might let you put as many homes on your homestead as space allows. However, a separate permit and approval process would likely be required before you install windmills, for example.
Moreover, certain types of expansions and improvements might simply not be allowed where you live. If you cannot build any sort of officially named and recognized road on your land, then you may need to drive to the edge of your property every time you go to check the mail.
This is just another example of a concern that you might have as far as zoning and expanding your homestead.
Disposing of Hazard Materials
At some point, you’re going to need to work out an outside source to help deal with the debris and trash leftover from homestead expansion related activities. While your lumber might be able to be repurposed and recycled, potentially hazardous waste products are going to need to be taken off of your property.
Homestead owners need to be concerned about keeping their land free of contaminants. If you are planning on growing you and your family’s food and raising up animals on this land, you really don’t want to be dumping anything hazardous there.
Not to mention, it is against the law and terrible for the earth to dump contaminants in the open. Hazardous waste removal companies have EPA approved dumpsites that they work with to keep harm to the planet at a minimum.
Final Thoughts on Expanding Your Homestead…
Running a homestead requires successful long-term plans as well as a ‘can-do’ attitude. Sometimes, the electricity is going to go out and you are going to have to work to find the cause for hours.
In other situations, your animals might not be growing to their full potential and you will have to consult with a veterinarian. After some time, you will be able to apply better problem-solving skills to each situation.
With the right planning and thinking about what lies in the future you can begin expanding your homestead successfully.