How To Help the Environment With Your Homestead

Climate change and the devastating impact of human behavior on the planet are subjects that fill the news right now. An increasing number of people are awakened to the fact that to protect the earth and help the environment, the way humans consume the earth’s resources and the way that many people live their lives has to change to stop the destruction of the planet.

Living on a homestead means that you are already far more in touch with nature than the majority of people, particularly those living in urban areas. Owning a homestead enables you to see first hand the beauty of nature when it is untouched by human hands and how the countryside changes with the seasons. When you are surrounded by nature, and see it at its very best each day, you may begin to wonder how you can do more to protect the planet. 

Even small changes to your homestead can help the environment, and being greener can also help you to save money too. If you dream of a totally self-reliant lifestyle and living completely off-grid, these suggestions should help you to move a step closer to making that dream a reality.

Making changes that help you to live a more sustainable lifestyle is not only beneficial to the planet but, over time, can save you a lot of cash. Here are some changes that you could make on your homestead which will benefit the earth and help you to save money:

Rethink Your Energy to Help the Environment

Many people are looking at ways to reduce their energy consumption right now as a way to save money on electricity bills and also to reduce their carbon footprint. Finding ways to generate your own electricity will help you to achieve both of these things.

Harnessing the power of nature and using solar energy to supply your home could see your energy costs dramatically reduce or even be eliminated altogether.

You could also make money from your solar panels, as any energy that you do not use can be sold back to the grid. Equipping your homestead with solar panels will provide you with a renewable energy source and is a longterm investment that will keep giving back.

Contacting solar companies and getting them to assess whether your homestead could accommodate solar panels is your first step toward reducing your carbon footprint as well as your energy bills.

Grow Your Own

One of the most satisfying parts of becoming self-reliant is being able to feed yourself using produce grown on your smallholding. Growing your own food enables you to eat fruits and vegetables that are far fresher than any bought from a store. Eating seasonal produce means that your fruit and vegetables retain all the nutritional value and goodness.

Producing your own crops is beneficial in so many ways. For a start, you will be reducing your food miles as the produce comes from your own property, so no carbon is created through transportation from the field to a store. Secondly, you will reduce plastic waste as your produce won’t be covered in unnecessary packaging. Lastly, eating your own homegrown food will save you lots of money compared with store-bought fruit and vegetables, which tend to be far more expensive, especially when they are out of season, or imported from other countries.

If you want to share the joy of eating homegrown with your local community, how about increasing your crops so that you can sell your produce to fellow residents in your local area. Selling your produce locally is a great way to make some extra money, and it will also help your local community cut down on their food miles and carbon footprint.

Save Water

If you grow lots of crops on your homestead, you will know how much water is needed to keep them growing right. Clean drinking water is a precious commodity and in short supply in much of the world. When you use a lot of water to take care of your crops, it makes sense to maximize rainfall on your property and use it to care for your plants. Purchasing a water tank to store rainwater on your property will help you to reduce your water consumption and ensure that you have enough water to keep your plants healthy even during dry periods.

Living on a homestead provides you with an excellent opportunity to help the environment and lead an eco-friendly life. Being kind to the environment and saving money go hand in hand and offer significant benefits.