When you are considering homesteading, finding the perfect homestead layout can be a challenge. From uncertainty over the amount of land you need or where to even start from, venturing into homesteading can appear daunting. However, that should not be the case.
Even if you are in your city apartment or have a ¼ acre of land, you can still utilize it with the right plan and layout. Need help setting up your perfect homestead layout? Follow these tips to plan or renovate your existing design for optimal self-sufficiency.
Consider your Family in your Plan
If you want to create the perfect homestead layout, it is important to consider focusing on your current life phase and see yourself in the next few years. Are you single or married with kids?
Even if you do not see your family situation changing anytime soon, it may change at some point. These factors are vital to planning when designing your homestead layout. However, if you are considering a more permanent homestead, you will need to plan a functional space and appeal to a more considerable extent.
Ensure Sufficient Storage Space
If your goal is to have a more functional homestead, you need to have adequate storage space to store your gardening and homesteading essentials. It is easy to find yourself piling stuff up in and around your homestead because you don’t have enough storage space.
You will want enough room for items such as seeds and seed planting supplies and garden tools. You may also want to consider an area of storage for things such as dried and bulk food, toiletry, oils, bags, containers, and cold storage. Just make sure to keep exterior and interior items separate.
Consider Your Indoor and Outdoor Homestead Activities
Growing crops and raising animals are typical homestead activities, but what other activities can you use your indoor or outdoor space for? You can consider renting or leasing your property for outdoor events, provided you have the space required. Renting out your space is another avenue for homesteaders to make extra earnings from their property.
Maybe you can reserve a large field or an old barn on your property for entertainment and event rentals. You can build a platform deck and hire an audio-video company to provide entertainment for events such as weddings and graduations. With added lights and other audio-visual enhancements, you can create the ultimate outdoor experience and make a nice side income also.
Factor in Environmental Concerns
While much of homesteading may focus on sustainability, not everything you do will. Not everything you can do at home will necessarily make it any better or safer for your environment or climate.
However, if sustainability is your goal, you can remove those items you do not need or add anything you do need to your space. Start by making a list of those products or things you can produce at home to replace those you purchase, contributing to the environment’s destruction. Growing a manure-fueled nursery, raising chickens generally on forage and table leftovers are some sustainable alternatives.
The perfect homestead layout for you if practicing sustainability may include larger gardens, compost piles, and open-pit outdoor cooking pits. It may include a smokehouse or a small pond filled with Talapia and freshwater catfish.
Consider The Essential Fixtures
Of course, we need to make sure that the essential layout, organization, and orientation of our internal decorations and implements conform to the fixtures we have in place. For instance, our plug socket access will determine where we place appliances, or how we integrate them into our homes.
Using a tradesman or using your skills to implement parts from the best electrical supply wholesaler can be important – and it’ll help you save money, too. This way, a deep renovation can be structured properly, or poor circuits can be upgraded with the help of a qualified professional. This provides the fundamental grounding (no pun intended) regarding how you think about home design.
Ensure Flexibility
Flexibility is one area you must consider when trying to find the perfect homestead layout. It is never fun to have to redo something after the fact because you didn’t do it right the first time. Yet, with homesteading, things can change in a blink of an eye and you must be flexible in your thinking and planning.
What works this year, or even today, may not work in the future. Therefore being flexible allows you to make the changes as you go and not get stressed over having to adjust.
Final Thoughts on the Perfect Homestead Layout
There is no perfect homestead concept that works for everyone and every homestead. Each homestead is different and plans can change quickly. Even though putting together the perfect homestead layout can be tricky, it can be done. It may take months and perhaps years before settling on your ideal structure or design. Take your time and think it through. Be flexible, and before you know it you may just have the perfect homestead layout.
You missed the most critical element, water, water harvesting, for you and your garden and animals.
Without it you are a failure.
You are absolutely right! Thanks for mentioning that! I will update this!