Dreams of a Homestead

I was thinking this evening how I don't think I really ever laid out for you readers (all 16 of you) what Andy's and my dreams are for our homestead.  Well, pay attention because this lays it all out!  Dreams, goals, aspirations... many will come true and many will only remain dreams.  Of course, I'm okay with that.  That's the reality of life.  You can't have them all. 

When Andy and I originally sparked the fire of wanting a homestead.  We had dreams of having large land out in the country.  5+ acres, old farm house, barn, fresh air, cute farm animals- you get the picture right?


  Well, reality sunk in when we started our house hunting. Included in our dreams of a homestead also included dreams of being debt free, the lack of living pay check to pay check, and all around simplicity in living.  Those dreams equaled to a smaller mortgage... much smaller.  Needless to say, we had to compromise on our original dreams.  What were we willing to compromise on was the all important question. 

What had to go out the window first?  Land.  5 acres just wasn't feasible for us- money wise and time/devotion wise.  So we had to alter our dream to become what is now an Urban or Suburban homestead.  

Once we found the right home (a 1050 sq. ft. home on a 60' x 120' sized lot in the city), our dreams evolved and changed. 

What the front of our house looked like when we bought it 1.5 years ago.  My, how things have changed!

Backyard 1.5 years ago.

 
So this is what Andy and I dream for our homestead as of right now.

1. Composting-  A large compost bin in our back yard as well as vermi-composting inside the home.
2. Collection of storm water- We would like to have rain barrels collecting rain water at every downspout on our home and garage.  This will help in watering our gardens and conserve water.
3. A large garden... VERY large garden-  We plan on doing all raised bed vegetable gardening.  We have a backyard that is half shaded so we will utilize all the land we can in the back for the garden beds.  We also will be overtaking our whole front yard for gardening and raised beds.
4. Edible landscaping-  We would like to have any landscaping we do be edible.  Whether that be thyme ground covering, rhubarb for decorative purposes, etc...  Heck, we even plan on planting corn in the front yard.
5. Espalier fruit trees- Added not only for food but for decorative purposes.  
6. Chickens-  Andy and I are vegan (or strive to be) so chickens seem pointless, but this has been a dream of mine from the get-go and I simply can't let go of it.  I've always imagined having chickens.  Andy would like to disagree with this dream.
7. Goats-  Another dream I can't let go of.  Seems to be improbable to have goats in the city, especially since I think the city is against it.  Also, we don't drink animal milk so they would purely be there for me to adore and cuddle. How can you NOT want to cuddle this??
   

   

   Goats

8. Solar Panels-  This is the most expensive dream of ours.  I would love my roofs to be engulfed in solar panels.  Whether we have someone install them or we venture into building them ourselves, this is for sure a longtime goal.
9. Collection of gray water-  Andy and I have talked about attempting to collect gray water from our showers and sinks.  Our ridiculously small bathroom may be an obstacle, but this dream can be achievable.
10. Energy Efficient Living-  This is such a broad goal, but we would like to be energy efficient in our home.  Energy efficient windows, appliances, light bulbs, etc..  This goal also applies to our outside activities- transportation mainly (walking, biking, driving).  
11. Self-sustainability-  This might be our main goal.  We want to have the ability to take care of ourselves.  Ever see Doomsday Preppers?  We are in the midst of gathering our survival supplies and obtaining the skills to achieve such a goal.
12. Food Storage-  With having such large amount of gardens we want to be able to store this food properly.  Canning and freezing.

And the kicker to all of this?  Andy and I know nothing about any of it.  We are walking into this all clueless.  Research, resources, reaching out and networking, but most of all... just doing and trying and succeeding and failing with each attempt.  All these goals and dreams mean a lot to us.  Everything we do in life revolves around these goals.  Reaching these dreams are scary though.  This is a lot to strive for-  A homestead is a lot to strive for.  One piece of advice I would give to anyone else hoping to have a homestead too is that patience is key.  You can't achieve all these dreams at once.  A homestead takes time... lots of time.  Not months but years.  Also, try to be resourceful.  Be conscious of the earth and reuse and recycle everything you can!  It is so much rewarding when it is done this way.