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Homestead Apartments

Homesteading 101: How to Homestead in Your Apartment

Homestead Apartments

Homesteading 101: How to Homestead in Your Apartment

Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It emphasizes learning how to provide for yourself using old-fashioned skills instead of relying on premade, processed products. While independent farms and ranches created the concept of homesteading, anyone can learn to be a homesteader, and you don't need a lot of land or outdoor space to do it.
You might be surprised, but homesteading in an apartment is easier than you think. After all, many homesteading skills can be done easily inside the house or on the patio. Learning homesteading skills can reduce your household costs, improve your health, and minimize your reliance on processed products. Let's dive into the many handy ways to start homesteading in your apartment.
 

Grow Your Own Food in Planters

Planters, pots, and even vertical grow bags make it possible to grow a lot of food in a small space. You can grow herbs and micro-greens on a sunny windowsill. You can grow an apartment balcony garden bursting with fruits and vegetables. Planters and tiered planters are popular for traditional gardening, but there are no rules against vertical gardening or even hydroponics if you make your own plant food.
A tomato plant with green and orange tomatoes growing in a brown pot.

Dry Your Own Laundry

You don't always need to tumble-dry your clothes and linens. Use a vinegar rinse in the laundry to banish hard minerals, and then hang dry your laundry instead. You can use your balcony for sun-enhanced drying or set up a drying rack indoors. This can save electricity (or quarters) with every load of laundry, and drying in the sunny breeze can add a natural quality to your laundry that you'll enjoy all day.

 

Create Your Own and Cleaning Products

Soap and cleaning products today are full of questionable ingredients. But keeping it simple does just as good a job. Making your own cleaning products can make your home healthier and save money by avoiding name-brand formulas. 

Most home cleaning products involve Castille soap (simple soap), vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice. You can also add essential oils and fresh sprigs from your windowsill herb garden to enhance the soaps, cleaning powders, and solutions you make at home. You can make laundry detergent, dish soap, scrubbing powder, window cleaner, and a lot more.


Bake Your Own Bread

Store-bought bread is full of bleached wheat flour, corn syrup, and preservatives. The bread you make at home can be wholesome, hearty, and tailored to your personal tastes. You can get a bread machine or practice making bread like your great-grandmother used to make it in the oven. You also don't need to stop at bread. Explore recipes for biscuits and rolls, vegetable-rich muffins, quick and easy dumplings, and other homemade carbohydrates to fuel your household without relying on processed food. You can also add whatever flavoring sounds good, whether that be some cubed cheese, dried fruits, or seasonings. It's an easy way to create something you'll love. 

 

A person cutting a loaf of bread with a knife.

Mend and Upgrade Your Own Clothes

You can work wonders with a needle and thread. When most people see a rip in their clothes, the garment is a loss. But with hand stitching or sewing machine skills, you can not only mend but also upgrade your clothes (and bags). Start by mending tears. Then upgrade your skills to taking in hems on too-long garments and adding big pockets to pants, aprons, and bags. Then, you can start getting creative, making your own garments, exploring embroidery, or upcycling old clothing into quilts, pillowcases, and other household items. This is also a great way to tailor clothes to fit you better, whether that is by making them bigger or smaller. A few small changes can increase the lifespan of your clothes! 

Preserve Your Own Jam

Canning is one of the best ways to preserve produce and enjoy it all year. Whether you're canning your balcony garden harvests or found a great bulk deal on seasonal goodies at the grocery or farmer's market, canning is a fun and valuable skill. You are also able to can fruits and vegetables, but pro canners always suggest starting with homemade jam. Preserving jam from seasonal fruits can help you learn the basics of canning before you start with more challenging recipes and canning processes.

Not to mention, homemade jam is absolutely delicious. You can jam your favorite fruits and try jam flavors that they just don't sell at the grocery store. Then, crack a special jar for the holidays and spread it over slices of fresh-baked bread. 

A shelf of jars filled with pickles and other preserved foods.

Make Your Own Scented Candles

You can even make your own scented candles.  Candlemaking is easier than it sounds. You don't have to dip tallow; all you need is a bulk supply of wax, cotton striving for wicks, and essential oils for candlemaking. A little food coloring, and you're on your way to making a beautiful combination of art and aromatherapy with every candle you craft.

 

Homestead Apartments in Hobbs, NM

If you're looking for the perfect place to homestead in your New Mexico apartment, you'll love it here at the Homestead Apartments. We understand how rewarding it can be to make your own home products and rediscover skills that kept our ancestors healthy just a few generations ago. Contact us to explore availability and swap apartment homesteading tips.