10 Essential Items for the Beginning Homesteader

There’s a lot of information out there for the beginning homesteader. A quick Pinterest search yields dozens of results on items you need, mindset to have, crops to grow, easy first animals, etc. As a fairly new homesteader myself I know how overwhelming that all can be.

Here you’ll find a simple list of ten “items” that will help you along your way as a homesteader. We’ll assume you already have a place to homestead, even if it’s a small back yard in the city.

These items will help you on your journey regardless of if you have 100 acres in the country or live on a small lot in town. You may already have many of these at home.

Without further ado here are my ten essentials for the beginning homesteader.

1. A support network

Having a network of people who can support you is so important as a beginning homesteader. If you’re lucky enough, you have a partner who is onboard with the homesteading lifestyle. Even if you don’t, there are plenty of places out there to find a support network.

One great place to find like-minded individuals is Facebook. There are many different homesteading, gardening, animal keeping, and sufficiency groups that you can be a part of. Many people in these groups have experience that they are happy to share.

If anything, find a friend who you can talk to about homesteading when you are feeling overwhelmed.

My support network looks like a few different homesteading and gardening Facebook groups I am apart of as well as a husband who, while still learning to love this lifestyle is supportive. I also know I can call my parents to talk, and even if they don’t quite know what I’m talking about, they’re great at listening.

Everyone’s support networks look different. In person, or online, just make sure you have one.

2. A plan for when the power goes out

Would you still have water or heat if the power went out?

In February 2019 Colorado was hit with a bomb cyclone blizzard and many of our neighbors lost power for five days. Five days! Without a plan in place that’s five days in the middle of the coldest month at 7200ft without heat or running water.

We were fortunate enough not to lose power. However, if we hadn’t already known that it was essential to have a backup plan, that would have solidified it.

Water

If you live in town, losing access to water in a power outage might not be a major concern. Municipal water sources usually continue to work when the power goes out.

This is not the case with a well. Most well pumps run on electricity and if the electricity is out, so is your well.

The best plan would be to get a generator that, at minimum, can run your well. This can be an expensive option though, and not always affordable for the new homesteader. For us, this is our long-term goal; we’re just not there yet.

Another, more affordable option is to have a water stockpile on hand. We have six 3-gallon jugs of drinking water from the store in our pantry at all times. Additionally, when we know bad weather is going to hit, we fill every available container with water. If you have animals, don’t forget water for them too. Five gallon buckets come in handy for saving water in the moment for animals.

Heat

Losing your heating source is no joke. Not only will you be miserably cold, but you run the risk of burst pipes and incurring costly repairs.

My recommendation for a heat backup plan is a wood or pellet stove. Depending on where you homestead, your house may have come with one already installed. Lucky you! If not, I highly recommend getting one installed as soon as your budget allows.

The first house my husband and I lived in as newly weds had a wood stove conveniently placed to warm the kitchen, living room, and our bedroom. It was wonderful and saved us a lot of money in heating costs for the two years we lived there.

The last place we lived in town before moving to the homestead didn’t have a wood stove and had no good place to install one. It was one of the most disappointing things about that house. Needless to say, when we moved, a wood stove was our the first major expense. Hopefully, I will never have to live somewhere without a wood stove again.

In addition to being a great backup plan if the power goes out, it saves us money too to the tune of at least a hundred dollars a month in the winter and spring.

If you don’t have the money for or don’t want a wood stove, make sure you have a different backup plan for when the power goes out – because it will.

3. A toolbox with basic tools

The beginning homesteader needs to have a few basic tools on hand for the inevitable repair. Part of living this lifestyle is learning how to fix many things for yourself instead of paying a handy man.

Your toolbox doesn’t need to be extensive, and you don’t need to go out and purchase enough tools to start a contracting business. This is something you will build slowly over time as you have the funds and as needs dictate.

It is important to make sure you buy quality tools. Even though you’ll spend more money upfront you’ll save money and many headaches in the long run. Many of these you may be able to find at a garage sale, or in a family member’s garage gathering dust.

Here are the few tools I recommend you start out with:

• Hammer
• Phillips head screwdriver
• Flat head screwdriver
• Tape measure
• Cordless drill with a basic bit set (trust me, you’ll use it WAY more than you think)
• Pliers
• Wire cutters
• A decent quality socket wrench set. (When asked what was missing from the list, this was my husband’s recommendation.)
• Heavy Duty Duct tape (Heavy duty works better, and, like the Force it has a light side, a dark side, and holds the world together. It also comes in handy when building your own brooders.)

4. Quality pots and pans

According to an August 2019 Business Insider Article, most Americans eat out 5.9 times a week. The article goes on to say that there are six states where Americans spend the most money dining out, with people in my home state of Colorado spending about $3,387 a year. For a family of two adults that’s $6,774 a year! You can buy a used tractor with that kind of money! (If you are interested in what people in your state spend per year click here.)

Now, I’m not saying you need to stop eating out all together. Though if you’re trying to save up money or pay off debt I strongly recommend you eat only homemade.

My husband and I have season tickets to the local philharmonic, and date night almost always includes dinner and wine at a nice restaurant before the concert. It’s a special tradition that brings joy to our lives.

What we don’t do is pick up dinner on the way home from work because we don’t want to cook.

Cooking with cheaply made pots and pans is a less than stellar experience.

Quality pots and pans come with a premium price tag, but, like your toolbox you can build this collection slowly. Start by getting a nice frying pan and pot. I recommend going with stainless steel for both. Stainless steel does take some getting use to if you’ve been cooking with non-stick, but they will last you a lifetime.

Most stainless steel pots and pans can go straight from the stove to the oven. You can’t do that with non-stick!

Cast iron is another great direction to go. One of these day’s I’ll finally own a cast iron skillet.

While you’re at it, get a decent metal spatula too. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later.

5. Compost Pile

If you’re not composting yet, today is the day to start! When you throw food and yard waste into the trash you’re missing out on free compost for your garden. You’re also adding to the massive amount of landfill that is releasing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Composting is good for your garden and the planet!

Every homesteader should be composting. Thankfully, it’s incredibly easy. It can be as simple starting a pile somewhere on your property or as complex as building a fancy multi-bin system.

We made our bins with reclaimed pallets picked up at our local farm store and left-over screws from other projects. They might not the be the prettiest, but they get the job done.

If you’re looking for inspiration, here’s a great post I found with 35 cheap DIY compost bins.

6. Muck Boots

Rain, snow, mud, manure.

There’s a lot of things on the homestead you don’t want soaking through your running shoes or being tracked through your house. A cheap pair of muck boots will solve that problem quickly. Plus, they’re easy to slip on to go grab eggs or a few veggies from the garden.

You can spend a lot on muck boots. A cute pair with a name brand can run you upwards of $145 (the current price for a women’s pair of Hunters on their website.) That seems like a lot of money to spend on a pair of shoes for wading around in mud and manure. Homesteaders are nothing if not frugal.

The best $12 I’ve spent since moving onto the homestead was on a pair of black, store-brand muck boots from Big R. Are they cute? Not really. Is the $145 pair of Hunters more comfortable? Probably. Do they get the job done? You bet!

7. Gloves

If you’ve ever gotten a splinter or blister you know how important it is to protect your hands. As a beginning homesteader, there are two types of gloves you want.

First, get yourself a pair of gardening gloves. They don’t have to be expensive, but if you go with quality over the cheapest you can get they’ll last more than one season. These are the gloves you’ll wear when doing weeding and planting in the garden, or any task where you need better dexterity.

Second, is a pair of leather work gloves. These are more expensive, but they will save your hands. These are the gloves to wear when raking, hoeing, shoveling, hauling wood, rescuing cute little ground squirrel babies from drowning in a bucket of water, etc.

8. Quality Gardening Tools

Every beginning homesteader needs a few gardening tools, even if you haven’t started your garden yet. This is an area you’ll want to spend the money to get high quality tools and work to build your collection slowly.

To start I’d recommend:

• Digging Shovel
• Bow Rake
• Stirrup Hoe

These three tools will do most of what you need on your homestead. A pitch fork is also a great tool to have, but unless you’re mucking stalls you can get by without one.

If you’re starting a garden right away, I’d also recommend a digging fork.

9. Wheelbarrow

A wheelbarrow is useful for a myriad of tasks:

• Carrying dirt, compost, mulch, rocks, and other gardening/landscaping materials
• Moving heavy items from one area to another
• Transfering firewood from your wood shed up to the house
• Mucking out stalls and coops
• Mixing cement
• Bringing in the harvest
• And so much more

A fiberglass wheelbarrow will last longer than a metal one, and wood handles will need replacing faster than synthetic materials. It will also cost more money.

We went with the cheapest option we could get at Home Depot with a metal tray and wood handles. Eventually it will need to be replaced, but it will still last years.

10. Pickup Truck and Trailer (Or another way to haul)

I saved this category for last, as it is the most costly item on the list. You certainly don’t need a truck, or trailer if you don’t have one already.

You can rent a truck fairly cheaply if you need to haul something once or twice a year. A bail of hay or straw fits in the trunk of a sedan if you only need one at a time. Compost, dirt, mulch, rock, etc. can be delivered – if you’re willing to pay the delivery fee. You can ask a friend or a neighbor to borrow their truck or if they’ll run an errand for you.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these ways to get the large, heavy items you will need running your homestead.

However, as a homesteader, there’s something to be said for taking care of it yourself. Being able to make a run into town with the trailer and the truck to stock up on straw, feed, groceries, and building supplies all at once is incredibly convenient. (Especially if you live far from town.)

With the ability to haul on your own it’s easier to take advantage of opportunities like an acquaintance offering you free manure or free mulch at the local slash pile.

An SUV with a trailer would also work as well.

If you are working to save up money for a specific purpose or trying to pay off debt this is definitely an item that can wait. However, if you have the funds, I strongly suggest considering it.

There you have it, 10 essential items that will help you as a beginning homesteader.

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