If you want to enjoy a life of self-sufficiency, you’ll be eager to create a low maintenance homestead. By its nature, homesteading is more time-consuming than taking advantage of the latest mod cons. Building a fire or harvesting your own crops isn’t as efficient as turning on a heating system or visiting a store, even if it is a whole lot more satisfying.
With a low maintenance homestead, you can minimize the number of repairs needed and enjoy a better quality of life. To get started, take a look at these three ways to make your homestead low maintenance:
1. Choose the Right Exterior
The exterior of your homestead plays a major role in providing insulation and protection from the elements. As such, it’s a vital part of the structure, and choosing the wrong materials can lead to on-going repairs, as well as leaks and draughts.
There are plenty of options to consider when it comes to the exterior of any property. However, vinyl siding is often the best for style and functionality. Known for its durability, vinyl siding routinely lasts for years, or even decades. What’s more – it withstands the elements, so rain, snow, or hail won’t cause it to warp or swell in the same way that timber does.
2. Add Mulch to Gardens
Growing your own crops is a critical part of being self-sufficient, but it’s a year-round job that requires constant vigilance. Adding mulch to your garden helps the soil to retain moisture, which means you’ll need less water to keep crops hydrated. It’s also an effective way to protect plants and their roots from extremes in temperature, which means you’ll find it easier to keep crops healthy when you incorporate mulch into your garden.
However, the benefits don’t stop there! Mulch also minimizes weed growth, which ensures crops get maximum nutrients and saves you the time-consuming job of weeding the garden on a daily basis. Furthermore, mulch can help to deter some pests, which is a major benefit if you’re committing to organic or pesticide-free farming.
3. Allow Livestock to Roam
If you have livestock on your homestead, it’s well worth considering letting them roam. This free-range approach offers a better quality of life for the animals, but it also reduces your workload. Many homesteaders feed their animals repeatedly throughout the day (in fact, this can be one of the most repetitive jobs you’ll encounter!). When animals are free-range and able to roam in areas where food is naturally abundant, however, you’ll know that they have access to as much food as they require. In addition to saving you time, this can drastically reduce your budget too.
Embracing a Self-Sufficient Lifestyle
With so many advantages associated with homesteading, it’s not surprising that so many people are eager to adopt a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Whether you’re going all in and off the grid or simply incorporating a few elements of homesteading into your existing way of life, using low maintenance methodologies can enhance your lifestyle and make homesteading all the more enjoyable.
