Starting the homestead lifestyle is easier than you think

[0:00] Introduction

[3:58] How the system profits when you stop cooking from scratch

[5:53] Turning kitchen scraps into nutrient-dense broth for pennies on the dollar

[8:14] Growing sprouts on your countertop with just a Mason jar

[10:05] Why store-bought bread tastes like chemicals once you bake your own

[13:21] Sauerkraut, slowness, and the forgotten power of fermentation

[14:56] Freezer jam, rhubarb pink lemonade, and why canning brings peace, not fear

[20:09] Homemade citrus vinegar cleaner and beeswax candles that double as prep

[22:13] Remembering the masked Walmart arrows and never being caught unprepared again

[26:33] Why the people coming to take your preps won't make it up the driveway

[28:49] Four generations lost these skills, but yours is taking them back

Resources Mentioned:

How To Use A Sourdough Starter
Homemade Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Chocolaty Sourdough Brownies

Join my Homestead Prepper's Guide to Canning Course to learn how to start canning today!

Hello, and welcome back to the Gubba Homestead Podcast. I’m Gubba, a first-time homesteader following in the footsteps of my homesteading forebears. I discuss everything from homesteading to prepping and everything in between.

Today’s episode is one I truly think a lot of people need to hear right now because somewhere along the way, society convinced people that homesteading is only possible if you own acres of land, live in a giant farmhouse, milk cows at sunrise, and exist completely off-grid in the middle of nowhere.

But the second you really begin looking into what homesteading actually is, you realize it has far less to do with acreage and far more to do with mindset, practical skills, preparedness, and reconnecting to the older ways of living that once made families more capable, more resilient, and far less dependent on fragile modern systems.

Today we are talking about the practical things you can begin doing to homestead from absolutely anywhere, whether you live in an apartment, the suburbs, a rental home, or on a few acres of land.

We are diving into everything from growing food in small spaces and preserving food, to learning traditional kitchen skills, preparedness, homemade products, herbal remedies, and why so many people right now feel this deep pull toward slower, more intentional living. 

Because once you start pulling on this thread, you realize this conversation becomes much bigger than gardening or sourdough bread. It becomes a conversation about self-reliance, food security, rising grocery prices, chronic health problems, modern dependency, and the growing feeling many people have that something about the way we are living simply does not feel sustainable anymore.

Before we get into today’s episode, I want to thank the sponsor of this podcast, which is my small skincare business, Arvoti. One of my favorite products I make is the Homestead Blend Tallow Balm because to me, it really captures the heart of homesteading.

Simple ingredients, old-fashioned skincare, and creating something nourishing instead of relying on shelves full of synthetic products and complicated ingredient labels. It is small-batch made and inspired by the slower, more intentional lifestyle so many people are trying to return to right now. So let's dive in. 

One of the easiest and most life-changing places to begin homesteading is right in your kitchen. Modern food systems have somehow convinced people that cooking from scratch is difficult while simultaneously filling grocery store shelves with ultra-processed convenience foods loaded with preservatives, dyes, gums, artificial flavorings, and industrial oils.

Meanwhile, our ancestors prepared nearly every meal from scratch because that was simply normal life. One of the easiest DIY skills anyone can start with is homemade broth. Save chicken bones, vegetable scraps, onion peels, garlic ends, celery tops, and carrot scraps in a freezer bag instead of throwing them away. 

Once the bag is full, place everything into a large pot with water, a splash of apple cider vinegar, and herbs if you have them on hand. Let it slowly simmer for several hours until your entire kitchen smells rich and nourishing.

Suddenly, you have mineral-rich homemade broth made almost entirely from scraps that most people would have thrown into the trash. That one simple skill alone starts changing the way you think about food waste, nourishment, intentional cooking, and the incredible amount of value hidden inside things modern society taught us to discard.

Another incredibly easy DIY kitchen skill is learning how to make simple sourdough discard recipes. One reason sourdough has exploded online is because people are craving old food traditions again.

They want bread with real ingredients instead of bread engineered to survive weeks on grocery shelves. If full sourdough bread feels intimidating, start with something simple like sourdough brownies or dinner rolls. Both recipes in the show notes for you. 

Mix sourdough discard with flour, eggs, milk, and salt for pancakes that taste richer and more nourishing than boxed mixes. The beautiful thing about sourdough is that once you begin, you realize bread is not supposed to be complicated chemistry experiments packed with additives.

It is flour, water, salt, and time. If you don't have a sourdough starter, I will link an easy sourdough starter recipe in the show notes for you. I have had thousands of people use it with success, and it is how I made my starter seven years ago. 

Another powerful skill anyone can begin from anywhere is preserving food, and honestly, this is one of the most important skills making a comeback right now. Rising grocery prices, empty shelves during disruptions, and increasing awareness around food security have caused many families to realize how fragile modern supply chains really are. One of the easiest DIY preservation projects for beginners is homemade freezer jam. You do not need expensive equipment.

Mash fresh berries, mix with sugar or honey, add lemon juice, and freeze in jars. Suddenly you are preserving seasonal food instead of relying entirely on grocery stores year-round. Another easy project is dehydrating herbs.

Tie fresh herbs together and hang them upside down in your kitchen or place them in a dehydrator if you have one. Once dry, crumble them into jars. The smell alone will make you realize how lifeless store-bought herbs often are compared to fresh preserved herbs from your own kitchen.

This is also why I am such a huge believer in learning canning skills. Canning reconnects people to abundance, preparedness, and traditional food storage in a way modern life has almost erased. There is something incredibly comforting about seeing rows of jars you preserved yourself sitting on a shelf. It creates a sense of peace and capability that is hard to explain until you experience it.

And honestly, once people learn how easy it actually is, they usually become obsessed with it because they realize how empowering it feels to preserve real food. That is exactly why I created my canning course, The Homestead Prepper’s Guide to Canning. I wanted to make canning approachable for beginners instead of intimidating.

The course walks through the process step-by-step so people can stop feeling overwhelmed and start building real preparedness skills from their own kitchens. Whether someone wants to preserve jams, sauces, vegetables, soups, or long-term pantry staples, learning canning is one of the best investments you can make in your future self-reliance.

Another skill anyone can begin immediately is growing food, and no, you do not need acres of land. Some of the easiest DIY gardening projects can happen right on a kitchen counter or apartment balcony. One of the simplest things anyone can grow is sprouts. All you need is a mason jar, seeds, and water. Rinse the seeds twice daily and within days you have fresh nutrient-dense sprouts growing in your kitchen.

Another beginner-friendly project is growing herbs in recycled containers near a sunny window. Basil, parsley, mint, oregano, and chives thrive in small spaces and instantly elevate homemade meals.

One reason gardening changes people so deeply is because it reconnects them to natural rhythms again. Modern life has disconnected people so heavily from seasons and food production that many children genuinely do not understand where food comes from anymore.

Growing even one tomato plant changes that perspective forever because suddenly you understand how much care, patience, sunlight, water, and time go into producing nourishment.

Another incredibly valuable homesteading skill is learning how to make homemade household products.

A simple homemade cleaner made from ingredients people recognize instead of mystery chemicals and artificial fragrances. One reason so many people are becoming interested in homemade cleaning products is because they are realizing how heavily scented and chemical-filled many conventional products have become. 

Even replacing one or two household cleaners with homemade versions starts changing the way people think about intentional living, self-reliance, and what they are surrounding themselves with every single day.

Another incredibly valuable skill anyone can begin from anywhere is preparedness. Preparedness used to be mocked heavily online, but recent years changed that for a lot of people. Empty shelves, shipping delays, rising prices, natural disasters, and uncertainty caused millions to rethink their dependence on “just-in-time” systems. One easy preparedness DIY is building a rotating pantry.

Every grocery trip, buy two extra shelf-stable items and organize them by expiration date. Over time, you quietly build food security without panic buying.

Another great beginner project is creating a simple emergency power outage kit with candles, flashlights, water filters, matches, batteries, and backup cooking methods. Preparedness is not about fear. It is about reducing vulnerability and increasing peace of mind.

Another incredible beginner skill is learning fermentation. Fermented foods are one of the oldest forms of food preservation in human history, yet many people today have never even tried making them. One of the easiest beginner projects is homemade sauerkraut. Slice cabbage thinly, massage with salt until liquid forms, pack tightly into jars, and let ferment on the counter for several days. 

Suddenly you have probiotic-rich fermented food made from two ingredients. Fermentation reconnects people to ancient food traditions that existed long before refrigeration and industrial processing.

One of the biggest mindset shifts homesteading creates is teaching people that capability builds confidence. Modern life often leaves people feeling helpless because nearly every survival skill has been outsourced. Most people depend entirely on grocery stores, restaurants, corporations, delivery systems, and technology for daily living. Homesteading reverses that mindset.

Every skill you learn reminds you that you are more capable than society trained you to believe.

Every loaf of bread you bake, every jar you preserve, every herb you grow, every meal you cook from scratch, every homemade product you create quietly rebuilds confidence.

And honestly, I think that is one reason homesteading resonates so deeply right now. Beneath all the sourdough videos, canning reels, gardening tutorials, and cozy farmhouse aesthetics, people are searching for something deeper. They are searching for connection. Connection to food.

Connection to nature. Connection to purpose. Connection to slower rhythms of living that humans followed for thousands of years before convenience culture disconnected people from nearly every aspect of survival.

The beautiful thing is that none of this requires perfection. You do not need the perfect kitchen. You do not need the perfect homestead. You do not need land before you begin learning. Some of the most important homesteading skills can be built from tiny spaces and tiny steps.

A mason jar of sprouts. A loaf of sourdough bread. A shelf of canned food. A container herb garden. A homemade balm. A batch of broth. These things seem small, but together they completely change the way you live and think.

Because homesteading is not really about aesthetics. It is about reclaiming independence one skill at a time.