Mastering crafts & skills successfully
As homesteaders, our new year resolutions can sometimes feel overwhelming. We want to learn so much, and it can feel like we need to learn everything immediately. But that doesn’t really work and is a recipe for burnout. So I’ve found a better way to master these skills and crafts.
A better way to learn all the skills and crafts you want to one day master. Is by picking one skill or craft a year and focusing on mastering that skill throughout the year. This way you will protect your mental health and will be able to homestead better.
However counterintuitive it might feel, we really need to avoid trying to learn all the crafts and skills at the same time. If you want to master whatever skill or craft you have set out to learn, you will need to pour time and effort into it. And the only way to do that while still keeping up with life is by prioritising one skill or craft and dedicating a year to the mastery of that skill or craft. Only then can you move on to the next skill or craft. That way you will build up your skill list over a longer time which will allow you to continue homesteading for the long run.
How people and homesteaders can fail with their new year resolutions
As people, it is so easy to be overly ambitious when it comes to making new year resolutions but especially us homesteaders are prone to this. We want to learn it all and do it all. But we quickly lose steam and feel like we’re failing at life.
It is important to not use your new year resolutions to punish yourself or force yourself to change too much. If you try you will end up more likely than not failing and feeling like you’ll never be able to achieve your goals. Don’t try and quit bad habits or lose weight or any of the other goals that come from a negative place. Rather try and nurture good habits and set yourself up for success by building them up slowly.
Setting yourself up for success
Set yourself up for success and learn a skill or craft slowly so that you start with an easy and small project. Because too many homesteaders choose new year resolutions that are far too ambitious and end up burning out. Rather focus on finishing your small and easy project instead of doing it as best you can. For instance, last year I choose brewing beer as the skill I wanted to learn. So I set myself up for success by buying a beer kit, all I had to do was add water and leave it to ferment. And although it was fun I did discover that I preferred the satisfaction and result of brewing my own mead (honey wine) over homemade beer.
In previous years I’ve also dedicated whole years to learning how to bake cakes and biscuits from scratch. Part of that year’s challenge was to not buy any cakes or biscuits in the store. Which was a good motivator when it came to baking my own baked goods.
Another year I dedicated solely to learning all about making homemade dairy products. And yet another to learn how to cook meat properly (this was a big one for me as I had been a vegetarian for over 7 years).
Another year I focused heavily on baking bread at home. Starting with simple soda bread then making a simple high hydration bread and ending with artisan sourdough bread. By building the skills up slowly I was able to stay motivated and learn more than I would have been able to learn had I set the bar higher.
Growing habits successfully for your new year resolutions
Sometimes we choose new year resolutions that are more about growing habits than about learning skills or crafts. And as we discussed earlier we want to make sure that we focus on growing and nurturing good habits rather than losing bad habits.
For example, if you want to stop eating processed food so that you will be healthier or lose weight. Don’t try to stop eating processed food but rather try to eat more whole foods. And build up slowly so that you don’t get overwhelmed. Start with one from-scratch cooked meal a week or a month even. Then add a new aspect of your habit every month or two. So that you will nurture and grow your new habit almost so slowly that you won’t notice that you’re doing it. That way you will have gained a habit for life.
Choosing a new year resolution as homesteaders that set you up for success
If you want to start homesteading or live a more simple life and create a handmade life and home or if you’ve just started, then it can be difficult to know where to start. So I compiled a list of homesteading skills and crafts that you might like to learn to get you started. Because homesteaders tend to have different new year resolutions than non-homesteaders. To keep it simple and prevent any overwhelm I’ve taken three main categories. Namely wholesome from-scratch cooking, easy and organic gardening, and crafting handmade objects for your home and homestead.
Keep in mind that you only pick one skill at a time and spend this coming year learning and perfecting whatever skill you choose. Because these three skills are rather all-encompassing you might even want to spend several years perfecting one of these three. Which one you choose will largely depend on where you are in life and which skill you think you would benefit from most if you were to master it.
Cooking wholesome meals from scratch
More than a decade ago when I first tried to live a more sustainable and self-reliant life that was more akin to homesteading, I started with learning how to cook. But not just cook from a can or a packet. But to cook wholesome meals from scratch that would nurture my family. And to this day I think it is the most essential and basic skill anyone would need. Since almost everyone has access to a kitchen no matter if they live in an apartment or in the suburbs or on a farm. This means you will be able to start building your skill list as early as today. You don’t need anything else in place. All you need is a knife, a chopping board, and one or two pans.
You will also need to know how to cook from scratch if you want to preserve the harvest that you grow in your garden. As well as just the day to day cooking. After all, if you’ve never shelled beans before you might like to learn first how to shell beans. Before you have buckets full of freshly harvested beans from your garden.
Harvesting produce from your garden or by foraging
Harvesting the fruits of our labour is what most of us homesteaders dream of and definitely a worthy new year resolution. Gardening is such a cornerstone of homesteading and most of us dream of one day owning a garden that can supply us with all our food needs.
But even if you currently don’t have the space for a full-blown garden. Then don’t worry because plenty of urban homesteaders grows quite a nice amount of vegetables, fruits and herbs in small containers indoors. When we started our garden while we were still renting we used grow bags. Which allowed us to grow a wide variety of vegetables while not disturbing the soil. And you could even try growing some microgreens. Since microgreens, as well as sprouts, are very easy to grow and make for an incredibly quick harvest.
If you don’t feel like gardening is something you can do right now. Then why not try your hand at some foraging? It is super easy once you’ve learned to identify some plants. And unlike gardening, there is no maintenance and all you need to do is harvest the fruits or leaves when the time is ripe. Why not start by foraging some nettles and brew a cup of nettle tea or make some nettle soup.
Creating a handmade life by crafting your own objects
Where cooking and gardening mostly revolve around food. Crafting handmade objects is more about creating a comfortable and simple home. And I think that learning a new craft for homesteaders is a wonderful option as far as new year resolutions are concerned. Whether you choose an age-old craft like spinning your own yarn or a slightly more modern one like knitting or the timeless craft of sewing. All these crafts require almost no investment if you do it frugally. And they can be done almost anywhere. You can spin yarn to then use for knitting or weaving. Or you can knit or sew your own clothes or items for your home. Sew a basket liner for your laundry basket to make something beautiful and useful. Or sew some small round bottom bags to hold your odds and ends.
If you prefer a craft that is less fibre and needle based then you might prefer a timeless craft like carpentry or wood whittling. Both of which can be used to create a whole plethora of useful items for your home. And although carpentry might require a certain amount of tools and space. Wood whittling can be done in almost no space with the only necessary equipment being a pocket knife.
But there are so many more crafts that you might enjoy. Think of basketry, smithing, natural straw weaving, soap making, pottery and so many more traditional crafts and skills that you might enjoy learning.
What is your homesteaders new year resolution?
You’ve learned now what us homesteaders should look out for when thinking of new year resolutions. So which resolution did you pick to focus on this year? Is it a completely new skill or do you want to build on an exciting one? You can DM or tag me on Instagram to let me know what skill or craft you are planning on learning this year. Because I’m super curious what you all choose to focus on this coming year.
For me, I will be focusing on getting better at gardening this year. Since I really need to focus on getting some more structure in my gardening life. So that I won’t end up with too many or too few plants every time. Or such a big number crop of salad greens that I need to eat a salad twice a day.
Pin it for later:
