So you finally took that step that most people are afraid to take, you have bought you a piece of off grid property deep in the country and are starting to live your life homesteading. First off, congratulations, you have done the hardest part and most people cannot even get themselves to do that much. Now comes the fun part, learning how to homestead and live off the grid and how to use the land to pay for it-self.
There are so many ways you can make money when you own your own property and the more you own the easier it is to do so because you have more options and more resources. The land can pay for itself if you have the hard work to put into it. One thing for sure the road will be hard but worth it. Let’s start with the basics. If you purchased a property that is covered with trees you have a lot of money just waiting to be grabbed.
There are companies that will come to your place and pay you to have them clear your land of certain trees. I am not talking about clear cutting as that just ruins the place, but logging certain timber is always an option and usually pays well. All this involves is you contacting timber companies and telling them that you have standing timber for sell all they have to do is come cut it. You can sell your timber to a company or an individual.
There are always people looking for firewood during the cold months and they will come cut the wood and haul it and you get paid. Some will want the wood already cut for them but the price is usually higher if you do work for them. In some places a rick of wood is 8 feet long, 2 feet wide and 4 feet high and sells for about 75-100 dollars. If you make a simple free website, use Vista Print to get some free items that advertises your business you can get a list of firewood clients lined up for the winter.
A lot of places have websites that have been set up just for certain towns or areas. If you are in an area that does this you can advertise on the site and you will gain local customers. If your place has lot of rock, there are places that are looking for rock to buy. If you have a truck you could haul rock to the places that want it and sell that. For that matter the same goes for top soil. A lot of land has a lot of places where you can harvest dirt and sell your top soil.
If none of those hard work ideals catch your attention, then do not forget you are a homesteader. Homesteading involves raising your own animals for not only food but also for profit. In most rural areas there are small animal auctions and large animal auctions where you can sell animals you raise yourself. These places you can buy or trade for your first animals and then breed them to make more, these you can sell for profit.
Check the local area your property is in, different animals are in higher demand than others. Some places its rabbits, other places it may be chickens or goats. Whatever the demand is that is what you want to concentrate on breeding for sells. Chicken and duck eggs area always in demand where ever you go so always plan on selling eggs for profit as well as for yourself. In some places a dozen quail eggs sell for $12.00. It might be a good idea to raise quail then!
You can always donate your hard work, time and equipment for use to make money with to. Meaning you can hire yourself out as a handyman or ranch or farm hand. Maybe you have a small tractor with a plow on it. Well during the spring you can get paid to till people’s gardens up for them. That same tractor can clear people’s land that is out around you trying to do the same thing you are. Most people want to do all they can to be self-sufficient but there is always something that they do not want to do.
If you have a mower you can mow people’s grass and if the mower is a decent one you can do light bush hogging with it for people. You have a nice bit of land and a lot of time now so in the spring put in a large garden. One big enough to feed your family and one that you can sell everything you grow as well. Organic garden veggies and fruit and herbs bring in a pretty penny at the local farmers market. If there is no market near you then start one of your own on your homestead and put out signs.
During the Christmas seasons you can advertise around the local towns that you have a Christmas tree farm and the trees are “you cut you haul”. Selling your evergreen trees is a great idea because it is a two-fold deal. One you make money from your trees and two you get your land cleared in certain areas where you want to put a building or something. In fact if there is a local farmers market near you, you can sell your trees yourself, just load up the ole truck and park at the market and sell away.
Another idea with the evergreen trees is people will buy small ones. You can walk around your property and dig up the baby evergreens, put them in a pot with soil and sell them at the market as well. If you wait till about October in the Midwest area you will be able to see more evergreens as the leaves on the oaks and other trees will all fall away revealing a wealth of spruce and cedars. Certain rocks will sell at the farmers market.
If you have a large partial of land you can walk around and pick out certain rocks that are unique. Maybe they have geode crystals in them? Maybe they are fossils? In fact if you take the time to carve small designs in cedar pieces they will sell like hotcakes at the market because of the smell and unique idea cedar carvings hold. People will buy all sorts of things, but when you start telling them that the item was harvest from your own homestead they become more interested.
These are just some simple ideas that as a homesteader myself I have come up with for making some extra income on the side. And although it never hurts to start a home based business at your homestead, as most farms do now days, every little thing you can come up with for making money using the land just makes owning that piece of America even more beautiful and meaningful. Just be creative, use the seasons and make a list of all the ideals you come up with that work so you never forget.
Comments