Homestead Living: 12 DIY Projects to do With a Few Friends

When you’re diving into a more self-reliant lifestyle, you might feel like the to do list is a growing thing that truly never ends…it just EXPANDS. These DIY homestead projects are perfect for expanding your self-reliant living skills in collaboration with friends.

wooden wagon wheels sitting on baled hay

Guest post by Erin, formerly of Blue Yurt Farms

A lot of the items on your to-do list are probably DIY homestead projects you can do yourself. But some things are not only easier with more hands helping, they’re more fun! Which is why it’s not surprising that more, and more homesteaders around the country are banding together with crop mobs and other homestead group gatherings to make light work with many hands!

12 Awesome DIY Homestead Projects

BUILD A TOOL OR FEED SHED
You truly cannot have enough outbuildings on a homestead, especially sheds. They are so versatile and you can site them near where you’ll need your tools or feed. (Here’s a great post on how to build a tool shed)

JAM PARTY!

Depending on which fruit is in season, and how much you want to make of each variety, this can be a quick get-together or an all day event. Either way it’s something you’ll be enjoying and remembering all year long! One idea is to rotate around your homesteads, with different jams being made each time and split up amongst participants. That way you have lots of jam, but still plenty of variety!

DIY CLEANING-PALOOZA

Not sure about making your own DIY cleaners, or perhaps stuck in a rut? Choose a few new recipes, gather the bulk ingredients (cost split evenly) and get some friends together for a DIY cleaning creation party!

BULK PICKLE MAKING DAY

A lot of farmers sell in-season produce in large quantities for a great bulk price. That’s awesome, but 20 pounds of cucumbers can be a little daunting. Especially if you aren’t an experienced pickler or canner! Get a few friends to go in on a bulk purchase, gather together and chop, season and pickle to your heart’s content.

(Here are some great pickle recipes to get you started)

attainable sustainable book cover
Attainable Sustainablethe lost art of self-reliant living

Embrace handcrafting and homesteading with DIY projects, recipes, and gardening tips!

👉 Click here to get started 👈

FALL GARDEN PLANNING, PREP & PLANTING

This would be a great multi-series gathering, and lends itself well to seed sharing with your fellow homesteaders!

PERGOLA BUILDING PARTY

These are a great solution if you’re lacking shade trees around your homestead. They also make great gathering places for cookouts, hangouts and naps. But arbors are a large job to tackle alone or even with just two people, especially if you have little kids running around.

Get the tools and materials for this DIY homestead project ahead of time, then have friends over to help out and enjoy dinner under your new pergola! (Here’s a great how-to post on building an easy, DIY pergola)

compost bin with cloth tarp folded out of the way,

 

PALLET COMPOST BINS

While you could make a compost bin on your own, it’s a great thing to combine with your fall garden project (see above), or with a few other smaller homestead tasks. Definitely a cheap, relatively easy project that will keep everyone motivated and excited to see their homestead living progress! (Check out this plan for a DIY pallet compost bin)

FREEZER MEAL COOK OFF

This is a GREAT group activity, but it does require planning. Amongst the group, choose the homestead with the biggest kitchen and then pick out your recipes. If this is your first time, try to not plan TOO big or you risk being overwhelmed or frustrated.

For your first cook off, pick 5-8 different dishes and plan accordingly for shopping. Have everyone bring their own containers on the day of, and set up stations. Some people are happier chopping than stirring, others enjoy being the prep cook floater and helping out where needed.

Most importantly you need a supervisor that can keep track of recipe amounts and cooking schedule. (Here are 50 freezer meals to get your planning engine going)

 

PLAN A U-PICK DAY

If you and/or your homestead friends have young children, this is a great outing to keep little fingers busy. It also works well as a two-day gathering with the bulk pickle making day  or the jamming day (see above).

 

BUILD A WOOD FIRED PIZZA OVEN

Just think of all the yummy homestead gatherings you could host with one of these bad boys. It’s not a DIY project for the faint of heart, but there are plans all over the internet to help you get started with one on your little homestead. (Find out how here!)

Homestead living means lots of DIY projects - those are always more fun to tackle with a few friends! Plus: Many hands make light work.

FUN WITH CONCRETE

There are so many fun things you can make with concrete, all of which are relatively inexpensive. While some projects will be far too heavy to have everyone make their own at one location, there are quite a few fun projects you can do as a group and then take back to your own homestead when dry. (Check out these great DIY concrete projects)

garlic braids, a perfect DIY homestead project

PREP, PLANT & HARVEST GARLIC

This can be a year long project for you and your friends as you dive head on into homestead living. Choose a few varieties of garlic, and then break up your work days to include garlic bed prep prior to planting, planting and then harvesting the garlic. Fall garlic makes for a yummy harvest the following spring! And if you undertake that pizza oven, you could roast garlic fresh from harvest. Yum.

Talk about full circle homestead living! (Read more about harvesting garlic here)

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About the author: Kris Bordessa is an award-winning National Geographic author and a certified Master Food Preserver. Read more about Kris and how she got started with this site here. If you want to send Kris a quick message, you can get in touch here.

1 comment… add one
  • Tonya Jul 30, 2014 @ 10:06

    Thanks for the info on this. I follow Erin’s blog but wasn’t aware of the Homestead Hub project or the Kickstarter campaign to get it going. Just pledged and hope this takes off! There really aren’t many of us homesteaders out there, at least not in my area that I can find, so I am looking forward to connecting with the locals. 🙂

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