Updated 4/20/2026

We all know that skills are critical to survival and more. As preppers, we know that skills will make or break us. As homesteaders, without skills, you will fail on your homestead. Many preppers dream of being self-reliant and becoming homesteaders in order to survive and thrive, whatever life may throw at them.

Knowing what skills to learn to be self-reliant is another matter. You need to make a plan for your homestead and discuss what you can reasonably handle. Do you just want to garden and make your own products? Do you want to raise some livestock? What do you want to do? This is your homestead and your vision. You can make it however you like.

No matter what, you need to learn skills. Skills are what keep us alive. They help us save money. They help us to reuse items and recycle other things into useful objects. They keep animals alive and productive. They keep us productive.

How do you learn skills? You learn skills by reading about what you want to learn and then putting that knowledge into practice. With practice, you learn how to do that skill. You will fail sometimes and you will succeed. However, you can not learn anything until you try.

Below are 50 homesteading articles from fellow bloggers to help you become more self-reliant and improve your homesteading skills. You will see a wide variety of subjects covered, which I grouped into five headings to keep them organized. If there is a skill you want to learn or hone, you will probably find it here. Otherwise, we live in an age where you can research almost anything online.

50 Homesteading Skills and Tips To Learn To Become More Self-Reliant

General Homesteading:

5 Homestead Skills You Need by Oak Hill Homestead

15 Homesteading Skills to Learn This Winter by The Rustic Elk

Getting Started Homesteading by 15 Acre Homestead

5 Homestead Skills You Should Learn by 15 Acre Homestead

6 Homesteading Skills to Learn First by Timber Creek Farm

General Skills:

Basic Soap Making: How to Make Soap by Learning and Yearning

Natural Home Remedies for Your Medicine Cabinet by Learning and Yearning

Candle Making Supplies: Make Your Own Molds by Homestead Lady

How To Make Paper by Homestead Lady

How to Harvest Honey From Bee Hives- From Hive to Bottle by Pleasant Grove Homestead

Beekeeping 101 – What Beginning Beekeepers Need To Know by Rootsy.org

How To Darn Socks by The Domestic Wildflower

Beginner Sewing Resources For Adults by Simply Vicki

How to Make Tallow Candles by The Homesteading Hippy

Raising Animals:

Raising Livestock for Self-Reliance by Oak Hill Homestead

Predator Control for Poultry That Works by Growing Back to the Land

How to Prepare for Baby Goats by Homestead Lady

How to Milk a Cow by The Everyday Farmhouse

Goat Care and Maintenance of Healthy Goats by Timber Creek Farm

5 Small Livestock Options for Small Homesteads by Homestead Lady 

Homemade Nesting Boxes for Chickens Using Free & Recycled Materials by Living Life in Rural Iowa

Raising and Butchering Weaner Pigs by Country Living in a Cariboo Valley

Fodder for the Laying Hens by Country Living in a Cariboo Valley 

Raising Meat Birds on the Homestead by The Flip Flop Barnyard

Raising Meat Rabbits by A Farm Girl in the Making

Best Tips for Raising Ducks by Timber Creek Farm

Raising Turkeys on the Homestead by The Rustic Elk

Gardening:

Lasagna Gardening by Learning and Yearning

Think Long Term With Perennials When Planting Your Garden – Living Life in Rural Iowa

How to Build a Compost Pile in Your Backyard by Oak Hill Homestead

Can You Reuse Potting Soil? by Flower Patch Farmhouse 

How to Prepare A New Garden Bed by The Rustic Elk

How to Plan and Plant A Medicinal Herb Garden by Homestead Lady

The Vegetable Gardener’s Guide to Crop Rotation by Modern Farmer

How to Use Eggshells in the Garden by The Reid Homestead

Planning Your Small Homestead Orchard by The Rustic Elk

Protecting The Garden: Building A Critter-Proof Fence by Living Life in Rural Iowa

Building Hugelhultur Garden Beds by Homestead in the Holler

Homestead Kitchen:

How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken by Learning and Yearning

How to Render Lard or Tallow by Learning and Yearning

How to Make Maple Syrup Step by Step by Souly Rested

How to Make Goat’s Milk Yogurt by Homestead in the Holler

How to Make Feta Cheese by Homestead Lady

Once a Month Meals: Home Canning Schedule by Homestead Lady

12 Simple Homemade Cheese Recipes by Fermenting for Foodies

Fermented Food Recipes: 50+ to Get You Started by Attainable Sustainable

What Do You Need to Start Canning Your Own Food by Living Life in Rural Iowa

Making Bread Is A Skill You Need To Learn by Living Life in Rural Iowa

A to Z Guide to Dehydrating Vegetables by Learning and Yearning

Prepare to Preserve by Twice as Tasty 

Thanks for reading,
Erica

(Notice: I am an affiliate for Amazon LLC. It doesn’t cost you anything, but it certainly helps to bring a little extra income into my home. Thanks in advance for any links you use!)

Check out these books also to help you be more prepared for the future! 

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