Hello from a Newbie: What essential supplies should I get?

Hello all,
my adventure that led me here all started with a camping trip and a van....I got a chance to buy an 85 ford ecoline cargo van for 150.00! and it runs!
I started looking at off the grid living out of a van conversions thinking I would use it for camping for life, which led to looking at land or a small farm to park my van, which led me here to permies.
experience: as a small child had gardens with my parents, and in the y2k scare the only thing I bought was chickens, loved raising those birds.
Had to move 12yrs ago and leave my birds behind. Now looking to start over and live as much off the land in the near future. hopefully in about 2-4 yrs.
Both my children are grown now (in there 20s) just waiting on the girl to finish her collage classes in 2yrs. then the plan is to sell my large house, and run away from the kids
to a piece of land and live. I'm Female 47:) my only real concern is my RA. but I'm sure I can manage it as long as I can get my meds in the mail.
my main question for you all is: If you could start with a list of supplies to start out with on new land that your going to build say a cob house on, what would you start buying now and take with you on the move?
Tools? Seeds? Books? Starter Animals(how many?) ect..

Knowledge and skills , they are lightweight and you can carry them in hour head
Try stuff like beekeeping , carpentry , grafting and propergating plants etc

David

I'm new too. Nice to meet you. I have not made the move yet, I just go camping on the weekends.  But if you already have the van set up pretty decent to be able to sleep, keep warm, cook in and store water. I personally would carry some basic gardening tools and land clearing tools like a few saws.

When I went camping on my land after I got the tent set up and the fire going I would go off to clear a spot and plant things. I have taken down shrubs with a pruning saw and baby trees with a saw. I dont know how to use an axe yet..... I'm alittle scared to try but ill get over it ...lol

The other thing i found myself doing I would do is small building projects. Bird house and a small storage shed. For that I use the saw again. Hammer , a level , nails ....And other tools and materials the project may need. I really have been buying tools on a project basis.

A dog is a good thing to have for security as well as a companion.

Goid luck on your adventure and keep is posted. I'd love to see how you are setting up your van. See you soon :)

Good find on the van. I would look at things a bit differently if I were in your shoes, and I was. My wife and I were looking to move "off grid" so we started looking. I have the skills to build a house but I knew I didnt really want to so we looked for a place with a house on it. I'm not sure how much equity you have in your house now but we found 20 acres, turn key, with house for 130k. People talk about thriving not surviving. I have lived in cars and it sucked long term. I'm not a fan of tiny tiny homes either. 200sf is a decent size but livin in a closet....uhuh. As far as a list I like the other response, knowledge! You cant have enough. Living in a van is fun....for a while. I think eventually you'll want to straighten your legs.

Welcome Bernetta! I added your thread to the "gear" forum as well so it can get even more replies.

I would wait probably a year, or at least 6 months, before bringing animals into the  picture simply because there is a learning curve with them, and there's so many other things to get done around the homestead. No need to overwhelm yourself if you don't have to! Since you've already raised chickens, I would start with those. But I would still wait on getting them so that you can get a good predator-proof set-up made and have gotten your own shelter and necessities figured out.

Essential tools that I use a lot on my homestead:

pruning shears--I literally don't step out my front door without one strapped on. I'm always using mine

machete--for clearing all the brush around here

shovel

hand trowel/shovel

metal rake-I use mine a lot for clearing areas, smoothing planting ground, etc

a wheel barrow--seriously use mine at least every other day for moving wood, dirt, weeds, tree trimming, mulch, etc. A no-flat tire is also really useful! If a wheel barrow is too big,
get a large bucket with handles to haul stuff around.

pruning saw--not as necessary, but really came in handy when we first moved in to clear out small trees. It's better than no saw!

ax--for cutting up firewood

quality leather/durable work gloves

a book or list from a blog of what to plant and when to plant it for your area.  I loved mine, especially in the first years. It really helped me know what to buy and when to plant it without having to research everything all the time...and then forgetting to get the peas in before too late.

a good how-to book for any animals you chose to keep

I would start with what is your long term and short term goals.
When my family bought 5 acres one of the first things we did was layout a idea of what we wanted to place to look like.
Then we did soil samples and researched the soil types, drainage, etc.
This let us know what trees and shrubs would grow. They were our first objective since that take so long to grow.
So spend some time to plan and do some research.

Hi Bernetta!

My suggestion is books! Reading is something you can do now that can really help prepare you for your goals. There are so many great books out there on specific subjects pertaining to permaculture and a homesteading lifestyle, but I would like to recommend a couple that I have read, more along the lines of general homesteading that touch on many subjects. The Guide to Self Sufficiency by John Seymour and Back to Basics, edited by Abigail Gehring. These two books are so chocked full of quality information and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. They're great for the beginning homesteader who's just beginning and also helpful resources for those who have more experience.

There are lots of things that would be very beneficial for not too much money, but I would focus on the absolute basics first. Since you should have fresh air and shelter already covered, you need food and water. The more food and water you can source on your land, the longer you can stay there without any outside resources. Wasting less time and fuel traveling means you can spend more on improving your situation on your land.

I'm not sure what the best method is for you to provide yourself with water, but it is always good to have extra water storage and purification options. I currently have some rain barrels and a DIY Berkey water filter setup. I have several 1 gallon glass jugs and a 5 gallon jug plus the water that the filter system can hold along with around 150 gallons of rain water when full. I also have a backup water filter and a small rocket stove to boil water in sufficient quantities for myself should anything go wrong and require me to improvise my standard water situation. I get a very large amount of rain water, so for me it makes sense to keep increasing my rainwater storage for personal use as well as irrigation.

Having redundant food supplies and calories grown on site will be very helpful. Any plants that are native or naturalized to your climate will be able to survive with little to no supervision. Designing microclimates to help provide optimal living conditions for those plants will help more plants survive tough times and be more abundant in favorable weather. Just one of the thousands of reasons that observing the environment is beneficial. You can start to see what plants do better or worse and what conditions in those exact spots led to thriving or failing conditions. Any food you can grow without having to haul in external inputs to your land is a more robust system. With proper design, it will continue to be there whether you are there or not. Having your land provide you with food for little to no input is a massive benefit. Less calories hauled in means more time and money to make other improvements. Healthier food can mean less down time with illness, less inflammation, and possibly better productivity.

Another important tool is energy. This could be energy used to cook food, provide lighting, keep you warm, or connect to the outside world and more. Again, being able to use energy available on your property is very beneficial. This could be wood to heat and cook, wind or solar photovoltaic energy to power a freezer, computer, or lights, or solar and even geothermal heating to keep yourself and your plants and animals warm. Even having to keep a backup heat source such as propane, or electricity source like a generator sure beats freezing or not being able to call for help in an emergency. For a small amount of energy to charge phones and run lights and radios, it is hard to beat solar. Just ~$300 is enough to provide an endless supply of personal lighting and energy to charge small devices. Resilient systems to quench your thirst, fill your belly, and keep you warm will go a long way towards changing your property from just a place to something you can call home.

thank you all!
I will start my list of tools and start reading books.
I've been lurking here at permies for awhile now reading.
I'm really interested in doing a tiny cob house, figured I could live in my van as I work on that.
as for land I'm looking/ hoping to find something with trees and natural water, and wild life I can trap/hunt. preferably in a location that has mild winters.
a small veggie garden and small live stock like chickens and meat rabbits. to begin with as you say in 6m to a year after I've built the needed coop/shelters, ect.
I was reading about the rocket heaters those look awesome, do I have it right that they heat the benches built around them as well as heat the room? and can also be used as a stove ? kinda like a pot belly?
I've also had fun watching those videos recommend here on finding natural growing foods and preparing them.
again thanks for all advise given. I'll be sure to keep you updated on my van conversion as well. I'm going to put a futon type bed/couch and some small cabinets with a hand pump sink, and camping toilet. to start with.
I saw some solar panel setups on amazon as well, i'll need to research on how those are set up and converted to say 2 standard plug ins.
off to read some more here at the forms.
:)

My go-to tools are a machete, a jembe (something like a hoe, with a bigger head and a shorter handle, used for hand plowing) and a smaller forked jembe (has a hoe on one end and 6 inch tines on the other, used for weeding.). That's it.  The machete can cut everything from grass to trees as big as my thigh.  Its also handy for digging out taro roots.  Just keep it sharp.

After you have covered water and shelter, I would put in a small garden of easy and fast growing annuals, to give you food asap while you take your time to plan and install more perennial features and orchards.  You really want to observe your land through all the seasons before you invest time and money and energy into perminant features.  Eating wild foods as was earlier mentioned can help put food on the table while you get established.

As for animals, I recommend making sure you have your basic infrastructure in place BEFORE you add livestock. We always put the cart before the horse here... And got the animals before we were ready.  Thus I still have a cow and a goat sleeping in my unfinished bathroom.  Chickens in the spare bedroom.  Ducks in the chicken tractor... We just this past week got the rabbit hutch finished and moved the rabbits out of the living room!

Rabbits and chickens are a great place to start.  I am in the tropics, and have never had to buy commercial feed for my rabbits.  They live 100% on weeds foraged off the farm and garden scraps, so they cost me nothing, except the infrastructure of cages and hutch.  Chickens to me are a bit more labor intensive. Its more work to protect them from predators, and to make sure they get enough food, but then you get eggs as a bonus.

Hope to hear more as you progress!

If you are stationary for a while - where you can grow a few things:

Netting and some poles to cover the following plantings:

Mustard greens
spinach
Egyptian Walking onions
Turnips
Radishes
Sweet Potatoes

Except for the sweet potatoes, the plants above will grow throughout cool weather, once they get going to can always go out and trim a bit here and there to get a plate of fresh greens to toss into some beans or eggs.  

The sweet potatoes can keep producing leave in a protected area throughout the winter and, if you don't take too much you can eat some leaf tips while at the same time establishing some root to grow in warmer weather.  

Don't take all of anything at one time so that they will eventually go to seed so you can plant more from your own supply.  

The netting is for all the other animals in the area that will want to eat if for you.  Oh.....carrots are good too and in a hotter climate they are best planted for winter harvest.  Sweeter when harvested in cool weather , bitter when harvested in hot weather.  

To your question regarding rocket mass heaters Bernetta, yes a RMH usually vents exhaust gasses through a heavy mass that absorbs heat from the gases and then radiates that heat over a longer period of time ranging from hours to a day or two depending on the amount of heat stored and size of the mass. I would recommend Ianto and Leslie's Rocket Stoves book and Ernie and Erica's RMH Builder's Guide book for info on that, very handy references. Also pick up The Hand Sculpted House which goes into all the details about building with cob, and includes a short, medium, and long list of tools you want when building.

I'm currently looking for property to purchase and begin to develop as I have about 5 years left till I retire at 50. I've been aiming for enough acres to have a wood lot around the perimeter that provides a visual screen, with a goal of planting a woven, living hedge that would surround a couple acres in the middle where I would have my house, garden, possible chicken pasture, and orchard. Otherwise the local wildlife will stop by and eat up their fill before I get a chance. So having the tools to clear the spaces for that of existing "weeds", and planting the new starts, and protecting those plants with fencing so they aren't eaten up by visitors is something else to bring.

Planting that hedge and additional woodlot trees a few years before I want to move will give the trees/bushes time to grow so I have available firewood I can coppice and the hedge will be high/thick enough to prevent unwanted visitors. Existing trees you might be able to use for building a roof for your cob house before you start the walls, so they are protected from weather and also serve as backup for firewood if something happens to what you plant, if anything. You need to know how water flows on the property at different seasons so you don't fight the existing systems. You can cut the trees in the late fall through early spring while the sap is in the roots, and when the sap starts flowing it will send up new shoots that grow very fast using the existing root system. Since they are cut relatively thin, you don't need to split the wood to fit into the RMH.

You might also want to modify or create earthworks like berms/swales before you plant. A berm between you and a busy road/neighbor can block noise or a view, and once you know how water flows on a property you can guide it a bit to maximize your benefits and protect the plants that follow. This would be the toughest part I think, between knowing in advance what you want and what happens during all 4 seasons in both a dry year and a wet year which can behave very differently.

You mentioned RA, I have heard limiting/eliminating sugars can help a lot... I wonder if you were eating totally from your garden and chickens if the symptoms would improve. I could feel a big difference in my body after just 1 week of eating from the garden at Cobville when I was there for a RMH workshop.

Edit: and also pay close attention to water rights and mineral rights for the state/county you purchase in, to make sure you are allowed to either drill a well, or use an existing creek/stream on the property for drinking, irrigation, or micro hydro power generation. Especially out west, you can get into issues with the local code folks or neighbors regarding water, and even if something isn't visible from the road, Google Earth/maps might show changes to your property over time. So always include tall trees around your stuff for free camo!  

A mobile lumber mill and a chainsaw. Some sort of heavy machinery that can dig terraces, trenches, small ponds, till and mow fields, etc... And then basic hand tools like saws, shovels, loppers, rakes. I don't know what kind of land you're looking for or what sort of financial resources you will end up having but I think that the ability to move land beyond human power and process trees into useful parts is the key to self sufficiency. And I say this as a relatively young, large, healthy and strong man. Oh what I would give to have had a back hoe do all of the picking or an auger all the digging I've done in my life.

Beretta, I read your post and the replies with much interest. I'll probably be in the same situation for for awhile when I start building in the spring. Only difference is I'll be using a 26 foot semi trailer instead of a van. I have been picking up many of the tools that were mentioned above. I do my " shopping " at the local flea maket and only buy good quality hand and garden tools ( oddly, some of them look cool enough to hand on a wall, lol). I have a chainsaw, but prefer not to listen to it if I am doing some light work,  
 I think of this forum as a tool, incredible amount of info here.  Good luck with your endever   Larry
Oh, this forum..... The have been occasions when I doughted my own sanity as to how I want to live my life, what I want to accomplish and how. Since stumbling across this forum and realizing that I'm not the only one that has this " no typical" vision. I don't question it so much anymore, just another tool. Lol

stephen lowe wrote:A mobile lumber mill and a chainsaw. Some sort of heavy machinery that can dig terraces, trenches, small ponds, till and mow fields, etc... And then basic hand tools like saws, shovels, loppers, rakes. I don't know what kind of land you're looking for or what sort of financial resources you will end up having but I think that the ability to move land beyond human power and process trees into useful parts is the key to self sufficiency. And I say this as a relatively young, large, healthy and strong man. Oh what I would give to have had a back hoe do all of the picking or an auger all the digging I've done in my life.

I agree with this outlook as the wife of a guy who just had back surgery because of accumulated damage from spending more than forty years 'doing it by hand'.  We both are paying the price in our late sixties for using our bodies as machines...even the weaving that I did for thirty years has caused repetitive motion/impact issues in my joints....hauling firewood, buckets of water, digging holes, everyday chores....look for the appropriate tools and even consider how necessary that certain project is in the scheme of things....

We're both off to physical therapy this morning...

A greenhouse would probably be essential in your first year, even if it's just made of fallen deadfall. I have a chainsaw, but I used to have to cut down 2' trees with just an axe and that was without a sharpener. Metal tools need sharpening, usually frequently, so find a good sharpening stone or at least a carbide one. Machete, axe or cooking knives..etc all will need it.

If you haven't used a chainsaw before, and are planning on being in a remote area on your own, I'd take extreme caution. Just get one of the small, lighter ones and don't cut bigger than the bar - 12'' to 14''. Just get a gas one at first if you are planning on being off-grid, as an electric one doesn't make economical sense when including the cost of the solar panels/battery investment. Oh speaking of which, a good first aid kit

Before a rocket mass heater, it'd be best to have a Rocket stove for at least boiling water. They can be fairly portable and small. If you plan to cook with fire, then get a good cast iron pan.

Besides the cob house(mudding tools) and the basic plants others have mentioned, there isn't so much to plan for in regards to major projects because of the unknown factors.  

Several people have mentioned knowledge,  it is one thing to gather tools, another to know how and when to use them.

The first thing I would pursue is a Permaculture Design Course--whether free on the internet or taught by a local Permie, this will help you with everything from buying land, to selecting house sites. Or even rehabilitating existing structures, how to incorporate the chickens so they aren't as much work, every aspect of every thing you do in a homestead will be easier with greater sustainability.

will hooker This is a freebie, and there are many others--If you want to teach you will need to pay for a course, but if you just want to know how to organize yourself for the next part of the journey, this is a good place to start

I have lots and lots of tools, but the one that I use most and always have with me when I'm working costs a whopping $12.99 at Tractor Supply.  You can see it here: Corn Knife  It's very sharp straight from the store, holds an edge better than I would have believed.  I use it for clearing small areas, harvesting, chopping up veggies to feed chickens, chopping stuff before putting it in the compost bin, and on, and on.

wow thanks for all the info and replies.
I to thought my plans might be crazy as that's what others tell me that I mention it to, but you know there city people.....so that says it all....lol
luv seeing all those here who are thinking and doing what I dream of for my future.

bernetta putnam wrote:wow thanks for all the info and replies.
I to thought my plans might be crazy as that's what others tell me that I mention it to, but you know there city people.....so that says it all....lol
luv seeing all those here who are thinking and doing what I dream of for my future.

Your not crazy, just know what you want your life to be like.  If I had a dollar for everyone that tried to dismiss my dream as a dillusional fantasy? If probably buy a portable sawmill.  Lol

Instead of building one

bernetta putnam wrote:wow thanks for all the info and replies.
I to thought my plans might be crazy as that's what others tell me that I mention it to, but you know there city people.....so that says it all....lol
luv seeing all those here who are thinking and doing what I dream of for my future.

Paul has an explanation for that.

Paul Wheaton wrote: Observation 1:  most people find folks one or two levels up took pretty cool.  People three levels up look a bit nutty.  People four of five levels up look downright crazy.  People six levels up should probably be institutionalized.   I find the latter reactions to be inappropriate.

Since you are planning on doing level 3+ stuff, this is a fairly natural reaction from people at level 0 or 1.

I would suggest sort of doing the opposite mainly. Get rid of stuff! Minimize minimize minimize. Start thinking about absolute essentials.....and I mean absolute. Your going to be sick (in my experience) of the moving WAY before you're over. Eventually it's going to be like "why did I think I needed this? or why did I use so much time effort and money to move this or that?". Start changing your habits now and make lists and lists of priorities. Those lists will change over and over. Like they say in permaculture...start small and grow. You will change the way you live at least once after you start living on the land.... Your whole mindset will change and you will really learn what is actually essential to living....in my experience. So if you buy too much now you might end up changing how you intend to live and wish you waited to invest in something else. But there is a balance there and only you know yourself well enough to know if you are very good at planning or not. I agree with others...I would encourage you to read and absorb knowledge especially from people that are living how you eventually intend to. It helps to pick up a few pointers and have a few basic approaches to projects or ways of doing things you plan on doing. I lost my other thoughts....hope that helps a bit.
Oh and you might want to line up some friends or anyone you know willing to help...there are just some things you need 2 or more people for. If no options or in addition maybe check or start a thread about it on permies.

thxs good thing I don't mind being thought of as a bitty nutty or crazy.

I recommend trying to accumulate a few portable garage frames.  You may spot them with tattered covers and not used. You can get a new roof for $65 or cover them with greenhouse poly or even tarps for temporary shelter.  They take up a relative small space when disassembled  for the amount of usable space when set up at your destination.

Watching this series should give you a great head start towards making long term options for preparing soil for a homestead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im42xjLEk3A&list=PLfgfsTHSMMcG6kxBpk1JIJXw0vdD4eRn-

Thanks for the great topic.   I know some may disagree with my observations and they may be right, but it depends on what age you are getting started.  I started at 50 and began by hand, ie shovel and hoe for a 3/4 acre garden.  The first thing I did was to put my long term stuff in, such as fruit trees, nut trees, berry patches, grapes, asparagus patch so they could all work on growing towards producing fruit.  Expensive?  Yes, but some nurseries sell bare root plants for 1/4 the price.  I enjoyed the book by Solomon, "Gardening When It Counts" as it helps guide you away from planting like a mechanized farmer towards plaiting like a gardener.  By the way,  I did the same as you, I bought books on canning and preserving, dehydrating and fermenting, managing fruit orchards, berry bushes and nut trees.  So, for a bunch of stuff you can haul in a van to your new life post children rearing, if it ever really ends buy some quality shovels like the Fiskars Worlds Best Shovel.  I like the Hoes at Easy Diggin site.  Greg is a great guy.  If you want to start canning then look into a water bath and a pressure canner and some mason jars.  I wasn't sure I was going to "can" vegetables then, in my first year I ended up purchasing and canning over 600 jars!  From strawberry jam to tomatoes, green beans, salsa, spaghetti sauce, I mean lot's of spaghetti sauce, beets, pickles, relishes.  I slept the entire fall! , but if not there are other methods which I am learning more about, like fermenting, and dehydrating.  Fermentation is incredible!  Live fermented food is helpful for RA too!  Sites like Wildfermentation where they have forums to read and learn and ask questions are priceless!  Get to know your extension service telephone number too!  They may be helpful in guiding you to an area of where you plan to relocate that has excellent soil.  I am happy for you in your "planning stages"  that is a very exciting phase, as well as the first few years, then it becomes a comfortable, familiar way of life which is priceless!  Oh and right before you make your move buy some seed kits.  My first garden was essentially planting everything In my seed kit, 43 different veggies and man was it a blast!  Oh and look into printouts on the interned for how to save seed.

Hello, there
I think this new homesteading interest is exciting and important in the world we live in now.  My heritage goes back to a brave woman who came West - a widow with 4 children- to file on a homestead.   And succeeded.   It wasn't easy then. Homesteading is still challenging.  But worth it.  Back then, neighbors were the "Permies Forum".   Today the internet  helps to instruct.
I am still operating a small ranch in Montana, but would like to semi-retire.  There is room here on the ranch, for someone with grit to deal with the area, to do most everything so many are interested in trying.  (Except for going out the back door and cutting down a tree.  But forests are not that far away.)  On the plus side, there are tools and outbuildings.  If interested in exploring this option, even on a temporary basis while learning, let me know.

The physical tools I use the most are cordless drills, cordless impact drivers, tape measures and a chop saw.  Getting cordless tools that use the same battery (Ryobi in my case) helps a bunch.  I also often use a corded circular saw (could do with a cordless one), level, hammer, framing square, shovel, post hole digger, flat pry bar and hand saw.  I haven't done cob so that may entail different tools.  Good luck!

Three of the first tools I'd recommend investing in for working the land are:

-A hoe/pickax
-Machete or chainsaw
-Hose.

Obviously you'll build up more supplies over time, but these are some of the most versatile and basic tools for developing garden beds, clearing land, and growing. Best of luck!