Winter Income Streams: Real Ways to Make Money Homesteading
I shared a post on IG in January summarizing our homestead income for the month.
The winter months can be pretty slow for homestead business… there’s no produce to sell. No meat being raised/harvested. And I’m definitely not inviting people over for an event in my living room (sorry!)
But we still have animals to feed… and I still have somethings to order for the spring time (like baby chicks and garden seeds!). So our goal is to continue to make enough money to cover our costs. It takes a little more creativity, but we’ve been able to do it the past three winters.
So I thought I’d share my Top 5 Ways to Make Money from your Homestead During the Winter Months:
#1 - Freelance Writing
I’ve been doing freelance writing off and on for a few years - mainly for homestead-themed magazines (digital and printed) but also for a few homestead-y websites/companies.
Some are a flat rate depending on the length of article, and some are an affiliate- type system (meaning you get a personalized link to promote the issue and receive a commission the more you sell). I love both! I’ve made anywhere from $200-$2,000 for asingle contribution.
Most of the time you can find where to apply to write an article right on their website (Like Homesteaders of America or Backwoods Home).
#2 - Deposits for Summer Goods
It’s pretty common to open up reservations for vegetable or flower CSAs, meat chickens, and other summer-goods during the cooler month.
We actually did an initial wave of reservations for our 2025 meat chicken in November and received deposits for nearly 300 birds! (We will have 650 available this year).
We take $10 deposit/bird for meat chickens (which then is deducted from their total later in the summer at pick up time). I’ve seen CSAs that require full payment for the season up front, and others who take a monthly payment until the season begins.
Either way - I think this is a smart way to lock in customers before the busy season comes. Imagine if come summertime you didn’t have to worry about hardly any marketing and you could just focus on production!? That’d be pretty fun!
#3 - Handmade Goods
You may remember, I did a batch of crocheted hats earlier this season. I usually do this once or twice for a little income while I have some downtime.
You could also offer soap, knitted items, baked goods, jewelry, woodworking items, or tons of other items!
For tips on Pricing your handmade homestead goods for profit, check out this blog post.
#4 - Presell Summer Events
Just because your events aren’t happening right away doesn’t mean you can’t start promoting them and selling tickets now!
Think about what classes, workshops, and social gatherings you plan to offer this year and start letting people reserve tickets once you have the details finalized. For more on this, find my Hosting on the Homestead ebook here.
#5 - Digital Products
Winter is also a great time to consider online income - you could create a course, ebook, or other digital product to sell (these can be sold year round of course, but you likely have more time to create them during the colder months).
I have offered crochet patterns for my hats/headbands, ebooks, and of course my online membership.
Of course, another option to covering your homestead’s costs during the winter is to be intentional about squirreling away/setting aside some of your summer income just like you do your produce!
Any other successful winter income ideas you’ve found for your homestead?
