Homestead-Inspired Creativity (While We’re Still Looking for the Land)
My son, Jordan and I have been scrolling listings again — you know the drill.
Five acres here, twelve there, “great potential,” “needs TLC,” “bring your tools,” and the occasional “why is this priced like it comes with a fully staffed ranch and a family of unicorns?”
Is this the one?
So far, nothing has been “the one.”
And while I’d love to be writing this from a porch that looks out over our own field, here we are — living a homesteader’s life in spirit while we wait for the right soil beneath our feet.
I once saw a meme that said, “I live on a farm… just without the animals, the crops, the land, or the barn.”
I snorted because honestly… same.
But here’s the thing:
you don’t need acreage to start living the life you want.
In fact, practicing homestead creativity before you have the land makes you far more prepared when you finally do.
Homesteading Begins in Your Habits, Not Your Fences
When people talk about “starting a homestead,” they usually imagine buying a plot, building a coop, planting a garden… all the big, visible things. But the real homestead life? It grows from the small, steady practices:
• choosing to make instead of buy
• learning skills that slow your pace
• caring for what you own with intention
• experimenting, failing, and trying again
• making do, using up, repurposing, repairing
These are habits you build anywhere — even in a small house with nosy neighbors and zero chickens.
Creating a Homestead Atmosphere Right Where You Are
We’ve been bringing homestead rhythms into this not-yet-homestead house, and honestly? It’s made this season sweet instead of frustrating.
Some of the simplest things have made the biggest difference:
• storing pantry staples in glass jars with handwritten labels
• keeping a little mending basket within reach
• growing herbs in the kitchen window
• hanging garlic and onions to cure, even in small batches
• keeping one sewing or craft project “in rotation” at all times
• cooking from scratch whenever we can
• keeping the house stocked with things we’ve actually made
It reminds me daily that homesteading isn’t a GPS location — it’s a way of living with your hands and heart engaged.
Using What You Have (the Old Homestead Way)
Homesteaders have always been champions of resourcefulness.
No land? No problem — you can practice that anywhere.
Some of my recent projects:
• turning a flat sheet into a whole kitchen linen set
• mending clothes instead of replacing them
• saving jars for candles, pantry goods, and ferments
• making hand-stamped tea towels
• learning new skills in small, manageable steps
• tackling recipes that feel “old world” and satisfying
These tiny things are rehearsals for the bigger life to come.
Rituals That Set the Tone
Every homestead has its own rhythm, and while ours doesn’t involve feeding goats at sunrise (yet), there are rituals that make this place feel like a preview of the future:
• brewing morning coffee slowly instead of rushing
• wiping the counters with cloths I made myself
• lighting a candle at sundown to mark the day’s shift
• cooking with cast iron
• keeping a weekly rhythm of rest and creativity
These things make the present feel meaningful instead of “waiting room-ish.”
This Season Is Preparing Us
Honestly, I think God uses these “almost but not yet” moments on purpose.
Learning patience, building skills, choosing simplicity now means we’ll carry them naturally onto the land when we finally step foot on it.
We’re not falling behind — we’re warming up.