This probably isn’t the post that you think it will be. Let me cut to the chase: A picture-worthy homestead is your homestead exactly how it stands today. Let me explain.
During the 2020 shutdown I dreamt a lot about what it would be like to move out of the city. Maybe you had a lot of those same thoughts as well. To scratch my itch, I went browsing on Pinterest and YouTube for different homesteading accounts that could provide insight into the life I thought maybe I would want to live. Everything I saw was a picture-worthy homestead and it made me want one too.
Once connected to others’ experiences and stories, I began creating a narrative in my head of what it would look like if/when we started our own homestead. Picture-perfect farmhouse meets modern decor and accents. A pristine chicken coop with chandeliers and egg boxes and fresh herbs. Made from scratch food for every meal sourced from the backyard garden. You know, what you see when you Google these things.
If you’ve been here for a while, you know our chicken coop looks NOTHING like what I just described. But do you know what’s amazing? I still think it’s the coolest thing in the world, because I built it.
My Homestead Is A Picture-Worthy Homestead Because It’s MINE!
Our homestead is picture-worthy because I value it and take pictures of it. Our children are learning skills that we were never afforded at their age. We are able to create a home-centered family life and culture that is so different from the pace reflected in our own childhoods. My children know the freedom of running barefoot through a field of dandelions until they run out of breath, not until Mom yells, “Come back! Too close to the road!”
No, I don’t have the modern farmhouse aesthetic in my home. It wouldn’t fit my style! Our home is a mixture of the city elegance and sophistication we invested in and loved in our previous home and the reality of living on a homestead and becoming more resourceful. Our homestead is not picture-perfect, but it sure is of value to me.
How Do City and Homestead Coincide In Our Home?
I have mason jars lining the window sill above my sink constantly. A simmer pot of dehydrated apple or citrus peels on the stove. Overflowing drawers of kitchen towels for household cleaning, canning, and mopping up the spilled raw milk for the fifth time in a single day. It’s simply the season of life we are in with three (soon-to-be-four) little ones and the homesteading, simple life we crave to build.
In contrast, we also spent $10,000 on new flooring and over a month installing it ourselves just for there to be chicken poo on it at least once a week. I still have my $200 Pier One wall decoration above our $800 white dresser-turned-craft-storage in the dining area. We have high quality pieces of furniture accompanied by $60 bookshelves bought at the local Walmart. Our home is as piecemeal as our lives have been. And I love it.
We’re learning. We’re growing. Some of our most beautiful times on our homestead have been the most aesthetically unpleasant. It’s not about the picture you can post on social media. Homesteading is about the pictures of the memories that stick out in your mind.
If I have learned anything in the last year and a half, it’s that not all of my city roots need to be plucked out. I’ve been designed to like what I like and value what I value for a reason. I don’t need to be ashamed of that or run from it simply because it doesn’t fit the mold of a typical “homesteader.” READ: There is not one picture-worthy type of homesteading!
How Do You Create A Beautiful, Picture-Worthy Homestead For You And Your Family?
Define what a “picture-worthy homestead” means to you. Run to it without abandon!
To me, a picture-worthy homestead is one that has been built by blood, sweat, and tears. I love taking pictures of our progress and being reminded of how far we have come! Yes, us city folks spent a lot of time and money to make the outside of the house resemble our home in the city. The projects we tackle and accomplish are meaningful to us and give us a sense of pride and confidence in what we are building and where we are going. Our homestead will not look like yours and yours won’t look like ours. That’s exactly the way it is supposed to be!
Stop Comparing Your Homestead To Others!
Comparison kills. It kills our creativity, discouraging us from ever believing we could accomplish that. It kills our sense of contentment with what we have and what we have created with our own two hands, imperfections and all.
As previously mentioned, our chicken coop is the most amazing thing I have ever built with my own two hands. I was and still am so proud of this thing that I show it off to everyone who comes to my house for the first time. Even my closest homesteading friend couldn’t change my mind or hurt my feelings when she wasn’t impressed and called it ugly, because my husband and I built it. Together. We have a shared experience that now any time we look out our back windows, we can be proud of where we have come from and where we are going.
How Did I Make My Own Homesteading Dream A Reality?
I started living it.
City Folk Homestead has been postponed for almost a year now because I didn’t feel like my homestead could compete with what’s already online. I felt discouraged because I was looking to 10+ years homesteaders, some even with generational skills, and believed the lie I don’t have anything new to offer.
Part of that is true, which made it so believable. I likely cannot offer new information to those who have already been on this homesteading path for decades. I can, however, offer a unique perspective. What is it like to move from the city to start a homestead with basically zero skills but a ton of drive and desire?
That’s what I’m here for. That’s what I want to encourage you in today, friend. To be a constant learner and to believe the truth that we were made to create. In knowing this, go out today and start creating your own picture-worthy homestead. All it takes is appreciating the value in where you are today. Rather than looking at where you want to be and becoming bitter you’re not there (YET!), focus on what has already been accomplished! Where you are is further than where you were. Celebrate and rejoice in that!
Final Thoughts
So here’s to creating the homestead of your dreams as defined by YOU. Connect with me on social media and let’s build confidence together by doing, give grace to ourselves and others in failing, and serve with a joyful heart knowing we are fulfilling our purpose! Cheers, friend!
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