Why We’re Downsizing the Homestead
🌾 When “More” Started Feeling Like Too Much
This season has brought a big shift for our family — one I didn’t expect to make.
After years of building, expanding, and chasing new projects, we’re finally doing something that feels almost backward in the homestead world: we’re downsizing.
Not because we’ve failed. But because we’ve grown.
For so long, our days revolved around more — more animals, more garden beds, more responsibilities. It was beautiful, but somewhere in that pursuit of more, we lost touch with the peace we were originally seeking.
💛 The Moment Everything Changed
It hit me after the birth of my second child. My husband was running everything while I took 40 days to heal and bond with my baby, and I could see the exhaustion wear on him. The typical farm chores may not last more than 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour at 1 night, but typical farm chore days are actually not very typical. There’s processing days, deworming days, days filled with emergency health issues to address, moving paddocks. It adds up.
Between raising kids, managing animals, and running a business, there was no margin left — no stillness, no joy in the slow.
So we asked the hard question: What if less really is more?
That’s when we decided to simplify. To let go of what was draining us. To keep what genuinely serves our family and the vision we started with — connection, nourishment, and purpose.
🐓 What Downsizing Actually Looks Like
Downsizing doesn’t mean giving up the homestead dream — it means redefining it.
For us, it looks like:
Fewer animals, but more time to truly care for the ones we keep. We sold the meat rabbits, our goat buck and doe in milk.
Smaller garden plots, but healthier soil and higher yields. We’re bringing in more perennials to our main garden space.
Less clutter, more clarity.
We’re trading volume for value — and it feels like a deep breath.
🌱 The Real Point of a Homestead
It’s easy to believe that the bigger your operation, the more “legit” your homestead is.
But that’s a lie I’ve stopped believing.
The point was never to prove how much we could handle. It was to create a lifestyle that brings health, rhythm, and joy to our family — not stress.
And if that means fewer animals or smaller spaces, so be it.
Downsizing isn’t quitting. It’s choosing peace.
🎥 Watch the Full Conversation
If you’ve ever felt stretched too thin or secretly wondered if your “simple life” got too complicated, you’re not alone.
I opened up about our full story — what led us here, and what’s next — in this week’s video:
👉 Watch “Why We’re Downsizing the Homestead” on YouTube
🌻 Closing Thoughts
Homesteading isn’t a competition. It’s a calling — one that looks different for every family and every season.
So if you’re feeling the pull to simplify too, maybe it’s not a step back.
Maybe it’s the step that brings you home.