Let me be clear: when most people picture “homestead relaxation,” they imagine a serene pastoral scene. A rocking chair. A steaming mug of herbal tea. Maybe a golden sunset and the faint baa of a distant sheep.
Reality? It’s more like: I’m trying to soak my aching feet in a metal washtub on the porch while simultaneously yelling “Get out of the raised bed, Hank!” at a duck with a God complex.
But I’ll say this: relaxation on the homestead is different. It’s not spa-day candles and cucumber water. It’s found in tiny, messy, deeply satisfying moments—often in rubber boots and with hay stuck to your butt.
First of All, Relaxing Is a Skill
It took me a while to accept this, but I had to learn how to relax out here. City life had trained me to be in constant motion. So when we moved to the homestead, I thought I’d instantly become a serene, nature-embracing woman who naps in hammocks and drinks lemon balm tincture.
Instead, I became a tired gremlin who forgot what sleep was because I was too busy Googling “why are my cucumbers angry-looking.”
Eventually, I realized: you have to actively make time for rest on the homestead—or the homestead will eat your soul.
Top Relaxation Activities That Are Technically Chores but Also Therapeutic
I’d love to tell you I meditate every morning with the cows and practice yoga under the maple tree. But what I actually do for relaxation? Is deeply chaotic but oddly soothing.
1. Weeding (No, Really)
Weeding is like nature’s therapy. It’s quiet. It’s repetitive. You can zone out and pretend every dandelion you yank up is a small personal grudge being resolved.
Plus, no one bothers you while you’re weeding. It’s like the sacred alone time of farm life.
2. Chicken TV
This is what we call it when we sit in the grass and watch the chickens do… whatever it is they do. Peck. Gossip. Plot world domination.
There’s something so weirdly calming about watching a chicken stare deeply into space like it just discovered its own consciousness.
3. Preserving in Pajamas
Canning tomatoes while blasting old country music and wearing pajama pants that say “I Yam What I Yam” = my version of a hot girl walk.
Yes, it’s technically labor. But it’s also cozy and rhythmic and smells amazing. Like self-care, but with boiling water and lids that pop.
What Actual Rest Looks Like (If You Squint)
A Midday Hammock Break
I hung a hammock between two maple trees last summer and declared it my official “Do Not Disturb or I Will Cry” zone. I try to use it once a week. So far, I’ve made it there three times, and two of those times involved chasing a goat out of it first.
But when I do lie down? Pure heaven. Until a beetle lands on me and I spiral.
Porch Time™
My favourite kind of relaxation involves sitting on the porch with a glass of something fermented (kombucha or wine, depending on the day), watching the sky do that soft pink thing while the dogs snore under the bench. Sometimes I read. Sometimes I just stare off like a haunted Victorian widow. Both are valid.
Baths with a View
There’s an old claw foot tub on our back deck now. It wasn’t meant to be a bath—it was supposed to be a garden planter—but one day I filled it with hot water on a whim, added some essential oils, and now it’s my go-to stress relief spot.
Until the barn cat jumps in, obviously.
Relaxation as Rebellion
Here’s the thing they don’t tell you when you become a homesteader: rest feels illegal. You’re surrounded by projects. Something always needs doing. The fence is falling. The bees are mad. The potatoes are staging a rebellion.
But choosing to rest anyway? It’s radical. It’s necessary. It’s the only way to keep from turning into the kind of person who screams at a tomato plant because it’s “not trying hard enough.”
So yes, I schedule my relaxation. I write it in the planner. I protect it like it’s a new-born goat.
Quick Homestead Relaxation Hacks That Actually Work
- Ditch the phone: Even just leaving it inside for an hour while I wander the garden does wonders.
- Drink something hot outside: Doesn’t matter what it is. Tea. Coffee. Bone broth. Feels like a ritual. Trick your brain.
- Light a candle during dinner prep: Makes chopping onions feel less like a survival task and more like a cozy Hallmark moment.
- Sit on the ground: No chair. Just grass. Let the chickens judge you. They will. That’s okay.
Things That Are NOT Relaxing No Matter What the Internet Says
- “Couples canning date night” (we ended up fighting over lid placement)
- “Milking is meditative” (sure, until the goat kicks the bucket over)
- “Sunrise farm chores are peaceful” (who are these people and do they sleep in hay bales?)
My Takeaway?
Homestead relaxation isn’t about escaping the work. It’s about finding peace inside the chaos. It’s letting your body rest while your mind wanders. It’s realizing you don’t have to earn every moment of stillness. You get to have it just because you’re alive and tired and did your best today.
And sometimes, it’s sitting in a washtub with a glass of wine while a goose honks aggressively in the background.
Because here, that is relaxation.
