18 Simple Living Essentials That Actually Earn Their Keep

 

You don't need 40 acres, a barn full of animals, or a fortune in fancy equipment to start living more like a homesteader.

There's something wonderfully ironic about the modern simple living movement.

Apparently, before you can begin living simply, you're supposed to go shopping.

You'll need special equipment for making bread, another collection of gadgets for preserving food, some expensive storage solutions, and probably a few things you never knew existed until somebody on the internet convinced you that you couldn't possibly live without them.

And then you'll need a bigger house to store it all.

I'm not opposed to having good tools. Quite the opposite. I love things that make everyday life easier, especially when they can do more than one job.

But I've learned that some of the most useful things around my homestead are also the most ordinary.

I recently put together a collection of 18 Simple Living Essentials That Actually Earn Their Keep over on Benable. It's filled with practical things for cooking, growing, making, and storing.

The real value, though, isn't necessarily in buying any of them. It's in discovering how much you can do with a few good things.

My Kitchen Runs on Cast Iron and Glass

If you wander into my kitchen, you're going to find cast iron pans. Lots of them.

I cook almost exclusively with cast iron. Once you get accustomed to using it, it's hard to imagine needing much else.

A good cast iron skillet can handle just about anything I want to cook. It goes from the stovetop to the oven, works beautifully for everyday meals, and doesn't require replacing every few years.

I also love that cast iron has a history. These are the kinds of pans that can be passed down through generations, gathering stories along the way.

Glass is my other kitchen obsession.

Mason jars are everywhere around here. They're wonderful for storing dry ingredients, leftovers, homemade concoctions, and whatever else needs a home.

I prefer glass bowls for leftovers, too. I like being able to see what's inside instead of discovering some forgotten mystery tucked in the back of the refrigerator.

And then there's Fred, my sourdough starter, who also lives in a jar. Around here, even the sourdough has a name.

One of my other favorite kitchen tools is a digital scale. I use mine for cooking and baking, but it also comes out when I'm making soap.

That's exactly the kind of tool I appreciate. One purchase, multiple uses, and consistent results.

The Clothes Drying Rack That Rarely Dries Clothes

I have a folding clothes drying rack.

You might assume I use it for drying clothes.

And occasionally, you'd be right.

But more often than not, it's covered in herbs and peppers.

I gather bunches of herbs from the garden, secure them with rubber bands, and use bread twist ties to hang them from the rack. It's simple, inexpensive, and does the job beautifully.

No special herb-drying contraption necessary.

There's something deeply satisfying about walking past a rack of herbs you've grown yourself, knowing they'll eventually make their way into your cooking.

The peppers are another favorite. When the garden produces more than we're going to use immediately, drying is one way to preserve some of that abundance.

Of course, not everything should be dried the same way. Thick peppers may need to be sliced or dried with a dehydrator to prevent spoilage.

But the bigger idea is that a clothes drying rack doesn't have to be limited to clothes.

When you begin looking at the things you own as tools with possibilities instead of objects with only one purpose, you discover all sorts of useful applications.

A Garden Doesn't Have to Be Outside

I grow microgreens right on my kitchen counter.

They're one of my favorite examples of how little space you actually need to grow something edible.

You don't have to own land or build raised beds. You don't even need a backyard.

A little growing setup, some seeds, adequate light, and a bit of attention can give you fresh greens in a surprisingly short time.

There's also something rather wonderful about harvesting food in your own kitchen.

And if you're growing things, you probably need a watering can.

I like watering cans for both indoor and outdoor plants, especially the ones tucked into awkward little corners where they look lovely but aren't particularly easy to reach.

A watering can with a good spout saves a lot of maneuvering and spilled water.

Then there are garden clippers.

Obviously, they're useful for pruning plants, cutting herbs, and harvesting things from the garden.

But around here, we've also used suitable clippers for trimming goat hooves!

Now, that requires the right kind of sharp, clean, appropriately sized tool and knowing how to trim hooves safely. Not every pair of garden pruners is suitable.

Still, it's a pretty good example of how useful a well-chosen tool can be when you've got animals wandering around.

I've Never Met a Basket I Didn't Love

I have a confession.

I love baskets.

All kinds of baskets.

Big baskets, little baskets, baskets with handles, baskets that fit on shelves, baskets that hold other baskets.

I've never met a basket I didn't love.

And it isn't just because they're pretty, although that certainly doesn't hurt.

Baskets are one of the easiest ways I've found to make a space work harder.

A shelf can hold a few individual objects, but add a basket and suddenly that same shelf can hold an entire collection of little things without looking cluttered.

Seed packets, linens, craft supplies, gardening odds and ends, whatever you need to keep together.

Everything stays visible or easy to pull out, accessible, and reasonably tidy.

I especially like shelf baskets because they turn ordinary storage space into something much more useful without adding another piece of furniture.

They're also wonderful thrift-store finds.

I see absolutely no reason to pay a fortune for a basket when perfectly good ones are waiting for a new home at garage sales and secondhand shops.

Don't Forget What's Under Your Bed

Here's an old homesteading storage trick that deserves more attention.

Under the bed.

Think about all that perfectly good space sitting there doing absolutely nothing.

Rolling under-bed storage bins are great for seasonal clothing, extra linens, and things you don't need every day.

But you can also use that space as a pantry.

Canned goods, flats of items you picked up on sale, and other long-shelf-life supplies can sometimes fit beautifully under a bed.

The trick is to pay attention to the conditions. Food needs to be stored somewhere cool, dry, clean, and protected from temperature extremes. Heavy cans also need sturdy storage, and anything you put under there should be easy to retrieve.

Water can be stored there, too, provided the containers are appropriate, the weight is safely supported, and you're not creating a leak problem.

What I particularly like is that you don't have to dedicate an entire room to having a little extra food on hand.

You can build a small pantry in spaces you already own.

Just don't forget what you've stored!

If you're buying flats of things when they're on sale, rotate them into your regular meals. Put the newer items behind the older ones so you're actually eating what you have instead of building a museum of canned goods under your mattress.

It's not much of a bargain if you forget about it until it's no longer usable.

Storage Isn't About Having More Stuff

One thing I've learned over the years is that organization isn't necessarily about getting rid of everything you own.

Sometimes it's about finding a better way to keep the things that serve you.

Glass containers let me see my food. Baskets make shelves do double duty. Under-bed bins put overlooked space to work.

And a humble drying rack helps me preserve part of the garden harvest.

These aren't particularly glamorous discoveries, but they're useful ones.

The more you can see, access, maintain, and use what you already have, the less likely you are to buy duplicates or waste something you forgot you owned.

That's my kind of organization.

You Don't Have to Buy Your Way Into Simple Living

I put together my 18 Simple Living Essentials That Actually Earn Their Keep collection on Benable because these are the kinds of practical items that can make a real difference in everyday life.

You'll find tools for the kitchen, little growing projects, storage ideas, and things that help you make the most of the space and resources you already have.

Some are worth purchasing new. Others are exactly the kinds of things I'd look for at a thrift store or garage sale.

And if you've already got something that works, use it!

Explore My 18 Simple Living Essentials on Benable

The point isn't to own everything on somebody else's list.

It's to discover what makes your own life easier, more productive, and a little more satisfying.

Homesteading Is a Way of Thinking

You can live in an apartment and think like a homesteader.

You can own 40 acres and never quite get the hang of it.

To me, homesteading is less about where you live and more about how you approach everyday life.

Can I grow that? Could I make it? Is there a way to preserve it? Could something I already own do the job?

And equally important, do I actually want to?

Because we're not trying to recreate the hardships of life a hundred years ago. I'm rather fond of indoor plumbing and modern conveniences, thank you very much.

We're simply learning to recognize the possibilities in the ordinary things around us.

A skillet that lasts a lifetime. A basket that makes a shelf more useful. Herbs drying on a laundry rack. A little patch of microgreens growing on the kitchen counter.

That's the good stuff.

Over at Hobo Homesteading on Substack, we explore this way of living through practical projects, gardening, cooking, preserving, making things, and the occasional adventure involving animals who have their own ideas about how the day should go.

Come join us.

Use what you've got. Grow what you can. Make a life you love.

Note: This article contains links to my curated Benable collection, which may earn me a commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.