Nowadays, there are names for nearly everything we do — from how we tend our home, to how we move our bodies or teach our children. This post; Homemaker vs Homesteader, Which One Are You is intended to encourage you, to break down the walls we think are up (often based on what others say), and to remind us of who we truly are.
Homesteader vs. homemaker – have you ever thought about that?
Years ago someone asked me this question and it caused me to pause. They needed a title head for an article I was going to be featured in online and I had to give an answer. But so many thoughts ran through my mind- There is a side to be on? Cant I be both? Why are we dividing homesteaders and homemakers?
I kept asking myself the same dang questions over and over, knowing time was running out to give my official answer. Should I call myself “homemaker” because you can’t really have a homestead without a home? Or should I say “homesteader” because I have land and animals and a garden?
I would think of how this label might limit my opportunities and reality of my life: maybe I should call myself a “homesteader” I thought, because if you’re a homesteader, generally you’re a homemaker too… but not always. Then I would think to reject labels altogether, and the cycle would continue.
I just wanted to encompass everything that I was doing and make it clear to people. I was at a roadblock.
I prayed, I left it alone, and I moved on through my day. But it nagged at me.
I finally did decide on “homesteader”.
In short; I just needed to move forward. And being a seasoned entrepreneur I knew that coming up with a title is an unnecessary roadblock that can keep people from being productive and moving forward.
But I was left feeling like, “what am I?” “who is Micheon?” Am I just a homesteader then? I run businesses, educate my kids, bake bread, cut my family’s hair, keep and sell animals etc etc— so what does that make me?
Although I had picked a title for this company to categorise me under, I was left wondering where my place on this wordy spectrum was. AND was it really that important to spend so much time on these words?
Official definition of a homesteader
A homesteader is someone who pursues a lifestyle of self-sufficiency and stewardship over their land and resources. Historically, the term began with the Homestead Act of 1862, when families were granted land to build homes, grow food, and “prove up” their property through hard work. Today, the modern homesteader embodies that same spirit—growing and preserving food, raising animals, and learning traditional skills that foster independence and sustainability. At its heart, homesteading is less about acreage or isolation and more about cultivating a life rooted in purpose, resilience, and care for both home and creation.
Other definitions that characterise what a homesteader is nowadays are:
(I summarised multiple articles from google)
“Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterised by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale”
“Someone who lives frugally or self-sufficiently (as on a homestead) especially by growing and preserving food“
“There are modern-day homesteaders who have traded contemporary conveniences such as … a reliable internet connection to grow much of their own food and—as much as possible—live off the land“
“a dwelling with its land and buildings, occupied by the owner as a home and exempted by a homestead law from seizure or sale for debt. Any dwelling with its land and buildings where a family makes its home“
Official definition of a homemaker
A homemaker is someone who takes intentional care of their home and the people within it. Traditionally defined as “one who manages a household, especially as a spouse and parent,” the modern meaning extends far beyond that. Today, a homemaker is anyone—whether they work outside the home or not—who finds purpose in creating a space of order, comfort, and nurture. It’s about cultivating an environment where family can thrive, faith can grow, and life can be lived meaningfully within the walls of home.
Other definitions of a homemaker include:
“A person who spends their time looking after a home and doing housework rather than being employed outside the home (typically applied to a woman)“
“One who manages a household especially as a spouse and parent“
“a homemaker is someone who spends a lot of time looking after their home and family. You usually use homemaker to refer to someone who does not have a job outside the home“
“It is the act of overseeing the organisational, day-to-day operations of a house or estate, and the managing of other domestic concerns. A person in charge of the homemaking, who is not employed outside the home, in the US and Canada, is called a homemaker, a term for a housewife or a househusband. Historically the role of homemaker was often assumed by women”
Homemaker vs Homesteader, which one are you? Or should we choose a side..
In the end, do you have to choose which best describes yourself?
Both of those definitions piece together a typical homestead woman. Or a typical homemaker woman.
So for me, I guess sometimes it’s easier to classify myself as a homesteader, just to keep it easy for people. But in my day to day life I call myself a mother, wife, homemaker, entrepreneur, fibre artist, farmer, gardener and more. Because in my opinion, we can occupy many titles.
Giving everything a title or an explanation or a term can be limiting or discouraging. Like educating our kids for instance.
There are so many names and types of homeschooling now. When I grew up, I was just homeschooled LOL I wasn’t forest schooled, life schooled, unschooled, Montessori inspired, nature based, child led, opened ended… just simply, homeschooled. (PS. If you were to label my moms methods of schooling me, take all of those wordy names and apply it to my education)
I feel sort of the same with this homemaker homesteader topic. There are so many names now for every which way of tending a home and family. Crunchy, organic, self sufficient, green, intentional living, farmer, country life, slow living…
But maybe you or I don’t fit neatly into one of those boxes, which in turn can make us feel left out, unwanted, or even lost. Like we are “all over the place”. (I get that a lot)
But we never have to feel that way because we are created in Christ to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do! (that’s quoting the Bible).
What We All Have In Common Here
So in the end, whether you call yourself a homemaker, homesteader, crunchy momma, green or whatever else. One thing is true for us all: We live, love, and care about our homes and the members inside of it. We are passionate about health, about thriving as a person and a family, and creating an intentional life that honours God.
SO whatever you call yourself, do it will all of your heart!
Final thoughts
Words from Joel Salatin
If you haven’t listened to, or read Joel Salatin’s speech he did at a Homesteaders of America conference, I highly recommend you listen to it. (I will link it at the bottom of the page!)
When I first listened to these words, it filled me with so much joy. Because Joel’s definition of a homesteader is different from any of the other results I could find.
His is a definition from the heart. Here’s what he said at the beginning of his speech:
“What is a homesteader?
We’ve got a conjunctive word… home…. steader.
“Home” of course is pretty obvious. It’s where you live. And “steader” is an old Latin conglomeration that talks about your focus.
It’s about where your heart is.
So a homesteader is a person whose heart and focus is in the home. It’s a person whose life focus is towards living, staying, loving home which is a far cry from everything else in our society which is obsessed with everything “out there.” -Joel Salatin
That just makes my heart sing. Joel captured everything this life is to me. It’s my heart and my life. Its loving my home. Not just the four walls, but my whole property, wherever I am.
I hope your heart is singing as well from his words, they are an inspiration!
–Micheon
Joel Salatin What is a homesteader?: More Info
HOMEMAKER VS. HOMESTEADER. WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
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