I used to think the pioneer era was about suffering. Long days, cold nights, food that had to be saved or it was gone. Then I spent a quiet Sunday reading about the families who settled the American West over 175 years ago, and I realized they were quietly doing a lot of things right — things we’ve been trying to rediscover in wellness circles for years.
You don’t need a cabin or a horse-drawn wagon. You need a kitchen counter, a pantry, and a small shift in how you think about enough. Here are eight pioneer habits I’ve borrowed, in the order they actually fit into my week.
1. Cook more at home
Pioneers didn’t have a drive-through to pull up to after a long day’s work. Dinner came from what they had, cooked from scratch, and their diets ended up rich in vitamins and nutrients — with far less of the highly processed stuff filling our carts today.
That’s the whole point. It was never about the perfect meal. It’s about the fact that something was made in your own kitchen, with real ingredients, for the people at your table. I count home-cooked dinners the way I count sleep now: progress, not perfection.
2. Use what’s in the pantry
There’s an old homesteading rule I love: use what’s in your pantry. The pioneer mentality — waste not, want not — is something most of us could stand to practice a little more.
Oats, flour, beans, rice. These staples keep a pantry honest. I soak my beans the night before — it takes almost no effort, and it makes them easier to digest. That’s the kind of small habit I’m talking about. It’s not a lifestyle overhaul, it’s just dinner being less complicated than it has to be.
3. Grow a few things
You don’t need an acre. Even a couple of pots on a balcony get you fresh herbs and vegetables you can snap off when you need them, and it changes how you think about food when you know exactly where it came from and what went into growing it.
For me it started with one tomato plant and a stubborn refusal to give up on it. It still makes the best sauce on the counter in July.
4. Learn to can
Canning is how pioneers saved their garden for the cold months when nothing else would grow — and honestly, it’s one of the most practical skills you can pick up. A shelf of sealed jars means your food isn’t at the mercy of a bad harvest or a weird supply week.
I canned peaches the first summer and felt like I’d unlocked a secret the rest of the neighborhood wasn’t telling me about. It’s slower than buying, and that slowness is the point.
5. Choose organic eggs and meat
When a pioneer wanted eggs for breakfast, they walked out to the backyard and collected them. When they wanted a steak, they raised the animal themselves.
That’s probably a bigger commitment than most of us want — and that’s fine. The accessible version is buying locally grown organic eggs and meat when you can. If you have a little space, a few backyard chickens for beginners is more doable than people assume, and the eggs alone are worth it.
6. Learn one self-sufficient skill
Knitting, sewing, soap-making, or just knowing how to start a fire — pick one skill that would make you a little more independent. You never know when the power goes out, or when you’ll want a gift that doesn’t come from a bag.
I learned to make a simple bar of soap. It’s not fancy, but it’s mine, and that’s the part that matters.
7. Own fewer things
Pioneers lived by a saying: use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. The fewer clothes they had to wash, the better their days ran. Men might own one or two pairs of pants and a few shirts — one for work, one for church. Women were lucky to have three dresses. Children wore the same outfit for days on end. And they were happy.
That last part is the part I keep coming back to. I don’t think happiness required a small wardrobe, but I think clutter was quietly taxing their energy the same way mine taxes mine. Letting go of the extraneous stuff — the things that only exist because they were easy to buy — is a form of rest.
8. Be content with what you have
This is the one I’d call the real pioneer lifestyle. The rest are just logistics.
You won’t be happier with five pairs of sunglasses than you were with four. The most honest form of well-being comes from being at peace with exactly what’s in your life right now — not what you’ll have once the next order arrives.
What this looks like on a normal week
If I did all eight at once, I’d quit by Wednesday. The way I actually live it: three home-cooked dinners a week, one pantry-staple recipe I rotate, a couple of things in the garden, one skill I’m slowly getting better at, and a monthly pass through the closet. The 80/20 version is the one that sticks.
FAQ
Do I need to live in the country to adopt these habits? No. Most of them are kitchen-and-pantry habits. The garden can be a windowsill, and the chickens are optional.
Is canning worth it if I already buy organic? It depends on where you are. If fresh produce is a short drive away, maybe not. If you have access to a good local harvest, it’s a great way to keep the best of it around through winter.
Which one should I start with? Home cooking. It’s the habit everything else quietly supports, and it’s the one that shows up on your plate first.
A note from Hazel: I’m still learning to be content with what I have — that’s the one I work on every single week. If you can do one thing from this list this month, do it badly and do it gently. That’s the pioneer way, and honestly, that’s enough.