The world is divided into parcels, thirty-two metres square. Press G to see the grid. Standing on one and pressing B buys it; the price depends on what the land is worth — flat, dry, near a road and near water all cost more.
Owning a parcel means you decide who builds on it. You can let everyone in, keep everyone out, or grant particular people the right to build. Unowned land is open to anyone, which is why the village edges tend to fill up.
The allowance
Each parcel carries a limited amount of building — 150 worth. A plain one-metre prim costs 1. A prim stretched to two metres by two by two costs 8, because it is charged by its bulk, not by being one thing. A foundation is charged by the ground it covers.
Your chest
Build a Chest on your own land (M, Build, under Basics: 4 wood). Walk up to it and press E: the lid lifts, with your pack on one side and the chest on the other — drag things across. Every chest you own opens the same store, so one by the forge and one in the house hold the same goods. Lost it? The green dot on the compass points home to it.