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8 Simple Ways to Earn Money From Homesteading

Homesteading is sustainable, self-sufficient and rewarding. But it’s also not free! Unfortunately, in our modern economy, there’s so much more involved in running a homestead than simply working the land and feeding your family. Especially if you are a new homesteader, costs can pile up and it can really help to find a way to not just save money by homesteading, but earn money back on your hard work and labor. Even if you are an urban homesteader, there are still many creative ways you can earn money from homesteading! Here is a list of some of the easiest ways […]

Tips to Keep Rodents OUT This Winter

As the temperature drops and food sources diminish, rodents are likely to want to relocate, and your home is going to be high on their list. They might start out in your garage, attic, or crawl space, but with the reproductive rate of rodents, they will soon be spreading out from there. Allowing these furry freeloaders to share your space isn’t only likely to lead to property damage, but it will also put you and your family in proximity to diseases like the hantavirus and the bubonic plague. Here are a few steps you can take to keep rodents where […]

Coffee Grounds For Your Garden

Coffee grounds are a common cheap and easy form of organic material to add to your compost pile or garden. Here are a few tips for how, and why, to use them in your garden. Coffee and pH Despite what you might have heard, coffee grounds in your garden will have little to no effect of your soil pH and will not harm plants even when applied directly as a top dressing in generous amounts. The acid that is in the coffee you drink is there because it is water-soluble, meaning that is has been removed from the coffee grounds […]

4 Crafty Ways to Reuse Mason Jars

Mason jars. Are they not one of the best inventions of all time? Originally designed for canning, mason jars (or Bell, or Kerr, or other canning jars…wide-mouth canning jars are just all-around awesome) have so many uses. They’re sturdy, difficult to break, have a big capacity-well, a quart! Lately, the annals of Pinterest have shown us that there are dozens of ways to use mason jars, so we picked a few particularly clever uses. Mason Jar Herb Garden Probably the most homestead-applicable, a simple mason jar herb garden is pretty much exactly what it sounds like! In lieu of drainage, […]

Benefits of Compost Tea

When it comes to a thriving, healthy garden, one of the quintessential components is a good fertilizer, and homemade compost is one the best things you can make. Using kitchen scraps, garden cuttings and locally sourced organic waste like grass clippings, manure, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc., you can-and should-make your own compost pile for a consistent supply of amazing plant superfood. There are many different options for how to build a compost pile and what to build it with, so if you’re not already composting, you’ll want to start there. But if you do already have a successful compost […]

Homemade Dog Food

Our dogs are our best friends, and they deserve homemade meals too! Unfortunately, a lot of store-bought dog foods have a lot of preservatives and additives that you might not be so thrilled for your canine companion to be consuming. And high-dollar dog food, with real food ingredients, can be really pricey. So a great alternative is to just make your own at home! First, you’ll want to determine what the best nutrition is for your dog. Not every dog is going to have the same nutritional needs, but in general, dogs need protein, like from meat, fish, dairy and […]

5 Natural Home Remedies for Treating a Toothache

Those that have been fortunate enough to never need braces or dental work can hardly understand the intensity of oral pain. The rest of us know all too well how debilitating the pain can be, and despite political promises, how expensive it can be to take care of. While of course, you should always go to the dentist when you have serious toothache pain because it could be a sign of a potentially life-threatening infection, or could lead to one, the cost of dental work might have you postponing the trip until your budget can cover it a little better. […]

Skills to Build While You Wish You Could Homestead

Whether you’re stuck in a cramped apartment in the city or living in a suburban starter home while you save up to buy land, there’s no reason you can’t start building your homesteader skills now, as you dream of more self-reliant times ahead. You can check out our guide to how to homestead in a city if you can’t wait to free yourself from the grid, and also start developing the following skills to be ready when the time comes to fully escape the plugged in life: Bake your own bread: We tend to take our packaged, fluffy white supermarket loaves for […]

5 Survival Foods That Virtually Last Forever

When stocking up a survival stash, it’s important to maximize your space with items that will last the longest. Below is a list of items that will virtually last forever… 1.Dried Beans Dried beans are probably one of the most common items to stock up on and for good reason. When kept away from moisture and light, they can last for decades. Vacuum sealing is a great option for storing beans, as they keep best in an absence of oxygen. 2. Vinegar Due to its high acidity, vinegar will last essentially forever. Vinegar is a great item to stock up […]

Camp More Comfortably

Whether you just want to make your weekend camping trip a little more comfortable, or you want to prepare for a homey camping experience in case of a disaster situation, there are many ways that you can make camping feel more like home. These methods don’t involve spending thousands of dollars on luxury camping items, or carrying far too much weight as you pack everything and the kitchen sink. But just a few simple touches around your campsite can make a huge difference. Soft… When you can, and when it doesn’t add too much weight to your gear, try to […]

10 Ways to Reuse Citrus Peels

Reusing things is more than just a habit for self-sufficient homesteaders; it’s an essential part of living. Food scraps are often tossed to animals, or composted for great gardening material. But there are many ways that you can reuse citrus peels,including lemons, oranges, grapefruits, and limes. 1. Create an eco-friendly cleaning solution by tossing lemon peels into a re-sealable container, and adding just enough vinegar to cover the peels. After two weeks, the mixture will have taken on the smell of the lemons. Related Article: Easy and Effective All Natural Homemade Citrus Cleaner 2. Small pieces of lemon peel scattered […]

Simple Green Laundry Hacks

When you begin learning how to eat and live more organically and self-sufficiently, it doesn’t take long for you to start noticing how other choices in your life could be greener. Did you know that more than 70% of natural streams in America have been found to contain traces of laundry detergent? Or that drying a load of laundry can create more than two kilograms of carbon released into the atmosphere? There are many ways to make your laundry eco-friendlier to reduce your carbon footprint and the chemical leftovers that are created while you get your clothes clean. Making your […]

Keep Your Produce Fresh Longer

One of the many benefits of having your own vegetable garden is the constant availability of fresh food in the summer and fall. But there’s nothing worse than feeling like you’ve wasted your hard work when you find produce you just picked wilted and not ready for anything except the compost bin. Here are some tricks that farmer’s market sellers use to keep their produce fresh during market time. Don’t pick your produce until the absolute last second. It’s tempting to go ahead and harvest what you’ll need for dinner when you’re watering your garden in the morning, but that’s […]

Campsite Chores for Kids

Running your home efficiently takes effort from everyone. In the same way, a campsite is set up and maintained much easier if everyone pitches in. But when you are only camping a few times a year, it can be hard to know exactly what chores you can assign to children, and which you should handle yourself. This list will help you find duties that your children can do based on their age or relative ability level: Younger Children… They can help remove rocks, twigs, and leaves from the campsite area. Be sure that they focus on the fire pit, getting […]

10 Simple Tricks For Saving Energy

Saving energy, both to ease the burden on your wallet and to contribute to conservation efforts, is a hot topic for many homeowners these days. But when you live in the country or on your own homestead, saving energy can be a little more challenging. Raising animals can often require extra energy, and by doing a lot of things yourself rather than buying pre-made versions, you may have to use more energy. Suggested Product: LOWER YOUR ELECTRIC BILL…A simple proven method that helps you save money. However, by focusing on energy-saving practices, you can still lower your utility bills exponentially, […]