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How to Make a Double-Sided Draft Stop

As winter rolls in and temperatures drop, you don’t need to freeze in your own home to keep your heating bill from climbing. Drafts can be a major source of heat loss, even inside your home from unheated portions that are not in use. Here is a great instructional video with simple to follow instructions on how to make a double-sided draft stop for doors. This is only a basic demonstration, you can substitute materials to fit what you have available, like using dried pop-corn instead of the pool noodle, or an old pair of jeans instead of new fabric. […]

Homemade Root Cellar

Freezing your food is a great way to preserve it. But if your freezer breaks, there’s no reason to take it to the dump. You can still use it to preserve your food by converting it to a mini-root-cellar. You will be able to store potatoes, carrots, onions, and other crops through winter and into spring without the need for electricity. Here’s how… The first step is to remove the mechanical components. This could include Freon, which involves using more care and disposing of it properly so you don’t contaminate your area. After you have stripped the freezer you are […]

Dandelion Balm for Aches and Pains

Keeping your homestead in working order is bound to give you sore muscles, joint pain, and irritated skin from time to time. Luckily you probably have the cure outside in your lawn. Dandelions can be used in a balm to help treat soreness and skin irritation. All you need other than dandelions are some oil (olive, coconut, almond, or sunflower will work), bee’s wax, and some canning jars. How to Make Dandelion Balm Gather up all the dandelions that you have available. Next, you want to dry them out so that your balm isn’t watered down. Spread them out […]

How to Make a Fly Trap

Not only are flies annoying, but they are disgusting too. They can spread diseases just by landing on your food, without your even noticing. They can ruin the time you spend outside trying to relax, and they can sneak inside every time you open the door. And while raising animals and having a compost pile may increase their numbers, even if you have no animals and a near sterile yard, they can fly on over from your neighbor’s. What can you do about it? Trap them with a few things you probably already have laying around the house, and here’s […]

Household Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide

Every knows that hydrogen peroxide can be used as an antiseptic to treat wounds, but hydrogen peroxide can be used for more than just wound care. Here is a brief list of other ways you can use this cheap, versatile, and safe product. Oral Care H202 (hydrogen peroxide) can be diluted with an equal amount of water and be used as a mouthwash to kill gingivitis and help with toothaches. A bonus is that it will help whiten your teeth. Don’t go overboard with this, though, using it too regularly can damage tooth enamel. Laundry Boost Do you remember […]

Why Baking Soda is Awesome

Two of the most constant themes in homesteading are resource conservation and improvisation. Having items that can be used in a variety of ways will help make both of these possible. One such item is baking soda. Baking soda can be used in virtually every aspect of homesteading life. It is cheap, natural, and safe. With a nearly limitless amount of uses this will probably not be the last time we talk about baking soda, but for now here is just a short list of a few ways that it can help you save money and improve your quality of […]

How to Build a Fire Pit (Infographic)

Fire pits are great for summer or fall nights when you want to be outside but want or need some extra warmth. It’s a great thing to have on a homestead not just for outdoor evenings, however, but also for burning small bits of waste or even cooking (with the right set-up, but that’s another article for another day). This handy fire pit infographic from fix.com breaks down the process of building a firepit and makes it easy-to-understand and manageable. To start, it’s important to think about what you’d like to use your fire pit for, and where to place […]

Homemade Bird Feeders

During the fall and winter, as trees die and snow eventually covers the ground, many birds have a harder time finding their food than during the spring and summer months. But unlike their hibernating woodland counterparts, birds still look for sustenance in the coldest months! A very nice way to help them out a bit, and attract beautiful birds into your yard is to make your own bird feeder. It’s very easy to make and doesn’t require much at all. This is a great indoor, snow day craft for little ones. You can make the bird feeders with them, then […]

Super-Simple DIY Pest Repellent for the Garden

As you probably know, most commercially available pest-repellants are full of harmful chemicals that you wouldn’t want anywhere near your house, children, or pets, let alone near the garden that you’re growing your food in. Even if you don’t spray chemicals right on the leaves of your plants, spraying them around the perimeter, either to kill grass, weeds or bugs, will trickle into the soil and can easily be absorbed through the roots of your plants, and you don’t want that. But there is a very easy, at-home solution for keeping pests out of your garden, and it’s safe enough […]

Homemade Toothpaste

It’s really fun, wallet-friendly and healthy to make your own personal hygiene products at home. A great place to start is with homemade toothpaste! It’s really easy and cheap, and quite possibly much better for your teeth than conventional toothpaste. This recipe includes coconut oil, which is great for your teeth. The oil naturally attracts the bacteria that contributes to plaque build-up and decay, and leaves a protective layer on your teeth to help prevent more bacteria from settling on your teeth. It also includes an optional essential oil, which can kill bacteria as well, and prevent bad breath. One […]

Making Your Own Shampoo

Are you sick and tired of the high-priced shampoos that are on the market today? You want to be self-sufficient, but you still keep on buying those shampoos because you need to keep your hair clean. What if you could make your own shampoo? Think about the benefits that can provide. Benefits of Homemade Shampoo First, when you have homemade shampoo, you’re not going to be spending as much money on those expensive brands in the store or at the salon. Consider how much money you spend on shampoo each year for your entire family. A bottle of high-quality shampoo […]

How (and Why) to Render Tallow

Tallow used to be commonplace a few hundred years ago, before it was replaced with mass-produced cooking oils like canola, corn and soy. What it is is rendered animal fat, (it’s normally called tallow for beef fat and lard for pig fat, but the same principles apply for each) and it can be used in many ways. Why Render Tallow The reason this is ideal for a homesteader is it’s always ideal to use every part of a butchered animal, and tallow gives you a great way to use up all the fat. But it’s not just useful-its super healthy and […]

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, […]

How to Get Started Knitting

It’s only the middle of August, but apparently snow is already accumulating above some US states-can you believe it? It’s already time to start thinking about getting out that winter gear. Or, if you want to learn a new skill-making it! Knitting is a wonderful skill to have, and it’s never too late to learn. It’s actually has some surprisingly health benefits, like improving cognitive function, memory, coordination and relieving stress. Not to mention you get scarves, hats, and or any of the many other things you can knit right at home! It’s a great way to give an original […]

Crock Pot Sourdough Recipe

Sourdough bread is delicious, and nutritious! When made with a real sourdough culture, it breaks down the anti-nutrients in the wheat that are commonly attributed to gluten intolerance and allergy. There’s also no better-tasting sourdough than when it is made fresh at home. A very easy way to make sourdough is right in your crock pot! If you don’t have a bread maker or don’t want to heat up your kitchen in the hot summer months, crock pot sourdough is a wonderful option. It also makes for a very easy way to rise the sourdough. First, you’ll need your culture. […]

2 DIY Skincare Recipes for Any Homesteader

Did you know that you don’t need a ton of chemical-heavy, processed skincare products to look and feel younger and more vibrant? In fact, your homestead and garden could provide all you need to make more effective and healthier skincare products than any of the store-bought products you’ve used in the past. Lavender Body Lotion For firm, hydrated skin that feels soft and smooth, try this recipe for a calming lavender body lotion. You’ll need: 1/3 cup coconut oil 2 tablespoons beeswax 3-6 drops lavender oil Mix the ingredients well and store them in a cool, dark place when not […]

4 Healthy DIY Alternatives to Soda

Soda is delicious, refreshing and, unfortunately, really, really bad for you. A single can of soda contains roughly ten tablespoons of sugar, not to mention extra high fructose corn syrup, or, if you’re opting for diet soda, harmful aspartame, which has been linked to cancer in rats and is even commonly recommended that pregnant women avoid for its increased risk of birth defects or miscarriage. Soda also contains phosphoric acid, sodium, and is normally made with the lowest-quality tap water available. All these nasty ingredients greatly increase your risk of diabetes, cancer, chronic dehydration and high blood pressure, as well as tooth […]

DIY Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is one of the most popular and useful natural health food items you can find. It’s incredibly versatile, and can be used internally for a plethora of maladies, as a cosmetic and topical remedy and also to preserve food and sanitize the home. But did you know you can make your own right on your countertop? Homemade apple cider vinegar is not only incredibly economical, it is delicious and requires nothing special to make. Odds are if you’re already an experienced homesteader or canner, you have what you need to make delicious apple cider vinegar right at […]

Turn Your Garden Into A DIY Spa

Besides creating a surplus of food, and being used for medicinal and cleaning purposes, your garden has many other uses. One of those is allowing you to pamper yourself once in a while! After you’ve put in all that hard work, you can harvest a few ingredients out of your garden and use them to create your very own DIY spa day. Citrus fruits are perfect for giving oily skin a detoxifying facial. Mix the juice of a lemon, orange, or other citrus fruit, with honey and yogurt for a creamy cleanser that can also help lighten sun spots and […]