Page 75 of 89
1 … 73 74 75 76 77 … 89
Homesteading – Page 75 – Homesteader Depot

Homesteader Depot

Category: Homesteading

  • Everyday Laundry Hacks for Off-Grid Living

    Everyday Laundry Hacks for Off-Grid Living

    Your clothes are not only going to get dirtier faster when living off-grid, but you will quickly find out how much more difficult it is to get them clean again, and how drying them can be even harder.  Washing an average sized load of clothes by hand will take you close to an hour, then there is hanging them.  And of course, while you are occupied with your laundry, you aren’t taking care of any of your other projects that all need your attention.  Laundry is definitely a big chore without a machine! These are a few simple and practical ways to cut down on the time and energy you spend doing laundry while living off-grid.

    Designate clothes

    Clothes that you wear to sleep in, then go garden in, will be too dirty to sleep in again on a single use.  But you can sleep in the same clothes for a week (your standards may need to adjust a little from having a washer and dryer) if all you do is sleep in them.  Designating clothes for sleeping, working in, lounging after work and re-entering civilization in will keep these clothes clean enough for their individual purposes longer, and make your laundry loads smaller.

    Air ‘em out

    Not everything is going to need to be washed with soap and dried on a regular basis.  Items such as sheets and towels can go longer between washes if you take the time to hang them out in the sun on a nice day.  Depending on your situation, this could make a huge difference in conserving time and resources since you will not need to use water that might need to be hauled. The sun naturally kills bacteria, so an hour or so in the hot noon sun can make all the difference.

    Indoor clothesline

    Especially during bad weather, it can save you time and resources to set up an indoor clothesline near a fireplace or wood burning stove.  You can’t always count on the sun to do your work for you, and if you are already burning wood, then you might as well get the most out of it.

     

    Off-grid living will come with its difficulties, but laundry doesn’t have to be one of them if you have a plan.

     

    If you liked this, you might also enjoy…

    The Ultimate Guide to Natural Healing…

    Does Yoga Help You Lose Weight? 

    Become A Woodworking Master…

  • 3 Things to Consider When Felling a Tree

    3 Things to Consider When Felling a Tree

    Cutting a tree down can be dangerous, even deadly.  But it is something that, if you are homesteading, you will probably be faced with sooner or later, if not regularly.  Felling a tree is not something that should be rushed into or taken lightly, especially if the tree is particularly large, or close to a structure.  Before felling any tree, give it some thought, and be careful.

     

    Limb pattern

    Trees are not 100% symmetrical.  If a tree has anything obstructing its access to light on one side, it will grow more limbs in the other direction.  Limbs can also die and fall off, and when they do it is unlikely that they will do so symmetrically.  These factors will affect the direction the tree falls in.  This can be controlled by selectively removing limbs on the side that you do not want the tree to fall it.  This will make the tree unevenly weighted and help control its direction of fall.

    Trunk shape

    The shape of the tree’s truck will also affect the direction it is likely to fall in.  If the tree has an oblong truck, it is highly unlikely to fall in the direction the truck is wider in.  It will take quite a lot to change the direction of fall from the thin side to the wide side.

    Making your cuts

    Once you have determined the direction the tree will fall in is safe, you will have to start making the cuts that will bring the tree down.  This should be done with three cuts.  The first should be placed on the side that you want the tree to fall to, it should be nearly parallel to the ground but slightly higher as you get deeper, and should be about 50% the depth of the trunk.  The second cut should be placed on the same side, and should be at an angle, between 30 to 40 degrees, and it should connect to the first cut so that a wedge of wood can be removed.  The third cut should be placed on the side of the tree opposite from the direction that you want to tree to fall in.  It should be just higher than the first cut made, lower than the angled cut, and also nearly parallel to the ground but slightly lower as the cut gets deeper.  Try to make the third cut exactly opposite the first cut, for instance, if the first cut is from 2 o’clock to 5 o’clock on the trunk, then the third should be made at 11 o’clock to 7 o’clock.

     

    Felling a tree is not something to take lightly.  Plan it out and be safe.

     

    If you liked this, you might also enjoy…

    Natural Healing Techniques Doctors Don’t Want You to Know…

    The Weight-Reducing Magic of Yoga…

    The Ultimate Woodworking Course..

     

  • 3 Dog Breeds to Consider for Homesteading

    3 Dog Breeds to Consider for Homesteading

    Dogs have the reputation of being man’s best friend for good reason.  The possible benefits of having a dog on your homestead, whether it be urban or country, are virtually endless.  But domestication of dogs has led to a wide array of physical and behavioral traits.  Over breeding for desired traits has also led to genetic issues, for this reason a “mutt” is always preferable since it will have less health issues.  For this reason, when selecting a dog that is right for you, you should consider what breed you are looking for, and search for a mutt that has that breed’s characteristics displayed.  This will allow you to have a dog that has the traits you desire, and a healthy genetic code, saving you vet bills, and promoting “rescue” over “financially motivated breeding”.  These are 3 breeds that have excellent traits for a homestead dog:

    Pitbull

    Probably the breed with the most undeserved bad reputation is the Pitbull.  But the reality is that Pitbull owners deserve the bad reputation.  A well cared for and loved Pitbull has no greater tendency to attack its owner than a Golden Retriever.  That being said, when a Pitbull feels threatened, or feels that it’s owner and family are threatened, it is much more capable of offering physical protection than other breeds.  With a ridiculous bit strength, high pain tolerance, and intimidating appearance a Pitbull is one of the best breeds for physical protection, which should be a consideration for a homestead in any setting.

    Heeler

    Heelers, or Australian Cattle Dogs, are a great option for a working dog on a homestead.  Heeler’s a robust breed, with high levels of intelligence and trainability.  Guarding and herding come naturally to a Heeler, but with high intelligence and high energy Heelers can be trained to do whatever task you have for them.  For those who want only one dog, a Heeler is a great option, they do not always get along with other dogs, but bond well with their owners.

    Terriers

    Terriers have become a popular breed for people with small spaces, but the reality is that Terriers will do better in an open environment with room to roam.  With a Terrier on your homestead, you are unlikely to have a rat problem or strangers approach without a load warning.  Being a smaller breed, Terriers require less food and will have less joint issues as they age.

     

    This is not at all the only dogs that could offer benefits on a homestead, but only a short list of some common favorites.  Remember, not only are you helping out a creature that can’t help itself when you get a dog that would otherwise end up at the pound only to be euthanized, but by avoiding a dog that has been breed for sale, you are avoiding a dog that will likely have genetic issues that will lead to high vet bills and shorter life span.

     

    If you liked this, you might also enjoy…

    Natural Healing Techniques Doctors Don’t Want You to Know…

    The Weight-Reducing Magic of Yoga…

    The Ultimate Woodworking Course..

  • One Way to Clean a Chicken

    One Way to Clean a Chicken

    As with the proverbial cat, I’m sure there is more than one way to clean a chicken.  This is just one way, you can tweak it however you feel the need to for your situation.

    Kill it first

    Starting with a live chicken that you have a hold of, grab its neck with your strong hand down, so that your thumb is closer to its wings and your pinky is closer to its head.  Now spin your hand in a tight circle fast so that the chicken’s body spins in a larger circle.  This will kill the chicken for sure.

    Chop chop

    After you have wrung the chicken’s neck it will still probably move a little.  That’s ok, just hold it down with its wings in tight with your weak hand, and lay its neck on a piece of wood that you can drive a sharp edge (like a machete) into.  Chop off the head.  Then hold it up by the feet letting the blood drip out until it has stopped.  Then lay the chicken down again and chop off its feet just below the feathers.

    Pluck it

    At this point, most people would dunk it hot water.  But wet chickens smell worse than wet dogs and you really don’t need to do this to get the feathers out, though it will speed up the process.  Just hold the chicken down with your weak hand, and close to your weak hand, so as not to allow the skin to stretch and tear, grab some feathers and pull.  Repeat until the chicken is bare.  You shouldn’t have much trouble except with the tips of the wings, where you might want to use the hot water.

    Gut it

    Make a cut around the neck, going low towards the collar bones, but trying not to go too deep so that you don’t hit the gizzard.  Reach in and remove the neck innards and the gizzard (which can be eaten if desired, just make sure to separate from the intestines).  Then flip it over and cut around the anus while keeping in mind that you do not want to puncture the intestines. However, if you do puncture them, there is no reason to throw out the chicken, just wash it well afterwards).  Once you have a complete circle around the anus, remove it, with the intestines attached, then pull out the rest of the guts.  If the chicken is a smaller breed you may need to enlarge the hole, but get the intestines out first.

    Wash it

    Wash it off, and wash it out.  Just water and vinegar should do the trick.  This is more important if you are going to freeze it or marinate it instead of cooking it right away, but might as well play it safe, it will only take a second.

     

    Now it’s ready to cook and eat.  If you have not cleaned an animal before and are considering raising other animals like rabbits or pigs for meat, chickens are a great animal to train on.  They aren’t as large as a pig or as cute as a rabbit, but they taste just as good. Who doesn’t love chicken?

    If you liked this, you might also enjoy…

    What is ‘The Final Bubble’, and Are You Ready for It?

    Understanding the End Times

    Natural Healing Secrets Doctors Don’t Want You to Know

  • Developing Skills Prior to Homesteading

    Given the drastic lifestyle changes inherent in making the transition from typical modern life to homesteading, preparation is a must.  Along with gathering tools and resources, one should not overlook practicing the skills that are soon to be a regular part of your life, but which are typically unfamiliar to those living in suburban or urban settings.  While not everything can be simulated, even a little experience can provide you with the skills and attitude that can transfer to many other aspects of your new homesteading life.

    Gardening

    Starring at a plot of fallow ground without having any experience gardening can be intimidating and can lead to less than desirable results.  Starting big for your first time can have you waste time and energy.  Nearly everyone, despite their space and living arrangements, can grow some food.  This will help you learn about plant care, pest control, sustainable harvest, and crop selection.  Even if you live in an apartment without ground access you can grow in containers if you have a balcony.  Fruiting plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant can be successfully and effectively grown in containers.  Greens like kale, chard, and Okinawan spinach do well in containers.  Culinary and medicinal herbs such as basil, mint, feverfew can thrive in containers.

    Animal Husbandry

    Like gardening, raising small domestic animals can still teach you the basics about how to properly care for and how to deal with possible and inevitable difficulties that go along with animal husbandry.  For those who can raise a few chickens or ducks in their backyard, this would be a great place to start.  First-hand observation will teach you more about your animals than any amount of reading or watching YouTube videos ever could.  You will learn first-hand through trial and error things like proper containment, effective methods of keeping predators away from your animals, and parasite and other health management.  Perhaps the most difficult to thing to learn without actual experience is slaughtering.  It is one thing to read about the methods of slaughtering an animal that you have put months if not years of care into raising, and it is another to actually do it yourself.  But it is a reality that one will have to understand if one is going to raise animals for food.

    Food Storage

    Resource conservation of all sorts is going to be an everyday part of life for those that are homesteading.  One way to prepare yourself for this now is to practice food preservation and storage such as canning and dehydrating.  Buying vegetables such as tomatoes and green beans while they are on sale and canning them for when they are out of season and more expensive is great practice for resource conservation.  Likewise growing your own herbs and dehydrating them for the winter months will be good experience for food preservation and resource conservation.

     

    Preparing now for the new changes and challenges that one will have to face when beginning homesteading can make the difference between a stressful failure and an exciting new way of life.  Good luck.

    If you liked this, you might also enjoy…

    The Ultimate Guide to Natural Healing…

    Does Yoga Help You Lose Weight? 

    Become A Woodworking Master…

  • How to Safely Handle Raw Milk

    How to Safely Handle Raw Milk

    Probably the primary appeal of having a family cow is the delicious, nutritious and plentiful milk you can get from her. Raw milk, meaning fresh, unpasteurized milk, has many more beneficial enzymes and bacteria than store-bought milk.

    But it is important to handle it safely to maintain optimum freshness and sanitation. This is particularly important if you plan on selling your raw milk. If you want to sell your milk, make sure to check your local laws. In some states, it is highly illegal to sell raw milk. In other places, there may be certain restrictions. But even if you just want to share with friends and family or just keep it yourself, it’s always best to use safe, clean practices to maintain the quality, nutritional content, and longevity of the milk.

    Here is a simple guide to safe raw milk practices:

    1. Prepare your milking area

    You will want to have a proper set-up for milking. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, but a dry, covered area, with a place to tie up your cow and feed her as well as space to comfortably sit by her, is probably all you need. You will also want a place that will either have a sink or be in close proximity to the area where you will clean your milking equipment.

    2. Have the right Equipment

    Again you won’t need anything fancy, but a good, stainless steel bucket for milking is ideal, especially with a top to keep the milk protected. Stainless steel is easier to clean than plastic and will withstand possible kicks from a grumpy or restless cow. You may also want some soft, cotton rags to wipe the teat while milking.

    3. Sanitize

    Before milking, you will want to make sure you have properly washed your bucket, hands, and cow’s teat thoroughly. Some people use a small amount of bleach, but hot water and soap should be sufficient.

    4. Practice

    When you first start milking, it might take some practice to keep the milk clean. You are ultimately trying to keep the milk from getting any debris like manure or dirt in it, so if that happens, you won’t want to drink that milk. You can give it to your other animals.

    5. Strain the milk

    You can use a coffee filter, fine mesh strainer, or strainer made specifically for milk, but the idea is to get out as much debris as you can.

    6. Cool the milk

    As soon as you are done milking, you will want to cool your milk as quickly as possible. Some people even keep reusable ice packs at the bottom of their bucket. When your milk is strained into the bottles or jars you want to use (which should be properly cleaned and sanitized first as well), put them in the freezer for an hour-set the timer so you don’t forget about them! And then transfer to the fridge. You can now use as you would any other milk, although because it is raw it might not last as long, but it’s so delicious that might not be a problem for your family!

     

    If you liked this, you might also enjoy…

    Natural Healing Techniques Doctors Don’t Want You to Know…

    The Ultimate Woodworking Course..

     

  • Tips to Keep Your Chickens Safe from Predators

    Tips to Keep Your Chickens Safe from Predators

    Most homesteaders have chickens. The chickens are essential for providing eggs, so you don’t want anything to happen to them. Of course, we all know chickens are delicious. And quite a few predators know the same exact thing. Therefore, you need to take steps to keep your chickens safe from all manner of predators. Here are some tips to make it easier on you.

    What Predators Are in Your Area?

    The first thing you need to do is take some time to research what types of predators are in your area that are likely to prey on chickens. You may have coyotes, foxes, weasels, and more that are quite common. Think about some of the other animals as well. These can include rats, some snakes that eat eggs, and predatory birds. You need to devise defenses that are able to withstand all of the different types of predators in your location.

    Use Chicken Wire Wisely

    You need to use the chicken wire for more than just building a fence around the coop. Yes, you need a fence, but you also need to make sure that the wire is placed into the ground at least 12 to 15 inches. This will help stop predators that try to dig their way inside.

    In addition, you should add the wire to the top of your chicken run. Make sure the “chicken wire ceiling” is about seven feet high – you need to make sure you can still walk around under it. This will give your chickens plenty of light, but it will help to keep out pesky birds of prey that might otherwise swoop down on your poor chickens.

    Look for Holes in the Ground and Plug Them

    Take the time each day to walk around the grounds of the chicken run and around the coop to look for holes in the ground. These holes could be from a variety of different types of predators including foxes, skunks, and weasels. If you find any of these holes, plug them right away. You might also want to set out some traps – outside of the coop of course.

    Do the Same With the Coop

    In addition, you should look at the chicken coop for any holes. Even a very small hole no more than half an inch or so in diameter is enough to allow in certain predators. You never want to let predators get right into the coop. This is especially true when it comes to weasels – they seem to like killing and will often kill all of the chickens in a coop even though they might not eat much at all.

    Remove the Brush

    A final tip to help reduce the number of predators who are looking at your chickens as food is to remove the brush in the area around the coop. If a predator has to move across a large amount of empty space in order to get to the chickens, they are less likely to do so, as they do not want to be seen or caught.

    These simple tips should help to keep your chickens much safer and much happier.

    If you liked this, you might also enjoy…

    Natural Healing Techniques Doctors Don’t Want You to Know…

    The Weight-Reducing Magic of Yoga…

    The Ultimate Woodworking Course..

     

     

  • Going From Urban to Country Homesteading: What You Need to Consider

    Going From Urban to Country Homesteading: What You Need to Consider

     

    If you are one of the many people these days considering a transition from urban or suburban life to country homesteading, then you are in for a massive lifestyle change. This will involve things you may have never considered since they might not have had a large impact on you in your current way of life.  Considering what these factors are and preparing for them may just make the difference between living happily ever after in an idyllic setting of your choice, or blowing your savings only to move back to the city with nothing to show for it.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, but just three things that almost everyone in any homesteading situation needs to consider prior to making the move.

    Water

    Water is necessary for life, but many people who live in a city their wholes lives can take this for granted since all they need to do to get water is just turn the sink handle.  When you are considering where you are going to relocate to, consider your access to water.  Are you going to have a stream or a pond on the property?  Or are you going to be on well water?  Or is it an area where you are going to be able to use rain catchment to meet your needs?  Everyone’s budget and situation is going to be different so don’t expect to find absolute perfection, but on the other hand, don’t over look the issue of water because you like something more superficial about the area or property.

    Wood

    Gaining self-reliance includes energy independence.  Most of us are not going to go as far as to run our tractor on wood (fun fact: combustion engines do not operate on liquid fuel but on expanding gas that is heated by any fuel, in WWII during fuel shortages in Europe tractors and boats were converted to run off of wood instead of gas and diesel). But most will want to heat their home and possibly cook from wood fire.  Wood can also be used for construction, though this will require skills and tools that a beginning homesteader might not have.  And sometimes money actually does grow on trees: wood can bring you income if managed properly.

    Neighbors

    One resource that many don’t think of when they are preparing for a life that demands much more self-reliance is the people that will be around them and the potential downside or benefits that these people offer.  There is much to be gained in knowledge and second-hand resources if you move next to a third generation farmer who has been doing what you want to do since he could remember.  On the other hand, you might find a seemingly nice place to live, but find out too late that your neighbors don’t farm at all on their 120 acres but instead be up to no good.  The people around you could be the difference between success or failure.  Know your potential neighbors and weigh them in as a resource or a danger.

     

    If homesteading is something that has been on your mind, then get out there and do it, but don’t make such a drastic decision without thinking it through.  Do it right and enjoy all the benefits.

    If you liked this, you might also enjoy…

    Natural Healing Techniques Doctors Don’t Want You to Know…

    The Weight-Reducing Magic of Yoga…

    The Ultimate Woodworking Course..