Page 26 of 28
1 24 25 26 27 28
Self Reliance – Page 26 – Homesteader Depot

Category: Self Reliance

  • 5 Natural Home Remedies for Treating a Toothache

    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.  If this is the position you are in, here are a few things you can do in the meantime to help you deal with the pain and get done what you have to.

    Saltwater Rinse

    A common cause of pain is an abscess or an infection near the gum line.  Temporary relief can come from cleaning out any food debris in the area and drawing out the fluid in the infection by swishing your mouth with warm salt water after meals, before bed, or as often as the pain returns.

    Clove Oil

    Clove oil contains a natural anesthetic called eugenol.  When using clove oil be careful not to get it on unaffected areas like your tongue.  Dip a Q-tip in clove oil and hold it against the tooth causing the pain until the pain subsides.

    [Check It Out] Survival Techniques From Long Ago, Re-purposed For The Modern Era…

    Beeswax

    If your pain is caused by a cavity, loose filling, or a crack in your tooth rinsing and treating with clove might not be enough to stop the pain.  Every time food or even liquid comes in contact with the opening the pain can be excruciating and the risk of infection increases.  After cleaning the area, take a bit of warm bee’s wax and press it over the cavity of crack to form a temporary seal.

    These remedies are only going to treat the symptom and not the cause.  They are meant to get you through the pain until you can get the professional medical treatment that you need, not to replace it.

    As you’ve built your homestead, you’ve no doubt tried to think of everything you’ll possibly need for healthy, comfortable living. As a result, you no doubt have an herb garden where you grow delicious herbs that have numerous healing properties. Your garden could also be the key to relief.

    Ginger and Cayenne Paste

    Grab some ginger root and cayenne pepper from your garden. Chop and mash-up equal parts of each, and mix them with enough water that the mixture becomes a paste. Apply the paste to a piece of cotton and hold it against the tooth. Be sure to avoid touching your tongue or gums with the paste, as you’ll be crying for cold water if you do. Leave the paste-laden cotton in place until the pain starts to fade away.

    Apply a Tea Bag

    Black tea is full of tannins, which have astringent qualities and can reduce swelling and inflammation. Soak a tea bag in warm water, and then hold it in your mouth over the affected tooth and gums.

    Most toothaches come from infection in the gums and/or teeth, or from cavities. If you can, it’s best to see a dentist for permanent relief and to ensure that the infection doesn’t spread. If you can’t see a dentist, though, these natural remedies should give you relief at least temporarily until you can seek out medical help. In addition to these, be sure to keep your diet clean and brush and floss regularly, and you’ll avoid most dental and oral health and hygiene problems.


    Survival Medicine & Wilderness Survival…

    >> Discover The 10 Medicinal Plants Native Americans Used Daily


  • Five Things That Are Better Analog

    Five Things That Are Better Analog

    One of the challenges of homesteading is getting off the grid completely, and the less your life is digitized, the more possible this is. Americans are quickly losing the last traces of self reliance by using digital everything, from media, newspapers, communication to even their home appliances and cars. Here are a list of a few items that are always more reliable analog, that you might as well stick to, especially if you plan on living 0ff-grid at some point.

    Clocks

    While most analog clocks are still battery-operated, there are also still clocks out there that only need to be wound up, like people have been using for centuries. Not to mention even simple sundials. While most people use their cellphones as watches, there’s no reason not to keep some form of analog clock in your home.

    Radios

    For disaster preparedness, it’s always a good idea to keep an analog radio around. Radio has been used for decades analog-radio
    for simple forms of communication and as we get more and more used to the rapid-response nature of cell phones and internet, it may be prudent to keep a traditional radio around, just in case.

    Books

    E-readers can be great, but no matter how plugged in we get, many people still prefer the simple pleasure of a physical book. From a practical perspective, keeping books with vital homesteading and survival information could be crucial one day. Digital devices will always fail and many homesteads don’t have constant internet access-or any at all-so if you plan on long-term, self-reliant homesteading, plan on building a library well-stocked with guides, resources and even your favorite novels.

    Notebooks

    Digital note-taking can be very convenient but, like books, notebooks can be far more reliable in the long-term. If you keep an ongoing collection of practical or even creative notes, you might want to consider transferring the information you want to last to physical form, for the same reason as keeping physical books-digital forms of information will always eventually fail. 

    Cars

    Most new cars have computers which are very convenient in our highly-connected world, but not-so-convenient for at-home repair and modification. There used to be a day when the average person could work on and get to know the function of their vehicle and keep it running for decades.

    analog-carLook at Cuba-cut off from Western car manufacturers since the 60s, Cuban citizens have kept their old classic American-made cars running with little more than basic tools and salvaged car parts. If you don’t want to be tethered to the unreliable technology of today, it might be worth investing in an older analog car for your homestead.

     

     

     

    If you liked that, you might also like:

    Advanced Gardening Course To Accelerate Your Food Production…

    Survival Medicine & Wilderness Survival…

    Survival Techniques From Long Ago, Re-purposed For The Modern Era…

     

  • Skills to Build While You Wish You Could Homestead

    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:

     

    1. Bake your own bread: We tend to take our packaged, fluffy white supermarket loaves for granted, but there is nothing as delicious or satisfying as freshly baked homemade bread. It’s not too difficult to master, and doesn’t require anything more than what you can buy from said supermarket. And in addition to delicious bread, it will provide you with more of a sense of control over what goes into your food and a whole lot of respect for homesteaders of yore-who grew, milled and baked to get their daily bread.

     

    1. Pickling and Canning: There’s no reason you need to be growing your own crops to start preserving food. It’s always good to have a nice supply of foods that don’t need to be refrigerated, and really rewarding to make them yourself. Pickling is great because pickled and fermented foods are actually an amazing source of probiotics, and canning your own food is a great way to take advantage of marked-down produce at the supermarket as well as a healthy alternative to most GMO, BPA, toxin-ridden store-bought canned products.
      Check out: 7 Steps for Easy Canning

     

    1. Render tallow and lard: Mostly a forgotten homesteading art, rendering tallow and lard can be both greatly rewarding and cost-effective. Using often-times free scraps from butcher shops, or, if you’re lucky enough to know a hunter or farmer, the remains of a deer or cow after butchering, tallow and lard can be used in place of conventional oil or store-bought butter and tend to be far more delicious and nutritious.

     

    1. Make your own soap: The cost-effectiveness of making one’s own soap is probably the best reason to try it-homemade-soapbut, like making your own bread or canned products, also gives you a sense of control over what is going in your soap and knowing it’s safe. If you can get over the fear of working with lye, soap-making can be a blast, and odds are you won’t go back after you’ve tried it. Just make sure to follow basic safety precautions and you’ll be making all your family members homemade vanilla-lavender-coconut suds in no time!
      Check out: 5 Step DIY Soap

     

    1. Butcher a chicken: OK, so odds are, if you live in the city or suburbs, you probably don’t have access to a live chicken, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start practicing butchering now. Most supermarkets and butchers sell whole chicken, and they’re always much cheaper than chicken cuts. It’s a great way to whet your pallet for butchering, and you can use the giblets for gravy and bones for tallow-learning how to use the whole animal will give you a great taste for proper homesteading!

     

    If you liked that, you might also like:

    Advanced Gardening Course To Accelerate Your Food Production…

    Survival Medicine & Wilderness Survival…

    Survival Techniques From Long Ago, Re-purposed For The Modern Era…

  • How to Homestead in a City

    How to Homestead in a City

    Many of us would like to be able to afford a plot of land in the middle of nowhere and set up an amazing homestead, but that’s not always an option for everyone. One of the big appeals of homesteading is becoming self-reliant. So while you may be tethered to an urban lifestyle for now, there’s plenty you can do to become more self-reliant and homestead right where you are.

    Grow Your Food:

    This one is definitely obvious, but many people aren’t aware of how much they can really do in a small space. Tower gardens, box gardens, window gardens and even simple sprout gardens on your counter all provide great alternative to traditional garden beds, and are very space-efficient.

    Get Chickens:

    You’d have to check your local zoning regulations, but many urban neighborhoods these days allow chickens. Even a few hens can provide you with a nice supply off eggs for part of the year, and they’re really fun for kids to feed and get to watch grow. Like gardening, there are a lot of options for coops and outdoor space for hens, and also small varieties that make great options for aspiring urban chicken farmers.

    Hang your laundry:

    Also sometimes subject to neighborhood ordinances, if you live somewhere having a clothesline is allowed this is a great option to save on energy bills and feel like a proper homesteader right in your backyard. With the added benefit of the sun’s antibacterial rays and the amazingly fresh smell of air-dried laundry, what seems like an extra chore will most likely become quite a pleasure in no time.

    laundry-1199290_960_720

    Forage:

    Even if you live in the middle of a city, there’s often a lot of options for food foraging in city parks or wilderness areas outside the city. Look up a local foraging group or buy a guide and you’re sure to be on your way to seeking out uncommon mushrooms and wild greens in no time!

    Hunt and Fish:

    While you’d most likely have to travel outside an urban area to hunt or fish, this is a great option for obtaining more self-reliance while living in a city or suburb. There is nothing quite as rewarding as catching your own food, and with the right skills, processing equipment and food storage, you can easily stock up on meat and save yourself hundreds of dollars.

    If you liked that, you might also like:

    Advanced Gardening Course To Accelerate Your Food Production…

    Survival Medicine & Wilderness Survival…

    Survival Techniques From Long Ago, Re-purposed For The Modern Era…

  • Highly Effective Natural Bug Repellents

    Highly Effective Natural Bug Repellents

    A lot of people think that living the homesteader lifestyle means giving up on modern amenities, like mosquito repellent. While you might not be buying chemical-heavy sprays like others, though, you don’t actually have to just sit back and let mosquitoes and other bugs take over your life. In fact, there are a lot of highly effective natural ways to keep those bugs away from you, your home, and your garden.

    Make Your Own Bug Spray

    bug

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Grab a spray bottle and fill it halfway with distilled water. Fill it the rest of the way with witch hazel, and then add about 50-60 drops of rosemary, eucalyptus, or clove oil. Shake it up, and spray it on your skin. It’ll leave you feeling refreshed, and it’ll keep insects away, as well.

    Plant Rosemary in Your Yard

    Almost all insects are repelled by rosemary, making it a great herb to plant in your yard. You can plant it around your garden to keep pests out, and you can plant it around your patio or your fire pit to create a bug-free zone in the yard. Other good plants for this purpose include catnip, mint, citronella, and wormwood.

    Learn How To SUPER-CHARGE your garden or farm…

    Put Your Eggshells to Work

    If you’re trying to keep pests out of the garden, including insects, slugs, and snails, crush up eggshells and spread them around the bases of your plants. This makes it difficult for the pests to traverse the ground to get to the plants, and they’ll soon go looking elsewhere for food.

    Spread Mulch Around the House

    Finally, if bugs keep getting in your home, try spreading cedar mulch around the outside of the house. Much like rosemary, this deters pests and will make them want to go somewhere else.

    Try out one or all of these tips to enjoy a bug-free living and gardening space in and around your home.

  • 5 Survival Foods That Virtually Last Forever

    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 on for any long-term survival situation because it can be used as a disinfectant and all-purpose food preservative for other food items that might not last so long on their own.

    Learn How To SUPERCHARGE your garden or farm…

    3. Salt

    Like vinegar, salt is also a food preservative with many practical applications that will keep indefinitely. Not to mention, it’s always going to be your first choice for making bland survival food tastier. All you need is to protect it from moisture, of course (because we all know plenty of salt doesn’t pour when it rains!)

    Related Article: 9 Practical Emergency Foods and How to Store Them

    4. Honey

    Honey lasts so long, it has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Unless it gets exposed to moisture, it will pretty much last forever. Just keep it stored in an airtight container. And amazingly, while it may crystallize or change color, it will remain edible for possibly hundreds of years.

    5. Rice

    Rice is quite possibly the ultimate survival food. Like honey, rice has also been found in Egyptian tombs. Most varieties (other than brown rice, which is more perishable due to its high-fat content) will last indefinitely, especially when stored in a cool, dry place.

    If you liked that, you might also like:

    Click Here To Get The Best Survival Medical Course…

    Check Out These Mind Blowing Survival Skills…

  • Camp More Comfortably

    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 campingcamping 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 incorporate soft fabric in your campsite. A tablecloth over the picnic table, a small rug just inside the tent where you step in with your bare feet, and sheets or blankets from your home that you use with your sleeping bags can make your campsite feel more cozy and relaxed.

    Related Article:  “Campsite Chores for Kids”

    Defined Living Space…

    Try to expand the “living space” by laying out a large tarp, or even a large outdoor rug, in front of your tent. While it doesn’t actually create any more space than was already there, it does trick our minds into believing that the defined living space is larger and designed specifically for us. If you have a large overhead tarp over your tent, try to find one that is big enough to cover some area to the front of the tent as well, to create a “porch” for your temporary home.

    Decor…

    Finally, don’t be afraid to bring a sentimental, decorative item or two – a scented candle, a lawn ornament, or some fun lanterns strung around the area can make it feel more like “you”. Add some chairs or a comfortable hammock, and you may find that leaving your campsite is harder than you thought.

    If you liked that, you might also like:

    Check Out These Mind Blowing Survival Skills…

    Learn How To SUPERCHARGE your garden or farm…

    Click Here To Get The Best Survival Medical Course…

  • Age-Appropriate Farm Chores for Kids

    Age-Appropriate Farm Chores for Kids

    If you’re getting started with a family homestead, one of the things you’ll have to learn very quickly is how to delegate. Even a small farm takes a ton of work, and one person can’t do it all. Whether you pay an allowance, or simply make chores a part of learning life skills, yourfarmChore kids should be a part of caring for your family homestead. If you have younger children, there are still plenty of ways that they can help out around the farm.

    Pre-School Aged Children

    While you may have to help 2- or 3-year-olds with some of the delicate jobs, getting kids started young is a great way to help them get interested in the world around them. Doing simple chores beside you as you do your own allows them to learn, develop motor and language skills, and spend some quality time with you. They can:

    •    Pull weeds (with direction)
    •    Collect eggs
    •    Plant seeds and help water plants
    •    Help feed and water smaller animals (calm family pets are a good place to start)
    •    Pick up sticks or rocks from the yard or garden
    •    Sweep leaves or dirt off the walkway or patio

    Elementary Aged Children

    As children grow past the age of five, they can often begin taking on more responsibility with less direction. Anything listed above should be chores they can do on their own by now. Additionally, they could also:

    •    Feed and water animals
    •    Rake the yard
    •    Assist with laundry
    •    Clean small animal pens
    •    Bathe animals
    •    Harvest vegetables

    Middle School Aged Children and Up

    By the age of 10, children can:

    •    Mow the yard
    •    Help build or repair fences or enclosures
    •    Milk animals
    •    Clean large animal pens
    •    Hang laundry unassisted
    •    Assist with medical care for animals
    •    Operate machinery

    Every child is different, so it’s important to allow your child to move up in responsibility only as their development allows. These lists should give you a good idea of how easy daily homestead management can be when your whole family pitches in.

    If you liked that, you might also like:

    Learn How To SUPER-CHARGE your garden or farm…

    Click Here To Get The Best Survival Medical Course…

    Check Out These Mind Blowing Survival Skills…