Why You Should Rub Lard On Your Windows
You’re probably chuckling at the thought of smearing animal fat on your windows—and honestly, you should. But this idea isn’t born from quirky folklore. It comes from centuries of hard-earned, practical wisdom. The science is simple: lard is fat, and fat is a poor...
The Amish Ways: Book Review
If anyone knows how to live a self-sufficient life, it’s the Amish. When a crisis hits, they barely even notice. And that’s because they’ve built a life that can run itself, even when the world as the rest of us know it begins to falls apart. This made me wonder what...
How to Make Penicillin Soup
'Tis the season. You know the one. The one where communal bugs make their way from one household to the next, spreading snotty noses and misery. Ah, what fun it is…not! It’s a great idea to give your health a little more attention during the cold months. A hot,...
8 Unusual Uses for Manure Around Your Homestead
When most of us think of manure we head to the compost heap. We want to break it down and know that as a side dressing in gardens it will work wonders. But there’s more to manure than plant fertilizer. Some of the uses may surprise you. Let’s go down the list and...
These 15 Foods Can Never Spoil
Living on a homestead means that you can't go grocery shopping whenever you want. To not starve yourself and your loved ones, it is important to keep your pantry stocked at all times. But what if the food gets spoiled and you end up wasting all your hard-earned money...
Bucket Gardening: How to Grow Your Own Food Anywhere
Not everyone has access to sprawling garden beds or fertile farmland—but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own food. Bucket gardening is one of the simplest, cheapest, and most flexible methods for turning even the smallest spaces into productive gardens. With...
Grandma’s $1 Desperation Pie
Grandma’s $1 Water Pie, also known as Depression Era Pie, is a simple recipe that has often been passed down generation after generation with absolutely no need to alter. Despite the fiscally and emotionally challenging times during the Great Depression, the lady of...
The Native American Way To Self-Water Your Backyard
For thousands of years, Native American tribes lived closely with the land, while growing their food in some of the toughest environments in North America. They didn’t have any of the modern tools we have today. Instead, they learned to work with the natural...
How to Keep a Greenhouse Cool in Summer Without Electricity
Knowing how to keep a greenhouse cool in summer is one of the biggest challenges for gardeners who rely on passive growing systems. Greenhouses are excellent at trapping heat, but during summer months that same benefit can quickly turn into a problem. If temperatures...
Do This Immediately Before You Start Composting
Most avid gardeners have a compost heap. It’s an ideal way to add rich nutrients to garden soil. But there’s more to composting than just piling on a bunch of grass clippings, kitchen scraps and pulled weeds. The fact of the matter is that a successful compost heap is...
RM43 Weed Killer – What It Does And Why Many Homesteads Are Choosing Another Path
There is a moment every gardener reaches when weeds feel relentless. Paths disappear, fence lines creep inward, and carefully tended spaces begin to feel overtaken. It’s often at that point that people hear about RM43 weed killer, a product known for its strength and...
Medicines With Natural Alternatives You Don’t Need To Stockpile
Being prepared means being ready for anything – and that includes medical problems. Without access to the modern healthcare system, in a crisis your first line of defense will be whatever medications you have stockpiled. The problem is medicines can be expensive, or...
67 Methods to Get Rid Of Weeds Naturally
Weeds usually appear because of compacted ground, exposed soil, or imbalanced growing conditions. And the fastest way to get rid of them is to use chemical herbicides. But before they were invented, people relied on healthy soil practices, steady maintenance, careful...
Replace Your Harmful Pesticides With THIS
Weeds actively compete for water, sunlight, and minerals your crops need to grow strong. Left alone, they weaken your plants, reduce yields, and turn good soil into infertile soil. If you want your harvest to be as it should, plentiful, you have to deal with weeds....
Don’t Throw Away SPOILED Vegetables! Do THIS Instead!
You reach into the back of the pantry. And your fingers close around a tomato that has gone past its prime. Your first instinct? Walk it straight to the compost pile. That reflex is a good one. But what if I told you that automatic trip might be wasting a hidden...
How To Grow Potatoes In ONLY LEAVES
Potatoes continue to be one of the most nutritional foods we can eat. In fact, the Irish subsisted on a diet of mostly potatoes for centuries usually boiled with a seasoning of black pepper. It was the great Irish potato famine of 1845 to 1852 that resulted in a...
How to Collect Rainwater Without Gutters
Collecting rainwater is nothing new. Our ancestors did it long before us. It's surprising how much water goes to waste these days, especially when the benefits of conservation are so clear. By collecting and storing rainwater, you can enjoy lower water bills, have a...
Ingenious Ways to Repurpose Old Furniture on Your Homestead
Thinking of tossing out your old furniture? Hold your horses! Here's how you can repurpose old furniture on your homestead. Those cast-offs might just be diamonds in the rough waiting for a new purpose. With a touch of creativity and a bit of effort, you can breathe...
10 Household Items You Can Use as Mini-Greenhouses
Using everyday household items, you can transform your casual gardening into an innovative one through mini-greenhouses. Mini-greenhouses are a practical way to boost your gardening capabilities and planting game. They can help you create a controlled environment for...
DIY Root Cellar In A Box
A root cellar is a storage space built underground to preserve perishable items like fruits, vegetables, and other root crops for an extended time. The root cellar’s environment provides a cool, dark, and humid environment that helps slow the natural decay process and...
Ingenious Traps You Can Set Up On Your Property To Catch Looters
Over the years, I've learned that protecting your property isn't just about locks and alarms. It's about outsmarting those who'd try to take what's yours. I've had my fair share of close calls with looters, and along the way, I've discovered some effective traps to...
How To Keep Your House Cool Without AC
It's blisteringly hot and the background noise in your home changes. You pause and realize the worst has happened: your AC has died. You race to the phone, you call the techs but nothing can be done for a week. No one is available to help you. What do you do? Can you...
Do Not Throw Away Your Plastic Bottles, Do This Instead
If you're like me, you probably don't have a recycling plant nearby. Sounds strange to those in the city, but I'm pretty sure my southern, country county hasn't even considered putting one in. Much less, I doubt that anyone would even use it. Frustrating to some,...
Small Survival Projects You Are Missing On Your Property
Since isolation, we've come to see 'home is our sanctuary,' and we can make it even better! While getting out is important, we can prepare for success and survival by adding some small DIY survival projects to our to-do list. From leisure activities to practicing...
Homemade Bagel Recipe – The Traditional Method, Proper Texture, and Why It Still Matters
Bagels are one of those foods that appear deceptively simple. Flour, water, yeast, salt. Nothing exotic. Yet anyone who has attempted a proper homemade bagel recipe quickly discovers the truth: bagels are not just bread with a hole. Traditional bagels are defined by...
This 200-Year-Old Trick Keeps Meat Fresh Without Salt, Smoke, or Refrigeration
Back in 2003, a historical society in Lancaster County stumbled upon something strange during an estate sale. Down in a farmhouse basement, they found a sealed crock. Inside? Pork preserved in lard, probably from the 1940s, based on the newspaper covering the top....
Freeze Dryer vs Dehydrator – Choosing the Right Tool for a Self-Sufficient Home
When you begin preserving your own food, it’s natural to wonder which tools truly belong in your home. Two names come up again and again: freeze dryers and dehydrators. Both promise long-lasting food. Both are used by homesteaders, gardeners, and families focused on...
Cowboy Candy Pickled Eggs
I still have the photo of our first egg. We keep chickens in a suburban backyard, and we fought for the right to do that. The photo is of my son holding a single egg in his two little hands. All these years later the humble egg has become one of my favorite foods, an...
How to Make a Perfect Bee Pollen Smoothie
Bee pollen has earned its reputation as one of nature’s most concentrated foods. Collected by bees from flowering plants, it contains a unique mix of carbohydrates, amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. When used correctly, it can be an excellent...
Have You Been Using Fake Honey?
If you think honey is your health’s ally, today's article might come as a shock to you. Do you know those little plastic honey bear recipients on supermarket shelves? They might contain nothing but high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors,...
$0 Bill Full Meal
If the grid went down tonight, how many of us could still cook a proper meal? Most people wouldn’t last a day without power or fuel. Put those together, and you have the perfect recipe for disaster. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Matter of fact, you don’t even...
Shelf-Stable Foods That Kept Coal Miners Alive During the Great Depression
When the Great Depression struck, coal miners and their families were among the hardest hit. With their paychecks slashed and the mines shutting down without warning, putting food on the table became a daily battle. Every meal was uncertain, and survival often came...
What Do Goats Eat?
If you’re new to raising goats or considering adding them to your homestead, one of the first questions you’ll ask is: what do goats eat? While goats have a reputation for eating just about anything, the truth is a bit more specific — and far more important to get...
Your Chicken Coop Could Be a Death Trap
You think your chickens are safe. You built the coop yourself, added straw, maybe even a solar door. But what if that structure—your pride and joy—is quietly killing them? It doesn’t take much. One leak, one loose panel, one missed sign of disease. That’s how entire...
The Best Homemade Chicken Coop Deodorizer
Introduction to Odor Control Raising backyard chickens is incredibly rewarding—farm-fresh eggs, compostable manure, and a sustainable lifestyle all in one. But one thing new (and even experienced) chicken keepers quickly discover is the odor. Chicken coops, left...
This Is Making Your Chickens Sick
You might not even realize it, but some of the most common things around your homestead could be quietly putting your entire flock at risk. A small oversight, like feed left too long in the trough, water that looks “mostly clean,” or a few harmless weeds sprouting...
Why Growing Bees Is Easier Than You Think
What if I told you that one of the most powerful allies in your garden doesn’t come from a seed packet, but has wings? 🐝 Most people assume beekeeping is complicated, expensive, or only for seasoned homesteaders. But the truth might surprise you. Growing bees (yes,...
I Fed Stinging Nettles to My Chickens, and This Happened
Stinging nettles are everywhere in your garden, and I'm not gonna lie; we often overlook them and have them discarded. No need to do this anymore! In this guide, I will reveal how feeding nettles to my chickens changed their lives. Keep on reading to get all the...
Can Chickens Eat Bread?
This question comes up much more often than you might believe. Can chickens eat bread? The answer is much simpler than you might believe but there are some really important things you should take into account before deciding to let your chicken eat bread. Chickens can...
Why You Should Keep Guinea Fowl on Your Homestead
Guinea fowl are quickly becoming a favorite among homesteaders and self-sufficient enthusiasts. These unique birds do more than just add a touch of rustic charm to your property—they bring practical benefits that can help make your homestead more sustainable and...
Ingenious Solar-Powered Projects Inspired By the Amish
The idea of the Amish using a technology like solar panels seems to contradict the lifestyle many of us assume about their culture and society. But the Amish actually see solar power as a resource that aligns perfectly with their dedication to independence,...
Faraday Cage Fabric: A Practical Guide for Everyday Preparedness
Modern life depends so heavily on electronics that we often forget how fragile these systems can be. A single surge, an EMP, or even a severe solar event can damage devices we rely on for communication, power, and safety. While a traditional Faraday cage offers...
Do Amish Drink Alcohol?
Among the Amish, every choice reflects a balance between tradition, practicality and spiritual grounding. Their relationship with alcohol is no exception. While many imagine the Amish as strictly abstaining from anything modern or indulgent, the truth is far more...
How Your Clothes Could Save Your Life in the Next Crisis
In an uncertain world, shaped by natural disasters, power grid failures, and civil unrest, you might be left with nothing more than the clothes on your back! While shelf-stable food, water purification, and shelter often take the spotlight, in most preparedness...
What Is Borage?
Borage is a hardy annual herb known for its bright star shaped blue flowers and its long history as a soothing, uplifting plant in traditional folk medicine. Sometimes called “starflower,” borage grows easily in poor soils, attracts pollinators, and offers both...
How to Harvest 1000+ Gallons of Water from Your Roof
It sounds like a lot, and it is, but your roof can easily capture more than 1,000 gallons of water even during a light rain. A lot depends on the size of your roof and obviously the amount of rain but regularly harvesting rainwater and storing it not only saves money...
Why Are You Still Throwing THIS Away?
You might not realize it, but what you throw away in your trash can is probably full of survival gear. Everyday items we throw away, plastic bottles, cardboard, old clothes, even food scraps, can become valuable tools when things go south. In a post-collapse world,...
How to Survive Extreme Weather with Only What Grows in Your Backyard
Weather extremes vary, from bad heat waves to winter freezes. A sudden frost can turn many plants to toast. But there are some steps you can take to protect and preserve what you plant when the weather gets tough. That can be especially important if you’re dependent...
Ingenious Ways To Recycle Plastic Bottles
Our environment has had enough rejection from us in the past. We now need to join hands and take responsibility of how we take care of it. You can put a foot in by doing just one small thing a day that will ensure its future existence. That one thing may be recycling...
How To Make Your Knife As Sharp As The Devil Himself
Though I have never been or never desire to be a killer much of my life’s success was predicated on keeping a set of razor sharp knifes. Again, I am not an assassin but I was a chef for many years. On the hot line and in food preparation it is of the utmost importance...
How You Can Find Out If Your Homestead Water Is Polluted Or Clean
Environmental pollution is one of the undeniable consequences of the industrial age. And all pollution, whether soil or air pollution, ends up in our water. This article will deal with some aspects of how you can assess your homestead's water quality. There are many...
Leaving the City? Here’s What to Look For In A New Community
There has been an unexpected side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic – single-family homes listed for sale moving outside of cities are seeing multiple offers almost immediately. The mini real estate boom comes as city dwellers begin to emerge from mandatory lockdowns in...
How To Get Rid Of Termites On Your Property
Termites don’t bite or cause any illness, yet they have caused more pain to humans than any other living insect or pest that exists today. Quite a bold statement, but very true. "Termites are responsible for property damages amounting to an average of $40 billion a...
How To Collect Gray Water
Few of us ever pause to consider the amount of water that runs down our drains. What if you could put that water to better use? And I guess that most of us would like to do that, but think it's difficult or too much of a hassle. But what if it was really easy? This...
How To Change A Flat Tire
It’s the Monday morning rush and just when things get really tight, you see your car sadly listing to one side and the rim is far too close to the ground. Well, perhaps now would be a good time to phone in, and say you are going to be late, because it will take you a...
The Lazy Man’s Tricks And Tips To Homesteading
Running a homestead demands you to constantly be thinking outside the box, searching for new and exciting ideas to up your level of self-sufficiency. Below are some simple tips and tricks that can help you to do just that, even if you have little time and energy to...
