i am a bit of a hippyish, spiritual, thirty-something person with a great deal of concern for the future of this planet. at the rate that we're breeding and consuming, we won't have a planet to live on within the next twenty years.

homesteading and survivalism is a big interest of mine; i am merely a novice at it, though. this blog is mainly to give me tips and ideas. if this blog also gives you tips and ideas, awesome!

things posted here: homesteading, survivalism, gardening, diy, healthy eating, homemade crafts, homemade gift ideas, recycling and reusing things you might otherwise throw out, and - because i'm a sucker for beautiful homes - pictures of amazing houses.
house & homesteading
homemessagehistorymy blogs

agoodpaganwife:

palimpsest-smile:

1. Learn how to safely use a chainsaw
2. Learn how to grow a vegetable plant
3. Learn how to sharpen any edge tool — knife, axe, hoe, chisel etc.
4. Learn basic firearm safety and gun proof your children and grandchildren
5. Learn how to dub a chicken
6. Learn how to read the weather
7. Learn how to spin wool, cotton or flax into thread or yarn on a spinning wheel or with a drop spindle
8. Learn how to use a garden shovel, spade or hoe without hurting your back
9. Learn how to light a fire indoors or outdoors
10. Learn how to go to a country auction and not get skinned
11. Learn how to crochet
12. Learn how to butcher small livestock like rabbits or chickens
13. Learn how to hang clothes on a clothesline
14. Learn basic tractor maintenance
15. Learn the differences between trees and the unique properties of various types of wood
16. Learn how to cook 10 basic meals from scratch
17. Learn how to pasteurize milk
18. Learn how to witch for water with a forked branch or a bent metal hanger
19. Learn how to distinguish healthy plants and animals from unhealthy plants or animals
20. Learn basic sewing skills
21. Learn how to set an ear tag or tattoo for animal identification
22. Learn how determine an animal’s age by its teeth
23. Learn how to cut and glaze glass
24. Learn how to drive a standard transmission vehicle
25. Learn how to thaw out frozen pipes without busting them
26. Learn how and when to use hybrid seeds
27. Learn how to hand thresh and winnow wheat or oats and other small grains
28. Learn how to train a working cattle or sheep dog
29. Learn how to read the moon and stars
30. Learn how to make soft or hard cheeses
31. Learn how to live within your financial means
32. Learn how to fillet and clean a fish
33. Learn how to use a wash tub, hand-wringer and washboard
34. Learn how to make soap from wood ashes and animal fat
35. Learn how to lay basic brick or build a stone wall
36. Learn basic home canning and food preservation
37. Learn how to save open pollinated seeds
38. Learn how to de-horn livestock
39. Learn how to use an awl and basic leather repair
40. Learn how to make long-term plans for the future – plan an orchard or a livestock breeding program
41. Learn the mental skills necessary to jury rig anything with duct tape, baling twine and whatever is on hand
42. Learn how to read an almanac
43. Learn how to euthanize large livestock
44. Learn how to cook on a cook stove
45. Learn how to entertain yourself and live without electronic media
46. Learn how to shear a sheep
47. Learn how to manage human urine and feces without plumbing
48. Learn how to swap, barter and network with like-minded people
49. Learn how to make a candle
50. Learn how to dig and properly use a shallow well
51. Learn how to refinish furniture
52. Learn how to drive a draft animal
53. Learn the mental and spiritual skills to realistically deal with life, death and failure
54. Learn how to use non-electric lighting
55. Learn how to caponize a chicken
56. Learn how to restrain large livestock
57. Learn how to use a treadle sewing machine
58. Learn how to give an injection
59. Learn how to properly use a handsaw, hammer & nails, screw driver, wire cutters, and measuring tape
60. Learn how to recognize your own physical and mental skill limits
61. Learn how and when to prune grapes and fruit trees
62. Learn how to hatch out chicken, duck or other poultry eggs
63. Learn how to use a scythe
64. Learn how to skin a furbearer and stretch the skin
65. Learn how to tell the time of day by the sun
66. Learn how to milk a goat, sheep or cow
67. Learn how to stomach tube a newborn animal
68. Learn how to break ground and plow
69. Learn how to use a wood stove and how to bank a fire
70. Learn how to make butter
71. Learn how to knit
72. Learn how to make and use a hot bed or cold frame
73. Learn how to deliver a foal, calf, lamb or kid
74. Learn how to know when winter is over
75. Learn how to plant a tree
76. Learn how to brood day-old chicks
77. Learn how to dye yarn or cloth from plants
78. Learn how to haggle like a horse trader
79. Learn how to bake bread
80. Learn how to use a pressure tank garden sprayer
81. Learn how to halter break a horse or cow
82. Learn how to graft baby animals onto a foster-mother
83. Learn how to weave cloth
84. Learn how to grow everyday kitchen herbs
85. Learn how to make sausage
86. Learn how to set and bait traps for unwanted vermin and predators
87. Learn how to grind wheat into flour
88. Learn how to make paper and ink
89. Learn when it is more economical to buy something ready-made or when to make it yourself
90. Learn how to castrate livestock
91. Learn how choose a location for a vegetable garden or orchard
92. Learn how to weave a basket
93. Learn how to use electric netting or fencing
94. Learn how to make fire starters from corn cobs or pinecones
95. Learn how to use a pressure cooker
96. Learn how to correctly attach 3 point hitch implements to a tractor
97. Learn how to trim the hooves of goats or sheep
98. Learn how to sew your own underwear
99. Learn how to make your own wine.
100. Learn basic plumbing and how to sweat copper pipes and joints
101. Learn how to reload ammunition

And, with this, I start my zombie survival page.

 03/02-13
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01/22-13
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bjornnormann: Industrious balcony gardening. Picture by Lucas Fowler on Pinterest.

bjornnormann:

Industrious balcony gardening.

Picture by Lucas Fowler on Pinterest.


 01/15-13
(213)
20 Tips to Waste Less Food

cookthisblog:

Use the Freezer

1. When you cook a meal that’s big enough to have leftovers, go ahead and freeze them right away. The food will taste better, and you won’t have to eat the same thing three nights in a row.

2. When you freeze sauces or soups in plastic freezer bags, squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing the bag. Stack them flat so they won’t take up much space in your freezer.

3. Preserve an abundance of lemons and limes by squeezing the juice into ice cube trays and saving the frozen juice for later.

4. Fruits like grapes, bananas, and strawberries can be frozen. Spread out berries on a cookie sheet to freeze so they won’t be stuck together, before you wrap them up.

5. Leftover wine can be frozen in ice cube trays, and then later added to simmering meat dishes or spaghetti sauce.

Make the Most of Older Food

6. What do you do with old bread? Cut the bread into squares and toast on low heat to make croutons. Toast and then crumble bread in a food processor to make bread crumbs. Make french toast or stuffing.

7. Fried rice is better when made with day old rice instead of fresh-cooked rice.

8. Brown bananas taste sweet in smoothies and banana bread.

9. Old vegetables can be added into stews or stocks.

10. Tomatoes can be pureed into tomato sauce or salsa.

Save the Smaller Things

11. A small portion of leftovers might not be enough for a meal, but it could make a good snack. Check the fridge for small servings before pulling out a bag of chips.

12. Leftover roasted chicken can be added to a stock.

13. Rinds of hard cheeses such as parmesean can be frozen and later added to soups for richer flavor.

14. When your little one runs off without finishing a glass of milk, don’t pour it down the sink and wash the glass. Put it back in the fridge for the next time they want something to drink.

Prevention is Best

15. Know what’s in your freezer or fridge. Keep foods in the freezer labeled well, and review your inventory every few days, or at least before you go to the grocery store.

16. Package foods properly. Don’t toss something into the fridge uncovered, or leave something sitting on the counter. Wrap it up or place a plate over a bowl of food to cover it up.

17. Be realistic about what your family will eat, and keep that in mind before you stock up on a good sale at the grocery store.

18. Have wooden clothes pins accessible in the kitchen to seal bags closed in the pantry and freezer.

19. Mason jars are an easy and inexpensive way to store bulk pantry foods. While you don’t want to reuse a lid for canning, it’s fine to wash and reuse them for storing dry goods.

20. One bad apple… Check your large bags of potatoes, onions, apples, and cartons of berries before you store them away. You wouldn’t want to let one funky potato cause the rest of them to go bad before you eat them.

 01/13-13
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01/12-13
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01/12-13
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homesteadingprincess: the-farm-life: Canning room portion of our root cellar! Finally almost finished. #homestead #farm #farmhouse #canning (at The Farm) This is soooo perfect

homesteadingprincess:

the-farm-life:

Canning room portion of our root cellar! Finally almost finished. #homestead #farm #farmhouse #canning (at The Farm)

This is soooo perfect

 01/12-13
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talisman: Dandelion-Violet Lemonade 1. Fill 1/2 Gallon mason jar 1/2 way with dandelions and violet flowers. 2. Add the juice and rind of 2-3 lemons. 3. Fill to the very top with water and cap tightly. 4. Let steep in sunny location for a day like you would sun tea. 5. Strain through cheese cloth or muslin(squeeze all the moisture out of your flowers) 5. Add honey to suit your taste 6. Enjoy!! :)

talisman:

Dandelion-Violet Lemonade

1. Fill 1/2 Gallon mason jar 1/2 way with dandelions and violet flowers.
2. Add the juice and rind of 2-3 lemons.
3. Fill to the very top with water and cap tightly.
4. Let steep in sunny location for a day like you would sun tea.
5. Strain through cheese cloth or muslin(squeeze all the moisture out of your flowers)
5. Add honey to suit your taste
6. Enjoy!! :)

 01/12-13
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motherearthnewsmag: Self-Seeding Crops You’ll Never Need to Replant Manage these vigorous self-seeders so you’ll never have to buy seeds again. By Barbara Pleasant

motherearthnewsmag:

Self-Seeding Crops You’ll Never Need to Replant

Manage these vigorous self-seeders so you’ll never have to buy seeds again.

By Barbara Pleasant
 01/11-13
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01/11-13
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kountrystyle: There is really no way that most people today could say that they have no other choice but to sleep on a Mattress (on the floor) … making a bed to hold said mattress with Pallets is certainly an option. Don’t go too fancy; nails and a Hammer, or if you are fortunate, screws and a screwdriver - electric if possible. Get some Pallets from locations that throw them away (or give them away) -  a bit of elbow grease to perhaps sand and clean, maybe some paint if so inclined, and ta-taaaaaaaaaa …. you have a bed frame! Note: Don’t just take Pallets, ask. If you happen to notice empty pallets leaning against the back of a business, they might be amenable to letting you have them, but be sure to ask. Do not assume that pallets left outside of a business are there for the taking. While it seems a reasonable assumption that if a business left pallets outside and unprotected that it did not really want them, this might not be the case. Sometimes businesses store pallets outside because they don’t have room inside to store them. Also, if the pallet has an ownership stamp on it, such as CHEP, PECO, iGPS, Coca-Cola, U.S. Postal Service or others, then these pallets should not be removed. Such companies vigorously enforce the property rights to their pallets, and you may find yourself charged with unlawful possession of them. More on the subject @ http://recycling.about.com/od/PalletRecycling/a/Collecting-Pallets-Free-And-Low-Cost-Pallet-Sources.htm

kountrystyle:

There is really no way that most people today could say that they have no other choice but to sleep on a Mattress (on the floor) … making a bed to hold said mattress with Pallets is certainly an option.

Don’t go too fancy; nails and a Hammer, or if you are fortunate, screws and a screwdriver - electric if possible. Get some Pallets from locations that throw them away (or give them away) -  a bit of elbow grease to perhaps sand and clean, maybe some paint if so inclined, and ta-taaaaaaaaaa …. you have a bed frame!

Note:

Don’t just take Pallets, ask.

If you happen to notice empty pallets leaning against the back of a business, they might be amenable to letting you have them, but be sure to ask. Do not assume that pallets left outside of a business are there for the taking. While it seems a reasonable assumption that if a business left pallets outside and unprotected that it did not really want them, this might not be the case. Sometimes businesses store pallets outside because they don’t have room inside to store them.

Also, if the pallet has an ownership stamp on it, such as CHEP, PECO, iGPS, Coca-Cola, U.S. Postal Service or others, then these pallets should not be removed. Such companies vigorously enforce the property rights to their pallets, and you may find yourself charged with unlawful possession of them.

More on the subject @

http://recycling.about.com/od/PalletRecycling/a/Collecting-Pallets-Free-And-Low-Cost-Pallet-Sources.htm

 01/11-13
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onehappywifey: (via www.charlesdowding.co.uk | No dig gardening)

onehappywifey:

(via www.charlesdowding.co.uk | No dig gardening)

 01/11-13
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