Self-reliance Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Make a Sure-Fire Live Trap

By Charles Sanders Issue #64 • July/August, 2000 Every now and then, wild critters wear out their welcome around the homeplace. Gardens are raided, garbage cans ransacked, pet food filched, and other shenanigans are performed by...

Vinegar — A splash is all you need for healthful eating, natural healing, and...

By Linda Gabris Issue #97 • January/February, 2006 Call me a sourpuss, if you will, but I love vinegar and can't imagine a day going by without calling upon one type or another for cooking, curing,...

The adventures of a first-time homesteader

By Jessie Denning Issue #160 • July/August, 2016 In November of 2015, my husband and I moved onto our 50-acre parcel of land in a 28-foot travel trailer -- with no knowledge of homesteading except what...

How to maintain your chimney

By Charles Sanders Issue #169 • January/February, 2018 As a good stove can be vital to a country home, a good chimney is just as important in safely operating that stove. A well-constructed chimney can serve...

Just for Kids: Knock knock vinegar

By Lucy Shober Issue #32 • March/April, 1995 Click on pictures for printable, full-sized versions to color. Have you ever read accounts of those pioneer families? They seemed to flourish in a one-room shack filled with eight...

Space heater safety tips

By Tom Kovach Issue #90 • November/December, 2004 If you are going to try to take the chill out of your home without turning on your main sources of heat, or if you want to add...

Better wood heating

By David Lee Shop heater. This example is a 55-gallon drum and stove kit surrounded with leftover concrete blocks. I stack extra bricks, slates, and metal on the top to give...

Preparing for winter

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #161 • September/October, 2016 In some climates, winter's no big deal — just a little rain and cooler weather. But for the rest of us, winter is something to be prepared for....

Raising kids simply

By Patrice Lewis Issue #131 • September/October, 2011 Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live simply? When asked what constitutes a simple life, nine out of ten people will answer something along...

Battery-Powered Tools are Changing

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., C.E.M. April/May/June, 2019 Battery-powered tool technology is now undergoing some rapid changes in both the power of the tool motors and the batteries supplying the added power. For many years most battery-powered...

Woodstove cooking

By Cindi Myers Issue #127 • January/February, 2011 If you have a woodstove for heat, take advantage of the fire to cook your dinner for no extra cost and very little effort. The heat of a...

Survival/utility vest

By David Eddings Issue #144 • November/December, 2013 Editor's Note: Several readers have contacted us asking about the exact model number of the vest pictured in this article. We contacted the author and he replied: The vest...

How to Resurrect Old, Rusted Tools

By R.E. Rawlinson Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 The homesteading lifestyle can require a number of tools to cultivate the garden, maintain the home, repair the tractor, and build various pens and coops. We use them...

Make elderberry syrup for flu season

By Karen M. House Issue #169 • January/February, 2018 Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) has been a traditional influenza remedy for hundreds of years. I first learned about using elderberry syrup as a flu treatment a few years...

Finding wealth you can wear at yard sales

By Thomas M. Buckley Issue #126 • November/December, 2010 When you go to yard sales this year, be sure to look for jewelry. I used to always look for tools or other items that a self-reliant...

Learning to love the high desert

By Claire Wolfe Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 Earlier this year, the dogs and I got taxed out of Cabin Sweet Cabin. With a little help from our friends, we packed a small trailer with our...