Make a Quick and Easy Tipi
By Bob Van Putten
Issue #174 • November/December, 2018
The native peoples of North America were a very practical lot. Over the centuries they developed some very efficient tools. Yet, perhaps because of their appreciation of...
Choosing a chain saw
By Steven Gregersen
Issue #119 •September/October, 2009
Winter will be here soon and along with winter comes cold weather and high heating bills. Obviously there's nothing new about any of this but with the current economic...
How to organize an outdoor canning party
By Jennifer Grahovac
Issue #119 • September/October, 2009
When my husband and I decided to return to Ohio after living for 15 years in the mountains of Vermont, it was with some trepidation and a little...
Dollar Store to the Rescue
By Jeffrey R. Yago, P.E.
Summer 2019, Self-Reliance
I have talked with emergency responders who have traveled all over the country to volunteer their rescue efforts at disasters like the recent flooding in Texas. While much...
The wonderful world of axes
By R.E. Rawlinson
Issue #171 • May/June, 2018
In 1845, Henry David Thoreau began his now-classic experiment in self-reliance at Walden Pond. He soon realized that if he was going to make a go of it...
Hypothermia — A real winter danger
By Tom and Joanne O’Toole
Issue #84 • November/December, 2003
Hypothermia is a deadly enemy. It steals body heat and kills more outdoor enthusiasts every year than anything else.
Hypothermia is the rapid and drastic chilling of...
Preparedness for travelers
By Brad Rohdenburg
Issue #81 • May/June, 2003
When the subject of preparedness comes up, do you think of having a stock of supplies in your kitchen pantry in case of a storm? Maybe a backpack...
Life-saving snowshoes
By Len McDougall
Issue #126 • November/December, 2010
If you live in or drive through places where winter generally means having snow on the ground from autumn till spring, you should have a functional pair of...
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...
Digging a shallow well
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #165 • May/June, 2017
When we first looked at the land which is now our off-grid homestead, the realtor mumbled an apology for an old gravel pit on the property from the...
Homemade pest traps
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By Patrice Lewis
Issue #164 • March/April, 2017
Last summer, my little compost bucket near the kitchen sink became home to a zillion fruit flies. Once they’re established, it’s devilishly hard to get rid of these...
Clean up your act!
By Nanette Blanchard
Issue #100 • July/August, 2006
I used to get a headache just inhaling the chemical fumes while walking through the cleaning product aisle of the store. I started using less toxic products from...
Survival infection control
By Joseph Alton, M.D.
Issue #151 • January/February, 2015
For several months now, news regarding the devastation that the Ebola virus is causing in West Africa has been in the headlines. A disease once found only...
Homemade skin care products
By Carly Egger
Issue #145 • January/February, 2014
When you think of skin care products that soften, moisturize, and nourish the skin, do the words extravagant, unnecessary, and expensive come to mind? The skin is the...
Preserve the harvest naturally through wild fermentation
By Jereme Zimmerman
Issue #154 • July/August, 2015
Little hands are ideal for helping to stuff jars with vegetables. Just be sure to "pay" your help — but don't let them eat it all!
For a homesteader,...
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...
