Self-reliance Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Buying a used mobile home

By Daniel Motz Issue #99 • May/June, 2006 One of the quickest, easiest, and cheapest ways to get your country home is to consider a used mobile home. Sometimes you can even find these homes free...

For safety’s sake, homestead fuel storage must be handled properly

By Emory Warner Issue #43 • January/February, 1997 Home storage of fuel is a necessity for homesteaders. Even if you are still on the grid, your truck, tractor, standby generator, etc. will still require fuel. I...

Harvest your own firewood

By Pete Earl Issue #83 • September/October, 2003 Harvesting firewood has many rewards: exercise, satisfaction, saving money, and the security of having your own fuel supply for winter warmth. Here are some pointers in the art...

Annie on Everfree Farm, Part I

By Annie Tuttle Issue #145 • January/February, 2014 So here we are. Truth be told, it was a complete accident that we found our farm. We weren't even looking for it. We...

Homeschooling your dylsexic kid

By John Silveira Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 I write and edit for a living. I'm the senior editor for Backwoods Home Magazine for which I've written numerous columns during the last 24 years. Before that...

Water development for the homestead: Ponds, cisterns, and tanks

By Roy Martin Issue #102 • November/December, 2006 In most areas, wells or springs are able to provide water sources for the homestead, but there are places where groundwater is either not available or where it...

Storm survivors

By Anita Evangelista Issue #71 • September/October, 2001 First couple days of June, 1998, weather pretty good, a bit wetter than it is now. Clear day, clouds moving in during the afternoon. By suppertime, the sky...

Nursing: A perfect backwoods career

By John McLane, RN Issue #88 • July/August, 2004 For many of us, a job in the traditional economy is crucial to being able to maintain our chosen lifestyle. Others who are pondering a move out...

Your kitchen pharmacy — How common culinary herbs and spices can help you feel...

By Rebekah L. Cowell Issue #122 • March/April, 2010 In a perfect world, we would get all the nutrients and medication we needed from the food we ate. However, our diets and the foods available to...

Frostbite — Don’t flirt with this sneaky danger

By Tom and Joanne O’Toole Issue #96 • November/December, 2005 Frostbite can be defined, in its most severe stage, as when your fingers and toes freeze and have to be cut off because of gangrene. Wow,...

The cholesterol in your stovepipe can be fatal

By D.B. Frandsen Issue #36 • November/December, 1995 The season is arriving. The garden is ready for its final turning, the apples are picked, and it's supposed to freeze by the end of the week. So,...

7 Mistakes of food storage

By Vicki Tate Issue #55 • January/February, 1999 If you are going to store food, make sure that the food you store is adequate for the need you and your family anticipate. This may not be...

35 country jobs — How folks make a living near my hometown

By Charles Sanders Issue #89 • September/October, 2004 If you're relocating to the backwoods, you will very likely have to give some thought to generating some income, that is, making a living. Hopefully, the topic is...

Make coiled rugs from scrap material

By Robert Van Putten Issue #164 • March/April, 2017 Remember that old rag rug Great-grandma made? Chances are, most country homes have one or two of these things lying around. Back in the days before wall-to-wall...

Just for Kids: Life in the forest

By Lucy Shober Issue #34 • July/August, 1995 Click on pictures for printable, full-sized versions to color. "It's a jungle out there!" You've probably heard that phrase time and again, but did you ever stop and ponder...

Cast iron

By Jackie Clay Issue #118 • July/August, 2009 My very favorite cookware is old. Some of it very old. It's nonstick, is equally at home in the kitchen or wilderness camp, is the ultimate slow-cooker, and...