Food security 101, part 3: Why I love my vacuum sealer (and more)
By Rowena Aldridge
Issue #140 • March/April, 2013
In parts one and two (Issues #138 and #139), we covered basics and homemade convenience foods. Now that you've become so proficient at making delicious, nutritious, and economical...
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...
You could furnish an entire homestead at Lehman’s ‘Non-electric’ Hardware Store
By Don Fallick
Issue #47 • September/October, 1997
Let me state my bias right at the beginning: Lehmans Hardware has been advertising in Backwoods Home Magazine for a long time, but I made my first purchase...
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...
Drawing the line on timber trespass
By Paul Lamble
Issue #78 • November/December, 2002
Over the 4th of July weekend, my wife and I learned an important lesson the hard way. We live near Kansas City, but for several years we've owned...
Drive your own freshwater well
By Len McDougall
Issue #128 • March/April, 2011
The well point's slotted holes permit water to enter, while stainless steel mesh inside keeps out abrasive sand.
X marks the spot. How "witching" for water works is a...
Start your food storage on $10 a week
By Alan T. Hagan
Issue #59 • September/October, 1999
If Old Mother Hubbard had had a food storage program before she went to her cupboard her poor dog would have gotten his bone. Given the fact...
Emergency planning beyond the bug-out bag
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #157 • January/February, 2016
In many emergency situations, simply staying home can be your most sensible choice. After all, most of us have stocked up on a good supply of food in...
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...
Saving money on the homestead
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #148 • July/August, 2014
I come from a "penny-pinching-and-proud-of-it" family background and I learned the importance of saving a buck at an early age. Throughout my journey toward a self-reliant lifestyle, I've...
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...
Bugging out in place
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #163 • January/February, 2017
Some emergency situations require quick evacuation. You barely have time to grab your bug-out bag, gather the family, and run out the door. Most of us are ready...
Getting out of Dodge — 10 Things I am doing to prepare for the...
By Luke Lee
Issue #73 • January/February, 2002
There are three kinds of people who read this magazine: those already living in the country, those actively preparing and planning to make the move to the country,...
How we found our remote backwoods home
By Jackie Clay
Issue #65 • September/October, 2000
Right now I'm sitting in a south-facing huge, sunny window, looking through our own private valley to a larger mountain valley below and the pine covered mountains beyond....
Stashing Junk Silver for Bad Times
By John Silveira
Issue #131 • September/October, 2011
This is a pile containing $100 face value of pre-1965 "junk silver" coins, but it could represent 400 gallons of gasoline or 400 loaves of bread.
When I was...
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...
