Self-reliance Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

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....

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...

I heat my house by burning corn

By Judith W. Monroe Issue #42 • November/December, 1996 As I write this, it is fall in New England. If you burn wood, you are probably well along with the annual chores of chopping, splitting, and...

Power Up

By Jeffrey R. Yago, P. E., C.E.M. Spring, 2019 During any emergency or related power outage, the most important electronic device you need to keep operating is your cell phone, at least as long as cellular...

Cold process goat milk soap

By Michele Cooper Issue #171 • May/June, 2018 Making soap can seem scary to some people, but the truth is, it only takes a few steps. Tools & equipment The equipment you use to make soap needs to...

Dehydrating eggs at home

By Patrice Lewis Issue #156 • November/December, 2015 Here's a trivia question for you: What do you do when your chickens are laying gangbusters and you have no less than 10 dozen eggs in the fridge,...

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...

Making apple pectin

By Kristina Seleshanko Issue #167 • September/October, 2017 One day, as I walked past an apple tree that was naturally thinning its fruit by dropping tiny, baby apples, I thought, “I wish there was something useful...

Call me plumber

By Emily Chadwick Issue #121 • January/February, 2010 Sometimes life requires you to climb in the toilet, and elbow deep in the bowl, you discover the path to self-reliance. When I heard the flush, I knew I...

Power your bug-out bag

By Jeff Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #160 • July/August, 2016 More and more people are starting to see the advantage of having a bug-out bag for each member of their family. Normally these bags are kept...

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,...

Clover — From Livestock Forage to Medicinal Tea, This Humble Plant is One of...

By Eugene Mitchell Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 Whether young or old, lying in the grass and searching for four-leafed clovers is timeless fun. Sometimes they're so elusive, like the leprechaun, it seems they don't exist....

Make your own firestarters

By Claire Wolfe Issue #129 • May/June, 2011 I bought an old house last summer and inherited lots of the former owners' stuff some of it good and welcome, some strictly landfill-fodder. Among other things that...

Medical kits for self-reliant families

By Jackie Clay Issue #60 • November/December, 1999 There may be a time, as close as tomorrow, when your loved ones need medication or medical treatment and there is no drug store open or doctor available....

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...

Picking your pressure canner — All American or Presto?

By James Kash Issue #143 • September/October, 2013 The garden is in full swing and you have baskets of vegetables piling up; what do you do? You can them, of course. Your mother's old granite-ware canner...