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....
Cut your grocery bill in half
By C. M. Hudman
Issue #53 • September/October, 1998
There was a time when I despised grocery shopping. Every time I walked into a grocery store it seemed the dollars were simply sucked out of my...
Keeping tools sharp
By Dana Benner
There are some things on the homestead that we take great care of, like firearms, knives and machinery. Then there are those things that don’t get the attention that they should, such...
Bartering for bad times
By John Silveira
Issue #138 • November/December, 2012
Bartering may not be a part of your life, right now, but if there's a deepening of the recession, or it becomes a depression, or we enter a...
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...
A view of self-reliance from a more timid perspective — A woman’s opinion
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #94 • July/August, 2005
My fellow Backwoods Home writer Jackie Clay is a domestic wonder woman who can do anything from can kumquats to butcher an elk.
Not me. Unh uh. No way....
Seed art — It’s fun to collect the seeds and create these unusual pictures
By Alice B. Yeager
Issue #42 • November/December, 1996
Seed art is an old craft going back to long, long ago. Where the art of turning seeds into pictures first began is obscured by time, and...
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...
The accidental homesteader
By Terry Hooker
Everyone who homesteads has hit that point where they decide to be more self sufficient. Sometimes it’s from life circumstances and sometimes it’s a conscious choice. For me the moment came after...
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...
Roasting coffee on a wood stove
By Lorinda McKinnon
Issue #175 • January/February/March, 2019
In hard times, comforts are important for morale. Some might stash a jug of whiskey or a case of cheese puffs, but for me, comfort is a steaming...
Survival firebuilding skills
By Corcceigh Green
Issue #97 • January/February, 2006
Firebuilding skills are essential for those who may find themselves in survival situations. As a testimony to this idea, Americans in the Gulf Coast States experienced a string...
Medicinal uses of garlic
By Joseph Alton, M.D. and Amy Alton, A.R.N.P.
Issue #134 • March/April, 2012
One of the greatest gifts of natural medicine that can be found on this earth is garlic, or Allium sativum. It has been...
Tips for finding your affordable home
By Dave Cournoyer
Website Exclusive • February, 2008
If you haven't yet made the move to the country, here is helpful information about the cost and availability of land in the U.S.
One factor that is important...
How to make money from storage building auctions
By Bill Wilson
Issue #83 • September/October, 2003
Buying and selling is a time honored way of making a living. However, like any profession, success in merchandising requires following some fundamental rules. The most basic of...
Circle of friends
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #111 • May/June, 2008
Hardcore survivalists cherish what I call the "George Romero Scenario." It goes like this: The proverbial poop has hit the propeller. Cities collapse into chaos. But we, the...
