Self-reliance Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

How to Resurrect Old, Rusted Tools

By R.E. Rawlinson Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 The homesteading lifestyle can require a number of tools to cultivate the garden, maintain the home, repair the tractor, and build various pens and coops. We use them...

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....

The art of living in small spaces

By Claire Wolfe Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 Long ago, I read that to live in the country you must have the soul of a poet, the dedication...

Swedish log candle

By Nick Weston Issue #138 • November/December, 2012 At my Hunter-Gatherer school, we are constantly experimenting with different methods of outdoor cookery, from underground ovens (umu or hangi) to smoke roast tipis and run-of-the-mill fire pits....

Based on years of personal experience, here are 10 good tips for homeschooling your...

By Mary Jo Bratton Issue #41 • September/October, 1996 Are you considering homeschooling your children, but don't know where to start? The following 10 tips will help answer some of your questions. Read, read, read But don't read...

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...

Jim Van Camp: Coffee roaster, painter

By Jim Van Camp Issue #117 • May/June, 2009 The only thing we knew for certain when my wife and I moved to Gold Beach from the big city was we were passionate about good coffee,...

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...

13 steps to a life of freedom

By Mary Ann Wutzke Issue #76 • July/August, 2002 My husband and I have lived in the desert and mountain back country of Arizona since 1988. We own no home and just about all of our...

Just for Kids: Killing some time (Create an afternoon time warp)

By Lucy Shober Issue #26 • March/April, 1994 Click on picture for printable, full-sized version to color. There is a book that describes a time warp as being a kind of bubble, a place in time that...

Homemade Toys! — Easy to make, fun to play with, and great for gifts!

By Cynthia Andal Issue #72 • November/December, 2001 The garden needs planting, animals need feeding, Baby needs to nurse, and that chicken coop simply has to be finished but, there are three children who want you...

Make a Sure-Fire Live Trap

By Charles Sanders Issue #64 • July/August, 2000 Every now and then, wild critters wear out their welcome around the homeplace. Gardens are raided, garbage cans ransacked, pet food filched, and other shenanigans are performed by...

Intake and exhaust upgrades for better mileage and performance

By Len Torney Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 Well, it seems the price of oil and gasoline has peaked and plummeted, much like a lot of the rest of the economy these days. One upside to...

Tips and handy hints for 4X4 living

By Jackie Clay Where Jackie lives, a 4x4 is essential Issue #71 • September/October, 2001 After spending more than 35 years living in homesteads that were so out of the...

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...

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...