Buying the right emergency radio
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #98 • March/April, 2006
In our last issue I addressed how to select the best battery-powered lighting for your emergency needs. Recent examples of poor emergency response during the Katrina...
Homestead helpers
By Charles Sanders
My parents were children of the Great Depression. They learned to get by on very little, to make or repair or reuse almost anything, and never throw anything away — it might...
Make a quilt out of Levis
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #77 • September/October, 2002
Back in the 80s I worked as a waitress in a busy little café where our mandatory uniform was a pair of Levis and a T-shirt. The only...
Jackie’s tips for hardcore homesteading
By Jackie Clay
Issue #62
Many of us have a garden and enjoy fresh vegetables during the summer and fall. Maybe we even have a few chickens for eggs and meat. But many of us may...
There’s no such thing as free land!
(But if you're smart, you can get it cheap)
By Setanta O'Ceillaigh
Issue #165 • May/June, 2017
I have been a homeowner since I was 18 years old and I still continually shop for land opportunities in...
Fire resistant property
By Jacob Duffy
Summertime is fire season. Red-Flag Warnings abound and many property owners surrounded by acres of forest or tall grass often become acutely aware that their homes are more vulnerable this time of...
Build a holz hausen to dry firewood
By Doug Fluckiger
Issue #132 • November/December, 2011
My secret passion is tall, dark, and handsome. I may find her lying luxuriantly among a dark grove of firs. She may be standing proudly on a sunny...
Get the most out of your vehicle and your maintenance dollar
By Len Torney
Issue #116 • March/April, 2009
Let's face itwe all own vehicles. Our rural lifestyle pretty much leaves us dependent on our vehicles for all of our daily transportation needs, as well as the...
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....
A guide to buying silver and gold
By Thomas M. Buckley
Photos By Steve Lindh
Issue #126 • November/December, 2010
The standard measure of weight used for precious metals is the troy ounce. A troy ounce (31.1 grams) is just a bit heavier than...
Simplifying simplicity
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #117 • May/June, 2009
In the bustling 19th century, Henry David Thoreau urged us to "simplify, simplify, simplify."
In the even more hectic 20th and 21st centuries, writer, philosopher, and frugalista Wendy McElroy...
10 day survival pack for your vehicle for just $25
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #104 • March/April, 2007
It seems like every winter there are news stories of people getting stranded for weeks in bad weather while driving through the many remote areas of...
Kick the credit card habit and learn to stash cash
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #107 • September/October, 2007
My friend Jeanie, a professional woman, whips out her credit card at every spending opportunity. Wal-Mart expedition? Credit card. A week's worth of groceries? Credit card. DVD rental?...
Make a Quick and Easy Tipi
By Bob Van Putten
Issue #174 • November/December, 2018
The native peoples of North America were a very practical lot. Over the centuries they developed some very efficient tools. Yet, perhaps because of their appreciation of...
The fire wick fire starter
By Len McDougall
Issue #114 • November/December, 2008
When my hunting buddy Dar met me for lunch at our rendezvous point, he said he doubted we could make a small cookfire on the wet, snow-covered ground....
SARS — Is this a glimpse of the future?
By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S.
Website Exclusive • March, 2003
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS, is a new respiratory disease that has recently infected people in Asia, Europe, and North America. The emergence of this disease...
