A worthwhile journey
By Kim Scheimreif
Issue #124 • July/August, 2010
In February of 1996 my husband, Kevin, two-year-old daughter, Kayla, and I moved from New Jersey to Maine. Our goal was to find a farmhouse with substantial acreage...
For safety’s sake, homestead fuel storage must be handled properly
By Emory Warner
Issue #43 • January/February, 1997
Home storage of fuel is a necessity for homesteaders. Even if you are still on the grid, your truck, tractor, standby generator, etc. will still require fuel. I...
Used bookstores can be sucessful in the hinterlands
By Jennifer Stein Barker
Issue #52 • July/August, 1998
If you stand reading at the rack closest to the window, you can look up from your book to see the Strawberry Wilderness looming its wooded heights...
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...
Cleaning a well
By Pat Barden
Issue #105 • May/June, 2007
We have a good well with sweet water. It was already in place when we bought our property and had been in use for more than 20 years....
Funerals don’t have to be expensive
By Kelly McCarthy
Issue #95 • September/October, 2005
Being of Celtic extraction, I am naturally disposed to dwelling on the blacker side of life. I started to wonder what would happen to all the dead bodies...
Breastfeeding — Babies love it, and for good reason
By Rebekah L. Cowell
Issue #115 • January/February, 2009
Here's a secret mothers have known since the beginning of time: breastfeeding is the most pro-active, sustainable action a mother can take, and it is so easy....
For health & comfort, try wild herbal teas
By Cynthia Andal
Issue #76 • July/August, 2002
The mention of herbal teas brings to mind pleasant conversations in a warmly scented kitchen, aided by the fragrant steam of a cup of Fireweed tea.
Completely aside from...
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...
Homeschooling through high school
By Janet Leake
Issue #65 • September/October, 2000
Why not? Whether you're experienced or inexperienced, whatever your situation, you already know why you want to homeschool your kids through high school. Now, what about how?
We have...
Frostbite — Don’t flirt with this sneaky danger
By Tom and Joanne O’Toole
Issue #96 • November/December, 2005
Frostbite can be defined, in its most severe stage, as when your fingers and toes freeze and have to be cut off because of gangrene. Wow,...
Advice from second-time homesteaders
By Don and Patrice Lewis
In 1993, shortly after we got married, my husband and I took a leap into the unknown. We left urban California, left our jobs, left our families, and settled in...
Homestead water
By Patrice Lewis
Issue #144 • November/December, 2013
It is the most necessary of homestead requirements: water. It is literally a make-or-break resource.
There are some parts of our country blessed with an abundant and never-ending supply...
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....
Learning to love the high desert
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #120 • November/December, 2009
Earlier this year, the dogs and I got taxed out of Cabin Sweet Cabin. With a little help from our friends, we packed a small trailer with our...
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...
