Homestead Helpers
By Charles Sanders
Issue #65 • September/October, 2000
Every day around the home place brings with it many new experiences. The number of projects, chores, repairs, and other tasks often seem endless. With those jobs come...
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...
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...
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...
New yarn from old sweaters
By Margaret Mills
Issue #132 • November/December, 2011
Years ago, when my grandmother learned that some women purchased new fabric to make quilts, she was shocked. She was an "old-school" fiber artist quilting, crocheting, and...
Just for Kids: Some good clean fun!
By Lucy Shober
Issue #24 • November/December, 1993
Click on pictures for printable, full-sized versions to color.
When a chill hits the air and the first cool winds of winter begin blowing, there's no better place to...
Teach your kids math with the banking game
By Micki Warner
Issue #41 • September/October, 1996
One of the tricks of successful education is the "exceptional teacher's" ability to make the process fun. When a parent takes over the teacher's job in the home,...
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...
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...
Getting logs
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Website Exclusive • March, 2004
Online Exclusive April 2003
Attention: Would-be loggers. There have been changes in policy at the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. I have just found...
Woodstove cooking
By Cindi Myers
Issue #127 • January/February, 2011
If you have a woodstove for heat, take advantage of the fire to cook your dinner for no extra cost and very little effort. The heat of a...
Caring for wounds in the field
By Bill Glade, M.D.
Issue #75 • May/June, 2002
The beautiful remote Canadian lake has provided a bountiful supply of fresh fish. You are cleaning the catch when a moment's inattention allows the knife to slip...
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...
Preserve the harvest naturally through wild fermentation
By Jereme Zimmerman
Issue #154 • July/August, 2015
Little hands are ideal for helping to stuff jars with vegetables. Just be sure to "pay" your help — but don't let them eat it all!
For a homesteader,...
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...
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....
