Self-reliance Archives - Page 14 of 15 - Backwoods Home Magazine

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...

Couponing, refunding, and stockpiling will make your money stretch

By Mary Kenyon Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 Seven years ago, when my brother John helped us move into our current country home, he commented wryly, "If you ever fill those cupboards upstairs I don't want...

Garden injuries Part 2

By Joseph Alton, M.D. Issue #141 • May/June, 2013 In the last issue of Backwoods Home, we discussed some of the hazards encountered by the homesteading gardener. Burns, cuts, abrasions, allergic reactions, and certain insect stings...

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...

Homeschooling your dylsexic kid

By John Silveira Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 I write and edit for a living. I'm the senior editor for Backwoods Home Magazine for which I've written numerous columns during the last 24 years. Before that...

Vinegar — A splash is all you need for healthful eating, natural healing, and...

By Linda Gabris Issue #97 • January/February, 2006 Call me a sourpuss, if you will, but I love vinegar and can't imagine a day going by without calling upon one type or another for cooking, curing,...

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...

The poor man’s ultra-light dual-fuel backpacking stove

By Rick Brannan Issue #124 • July/August, 2010 For as long as I have been venturing into the backcountry, which is a pretty long time, I have been on a quest for the perfect backpacking stove....

Disaster preparation!

By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S. Issue #74 • March/April, 2002 Are you prepared for a disaster that could affect the daily function of your life or the lives of your family members? Or do you even...

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...

Just for Kids: Visit the great prairies

By Lucy Shober Issue #35 • September/October, 1995 Did you ever get an urge to just take off and go someplace exotic? Maybe the North Pole or the Amazon river basin? If you would care to...

Boost your income by adding a processing step to what you sell

By Harry Styron Issue #36 • November/December, 1995 Three boys spent several raw November days picking up black walnuts. We hoped to get a nice bit of cash when we took them to the huller. As...

Better wood heating

By David Lee Shop heater. This example is a 55-gallon drum and stove kit surrounded with leftover concrete blocks. I stack extra bricks, slates, and metal on the top to give...

The saga of Benjamin, the backwoods, homeschool boy who wanted to get a job

By Margaret Wright Issue #37 • January/February, 1996 Raised in the woods of Northern Idaho, home schooled by loving, protective parents, he was a happy, carefree child for the first sixteen years of life. The sixteenth...

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...

In the classroom and at home, this system will help you grow self-reliant kids

By Marjorie (Sultzbaugh) Harrison Issue #42 • November/December, 1996 My husband Allan started teaching sixth grade at the Moreno Valley, California, Unified School District in September of 1959, without even slightly knowing how. Fortunately for him,...