Raising kids simply
By Patrice Lewis
Issue #131 • September/October, 2011
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live simply? When asked what constitutes a simple life, nine out of ten people will answer something along...
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....
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...
Harvesting the wild: Acorns
By Jackie Clay
Issue #79 • January/February, 2003
When I was just a little girl, I used to collect acorns by the boxfull as they fell in the fall. I didn't know why. They just felt...
The return of home emergency shelters takes on a dual-purpose approach
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #74 • March/April, 2002
After September 11, 2001, all of us became much more concerned with protecting our families from biological, nuclear, and terrorist attacks. However, if you followed up...
Lessons learned from an ice storm
By Anita Evangelista
Issue #108 • November/December, 2007
The weather reports indicated ice could be coming in. It was already raining and getting chilly on that early Friday afternoon in Springfield, Missouri. Hubby and I drove...
By Hook or Crook: A Billhook is a Handy Homestead Tool
By R.E. Rawlinson
Issue #173 • September/October, 2018
When compared to our ancestors, we are very lucky to have readily-available tools. Stores are full of anything you could need and with online shopping, you don’t even...
Homemade pest traps
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By Patrice Lewis
Issue #164 • March/April, 2017
Last summer, my little compost bucket near the kitchen sink became home to a zillion fruit flies. Once they’re established, it’s devilishly hard to get rid of these...
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...
Food security 101, part 3: Why I love my vacuum sealer (and more)
By Rowena Aldridge
Issue #140 • March/April, 2013
In parts one and two (Issues #138 and #139), we covered basics and homemade convenience foods. Now that you've become so proficient at making delicious, nutritious, and economical...
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...
Grandma will love this personal ‘Helping Hands’ wall hanging
By Sally Boulding
Issue #46 • July/August, 1997
Here's a relatively easy gift that you and your child can make together. The instructions here are to make a wall hanging or a lap blanket, but consider...
Moving on: A small town can be a haven during a depression
By Claire Wolfe
Website Exclusive • September, 2010
One day last summer, I departed Last-Chance Gulch and the high desert, a U-Haul trailer bobbing behind. I aimed for my beloved Pacific Northwest where a friend had...
Survival storeroom
By David Eddings
Issue #130 • July/August, 2011
This story begins in the mid-nineties when the Y2K threat was in the news. Several members of my family thought it would be prudent if we started stocking...
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...
Battery-Powered Tools are Changing
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., C.E.M.
April/May/June, 2019
Battery-powered tool technology is now undergoing some rapid changes in both the power of the tool motors and the batteries supplying the added power. For many years most battery-powered...
