Emergency planning beyond the bug-out bag
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #157 • January/February, 2016
In many emergency situations, simply staying home can be your most sensible choice. After all, most of us have stocked up on a good supply of food in...
Choosing a chain saw
By Steven Gregersen
Issue #119 •September/October, 2009
Winter will be here soon and along with winter comes cold weather and high heating bills. Obviously there's nothing new about any of this but with the current economic...
Make a Sure-Fire Live Trap
By Charles Sanders
Issue #64 • July/August, 2000
Every now and then, wild critters wear out their welcome around the homeplace. Gardens are raided, garbage cans ransacked, pet food filched, and other shenanigans are performed by...
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...
Shopping to beat inflation
By Darlene Campbell
Issue #85 • January/February, 2004
Most of us who read BHM agree that self sufficient living can be debt free, but we also worry about inflation. The word inflation is used to describe...
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...
Moving to the wilderness — Turning the dream to reality
By Jackie Clay
Issue #36 • November/December, 1995
The Dream An increasing number of folks are having the same dream today: get a piece of land isolated from the stress and pollution of civilization, and...
Cash in on your household junk
By Linda Gabris
Issue #120 • November/December, 2009
If you think "Howdy Doody" has been holing up in your attic for too many years, maybe it's time you turned the dummy in for some cold hard...
Foraging for wild berries
By Kristina Seleshanko
Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019
I had just posted a photo online of some wild berries I was going to preserve, when suddenly I was inundated with messages: “Are those really safe to...
Just for Kids: Some farinaceous folly
By Lucy Shober
Issue #36 • November/December, 1995
Click on pictures for printable, full-sized versions to color.
Try this experiment. The next time that you are served rice, potatoes, noodles or corn for supper, take a big...
Tips for finding your affordable home
By Dave Cournoyer
Website Exclusive • February, 2008
If you haven't yet made the move to the country, here is helpful information about the cost and availability of land in the U.S.
One factor that is important...
Winter in the High Desert — Understanding the music
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #121 • January/February, 2010
My old friends from the Pacific Northwest think I don't love them anymore, now that I've moved far away to the high desert.
It's all a misunderstanding.
One after another,...
How to Resurrect Old, Rusted Tools
By R.E. Rawlinson
Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019
The homesteading lifestyle can require a number of tools to cultivate the garden, maintain the home, repair the tractor, and build various pens and coops. We use them...
Small Town America: Thermopolis, WY — Horses and hot springs
By Emily Salinger
Photos by Richard Coffinberry
Issue #85 • January/February, 2004
When Nate and MaeCile Brown amble down the main street of Thermopolis, Wyoming, everybody recognizes them. They're old friends, honored citizens, and local characters. They...
Sewing and using cloth diapers is easier than you think
By Annie Tuttle
Issue #113 • September/October, 2008
I'll admit that it was the pastoral vision of a laundry line full of sun-bleached diapers above barefooted, rosy-cheeked, milk-fattened babies that first drew my attention toward cloth...
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...






























