Homemade skin care products
By Carly Egger
Issue #145 • January/February, 2014
When you think of skin care products that soften, moisturize, and nourish the skin, do the words extravagant, unnecessary, and expensive come to mind? The skin is the...
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...
Keeping tools sharp
By Dana Benner
There are some things on the homestead that we take great care of, like firearms, knives and machinery. Then there are those things that don’t get the attention that they should, such...
Self-reliance for women — Surviving a biochemical attack
By Kelly McCarthy
Issue #94 • July/August, 2005
Three and a half years ago, on the morning of September 11th to be exact, I was just ending a White House tour with my husband, children, and...
Garden injuries
By Joseph Alton, M.D.
Issue #140 • March/April, 2013
Cuts and scrapes are the most likely wounds gardeners incur (hopefully, not on that green thumb of yours). In many cases, these could have been prevented by...
How we found our remote backwoods home
By Jackie Clay
Issue #65 • September/October, 2000
Right now I'm sitting in a south-facing huge, sunny window, looking through our own private valley to a larger mountain valley below and the pine covered mountains beyond....
10 country do’s and don’ts
By Julie Crist
Issue #96 • November/December, 2005
When we moved from the city to the mountains, I kept my eyes open and my mouth shut and and paid very close attention to other people's botchery....
Homestead burnout — What it is and how to avoid it
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #134 • March/April, 2012
We've all been there: the roof is leaking on your temporary housing while you try to build a start on your new homestead. It's rained for a week...
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...
Dollar Store to the Rescue
By Jeffrey R. Yago, P.E.
Summer 2019, Self-Reliance
I have talked with emergency responders who have traveled all over the country to volunteer their rescue efforts at disasters like the recent flooding in Texas. While much...
Homemade Toys! — Easy to make, fun to play with, and great for gifts!
By Cynthia Andal
Issue #72 • November/December, 2001
The garden needs planting, animals need feeding, Baby needs to nurse, and that chicken coop simply has to be finished but, there are three children who want you...
Start a fire in any weather
By Charles Sanders
Issue #161 • September/October, 2016
Most of us living in the backwoods are comfortable with utilizing fire as a tool. We use fire to heat our homes, burn brush, power our forges, help...
Handy Keychain Mini-Gadgets
By Jeff Yago, P.E., CEM
Winter, 2017
I believe when most people think of being prepared, they immediately think in terms of bug-out bags, stored food and water, guns, and generators. However, there can be less...
Storing dry foods
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
More and more folks are starting to buy bulk foods to ensure if stores run out of foods — as they did at the onset of this epidemic — their families will...
Buying the right emergency radio
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #98 • March/April, 2006
In our last issue I addressed how to select the best battery-powered lighting for your emergency needs. Recent examples of poor emergency response during the Katrina...
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....
