When the lights go out, be the calm one on your road.
Storms, outages, empty shelves, tight years. Backwoods Home readers handle them the boring way: they were ready months ago. 116 pages of practical know-how, four times a year. No doomsday theatrics.
Get Ready, QuietlyShips free in the US · Cancel anytime
If the power went out for a week, how many could you check?
Tap the ones you could honestly check today. These five are the backbone of what our writers have covered, issue after issue, for 37 years.
Power
Backup power sized right, solar basics, keeping the freezer cold without the grid.
Water
Storage, wells, purification, and rain catchment that's actually legal and safe.
Food
A garden that feeds you, a pantry that lasts, and putting up a year of what you grew.
Heat
Wood heat done safely, firewood by the cord, and a house that stays warm regardless.
Fix-It
Repairing what breaks, from plumbing to small engines to fences, without waiting on anyone.
You checked 0 of 5.
Wherever you're starting from, the magazine meets you there, one season at a time.
Written by people who live it, not sell it
Plenty of "preparedness" media runs on fear, and then sells you buckets of freeze-dried food between the scary parts. We've never worked that way. Backwoods Home carries about 90% fewer ads than a typical magazine, and our writers are homesteaders and tradespeople describing what they actually built, grew, fixed, and stored, including what went wrong.
The result is readiness as a byproduct of a good life: productive land, real skills, and a household that runs on competence instead of luck. Readers keep every issue as a permanent reference library.
Start getting ready
Four big seasonal issues a year. Subscriptions ship free in the US.
Subscriptions renew automatically each year at the regular rate so you never miss an issue. You can cancel at any time by email, phone, or online.
Anytime
Keep Every
Issue
Read it before you decide.
If it's not for you, cancel anytime by phone, email, or online in about a minute, and keep every issue you've received. Cancel partway through and we refund the unused portion, prorated. After 37 years, we'd rather earn your renewal than trap it.
Readers who'd know
"These are the greatest magazines in the world! If you want to be able to persevere when the economy goes bad or another pandemic hits, you need these in your library."
James Malcolm · ✓ Verified Buyer"Highly informative articles written by knowledgeable people. Some articles even disagree with others that have been published, which is perfect for critical thinkers."
Tami/TX · ✓ Verified Buyer"The magazine has a nostalgic feel, but it is very informative for today's challenges, especially when you desire to live more naturally and wholesome. This is the one publication I really look forward to getting."
FunnyBones · ✓ Verified BuyerBefore you subscribe
We send new subscriber files to our printer every week, and your first copy goes out in the next batch. Periodical mail moves slowly, so allow a few weeks for it to reach your mailbox. Digital access is immediate with a Digital or Print + Digital subscription.
No. It's a homesteading and self-reliance magazine that's been publishing since 1989: gardens, livestock, building, cooking, energy, and country living. Being ready for hard weeks is a natural byproduct of that life, and we cover it without the fear-selling.
Four times a year: one big 116-page issue every season, worth keeping on the shelf as a permanent reference.
Your subscription renews automatically each year at the regular rate so you never miss an issue. You can turn renewal off or cancel whenever you like.
Anytime, by phone (541-250-5134), by email, or online from your account in about a minute. You keep every issue you've received, and if you cancel partway through your term we refund the unused portion, prorated.