Archive for the ‘Around the House’ Category
Build A Suburban Homestead Library
Build A Suburban Homestead Library – Livestock & Small Farm Magazines
There are so many great websites with mounds of homesteading information on the internet, but there are also some awesome magazines as well. Some are commonly found on newsstands, in bookstores or at local public libraries while others take some digging to find.
Whether you have a country or suburban homestead, the magazines below cover all areas of homesteading and would be wonderful additions to any home library.
1. Countryside & Small Stock Journal – is brimming with hands-on information about building, energy, recycling, livestock, gardening and a host of other homestead related topics. This well established magazine is completely reader written with many small articles and tidbits. You won’t find articles written by researchers with no application experience or about university tests. The authors have real hands-on experience in what they’re writing about.
2. Hobby Farms® – although the magazine is geared toward rural enthusiasts, hobby farmers, small production farmers and those passionate about the country addresses all aspects of homestead life. Hobby Farms highlights “rural living for pleasure and profit.”
3. Hobby Farm Home® – is the home magazine for those truly living the country life. But, like Hobby Farms, this magazine is also well suited for those striving for a more self-sufficient life because it highlights farmhouse activities such as cooking, crafting, collecting, pet care and home arts and skills.
4. BackHome magazine – is a quarterly magazine that delivers useful do-it-yourself information on sustainable, self-reliant living for those interested in taking control of their own lives. The bi-monthly issues are packed with clear, practical information on mortgage-free building, solar and renewable energy, chemical-free gardening, wholesome cooking, home business, home schooling, small livestock, vehicle and workshop projects, and family activities
5. Backyard Poultry & Dairy Goat Journal – is part of the Countryside family of magazines and focus on individual species of animals. Each issue provides timely articles and current news of interest to poultry and dairy goat owners as well as breed selection, housing, management, health and nutrition, rare and historic breeds and other topics that promote better small-scale production. Read the rest of the story »
Simplify Your Life by Junking the Junk Mail
Are you bombarded every day by the never ending pile of junk mail that arrives in your mailbox? Is it a challenge to manage the stacks that accumulate all over the house?
Well, you’re not alone. The average consumer receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year, according to 41Pounds.net, an organization that removes your name and address from dozens of organizations for a small fee.
But, we like the companies that allow you to opt out for FREE!
Go to www.optoutprescreen.com to have your name removed from the mailing lists used by the three major credit bureaus. It takes just a few minutes, and should reduce the number of credit card and insurance offers you receive.
To cancel catalogs you no longer wish to receive visit www.catalogchoice.org.
In the meantime don’t forget to destroy the mailing label and recycle the unwanted junk mail!
Welcome to SuburbanHomesteading.com!
Every day we are bombarded with bad news about the economy, layoffs, and financial crisis – the negativity is overwhelming. As many of us juggle to make ends meet, we hear more and more that people should simplify, become more self-reliant, more self-sufficient, even become modern day homesteaders. But what does that mean? How does a normal suburban family make it all work on a very normal sized city or town lot?
That’s what SuburbanHomesteading.com is all about – learning to become modern day homesteaders right where we live.
You’ll not only discover how suburban families can live this newly emerging lifestyle, you’ll also discover information, resources, tools, links, products, recommended books and lifestyle guides that can help make this lifestyle a reality…plus so much more as you visit the various pages of our site.
But, before you “dig in” to SuburbanHomesteading.com, we want to help you understand the new and sometimes confusing terms you’ll encounter — terms which are too often misunderstood.
Homesteading is a lifestyle of simple, agrarian self-sufficiency. ‘Homesteader’ applies to anyone who chooses to live a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. ‘Suburban homesteading’, can be viewed as a simple living lifestyle, incorporating small-scale livestock raising and gardening, home food production and storage into suburban or city living.
Self-sufficiency or self-reliance refers to doing for one’s self and one’s family; not requiring outside help, support, or interaction for survival; it is a type of personal or collective independence.
Simple living or voluntary simplicity is a way of living that minimizes the all-encompassing (and often stressful) pursuit of wealth and consumption. It rejects the idea that ‘more-is-better’ and embraces the idea that you can have a better, more tranquil life with less. Voluntary simplicity is a way of living that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rewarding — a way of “being” that brings our most authentic and alive self into conscious living.
As we launch ‘SuburbanHomesteading.com’ to serve the ever-growing population of modern-day homesteaders, I think back to the way previous generations lived and survived the difficult times in our nation’s history. With every major struggle, including the Great Depression, we, as individuals and families, have had to take steps to care for ourselves. I think about the Victory Gardens of WWI, the frugality during the Dust Bowl era and food rationing during WWII. Our citizens learned much during these times.
But, too often, we ignore the old ways; much to our peril.
SuburbanHomesteading.com won’t be a diary or journal or musings of my life, although you will see some references to what I am doing.
Rather, this site is all about YOU. It’s a place where you, the 21st Century Homesteader, can come for information, ideas, inspiration and encouragement as we all travel down an unknown path to an uncertain future.
None of us knows how long this current crisis or its aftermath will last, but what I am sure of is that each and every person who learns to take care of themselves and their family — who learns to focus on the positive and not dwell on the negative — will ultimately be better off.
My challenge to you as you enter this new realm of simplicity and calm is to focus on what’s truly important in your life – family, friends, your health and doing for yourself. Leave the ugliness of the outside world…outside. Make a new world for yourself, regardless of your situation. One that is serene and slow, enjoyable and beautiful in its simplicity. Step out of the fast lane and onto the slow path.
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