DIY

Owning your own greenhouse is a great way to extend the growing season so you can have fresh, delicious vegetables all year long. It’s also a wonderful way to improve your yields so you can sell produce to others if that’s something you’d like to do. What Does it Cost to Build a DIY Greenhouse? … Read more

Building a bathroom vanity out of barnwood and making a sink from a galvanized tub yourself can turn out just like the ones showcased on Pinterest. The only cost we had in our new bathroom vanity stemmed from a few pieces of pipe and the nozzles to make the faucet. We even used barnwood to … Read more

Flannel boards (or felt boards, if you prefer) are low tech learning aids that are rarely used in school classrooms anymore, but they used to be a staple in elementary schools and Sunday school classrooms. About a year ago, I got online to buy a flannel board to use with the learning sets I was … Read more

At their best, electric fences are inexpensive, effective, and flexible. They can make permanent boundaries around or within a property. Electric fences can also be set up on a short-term basis to protect special crops or vulnerable animals, and they can also be used to create rotational grazing systems to maximize pasture yield. Fences work … Read more

Making natural dyes from plants, weeds, vegetables, and fruit is a fun way to repurpose harvested garden plants and make all natural non-toxic dyes for a myriad of sewing and fiber arts projects. Some homesteaders cultivate a “dye garden” just to have enough beautiful plants, herbs, and weeds on hand to dye the wool they … Read more

How much does it cost to buy a pottery wheel? Well, that depends. There are multiple varieties and sizes of potter’s wheels on the market. There are electric-powered pottery wheels and old-fashioned kick wheels that are fueled by your feet and legs. But, in general: Expect to spend between $400 and $2,000 for a pottery … Read more

Maintaining quality pastures and hay fields, as well as “grubbing” wooded survival homesteads to create more grazing and gardening space requires diligent tending to the land. Brush hogging is a method of landscaping that rids woodlots of heavy bush that inhibit grass growth, to clear it using a rotary cutter for various agricultural uses, or … Read more

flower heads on wooden table

The chicken run, the hangout of your feathered friends. It serves as protection for your flock, and also encourages natural behavior to allow them freedom and entertainment. It is always best to customize and build the run that will suit your birds. You need to take into consideration the size of your flock before building … Read more

Dyeing raw wool is a fun and simple project the whole homesteading family can enjoy doing together. You can probably dye the wool sheared from your sheep with ingredients you already have stockpiled in your kitchen. As already noted, dry wool takes either natural or artificial dye really poorly. If you plan on drying the … Read more

Hang drying flowers by is the traditional way of preserving them to use as food, medicine, or decoration. While this method of drying flowers takes a lot longer than using an oven, it works just as effectively. If you are an off the grid homesteader, or simply want to dry a large batch of edible … Read more

Drying flowers to preserve them has been a homesteading tradition going back hundreds of years. The only downfall to the process is all of the patience it requires. There are many reasons to dry flowers to preserve them. The dried flowers can be used in far more than just beautiful homemade wreaths and craft projects. … Read more

I can clearly remember being a little girl and my mother slathering sunscreen on the skin of my sisters and I. All of us had, and continue to have, very fair skin so sunscreen was very important. Honestly, though, even if you have darker skin that doesn’t burn as easily, you should still protect yourself … Read more

Do you own sheep or have a friend who does? If so, this highly profitable homestead side hustle might be just what you have been looking for to make money off your land or small farm. Cleaned raw wool sells for about $25 a pound. Dyed wool roving typically demands a price of at least … Read more

DIY natural leather cleaner conditions and protects your boots, sofas, tack, and other goods for a fraction of the cost of commercially produced products designed for the same purpose. If you can find 100% pure mink oil, which is not necessarily easy anymore – especially if you want a product made in the the USA, … Read more