Building our self-sufficient lifestyle one level at a time.
Sometimes you just don’t have time to wait for spring, or you’ve waited too long to get the spring garden started. Other times, you’re stuck at home with illness or pregnancy but still need to feed your family. Ah, quarantines! Here are six ideas for foods you can quickly produce – grow food fast on your counter and in the garden (including pots)! 
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Here’s an old fashioned sweet pickles recipe from my family’s kitchen but with a savory twist! This curry sweet pickles recipe is an easy recipe for beginner canners!
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Don’t let the apple harvest rot in your pantry! Here’s a tutorial for healthy DIY apple chips in the dehydrator. BONUS, a free excerpt from our book, The Do It Yourself Homestead, on how to turn apple scraps into healthy apple vinegar. 
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If you end up with a lot of fresh table grapes that you’d like to deal with quickly so they don’t spoil, read on! Here are three quick ways to preserve grapes in order of time consumption and hassle for the busy homesteader and DIYer. 
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You’ve heard of Once a Month Meals, right? Well, here’s a schedule for Once a Month Meals – the Home Canning version! Here are twelve store-bought items you will water-bath and pressure can at home this year. One food each month. No stress, a modest time investment, lots of healthy meal planning at home. 
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It was pretty much the worst Thanksgiving ever. My boar gored my leg, the kids got lice for the first time, the sink wouldn’t stop leaking and the fireplace broke. Like a cherry on top, the washing machine decided to follow suit. Here’s how we survived hand washing clothes for three months….
Are you a new canner and need all the advice you can get? Worried about which canning jars to use and which lids are the best? From canning jars to equipment to recipes, here’s a great round up of newbie canning information. 
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I am constantly on the prowl for 72 hour kit and backpacking food that’s healthy or, at least, healthier. Here are a few ideas for healthify your hiking and backpacking foods, as well as your 72 hour kit food preps….
Bake lasagna in your solar oven for an energy-free dinner option. Here are simple tricks for baking lasagna – or any casserole – in your solar oven. 
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Do you have a podcast or Kindle book in your queue on the topic of emergency preparedness and it’s been there for months, waiting for you to peruse it? Do things just keep coming up and you never quite get to making that emergency kit you know you’re supposed to have in your car? Emergency preparedness is a difficult topic for some but I’m convinced that people are only uncomfortable with it because they’re not as prepared as they could be for the emergencies. Let’s stop worry and start working! To that end, here are a few ideas to help with emergency preparedness for families.
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