My First Gardening Failure I’ll start with a confession: when I moved into my very first apartment in college, I killed a cactus. Yes, a cactus. I wanted a little houseplant to make my apartment feel more like home. Since I was forgetful, I figured a cactus would be the perfect choice. After all, everyone…
One of the biggest challenges of living a more resourceful life isn’t learning how to save things. It’s learning how to evaluate them. Most of us have experienced both extremes. On one side is a throwaway culture that encourages us to replace things at the first sign of inconvenience. On the other side is the…
Most households lose money every single day. Not through major financial mistakes. Not through catastrophic emergencies. But through tiny, nearly invisible leaks of wasted resources. A forgotten container of leftovers in the refrigerator. A duplicate tool purchased because the original couldn’t be found. A worn shirt that could have been repaired. A garden hose with…
One of the most common misconceptions about living a more self-reliant lifestyle is that it requires buying a lot of things. Spend a few minutes browsing social media, and you might think homesteading begins with expensive tools, elaborate storage systems, specialty equipment, and endless online orders. But our grandparents understood something many of us have…
If you’ve read, Why Our Grandparents Wasted So Little, you already know that previous generations approached waste very differently than most people do today. They weren’t trying to follow an eco-friendly trend. They weren’t striving for perfection. They were simply practicing stewardship—the habit of making the most of what they already had. When resources were…
There was a time when throwing something away wasn’t the first option—it was the last. Previous generations lived with a simple understanding: if you had something that still worked, you used it. If it broke, you repaired it. If it could serve another purpose, you found one. Not because it was trendy or environmentally conscious,…
For generations, chickens were not kept for entertainment; they were kept because families depended on them. They provided fresh eggs, meat, fertilizer, pest control, and even income through the sale or trade of surplus eggs. A small flock in the backyard could help stretch a household budget and provide a reliable source of food during…
There’s nothing quite like the day you bring home your first box of peeping baby chicks. You walk into the local feed store, and it hits you: that unmistakable smell of pine shavings, fresh feed, and possibility. Everyone’s excited. On the drive home, you’re already imagining a simpler kind of life—one filled with fresh eggs,…
Keeping backyard chickens is one of the most rewarding ways to build a more self-reliant homestead. A healthy flock provides fresh eggs, helps control pests, contributes valuable manure for the garden, and turns kitchen scraps into a useful resource instead of waste. But chickens have one trait that can frustrate even experienced keepers: they’re remarkably…
Free range yard chicken
