It was rough, man. For the last year our teeny living room was our only living space as we ripped apart our 98 year-old home to make room for the extreme farmhouse remodel. For nearly all of 2015, we ate in that room, did homeschool in that room, played in that room, relaxed (sort of...) in that room, and stored all the boxes there too. It was nearly impossible to keep things and organized in that sort of set-up, and I'll ...Continue Reading
Showing all results for: cleaning
The 5 Biggest Seed-Starting Mistakes Homesteaders Make
I paused as I dumped the mound of seed packets and tiny baggies on the table. I felt it. Finally. 2023 was intense. As the year drew to a close, I was feeling burned out with basically everything: Cooking… writing… working… people… and yes, even gardening. As I put the gardens to bed last fall, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “It’s over.” I closed the cedar gate and didn’t look back. As winter took hold and the ...Continue Reading
Top 10 Tips for Building a Chicken Tractor
I've become a huge fan of chicken tractors in recent years. A few years ago, I shared about how I've been changing my relationship with our chickens on the homestead. I've been shifting my viewpoint from seeing chickens as a chore and instead thinking about various ways to use the natural inclinations of a chicken to minimize our work load. One of the ways to use a chicken to minimize the work on a homestead is to use them as part ...Continue Reading
A Different Type of Weeding
I’ve been doing a lot of weeding lately. No, not in the garden. (It’s still buried under many feet of snow.) Instead, I’ve been weeding and pruning other areas of our life. The last few years have been a period of expansion for us. I love growth. It’s fast and wild and breathless. But in periods of growth, whether it’s in the garden or life in general, things fall by the wayside. And as we've pressed pause on expansion ...Continue Reading
Season 11: Episode 11: How to Find Nourishing Food WITHOUT a Farm with Liz Haselmayer
Join in as Liz Haselmayer and I discuss real food. Prices keep rising at the grocery store, and it's not often easy to even find good food, especially if you can't buy a farm and move to the country. The Haselmayers--like most families--don't own a farm, but they've learned that doesn't mean they need to sacrifice nutrition. Join us as Liz and I share lots of practical insights into this timely topic. Podcast Episode Highlights ...Continue Reading