The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

18 Comments | |    Last Updated: April 10, 2019

DIY Mason Jar Cup with Straw

Why should you take the time to make DIY mason jar cups? Allow me to present my case: 1) They are easy to throw together 2) They are cheap (price breakdown below) 3) Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is cooler in a mason jar. Am I right? Of course, you could always buy the pre-made lid/straw thingies, but it's just as easy (and cheap) to make them yourself. Here's the price breakdown: (this post contains affiliate links) On ...Continue Reading

109 Comments | |    Last Updated: March 11, 2019

Organic Pest Control Garden Spray Recipe

I bet you didn't know this, but... I didn't exactly grow up in an "organic" household. In fact, my dad has worked in the farm chemical industry for years, both selling and applying herbicides and pesticides. I grew up surrounded by every form of herbicide and insecticide you could imagine. All of our childhood coffee cups and kitchen utensils were emblazoned with the names of various chemicals and seed treatments.  I remember the ...Continue Reading

26 Comments | |    Last Updated: May 12, 2020

Homemade Fermented Ketchup Recipe

Confession time: I used to be completely scared of fermenting stuff. I wanted nothing to do with it. I'm not sure if it was some of the rather unappetizing photos of fermented foods floating around online, or my secret fear that anything I would ferment would taste like dirty socks, but I avoided fermentation for quite a while. Pretty sad, eh? A natural-food-loving-homesteader-person who didn't ferment... Lame. So what ...Continue Reading

38 Comments | |    Last Updated: February 16, 2020

How to Take a Vacation When You Have a Homestead

"I'd like to homestead like you, but then I could neeeeeever go anywhere..." It's a phrase I hear quite a bit, and yeah, I totally get it. In a day and age where the extent of most folks' home responsibilities end at keeping the goldfish fed, the mere thought of being responsible for a milk cow, and a garden, and a flock of chickens sounds daunting. And crazy. And it kinda is. I'll be honest: I don't love traveling. I'm ...Continue Reading

191 Comments | |    Last Updated: December 27, 2023

10 Things Your Non-Homesteading Friends Just Don’t Understand

Have you ever noticed kind of a gap? Sometimes it feels like there's a bit of a disconnect between me and my non-homesteading friends. Ever been there? Thankfully, considering I've been chasing this homesteading dream for about 7 years now, most of my friends/family now understand that Jill is just weird. And they're used to it. No one even raises their eyebrows anymore when we bring home a new farm animal or start building a new ...Continue Reading

86 Comments | |    Last Updated: March 11, 2019

Homemade Liquid Fence Recipe

What do you say when your 5 year-old hands you a headless rabbit? Yeah, I was tongue-tied too. We were out working in the yard when I pointed out to Prairie Girl that her barn cat was carrying a freshly-caught bunny in its mouth. A split-second later, I heard "Here, Mommy" and turned around to see her holding a decapitated rabbit by it's hind legs. Followed by, "Hang on, I'll get the head too..." I stuttered for a minute ...Continue Reading

Nice to Meet You

I’m Jill. I’ve never been very good at following prescribed paths.

For the last 15 years, that instinct has led me through homesteading, entrepreneurship, and creating a life my younger self could have only dreamed of.

These days, I’m less interested in living the perfect "old-fashioned life" and more interested in knowing which ideas are worth carrying forward. The first half of this story was about building a homestead. The next part is about building a life that actually fits.
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