The Prairie Homestead

Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land

Jill Winger

67 Comments | |    Last Updated: July 28, 2016

How to Clean Your Essential Oil Diffuser

I'll take full responsibility... ...for turning so many of you into essential oil diffuser fanatics. Believe it or not, two of the most popular posts to ever hit this homesteading blog have been about essential oil diffuser reviews and my 20 diffuser blend recipes. I think that's awesome. I'm happy to oblige if y'all want to talk about diffusing oils in the midst of chatting about deep mulch gardening and making tallow soap. ;) ...Continue Reading

78 Comments | |    Last Updated: January 26, 2022

Top 6 Money Principles for Homesteaders

I'm extremely comfortable being a weirdo. I suspect it may have something to do with my homeschooled upbringing, but I have been accustomed to "sticking out" from day one. Now as an adult, I continue to own my weirdness in multiple areas of my life-- including homesteading, entrepreneurship, and even in our finances. I often ask my readers what is their #1 struggle when it comes to homesteading, and the answer that shows ...Continue Reading

33 Comments | |    Last Updated: June 13, 2023

Maple Custard Recipe with Duck Eggs

"Where did THESE come from?" That was my first thought when the Prairie Kids brought in some abnormally large, blueish eggs a month or two ago. We've only had brown eggs since the raccoons got our Amerucana hens last year, and I couldn't fathom why on earth our Plymouth Rocks and Red Sex Links suddenly started laying giant blue eggs. Until I remembered we have ducks. Duh, Jill. Duh.  Ever since, I've been on a ...Continue Reading

128 Comments | |    Last Updated: December 8, 2020

Top 10 Essential Oil Cleaning Recipes

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

90 Comments | |    Last Updated: March 17, 2018

DIY Galvanized Tub Sink

I think my husband may secretly wish Pinterest was never invented... Over the course of our extreme farmhouse remodel process, I've lost track of how many times I've said, "Oh! You won't believe the idea I just found on Pinterest." And then I usually receive "the look" from him which is best described as a raised eyebrow with a little bit of eye roll thrown in. ;) What can I say? There's nothing I love more than fresh inspiration ...Continue Reading

294 Comments | |    Last Updated: May 26, 2020

Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

Apparently I'm not the only one with issues. Hard boiled egg issues, that is. (Ok, ok... I have other issues too, but we're talking about eggs this time around.) We all seem to have loads of eggs from our happy chickens, but if you've ever tried making hard boiled eggs with a fresh egg, you know what a disaster it is... Mangled eggs, sticky bits of shell, ugh. A while ago, I wrote about a steaming technique which makes peeling ...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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