Homesteading doesn’t mean you have to own 1,836,301 acres of land, nor do you have to dress or speak a certain way.
Homesteading [hohm-sted-ing]
v. 1 the act of transforming a home into a property that produces some or all of its residents own food and other subsistence needs.v. 2 participation in home-based activities such as gardening, raising poultry or small livestock, producing simple products through cottage industry, minimizing consumer purchases, and generally seeking ways to increase self-sufficiency within the home environment.
v. 3 the creation of an homestead with the goal of reducing one’s environmental impact and returning to a home-based, family-centered, self-sufficient way of life.
Frugally Sustainable is the story of my family’s transition out of a consumer culture into the brave world of sustainability.
It’s about focusing on what’s important amidst uncertain times. It’s about returning to…
- forgotten skills
- reviving old wisdom
- creating something amazing
- finding happiness
I love the accepted wisdom gleaned from life on the homestead and have a deep respect for the creation surrounding us here on the farm.
These are some of my favorite resources, stories, and experiences we have acquired from life on a budding homestead in the low desert of Arizona.
Homesteading Basics
- Homesteading for Beginners DVD Vol. 1
- Homesteading for Beginners DVD Vol. 2
- Homesteading for Beginners DVD Vol. 3
- The Encyclopedia of Country Living
- The Blessings — and Challenges — of Moving from the City to the Country
Living Off the Land
- 10 Things to Consider When Living Off the Land
- Living Off the Land: How to Earn a Sustainable Income from Home
- How To Make Money When Living a Self-Sustainable Lifestyle
- Storey’s Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance
- Country Wisdom & Know-How: A Practical Guide to Living off the Land
Better-than-Organic Gardening
- Horizon Herbs :: Strictly Medicinal, Non-GMO Herbal Seeds for Your Home Herb Garden
- Heirloom Seeds :: Making Vegetables Seed Collection
- How to Make Your Own Homemade Organic Insecticides and Pesticides
- How to Save Seed for Next Year’s Garden
- Building Soils Naturally
- Carrots Love Tomatoes :: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening
- Gardening with Heirloom Seeds
- How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office
- How to Grow More Vegetables
- Making Vegetables
Animal Husbandry :: Holistic Farmyard Health
Foraging
- How Wild Food Foraging Can Lower the Cost of Groceries
- Spring Foraging: A Recipe for Dandelion Greens and Roots
- Foraging: How to Make Your Own Gluten-Free Mesquite Pod Flour
- Nature’s Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants
- The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants
- Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods
- A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides)
Preserving the Harvest :: Canning & Long-Term Storage
- Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables
- The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Fermenting Foods
- Tips and Recipes for Preserving the Harvest
- Put ’em Up!
- Ready Nutrition
- Simply Canning
- Pick Your Own
Keeping Chickens
- Herbs for Chicken Health: How to Make an Herbal Feed Supplement for Backyard Chickens
- Nesting Box Herbs
- Tips for Keeping Backyard Hens
- Raising Free-Range, Pastured and Organic Eggs
- Make Your Own Chicken Starter
- BackyardChickens.com
- Herbs for Chickens
Raising Dairy Goats
Natural Canine Health :: Breeding & Training Bird Dogs
- Herbs for Dogs
- Herbs for Pets: The Natural Way to Enhance Your Pet’s Life
- D.T. Systems Training Pointing Dogs Dvd Collection of Volumes 1 to 4
- The Nature of Animal Healing: The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat
- Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals: A Comprehensive Guide to the Use of Essential Oils & Hydrosols with Animals
- Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog
- Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals
- All Natural Flea Remedies :: Canine Herbal Dry Shampoo :: A Deodorizing Flea & Tick Powder
- Herbal Remedies for Common Pet and Livestock Ailments
Rabbits
That’s my personal list of best homesteading resources. Are there any others that you would add to this list?
What a incredible blog.
Homesteading is characterized by home preservation of food stuffs and subsistence agriculture! It may also involve the small scale production of textiles and craft work for household use or sale.