Prep Blog Review: Successful Homesteading

As we embark on this new year it’s almost inevitable to make some sort of resolutions. Maybe not all of them are the classic: “I will stop smoking/ eat healthier/loose weight, etc”, but one that I know for sure should be on every list is improving your skills.

And staying on top of your homestead means just that. So we’re dedicating this prep blog review to making sure you never run out on ideas on how to improve your homesteading skills.

1. Making Money on the Homestead

“One of the reasons people choose to live a more self-reliant life and homestead is to get away from money. They don’t want their life to be focused solely on making money.

The trouble with that is, you really can’t get completely away from needing some of that ol’ ‘trading paper.’Some scoff at people who homestead and still buy things from the store but even the pioneers of old had to get supplies from the trading post!

Unless you are growing crops to sell off, raising livestock to sell, or have a foot in both worlds and hold down a day job, you will need money to buy the things you can’t produce: gasoline is a prime example of just one of the things you need money to buy. ”

Read more on Homestead Dreamer.

2. How to Keep Warm in a Winter Power Outage

“Winter is upon us again and with it comes storms that can cause wide spread or localized power outages. Losing power in winter does cause many more deaths than a power outage in the summer.

So how do you protect yourself and your loved ones during those cold dark hours? Read on and I will share some of the ways we do it…”

Read more on Tactical Intelligence.

3. What Kind Of Person Makes A Good Homesteader?

“Have you ever wondered how you could become a homesteader? Have you ever wanted to start over from the ground up and grow your own food and live a life being off grid?”

Video first seen on  An American Homestead

4. Beekeeping 101: The Honey Bee’s Life Cycle

“In most areas, January is the start of bee school. If you’re thinking about getting started with beekeeping, I highly recommend you go take the class.

(To find a class, google your state’s beekeepers association and then contact them.)

One of the first things you learn at bee school is the honey bee’s life cycle. Now, I’ll admit I was slightly bored by the teacher’s presentation on this topic. And since I was still a little squeamish about bees, I was kinda grossed out too. I’ll be honest with you, at the time, I wondered Why the heck do I need to know this?”

Read more on Earth and Honey.

5. Make Healthy Home Cooking a Habit by Stocking the Essentials

“Americans spend less time cooking than people in any other developed nation. Only 60 percent of U.S. dinners were cooked at home last year, and about one-third of Americans eat fast food weekly.12

There’s nothing wrong with eating out occasionally. But studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that home cooking encourages healthier eating.3 In one study of 9,500 people, the group who cooked the most consumed more fiber, fewer carbohydrates, and less sugar.4 “Cooking is probably the most important thing you can do to improve your diet. … It’s the collapse of home cooking that led directly to the obesity epidemic,” says Michael Pollen, food activist and author of Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation.5”

Read more on Fix.

This article has been written by Brenda E. Walsh for Survivopedia.