Tag: self-sufficiency

Mississippi Homestead Lifestyle

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Mississippi Homestead LifestyleLeave a comment

The Mississippi Homestead Lifestyle: A Way of Life Rooted in Dirt, Sweat, and Soul

Down here in Mississippi, the soil tells stories. Rich, black Delta dirt and sandy pine land hold the memory of every crop, every footfall, every drop of sweat from a thousand hands. Homesteading ain’t just something we do—it’s something we are. Folks up north might call it “self-sufficient living,” but we just call it life.

I was raised on a patch of land in the northeast corner of the state, where summers are hot, winters are wet, and neighbors still bring you pecan pie when they hear your mama’s laid up. My daddy taught me early that if the land provides, you honor it by working it honest and never taking more than you need. I’ve been living that truth every day since.

The Rhythm of the Land

Every season brings its own tasks and blessings. Springtime’s for planting and mending fences. Come summer, the garden’s bursting, and we’re sweating through sunrise to sundown. Fall means harvesting, canning, and prepping for the cold. Winter’s when the firewood burns slow and the pantry shelves remind you how well you worked all year.

To live this life proper, you need a skillset deeper than the well out back. A real homesteader ain’t afraid to learn something new, try something hard, or fix something broke. Over the years, I’ve built up what I call my homesteader’s toolbox—not just hammers and nails, but skills, passed down or learned through grit and Google.

22 Homestead Skills Every Mississippi Homesteader Should Know

  1. Canning and preserving – Ain’t no sense in letting your hard work spoil. We can tomatoes, pickle okra, and make pear preserves so sweet they’ll make your eyes roll back.
  2. Gardening year-round – With the right setup, even our mild winters can grow greens and onions.
  3. Composting – Turn kitchen scraps and chicken litter into black gold.
  4. Raising chickens – For eggs, meat, and pest control. Plus, they’re fun to watch.
  5. Goat milking and cheese-making – Nanny goats provide enough milk for butter, soap, and soft cheese.
  6. Beekeeping – Honey, wax, and pollination all from the same buzzing crew.
  7. Basic carpentry – If you can’t build it, fix it, or mend it, you’ll spend more than you earn.
  8. Fence building and repair – Keep the critters in and the predators out.
  9. Foraging – Wild blackberries, muscadines, and pokeweed greens grow all over Mississippi if you know where to look.
  10. Herbal medicine – Yarrow for cuts, elderberry syrup for colds, and peppermint for what ails you.
  11. Soap making – Lye soap may smell plain, but it’ll clean anything from skin to laundry.
  12. Sewing and mending – Every tear can be patched, every hole filled.
  13. Meat processing – Whether it’s chickens, deer, or hogs, knowing how to butcher saves you money and keeps you connected to your food.
  14. Root cellar storage – Keeps potatoes, onions, and canned goods cool without electricity.
  15. Rainwater collection – Every drop counts, especially when the well runs low.
  16. Wood chopping and stacking – Nothing heats like oak logs dried right.
  17. Smoking meat and fish – Adds flavor and helps preserve food for leaner months.
  18. Making fire without matches – Flint, steel, or magnifying glass—it’s a skill that can save your hide.
  19. Natural pest control – Diatomaceous earth, vinegar, and companion planting go a long way.
  20. Making vinegar from scraps – Apple cores, sugar, and time is all you need.
  21. Homemade cleaning solutions – Vinegar, baking soda, lemon—cheap and effective.
  22. Crop rotation and soil amendment – Healthy soil means healthy food.

5 DIY Homestead Hacks That Make Life Easier

Now, let me share a few tricks of the trade. These hacks aren’t found in your average homesteading book—they’re learned through muddy boots and busted knuckles.

  1. Five-Gallon Bucket Feeders
    Turn old buckets into gravity-fed chicken feeders. Drill holes near the bottom, set them on a tray, and your flock will thank you.
  2. Milk Jug Greenhouses
    Cut the bottoms off gallon jugs and pop them over tender seedlings. Instant mini-greenhouse and frost protection.
  3. DIY Drip Irrigation from Old Hoses
    Poke holes in a worn-out garden hose, snake it through your rows, and connect it to a low-pressure spigot. Water your garden evenly while you sip tea on the porch.
  4. Eggshell Calcium Boost
    Grind up dried eggshells and add to your compost or feed to laying hens. Helps keep their shells hard and plants happy.
  5. Soap-on-a-Rope Fence Marker
    Tie a bar of strong-scented soap on a string and hang it around your garden. The scent keeps deer and rabbits away—usually.

More Than Chores: A Way of Being

Homesteading in Mississippi ain’t always easy. We battle kudzu, mosquitoes, and the occasional hurricane. The heat will try to cook you from the inside out come August. But every struggle brings a lesson, and every lesson deepens your roots.

It’s a humble life, but a rich one. Watching seeds sprout that you planted, hearing your kids laugh while collecting eggs, or sipping sweet tea under a sky full of stars—there’s wealth in that. Real wealth.

We barter with neighbors, swap sourdough starters and okra seeds, share tractor repairs and stories at the feed store. This lifestyle pulls folks together. You learn quick that community means more than convenience ever will.

Passing It On

My youngest boy’s already asking how to grow watermelon and build a rabbit hutch. That’s how I know we’re doing something right. We ain’t just growing food—we’re growing a way of life that don’t rely on grocery stores or big city ways. We’re teaching our children to work hard, pray loud, and always say thank you when the rain falls just right.

So, if you’re thinking about jumping into the Mississippi homesteader’s life, know this—it’s work, it’s worry, and it’s waking up every day with purpose. But if you love the land, the land will love you back.

And that, friend, is a blessing you can’t buy.

Nebraska Homestead Lifestyle: Living Close to the Land

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Nebraska Homestead LifestyleLeave a comment

Well now, if you’re reading this, you’re probably drawn to the good and honest work of living off the land. Maybe you’re dreaming of a little place to call your own—where cornfields meet the sky and the wind sings through prairie grass. That’s the Nebraska way. Out here, we don’t fuss over the fanciest gadgets or city-slicker trends. We value sweat on the brow, calloused hands, and the quiet reward of self-sufficiency. It ain’t always easy, but if you ask me, it’s worth every sunrise and every bite of homegrown food.

I reckon there’s no single way to homestead right. Every family carves out their own rhythm, shaped by the seasons and the soil. But over the years, I’ve picked up a fair bit of know-how that’s kept our little place running, and I’m mighty happy to pass it along. Whether you’ve got a full 160 acres or just a backyard with a chicken coop, these skills and hacks will make your homestead strong, efficient, and true to the Nebraska spirit.

15 Homestead Skills Every Nebraskan Should Know

  1. Gardening (Year-Round Planning)
    You can’t rely on the store when you’re 40 miles from town. Knowing how to plan a four-season garden is key—rotating crops, starting seeds indoors, and building cold frames for winter greens.
  2. Canning and Food Preservation
    When the tomatoes come on, they really come on. Knowing how to can, dehydrate, pickle, and ferment keeps our pantry full all year long.
  3. Seed Saving
    Store-bought seeds work, sure, but saving your own from heirlooms means stronger crops, adapted to your soil and weather. Plus, it saves a heap of money.
  4. Animal Husbandry
    Raising chickens, goats, or even a few head of cattle means milk, eggs, and meat without a trip to town. You learn a lot about life and death, too—this work keeps you grounded.
  5. Composting and Soil Building
    You can’t grow much in clay or sand unless you feed your soil. Compost, manure, and cover crops are the real currency on a Nebraska homestead.
  6. Fence Building and Repair
    Wind and critters don’t take a break. A good stretch of barbed wire or woven wire, well-maintained, keeps your livestock in and the coyotes out.
  7. Rainwater Harvesting
    Out here, water’s precious. We’ve got barrels, cisterns, and gutters working double-time. Every drop counts when summer gets dry.
  8. Basic Carpentry
    You don’t need to be a master, but knowing how to build a shed, repair a barn, or even patch your chicken coop goes a long way.
  9. Butchering and Meat Processing
    Slaughter day’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s part of the circle of life. Processing your own meat gives you pride and peace of mind.
  10. Soap and Candle Making
    Old-fashioned? Maybe. But handmade soap and beeswax candles are useful, especially when storms knock out the power.
  11. Root Cellaring
    Before fridges, we had root cellars. And guess what? They still work. With the right space and setup, you can store squash, potatoes, onions, and more for months.
  12. Sewing and Mending
    Out here, you don’t toss jeans because of a hole in the knee. A needle and thread (and maybe an old Singer machine) are all you need.
  13. Mechanical Repair and Maintenance
    Tractors, generators, and even a busted hand pump—if you can’t fix ’em, you’re in trouble. Learning engines and tools is essential.
  14. Foraging and Wildcrafting
    Nature offers more than we think. From mulberries and chokecherries to wild mint and lamb’s quarters, knowing your local wild edibles is a treat.
  15. First Aid and Herbal Remedies
    Sometimes, it’s an hour or more to the nearest clinic. Having a good first aid kit and knowing how to use yarrow, plantain, or comfrey can make all the difference.

3 DIY Homestead Hacks for Tough Nebraska Living

1. The “Thermal Mass Rocket Heater” Trick
When propane prices spike and the wind’s howling, it helps to have a backup heat source. A homemade rocket heater, built from fire bricks and a barrel, burns hot and efficient with very little wood. Add thermal mass—say, cob or stone—around the flue to soak up heat and radiate it all night. We built ours in the greenhouse, and it keeps the frost off the kale even in January.

2. Recycled Pallet Tool Shed
Every homesteader’s got an overflowing tool corner. I put mine in order using nothing but free pallets from the local feed store. Cut and screw ’em together for a quick, rustic shed that keeps shovels, hoes, and fencing tools right where you need ’em. It won’t win any beauty contests, but it sure is handy.

3. Solar-Powered Electric Fencing on a Budget
Coyotes are clever and hungry, and so are raccoons. We built a solar-powered electric fence around our chicken yard using a cheap solar charger, step-in posts, and polywire. It cost less than $200 total and has saved us more in eggs and meat than we can count. The sun does the work, and the hens stay safe.

A Final Word from the Prairie

Homesteading in Nebraska isn’t just a lifestyle—it’s a legacy. Our great-grandparents came here in covered wagons, braving storms, droughts, and locusts to stake a claim and make it stick. We’re still writing that same story, just with a few more tools and a whole lot of heart.

There’ll be hard days. Droughts, busted equipment, sick animals. But there’ll be days when the corn tassels glow gold in the light, when you pull a fresh pie from the oven made with your own apples and lard, when the first lamb stands up on wobbly legs and bleats in the sunshine. Those are the days that remind you why you chose this life.

So, roll up your sleeves, sharpen your hoe, and keep your boots muddy. You’re part of a proud tradition now. Nebraska might not offer the easiest land, but it offers something better: the chance to live honest, work hard, and raise something real.

Welcome home, neighbor.

The Real Nevada Homestead Lifestyle — No Sugarcoating

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Nevada, Nevada Homestead Lifestyle, Nevada preppers, Nevada SurvivalistsLeave a comment

Nevada’s no place for the faint-hearted. The desert sun bakes you by day, and the freezing wind cuts you to the bone by night. There’s no city water or electricity waiting for you to plug in, no grocery store five minutes down the road. You get what you earn here, and if you don’t like that, go back to your cushy apartment with your air conditioning and Amazon Prime deliveries.

Homesteading in Nevada means living off the land in one of the toughest climates this country has to offer. If you think you can just show up with some seeds and hope they grow, you’re dead wrong. It’s a brutal fight every single day. But, if you’re stubborn enough to stick with it, there’s no lifestyle that offers more freedom and self-reliance than this.

15 Essential Homestead Skills for Nevada Survivors

  1. Water Harvesting and Management: You’d better know how to collect, store, and ration water. Rain’s rare, so you learn to catch every drop, dig wells if you can, and recycle water like your life depends on it — because it does.
  2. Solar Power Setup: Forget waiting for the power company. Learn how to install and maintain solar panels. The Nevada sun’s relentless, so why waste it? Solar energy is your lifeline.
  3. Basic Carpentry: Building your own shelter, fences, and storage is not optional — it’s survival. You need to measure, saw, hammer, and build sturdy structures that can withstand harsh desert winds.
  4. Gardening in Arid Conditions: Growing anything in dry Nevada soil is an art. You need to know how to prepare the soil, mulch like a madman, and pick drought-resistant crops.
  5. Canning and Food Preservation: When your garden produces, you better know how to preserve that bounty. Canning, drying, fermenting — all critical to making it through lean months.
  6. Animal Husbandry: Raising chickens, goats, or rabbits is a must. You’ve got to feed them, care for them, and harvest eggs, milk, or meat to sustain your family.
  7. Hunting and Trapping: Don’t rely on stores. Learn to hunt local game and trap small animals. Know the seasons, tracks, and how to clean your kill properly.
  8. Blacksmithing or Basic Metalworking: Sometimes you need to fix tools, make nails, or create hardware out of nothing. Knowing how to work metal can save your homestead.
  9. Fire Starting: Matches fail. Lighters run dry. Learn friction fire starting or using flint and steel. If you can’t make fire, you won’t eat or stay warm.
  10. Herbal Medicine: The desert has cures hidden in plain sight. Knowing which plants treat burns, cuts, or stomach issues can mean the difference between life and death.
  11. Permaculture Design: Creating a sustainable, self-regenerating ecosystem around your homestead means less work long-term and a better chance of survival.
  12. Basic Plumbing: Setting up water lines, fixing leaks, and managing greywater systems will keep your water running without costly professionals.
  13. Sewing and Repair: Clothes and gear wear out fast. Knowing how to patch, mend, or even make your own clothes saves money and keeps you functional.
  14. Soap Making: Cleaning yourself and your clothes without running water or store-bought products means you better know how to make soap from scratch.
  15. Food Foraging: Knowing what wild plants, nuts, and berries are edible and how to gather them without poisoning yourself is a must-have skill.

3 DIY Nevada Homestead Hacks to Save Your Hide

Hack #1: The Solar Still for Water Purification

If you find yourself out in the wild with questionable water, build a simple solar still. Dig a hole, place a container in the middle, cover the hole with plastic, and put a small rock in the center of the plastic so it dips down over the container. The sun’s heat evaporates the water, and it condenses on the plastic, dripping clean water into your container. This little contraption can mean clean drinking water when you thought you were done for.

Hack #2: The Desert Hugelkultur Garden Bed

Nevada’s soil sucks, but you can improve it with hugelkultur — basically, burying wood logs under a mound of soil. The wood slowly decomposes, storing moisture and nutrients. This garden bed stays hydrated longer and feeds your plants naturally. It’s a game-changer for drought conditions and poor soil.

Hack #3: DIY Windbreak Fence

Wind here isn’t just annoying; it kills your crops and wears down your home. Make a cheap windbreak by stacking pallets and filling the gaps with brush or scrap wood. Plant native bushes along the fence line, and you’ll have a shelter that protects your garden and homestead from those biting desert winds.

Why I’m Angry? Because Homesteading Ain’t No Weekend Hobby

I’m sick and tired of hearing city slickers romanticize this life. “Oh, just grow your own food and live off the land,” they say. Like it’s that easy. In Nevada, your water runs out, your soil won’t grow a carrot to save your life, and your tools break faster than you can fix them.

You don’t get to rest when you live this way. Every day is a battle against the elements, pests, and your own exhaustion. If you don’t get up and tend your garden at dawn, the heat will kill your plants before lunch. If you slack on checking your water storage, you might not have a drop left when you need it. Every homesteader I know out here has scars — physical and mental — earned from this hard-ass land.

But here’s the kicker: despite the anger, despite the hardship, there’s no way I’d give it up. Because this is freedom. This is self-sufficiency. This is the rawest, purest form of living that humbles you and makes you a real human being again.

What You Need to Know Before You Even Dream of Nevada Homesteading

  • Prepare to Be Alone: Out here, neighbors might be miles away. You’ll rely on yourself and your family. Learn to be comfortable with solitude — or learn how to shoot a rattlesnake fast.
  • Expect Equipment Failures: Your tractor will break, your solar panels will need cleaning, your water pump will seize. Learn how to fix things or live with broken gear.
  • Respect the Wildlife: Coyotes, snakes, scorpions, and spiders share this land. Know how to avoid or deal with them without losing your mind or your toes.
  • Master Time Management: Homesteading demands time and discipline. You can’t just take a day off. If you fall behind, you’ll pay for it with spoiled food, lost crops, or sick animals.
  • Learn From Your Mistakes: This land will teach you lessons—sometimes harsh ones. But if you listen, you’ll get better, and you’ll build something that lasts.

Final Word — Nevada Homesteading Ain’t for Cowards

If you want to homestead in Nevada, stop dreaming about idyllic farm scenes and start preparing for battle. It’s a fight against drought, heat, cold, and your own limits. But when you learn the skills, use the hacks, and grind through the tough days, you’ll have something no one else does: real independence.

The Nevada homestead lifestyle is a brutal, beautiful struggle. If you’re angry, good — let that anger fuel your work. If you’re scared, good — let that fear sharpen your resolve. And if you’re stubborn as hell, well, then maybe you’re cut out for this life.

Because out here, it’s do or die. And I’m here, still standing — angry, hard-working, and proud as hell.

This Ain’t Pinterest: Real Talk from a South Dakota Homesteader

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn South Dakota, South Dakota Homestead LifestyleLeave a comment

Let me tell you something right now: if you think homesteading in South Dakota is all sourdough starters, chickens in cute aprons, and sun-dappled Instagram reels, you’re dead wrong. This ain’t some aesthetic lifestyle trend. This is hard, raw, gut-punching work. It’s frostbitten fingers, mud-caked boots, and waking up at 4:30 a.m. to milk goats in a -20°F blizzard while the wind rips through your soul like a rusty saw.

I’m not here to coddle you. I’m here to warn you — and, yeah, maybe light a fire under your backside. Because if you’re dreaming about “going off-grid” without knowing how to keep your pipes from freezing solid or your chickens from keeling over in the heat, you’ll get chewed up and spit out by South Dakota faster than you can say “sourdough discard.”

Let’s start with the weather, because Mother Nature out here doesn’t give a damn about your plans. Winter will try to kill you. Summer will try to dehydrate you. Spring is a cruel joke, and fall lasts about 12 minutes before winter kicks the door down again.

If you’re gonna survive here, you better get serious.

Here are 15 homesteading skills you’d damn well better know if you want to keep your sanity and your livestock alive in this state:

  1. Basic Carpentry – You’ll be fixing fences, building coops, and patching barns. No time for YouTube tutorials when your roof’s blown off in a storm.
  2. Animal Husbandry – Not just cuddling goats. I’m talking birthing, deworming, castrating, and dealing with an unexpected chicken massacre at 2 a.m.
  3. Seed Saving – Because next year’s food depends on this year’s seeds. Don’t trust Big Ag to bail you out.
  4. Composting – You’re gonna generate waste. Learn to turn it into black gold or you’ll drown in chicken crap.
  5. Butchering – If you can’t kill and process what you raise, you’ve got no business raising it.
  6. Water Management – Wells freeze. Hoses crack. You better know how to move, store, and thaw water without burning your house down.
  7. Soap Making – You will get filthy. Might as well smell like goat milk and lye while you do it.
  8. Canning & Preserving – Freezers aren’t dependable when the power cuts out for three days in a whiteout.
  9. Firewood Chopping – Forget electric heat. You’ll need cords of wood and the strength of a bear to stay warm out here.
  10. First Aid – The ER isn’t next door. You better know how to stitch, splint, and stop bleeding on your own.
  11. Foraging – Not every meal will come from your garden. Learn your wild edibles — chokecherries, morels, lamb’s quarters.
  12. Solar/Energy Know-How – Grid down? Windstorm take out the lines? Your backup better work, or you’re toast.
  13. Fencing – Livestock can’t stay in a dreamcatcher circle. Barbed wire, electric — learn it, use it, respect it.
  14. Mechanical Repair – Tractors, tillers, and generators break down. You need to be able to tear ‘em apart and put ‘em back together.
  15. Weather Forecasting (Old School) – If you wait for the weatherman, you’re already three days behind. Watch the sky. Smell the wind.

And don’t get me started on the DIY hacks — because out here, there’s no running to Lowe’s every time a hinge snaps. You rig it, you fix it, you improvise like your great-grandpa did. Here are three of my favorites that have saved my bacon more than once:

DIY Homestead Hack #1: The Heated Water Bucket on a Budget

Forget paying $50 a pop for fancy heated buckets. Take an old cooler, run a heated stock tank de-icer through the lid, seal it with silicone caulk, and boom — insulated, heated water bucket that keeps your animals hydrated even when it’s colder than a banker’s heart.

DIY Homestead Hack #2: Windbreak Wall from Pallets

South Dakota wind will drive you to madness if you let it. Stack free pallets, bolt them together, anchor them with t-posts, and fill the gaps with straw bales or snow. You’ll cut the wind chill for your animals and keep your coop from becoming a popsicle overnight.

DIY Homestead Hack #3: Egg Carton Fire Starters

Take your leftover egg cartons, fill the cups with dryer lint or sawdust, then pour melted candle wax or bacon grease over the top. Let ’em cool, then break off one or two when you need to light a fire fast — even in howling prairie wind.

And now, a word about expectations. Homesteading in South Dakota isn’t a weekend hobby. It’s not a way to “unplug” or “reconnect with nature.” It’s a full-blown life commitment, and it will test every part of your body and brain.

You will cry over dead piglets. You will rage at frozen pipes. You will feel like a failure at least once a week. But if you stick it out, there’s something deeper here. Something solid. Something that doesn’t blow away with the next windstorm.

Because when you finally harvest that first meal — every bite grown, raised, or foraged by you — it’ll taste better than anything you ever bought at a store.

When your kids learn to fix a fence before they learn to text, or when your partner brags about their pickled beets like they just won a blue ribbon at the state fair — you’ll know you’re doing something that matters.

We aren’t living in the past — we’re reclaiming the skills the world forgot. The ability to be independent. The courage to be prepared. The guts to face a world that thinks we’re crazy for wanting to work this damn hard.

So yeah, maybe I’m angry. I’m angry at a society that thinks we’re backward for wanting to know where our food comes from. I’m angry at every influencer who romanticizes this life but never shows the blood, frostbite, or exhaustion.

But most of all, I’m angry that more people don’t realize they can do this. You don’t need 100 acres. You don’t need a trust fund. You need grit, knowledge, and the humility to learn.

So get out there. Chop wood. Raise pigs. Plant seeds. Fail, learn, and keep going.

Because the wind may blow, the frost may bite, and the state may try to bury you — but out here, we endure.

Maine Homestead Lifestyle

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Maine, Maine Homestead Lifestyle, Maine Survival PreparednessLeave a comment

Maine Homestead Lifestyle: A Gritty Rant from an Angry Homesteader

Listen here, if you think homesteading in Maine is some romantic little getaway where you sip maple syrup and bask in autumn leaves, you’re dead wrong. Maine isn’t some lazy dreamland — it’s a wild, harsh, relentless beast that’ll chew you up and spit you out if you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. I’m here to tell you straight: if you don’t come prepared with backbone and know-how, you might as well pack it up and head back to the city.

You think it’s cute, the idea of a quiet life off-grid with the loon calls and the snow piling high? Yeah, well, the snow doesn’t just pile — it buries you. And the wind? It’ll cut through you like a rusty saw blade. So, if you’re gonna survive this Maine homestead lifestyle, you better get ready to work harder and smarter than you ever have in your life.

1. Firewood Cutting & Splitting

First off, no heat means no life. You better be a master woodsman who can fell trees with precision and split firewood like a demon. Maine winters last forever, and the cold sneaks into your bones if you slack off. There’s no “just turn on the heat.” You’re the heat. Chainsaw skills, axe work, and stacking wood neatly for months of burning — that’s your lifeline.

2. Food Preservation

Canning, pickling, drying — if you don’t know how to put away food for the long haul, you’re gonna starve come February. Maine’s growing season is short, and the grocery store ain’t always a quick run. You’ll want to learn pressure canning for meats and beans, water bath canning for fruits, and how to properly dry herbs and veggies.

3. Gardening & Crop Rotation

Planting in Maine soil isn’t just throwing seeds in the dirt. You’ve got to know your frost dates, prepare the soil with compost, and rotate crops so the earth doesn’t get sick. Carrots, kale, potatoes, and cold-hardy greens are your bread and butter. Get your hands dirty and your mind sharp.

4. Animal Husbandry

Chickens, goats, maybe a cow if you’re brave — you’ve got to keep your livestock healthy, safe from predators, and productive. That means fencing, feeding, knowing the signs of sickness, and handling births. I don’t care if you’re allergic to feathers or terrified of cows; it’s part of the deal.

5. Butchering & Meat Processing

Don’t come crying if you can’t butcher a chicken or process a deer. Maine’s got plenty of wild game, and if you’re not skilled in breaking down meat and preserving it, you’re wasting valuable calories. This skill takes guts, literally, and some serious stomach.

6. Water Management

Wells, rain catchment, and filtration systems — if your water source freezes or gets contaminated, you’re dead in the water. No city pipes. You have to know how to dig, repair, and purify water on the fly.

7. Soap Making

This ain’t just a luxury; clean water is precious and limited. Learning to make your own soap from lye and fats is a skill that saves money and keeps your skin from cracking off in the cold.

8. Basic Carpentry

Shelter repairs, building coops, fences, or sheds — if you can’t swing a hammer and read a tape measure, you’ll be stuck in the cold rain while everything falls apart.

9. Metalworking & Tool Repair

You want to be dependent on a hardware store? Good luck with that, because the nearest one might be 40 miles away. Knowing how to fix your tools, sharpen blades, weld patches, or make simple hardware can save your ass.

10. Blacksmithing Basics

No joke — even rudimentary blacksmithing skills help in making and repairing nails, hooks, hinges, and horseshoes. The sound of the hammer on the anvil should be music to your ears.

11. Food Foraging

Maine’s wilderness can feed you if you know the edible plants, mushrooms, and berries. But one false bite can land you in the ER or worse. Learn what’s safe and what’ll kill you.

12. Preserving Seeds

If you’re not saving seeds from year to year, you’re throwing money and food away. Seed saving means you can keep your garden thriving year after year without buying new seeds.

13. Winterizing Structures

You think slapping some plywood on a window will keep you warm? Hell no. You need insulation knowledge, storm windows, and draft-proofing skills. Otherwise, you’re just heating the outdoors.

14. Root Cellaring

Learning to store potatoes, carrots, apples, and squash in a root cellar is crucial. It’s like a cold pantry that keeps your food fresh without electricity.

15. Basic Veterinary Care

When your animals get sick, you can’t just call a vet to swoop in next day. You better have some vet basics in your arsenal — identifying symptoms, administering shots, and doing minor treatments.

Now, I’m not just here to yell at you about how tough it is. I’m gonna throw some DIY homestead hacks your way, because if you want to keep your sanity and your homestead, you better get creative.

DIY Homestead Hack #1: Build a Rocket Mass Heater from Reclaimed Materials

Cold winters and firewood shortages are the perfect storm. Instead of burning your precious wood inefficiently, build a rocket mass heater using old bricks, barrels, and some scrap metal. This heater burns wood super hot, uses less fuel, and stores heat in a thermal mass that radiates warmth for hours. It’s a lifesaver when the temperature drops to bone-chilling lows.

DIY Homestead Hack #2: Create a Solar Dehydrator Using an Old Window Frame

Preserving food in Maine is a must, but electricity can be scarce or expensive. Grab an old window frame, some black-painted wood, and fine mesh screens to build a solar dehydrator. Place sliced fruits, veggies, or herbs inside, and let the Maine sun do the drying. It’s cheap, efficient, and easy to maintain.

DIY Homestead Hack #3: Rainwater Catchment with 55-Gallon Barrels and Downspout Diverters

Water is king in the homestead kingdom. Installing a rainwater catchment system using cheap barrels and modifying your roof’s downspouts can provide a reliable water source for your garden, animals, or emergency use. In Maine’s rainy climate, this can supplement your well water and reduce your risk during freeze-ups or droughts.

Look, Maine homesteading isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s a brutal, demanding lifestyle that tests every ounce of your patience and skills. If you want to make it here, you better be ready to face the cold, the bugs, the isolation, and the endless work.

No internet delivery guy is gonna bring you your groceries; no 24/7 store will keep your pantry full; no fancy heating system will save you without firewood. It’s just you, your hands, and the stubborn earth.

You gotta be tough, smart, and scrappy. Learn these skills, use these hacks, and most importantly, don’t give up. Maine might be a frozen hellscape half the year, but it’s also a place of freedom and rugged beauty if you’re willing to earn it.

So stop whining, pick up your axe, and get to work — because that Maine homestead lifestyle waits for no one.

Louisiana Homestead Lifestyle

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Louisiana, Louisiana Homestead Lifestyle, Louisiana PreppersLeave a comment

You wanna talk about living off the land down here in Louisiana? You better be ready to get your hands dirty, sweat through the humidity, wrestle with mosquitos the size of your fist, and learn more skills than a city slicker’s ever dreamed of. This ain’t some vacation spot for weekend gardeners or “I’ll try it once” types. Homesteading in Louisiana is a tough, relentless lifestyle that’ll chew you up if you don’t come prepared—and stay prepared.

I’ve been living this swampy, humid, sun-baked, hurricane-rattled life for years now, and lemme tell you, it’s not for the faint-hearted. You want to thrive here, not just survive? You gotta master your craft and learn the skills that’ll make this muddy, crawfish-infested, alligator-friendly land work for you—not against you.

1. Soil Management and Raised Beds

If you think you can just plant crops straight into that Louisiana clay mud, you’re dead wrong. The soil here is heavy and waterlogged. You’ve got to build raised beds or amend your soil with plenty of organic matter and sand to keep those roots from drowning in the swamp. Ain’t nobody got time for soggy roots and rot.

2. Rainwater Collection and Management

With all the rain we get, you better learn how to catch it and store it. You need barrels, gutters, and a filtration system because relying on well water or city water in rural parts is a gamble. And when the dry spells hit, that stored water is your lifeline.

3. Swamp-Aware Planting

You want to grow stuff that survives humidity, bugs, and occasional flooding? You plant what’s native or adapted. Okra, sweet potatoes, collard greens, and blackberries thrive here. Forget your northern heirlooms—they’ll rot or wilt faster than you can say “bayou.”

4. Pest Control—Mosquito Edition

You think a little bug spray’s gonna save you? Ha! Learn to build mosquito traps, use natural repellents like citronella and lemongrass, and create a habitat that doesn’t breed swarms of the little bloodsuckers. Otherwise, you’ll be itching till kingdom come.

5. Butchering and Processing Game

Alligator, squirrel, duck, and deer aren’t just for tourists to gawk at—they’re food. You better learn to clean and process your game properly or risk wasting good meat. Ain’t nobody gonna bring your dinner ready-made out here.

6. Canning and Preserving

With all this bounty from garden and swamp, you’d be an idiot not to preserve it. Whether it’s pickled okra, smoked sausage, or homemade preserves, you need to know how to store food safely for leaner times.

7. Smokehouse and Meat Curing

Heat and humidity are a homesteader’s enemy—meat spoils fast. That’s why building a smokehouse and curing meat with salt or smoke is a must. I built mine from cypress wood scraps and it’s saved countless pounds of bacon and venison from rot.

8. Composting in Humid Climate

You can’t just toss scraps and hope for compost in Louisiana. You have to turn your pile often to avoid a stinky mess that attracts critters. Learn the right mix of browns and greens, or you’ll get nothing but swamp sludge.

9. Firewood Processing and Storage

Humidity means wood rots fast. You need to cut, split, and store firewood properly off the ground, covered but ventilated, or it’s worthless by winter. And yeah, you better have a chainsaw and axe skills.

10. Beekeeping for Honey and Pollination

Bees are essential, but they don’t just show up and set up shop. You have to build hives, manage swarms, and harvest honey carefully or risk losing your whole colony to disease or predators.

11. Waterproofing and Building Raised Structures

Flooding is real. You better build your coop, barn, and root cellar on stilts or raised foundations. Otherwise, you’ll be bailing water and losing all your hard work after every storm.

12. Fishing and Trapping

Swamps and bayous are loaded with fish and critters if you know how to catch ‘em. Learn to set trotlines, gig frogs, or trap crawfish and you’ve got a steady protein source. But be legal about it—or you’ll have the wildlife officers breathing down your neck.

13. Herbal Medicine and Natural Remedies

Forget the drugstore. You better know which swamp plants soothe bites, heal wounds, or knock down fevers. Elderberry, sassafras, and mint are staples around here. It’s survival, not luxury.

14. Chainsaw Safety and Maintenance

You will need to clear downed trees, chop firewood, and build fences. Chainsaws are a homesteader’s best friend—and deadliest enemy if you don’t respect ‘em. Learn to maintain and use them properly, or you’ll be in the ER before you know it.

15. Root Cellar and Cold Storage

The southern heat is brutal. Without electricity or air conditioning, you need to build a root cellar or a cool storage pit. It’s the difference between rotting veggies and keeping your harvest fresh for weeks.

Now, Let Me Share 3 DIY Hacks I’ve Used That’ll Save Your Hide on a Louisiana Homestead

Hack #1: Mosquito Trap from a 2-Liter Bottle

Cut a 2-liter soda bottle in half. Mix water, sugar, and yeast in the bottom half to ferment. Invert the top half, funnel side down, into the base. Tape it. Mosquitoes get in chasing the CO2 and drown. Cheap, easy, and you’ll get fewer bites.

Hack #2: Raised Garden Beds with Pallets and Clay Soil

Got clay soil? Use old wooden pallets, line them with cardboard, and fill with a mix of topsoil, sand, and compost. The pallets keep your beds contained and elevated, while the cardboard rots away, improving soil texture over time. Works like a charm.

Hack #3: DIY Solar Water Heater for Bathing

Build a solar water heater by painting a black garden hose coil and attaching it to a clear plastic sheet on a frame. Lay it in the sun all day, and you’ll have warm water for washing off mud and sweat without running up your utility bill.

Final Word

This ain’t no easy life, and if you think homesteading in Louisiana is just about pretty vegetable gardens and cute chickens, you’re dead wrong. It’s a battle every single day against humidity, pests, weather, and unforgiving soil. But you do it because you want independence, because you want to eat what you grow, and because you don’t want to be dependent on grocery stores that could disappear in a storm.

If you ain’t got the grit to learn these skills, if you ain’t ready to sweat, itch, and work your hands raw, then get out of the way for those of us who do.

Louisiana homesteading isn’t for the weak. But it’s the most real way to live—rooted in the land, tied to the seasons, and tough as cypress wood.

If you want me to break down any of these skills or hacks further, or if you want more ranting about the trials of this lifestyle, just say the word. But don’t come asking for sugarcoated nonsense. We’re homesteaders, not city folk on a nature retreat.

Oklahoma Homestead Lifestyle: The Grit, The Grind, and The Glory

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Oklahoma, Oklahoma Homestead LifestyleLeave a comment

Listen here, city slickers and wannabe homesteaders who think you can just up and plant a garden while sipping on your fancy lattes! The Oklahoma homestead lifestyle isn’t some cozy weekend hobby. It’s a damn full-time battle with the land, the weather, and every thorn and critter that dares cross your path. I’ve got dirt under my nails, blisters on my hands, and fire in my belly — because this life demands it. So before you go romanticizing the “peaceful country living,” hear me out: it’s hard, relentless, and requires skills you better learn or you’ll be eating dust come sundown.

15 Must-Know Homestead Skills for Oklahoma

  1. Water Management — Oklahoma’s weather swings like a wild bull. Droughts hit hard, and sudden storms flood the holler. Know your rainwater catchment, dig your wells, and set up irrigation systems that won’t quit.
  2. Soil Testing and Amendment — Your land isn’t just dirt; it’s your livelihood. Test that soil and amend it with compost, manure, and natural fertilizers. If you don’t know your pH and nutrient levels, you might as well throw your seeds into a dust bowl.
  3. Garden Planning and Crop Rotation — If you plant the same thing in the same spot year after year, you’re asking for pest infestations and soil depletion. Rotate your crops like a pro, and stagger your planting for a constant harvest.
  4. Seed Saving — Don’t just buy seeds every season like a city fool. Learn to save seeds from your healthiest plants. It’s the only way to build resilience in your garden and keep your costs down.
  5. Pest Control (Organic, of course) — I don’t mean dousing your garden in poison. Learn to attract beneficial insects, build traps, and use companion planting to keep pests at bay.
  6. Animal Husbandry — Chickens, goats, pigs, and cows aren’t pets — they’re work, and they’re your food source. Know how to feed, breed, and protect your livestock from predators and illness.
  7. Basic Veterinary Care — If your animals fall sick, don’t wait for a vet to arrive from the city. Know the basics of animal first aid, common illnesses, and natural remedies.
  8. Firewood Processing — You’ll need firewood for cooking, heat, and drying herbs or meat. Learn to fell trees, split wood, and stack it properly so it seasons right.
  9. Preserving Food — Can, dry, ferment, smoke — whatever it takes to keep your harvest from spoiling in Oklahoma’s unpredictable humidity.
  10. Tool Maintenance and Repair — Your tools are your lifelines. Keep them sharp, oiled, and ready. Broken plows, chainsaws, or hoes can mean disaster.
  11. Fence Building and Maintenance — You’re going to need strong fences to keep your animals in and predators out. Barbed wire, wooden rails, electric fencing — know how to build and repair all of it.
  12. Composting — Turn waste into black gold. Proper composting improves your soil and reduces trash. If you’re not composting, you’re wasting potential.
  13. Emergency Preparedness — Tornadoes, ice storms, and droughts don’t call ahead. Have a plan, stockpile essentials, and know your evacuation routes.
  14. Basic Carpentry — Build coops, barns, sheds, fences, or repair your home yourself. You can’t always wait for a contractor when the weather’s turning sour.
  15. Foraging and Wildcrafting — Oklahoma’s countryside is full of edible weeds, nuts, berries, and medicinal plants. Learn to identify and harvest these natural gifts without poisoning yourself.

3 DIY Homestead Hacks for Oklahoma Toughness

1. The Rain Barrel with Mosquito Mesh

Don’t let mosquitos breed in your precious rainwater catchment barrels! Take an old 55-gallon drum or any large container, cut an inlet for your downspout, and cover the opening with fine mosquito mesh secured with a tight-fitting lid. This keeps out debris and bugs while catching clean water for your garden. Bonus: paint the barrel dark to reduce algae growth.

2. Homemade Solar Water Heater

Why pay for propane or electricity when the sun’s beating down hard on your Oklahoma homestead? Grab some old black garden hoses, coil them up on a wooden frame, and place the whole contraption in direct sunlight. Connect one end to a water storage tank and the other to your outdoor faucet. You’ll have hot water for washing or even showering without spending a dime.

3. Chicken Tractor from Pallets

Don’t waste money on expensive chicken coops. Use free pallets (Oklahoma has plenty) to build a lightweight, movable chicken tractor. It protects your birds from predators while letting them graze fresh grass every day. Just nail the pallets together, add some chicken wire, and attach wheels or handles to move it around. Your chickens will be healthier, and your garden will thank you.

Why This Life Isn’t for the Faint of Heart

Here’s the truth, plain and simple: if you’re thinking about moving out to the Oklahoma countryside and living off the land without busting your back, dreaming about idyllic mornings on a porch with coffee in hand, think again.

Oklahoma is a land of extremes. The summers scorch you with triple-digit heat and brutal sun, the winters freeze your bones. Tornadoes carve the sky like hungry demons. The soil is either stubborn clay or dusty sand, and critters from raccoons to coyotes will try to ruin your day. Every seed you plant, every animal you raise, every fence you build — it’s a fight.

But if you’re tough, stubborn, and willing to learn, the rewards are real. You’ll know where your food comes from. You’ll have control over what you eat, how you live, and how you raise your family. You’ll build community with neighbors who get it — people who understand the value of hard work and perseverance.

And if you’re lucky, you’ll find peace in the hard-earned quiet of a sunset over your fields, knowing you made it through the storm.

Final Words of Fire

So don’t come whining to me when your plants wilt in the summer sun or your chicken coop gets raided because you didn’t build a proper fence. Learn the skills. Get your hands dirty. Fix what’s broken. Respect the land, or it’ll spit you right back out.

The Oklahoma homestead lifestyle is not a fantasy. It’s sweat, blood, and a whole lot of grit. But if you can hack it, it’s the most real and rewarding way of life you’ll ever know.

Now get out there and get to work.

Ohio Homestead Lifestyle: A Hard-Scrabble Rant from a Weather-Beaten Homesteader

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Ohio, Ohio Homestead Lifestyle, Ohio Survival PreppersLeave a comment

Listen here, I’m sick and tired of folks thinking the homestead life is some kind of leisurely stroll through a field of daisies. Out here in Ohio, it’s a battle every damn day. The weather’s fickle as a wild fox, the soil’s a pain in the ass to work with, and the so-called “easy homestead life” is a fairy tale told by city folk who don’t know a plow from a pitchfork.

I’ve been busting my back on this Ohio homestead for years, and I’ll tell you this straight: if you ain’t ready to learn and work like a damn machine, you might as well pack it up and go back to your cushy apartment with your grocery store aisles. This ain’t no hobby. It’s survival.

Let me break down what it really takes to keep a homestead running here in the Buckeye State. And I’m not just talking about planting a few tomatoes and calling it a day. No, you’ve gotta be skilled up, hands dirty, brain working, and heart set on this life, or you’ll starve or freeze come winter.

15 Homestead Skills You Better Learn Quick

  1. Soil Preparation and Composting
    This land won’t grow squat if you don’t build your soil right. You better know how to compost kitchen scraps, manure, and dead leaves into gold. If your soil’s dead, your crops die.
  2. Garden Planning and Crop Rotation
    Planting the same damn crop in the same spot year after year is how you kill your soil. You gotta know which crops work well together, and which ones suck the life out of the dirt.
  3. Seed Saving
    Buying seeds every year? Ha! That’s money wasted. Save your own seeds from your best plants. It’s cheaper and your plants will adapt better to Ohio’s climate.
  4. Basic Carpentry
    If you think you can build a coop or fix a fence without basic carpentry skills, you’re dreaming. Get comfortable with saws, hammers, and nails, or you’re done.
  5. Animal Husbandry
    Whether it’s chickens, goats, or pigs, knowing how to care for animals is non-negotiable. Feed ’em right, clean their pens, and know when they’re sick.
  6. Preserving Food
    Canning, drying, freezing—whatever it takes to store your harvest so you don’t waste it. Ohio winters are brutal, and you’ll need food stockpiled.
  7. Herbal Medicine
    Modern medicine isn’t always around on a homestead. Learn which plants treat cuts, burns, or stomach aches. A little knowledge can save a trip or a hospital bill.
  8. Firewood Cutting and Splitting
    Heating with firewood is how we survive cold snaps. Chainsaws, axes, splitting mauls—master them or freeze your butt off.
  9. Water Management and Rainwater Harvesting
    Rain here isn’t reliable. Collect it, store it, and manage runoff so your crops don’t drown or parch.
  10. Basic Plumbing and Repairs
    When the water line freezes or the septic acts up, you can’t call a plumber. Know how to fix leaks, clear pipes, and maintain your water system.
  11. Trap and Hunt Small Game
    Sometimes the garden fails or runs dry, and a homesteader’s gotta eat. Small game hunting and trapping can fill the freezer.
  12. Soap Making
    Cleanliness matters, but store-bought soaps often come with nasty chemicals. Make your own with lye and animal fats.
  13. Beekeeping
    Bees mean pollination, which means better crops and honey. Knowing how to manage a hive is a skill worth its weight in gold.
  14. Blacksmith Basics
    Fixing tools and making hooks or hinges out of scrap metal keeps your homestead running. You don’t need to be a pro, but you better know some basics.
  15. Weather Forecasting Without Technology
    If the power’s out, the internet’s down, and your phone’s dead, how do you know when a storm’s coming? Learn to read the sky, the wind, and the critters for signs.

The Real Dirt on Ohio Weather and Land

If you think Ohio is all flat plains and gentle rolling hills, think again. It’s a patchwork of rocky soil, stubborn clay, and pockets of good land that’ll bite you if you don’t respect it. Spring floods can drown your seeds before they even sprout, and summer droughts will fry your crops if you don’t irrigate right.

And don’t get me started on winter. We get snow and ice like nobody’s business. If you’re not prepared to feed your livestock and keep water flowing, you’re done. A single frozen pipe or an empty feed bin means disaster.

3 DIY Homestead Hacks That Will Save Your Bacon in Ohio

1. Old Tire Raised Garden Beds
Don’t have money for fancy beds? Stack old tires filled with good soil and compost. They retain heat, drain well, and keep your plants from being smothered in that Ohio clay muck.

2. DIY Solar Water Heater
Cut a black hose, coil it on your roof or south-facing wall, and connect it to a water tank. The sun will warm your water for washing and watering plants without a dime spent on propane.

3. Chicken Coop Heat Lamps Using Broken Headlights
Don’t toss old car headlights! Clean ’em, mount a heat lamp bulb inside, and you’ve got a reflector to keep your chicks warm through cold snaps.

Why Most People Quit

I see it every year — fresh-faced city folk with dreams of homesteading glory move out here, and six months later, they’re back on Craigslist selling off their chickens and tools. They didn’t learn the skills, they didn’t prepare for Ohio’s brutal climate swings, and they underestimated the work.

Homesteading isn’t about Instagram-worthy garden pics or “sustainable living” buzzwords. It’s about hard, gritty work day in and day out. It’s waking before dawn to milk a goat, fixing a fence in a thunderstorm, or hauling a cord of firewood when your back screams.

The Honest Truth

If you want to survive and thrive on an Ohio homestead, start with learning these skills, get your hands dirty, and stop whining about the weather or “how hard it is.” Every skill listed above is a lifeline. They’re what separate the homesteader from the wannabe.

There’s no room for laziness or shortcuts here. Nature doesn’t care about your schedule, and neither does the land. You gotta respect it, work with it, and adapt. Only then will you turn this rough Ohio soil into a homestead that feeds your family through harsh winters and fickle seasons.

Final Warning

So don’t come here thinking you can hop on a tractor once a week, plant some seeds, and call it a homestead. Learn the skills, build the hacks, and sweat blood for it. Otherwise, you’re just another quitter with a pile of rusty tools and broken dreams.

Ohio’s a beautiful place to homestead — but it’s no damn vacation. Get your hands dirty, your mind sharp, and your grit thick. That’s the only way you’ll make it through the Ohio homestead lifestyle without losing your mind.

New Mexico Homestead Lifestyle: No Excuses, Just Grit

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn New Mexico, New Mexico Homestead Lifestyle, New Mexico Survival PrepperLeave a comment

Listen here, city slickers and armchair farmers—homesteading in New Mexico isn’t some cute weekend hobby or Instagram aesthetic. It’s a full-throttle, dirt-under-your-nails, sweat-in-your-eyeballs way of life. The high desert isn’t a playground, and if you don’t have the backbone for it, you might as well pack up and go back to your cushy apartment with the air conditioning on max.

This land is dry, it’s hot, and it’ll test you every single day. But if you’re stubborn enough to stick with it, you’ll build a life that no Starbucks latte-sipping city dweller will ever understand. Here’s the raw truth: homesteading in New Mexico requires skills, guts, and a no-bullshit attitude.

15 Gritty Homestead Skills You Better Learn

  1. Water Harvesting and Management — This is New Mexico, for crying out loud! You don’t have a river flowing through your backyard; you’ve got dust and drought. If you’re not catching every drop of rain you can, storing greywater, and knowing how to find or dig wells, you’re doomed.
  2. Drought-Resistant Gardening — Forget your high-maintenance lettuce and tomatoes. You need to know how to grow chiles, beans, squash, and corn the way the indigenous people did—using techniques like dry farming and mulching to keep your soil from turning to dust.
  3. Composting — You’re not throwing away scraps; you’re turning them into gold. Composting isn’t optional; it’s survival. It feeds your soil, and good soil means crops.
  4. Livestock Management — Chickens, goats, rabbits—they all need water, feed, and protection from predators. And don’t get me started on butchering. You better be ready to handle it yourself, no squeamishness allowed.
  5. Solar Power Setup and Maintenance — The sun blazes down here, so solar is a no-brainer. But setting it up, wiring it correctly, and maintaining the system? That takes skill and know-how.
  6. Preserving Food — Canning, drying, freezing, fermenting—these aren’t just fancy foodie words. They’re the difference between eating or starving when the harvest dries up or the power goes out.
  7. Basic Carpentry — You want to build a shed, fence, or chicken coop? Learn to use a saw, hammer, and drill properly, or keep paying someone else while your place falls apart.
  8. Blacksmithing and Tool Repair — When your tools break, you can’t just run to Home Depot. You fix ‘em or make new ones. Basic metalworking skills keep you going.
  9. Herbal Medicine and First Aid — The nearest hospital is miles away. You need to know which plants heal wounds, ease pain, and treat illnesses, because waiting for an ambulance isn’t always an option.
  10. Fire Prevention and Control — Wildfires are a real threat here. Clearing brush, maintaining defensible space, and knowing how to fight fire with what you have around you is crucial.
  11. Irrigation System Installation — Drip lines, soaker hoses, gravity-fed systems—any water you waste is water you’ll regret. You need to know how to set these up and maintain them.
  12. Seed Saving — If you buy seeds every year, you’re bleeding money and making yourself dependent. Save and store your own seeds like your life depends on it—because it does.
  13. Animal Husbandry — Knowing how to breed, raise, and care for your livestock will save you money and make your homestead sustainable.
  14. Root Cellaring and Cool Storage — New Mexico’s heat means you can’t just leave your veggies in a basket on the porch. Root cellars or underground storage coolers are a must to keep your harvest fresh longer.
  15. Fence Building and Maintenance — Coyotes, javelinas, and stray dogs will eat your chickens and goats if your fence isn’t tight. Build it right or lose everything.

Now, If You Want To Survive Out Here, Try These 3 DIY Hacks

1. DIY Earthbag Raised Beds
Forget fancy raised beds that rot or need constant watering. Use sandbags or earthbags filled with native soil to build raised beds that hold moisture better, insulate roots from the harsh sun, and resist erosion. They’re cheap, sustainable, and tougher than anything you can buy at the garden store.

2. Solar Water Pump From an Old Car Radiator Fan
Need to get water from your well or cistern but don’t want to blow a fortune on solar pumps? Scavenge a 12-volt car radiator fan and attach it to a small water pump. Use a solar panel to power the fan and pump combo. It’s low-cost, uses recycled parts, and runs on pure desert sun power.

3. Chicken Tractor From Recycled Pallets
Chickens are great for pest control and fertilizing your soil, but free-ranging them can be dangerous and destructive. Build a movable chicken tractor with recycled pallets and wire mesh. It protects your flock, moves with them to fresh grass, and keeps your yard neat—plus, it costs next to nothing.

The No-BS Reality of New Mexico Homesteading

Don’t come out here expecting handouts or some picturesque lifestyle where you drink margaritas on a porch swing while your garden grows itself. Out here, you’re fighting against the sun, the wind, the wildlife, and sometimes even your own body. But damn it, if you push through, you’ll create a life that’s honest, raw, and real.

The land teaches you respect—respect for water, for the seasons, for the animals, and for yourself. You’ll wake up sore, dusty, and sometimes hungry. You’ll lose crops, you’ll lose livestock, and you’ll curse the day you thought homesteading was a “cute” idea.

But you’ll also see your first sprouts crack through the dusty earth, watch your chickens thrive, and taste vegetables so fresh they slap you awake better than any coffee. You’ll build skills your grandparents dreamed of passing down but never had the guts to do.

If you’re ready to quit whining and start working, New Mexico’s homestead lifestyle will make a badass homesteader out of you yet.

So, stop dreaming, start digging, and learn to thrive or get out of the way. This ain’t for the faint-hearted. It’s for the angry, the stubborn, and those who refuse to be owned by the modern world.

New Hampshire Homestead Lifestyle

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn New Hampshire, New Hampshire Homestead LifestyleLeave a comment

New Hampshire Homestead Lifestyle: A Hard Truth From a Gritty Homesteader

Listen up, city slickers and wannabe weekend warriors, because I’m about to give you a real slice of the New Hampshire homestead lifestyle. It ain’t pretty, it ain’t easy, and it sure as hell ain’t for the faint-hearted. You think you’re going to just pack your bags, slap on a pair of boots, and suddenly be a master of the land? Hell no. This life will chew you up and spit you out if you don’t come prepared and willing to fight for every damn inch of self-reliance.

First off, let me say this: the terrain in New Hampshire is rugged and relentless. The granite hills, thick woods, and unpredictable weather will break your spirit if you don’t have the grit to push through. But if you do, if you stick it out and get your hands dirty, there’s no sweeter freedom than calling your homestead your fortress.

Homestead Skill #1: Firewood Processing
You better learn to fell, split, and stack your own firewood before the snow piles up. Nothing’s more soul-crushing than waking up freezing because you ran out of heat. Chainsaw, axe, and muscle—that’s your holy trinity here.

Homestead Skill #2: Garden Planning and Crop Rotation
If you want food on your table, you need to master the art of growing it. That means planning your garden to avoid exhausting your soil. I’m talking potatoes, beans, kale, carrots—whatever you can grow in New Hampshire’s short but intense growing season.

Homestead Skill #3: Seed Saving
Stop buying seeds every year if you want to save money and keep your garden resilient. Learn to save and store seeds from your best plants. It’s a skill that’ll make you laugh at the fancy garden centers.

Homestead Skill #4: Animal Husbandry
Whether it’s chickens, goats, or pigs, knowing how to raise and care for livestock is non-negotiable. Sick animals don’t wait for a vet to show up; you better know your basics—feeding, shelter, and health checks.

Homestead Skill #5: Basic Carpentry
Your homestead is going to need constant repairs. From fixing a fence to building a chicken coop, knowing how to handle tools and wood is essential. If you can’t swing a hammer, you’re just dead weight.

Homestead Skill #6: Foraging
New Hampshire’s forests are full of wild edibles, but if you don’t know what’s safe, you’re asking for trouble. Learn to identify mushrooms, berries, and herbs that can supplement your food stores.

Homestead Skill #7: Canning and Preserving
When your garden bursts in summer, you better be ready to put up those fruits and veggies for winter. Canning, drying, fermenting—these skills keep you fed when snow’s knee-deep and stores are closed.

Homestead Skill #8: Water Management
You need clean water every day, and you better know how to collect, filter, and store it. Whether it’s from a spring, rainwater catchment, or a well, water is life, and you can’t afford to mess this up.

Homestead Skill #9: Basic First Aid
Out here, the nearest hospital might be miles away, so you better know how to patch wounds, treat infections, and stabilize injuries. This ain’t just a nice skill; it’s a damn necessity.

Homestead Skill #10: Blacksmithing or Basic Metalwork
Fixing tools and making your own hooks, nails, or hinges saves money and time. If you can’t bend metal or at least maintain your tools, you’re going to be out of luck when something breaks.

Homestead Skill #11: Soap Making
You think soap just magically appears? No. You make your own from lye and fats, or you go dirty. Cleanliness is crucial, but it takes work to keep hygiene up here.

Homestead Skill #12: Beekeeping
If you want honey and pollination for your garden, you gotta work with bees. Beekeeping isn’t for the timid—these little buggers can sting, but they’re worth the trouble.

Homestead Skill #13: Solar or Alternative Energy Maintenance
If you want to reduce your reliance on the grid, you better know how to install and keep your solar panels or wind turbines working. Electricity doesn’t just happen on a homestead.

Homestead Skill #14: Hunting and Trapping
For many of us, hunting deer or small game supplements our food supply. Knowing how to track, hunt, and process game is a skill passed down for survival.

Homestead Skill #15: Composting and Soil Health
If you don’t feed your soil, your plants won’t thrive. Composting kitchen scraps, manure, and yard waste into nutrient-rich soil is the backbone of a productive garden.

Now that I’ve laid down those basics, here’s the part where I get real about how to get ahead on your homestead with a few hacks that’ll save you blood, sweat, and tears.

DIY Homestead Hack #1: Repurposed Pallet Garden Beds
Don’t buy fancy raised beds when pallets are everywhere and free. Strip the pallets down, arrange them into beds, and fill them with your soil mix. They’re cheap, durable, and keep your garden neat while saving your back from bending into the dirt.

DIY Homestead Hack #2: Rainwater Barrel Setup with Screened Tops
Water is gold. Set up rain barrels under your roof runoff with screens on top to keep out mosquitoes and debris. This gives you a steady water source for your garden without hauling buckets back and forth.

DIY Homestead Hack #3: DIY Solar Food Dehydrator
Save your surplus produce by building a solar food dehydrator out of scrap wood, some fine mesh screens, and clear plastic or glass. It uses the sun’s heat to dry fruits and vegetables for long-term storage without electricity.

Let me tell you something else: this lifestyle isn’t about comfort or convenience. It’s about grit and grinding through winters where the snowdrifts tower over your head and summer droughts that parch your crops to dust. It’s about waking up before dawn and working until the stars come out, day in, day out, because if you don’t, you don’t eat.

The media will romanticize homesteading — all fresh eggs and homemade bread — but they leave out the freezing nights, the busted water pumps, the chiggers in your boots, and the damn raccoons that tear apart your chicken coop at two in the morning. That’s life here. If you’re not ready to fight for it, stay in your city apartment and keep paying for your lettuce from the store.

But if you are ready? Then welcome. Learn these skills. Fix your fences. Plant your seeds. Raise your animals. Harvest your wood. Preserve your food. Because New Hampshire’s wilderness will test you every step of the way, but it will also give you a life worth living—raw, honest, and free.

And one last thing — don’t come whining about the bugs, the cold, or the hard work. This land belongs to those who respect it and earn their keep. Get out there and prove you’re one of them.