Wood stoves are a highly economical way to provide heat for your home if you have access to a woodlot or live in a remote or rural area. To get the most bang for your buck, you should invest in a clean(er)-burning, efficient model. Last year, I spent a fair amount of time researching small, […]
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Wood Stove Decathlon
Wood Stove Decathalon
Masonry Cook Stoves: How They Work And Photos
When most Americans think of a stove, they think of a collection of heating elements that sits atop an oven. In modern times, this stove and oven combination is usually a box made out of thin sheet metal and is powered by either electrical energy or gas (natural gas or propane). However, this is not
Masonry Heaters: Benefits, How They Work, And Photos
When you think of heating with fire, the first image that might leap to your mind is a crackling wood stove, the mainstay of cozy homesteading living rooms everywhere. But despite itโs current ubiquity in back-to-the-land imagery, the wood stove is a relatively recent invention, having been invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1742. If you
How to Construct Mud Stoves
A little over a year ago, I was living in a tiny village in Sub-Saharan Africa. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer with the specialized task of teaching locals how to conserve their natural resources, specifically trees. A challenge unbeknownst to me before making the move to this region was something that most of us
Basics of Metal Woodstoves
When heating with wood, there are many options in choosing a wood-burning appliance. Some will choose to build a masonry oven that functions not only as a heater, but also as a beautiful centerpiece in their home. Others, especially those living in a small space like a tiny home or cabin, will choose some form
Off-Grid Heating Options & Alternatives
Last month, we debuted the first post in our series of Homesteading Questions and Answers. As we get questions from you, we try to formulate the best possible answers to help you on your adventure. This month is all about off-grid heating options. Sarah wants to know about “Heat alternatives that don’t require the grid,
๐ฅ Stoves, Ovens, & Heaters
How To Make A Hobo Stove: 9 Plans
Got a tin can laying around? Then you’ve got the basic materials needed for a hobo stove, a portable cookstove made from cast-off materials.
6 DIY Rocket Stove Plans
The clean burning, super-efficient rocket stove is also pretty easy to build. Here are six plans showing you how to do so.
Tiny House Interiors
Creativity is essential when planning and designing the interior of your tiny house. Trying to incorporate your kitchen, bedroom, living room and bathroom into an average of 200 sq. ft. is tricky. With the rise in people living tiny, there has been an increase in innovative designs that have come out to help incorporate all
How Energy Efficient is Induction Cooking?
Induction cooking is a promising new technology that could make food preparation much more energy-efficient (as well as time-saving).
The 4 Types of Solar Cookers
Downing trees or gathering sticks to fuel stoves is a major cause of deforestation and desertification. But if you could get that fuel free from the sun… The Panel Solar Cooker The Panel Solar Cooker uses reflective panels to focus sunlight onto a pot. These work best in tropical climates or in the warmer months
Accepting the Mess of Woodstove Season
Thereโs nothing cozier than curling up beside a crackling fire, the orange glow warming both body and spirit. We must have some sort of innate programming wired in our minds that draws us to fire, and it stands to reason why we brought fire into our homes as soon as we could figure out a
Homestead Fire Prevention
Many people fail to realize that they face serious wildfire danger. However, if you live in the rural prairies, foothills, or mountainous regions of North America, you are at risk. Fire is frightening, unpredictable, and life-threatening. Weakness in your homesteadโs fire protection scheme can create opportunities for a fire to take control, often because of
Rocket Mass Heaters: What Are they, How They Work, And Photos
Rocket Mass
Can I Compost Pistachio Shells?
Unearth the benefits of composting pistachio shells in our comprehensive guide, and discover how they can serve as a nutrient-rich soil amendment for your garden. Explore the intricacies of composting, from preparation, methods to potential issues, and other beneficial uses for these shells beyond composting.
What Is Homesteading?
The story Iโm about to tell happened more than three years ago, so I feel comfortable finally airing it out, knowing that the places and persons involved have forgotten this conversation and completely moved on. It all started when I submitted a bio for an article (to a publication Iโll not name, as I donโt
Can I Compost Citrus?
Composting citrus fruits presents some challenges, especially on your pile’s pH. Learn the correct preparation and best practices when processing your citrus scraps into nutrient-rich compost.
Homesteading Resources
Want a chance to win free homesteading gear every month? Sign up for our email list and every month (sometimes more) we send freebie emails with stuff like free books, seeds, gift certificates, and tons of other great resources for fellow gardeners & homesteaders! SIGN UP FOR CONTESTS HERE Our Most Popular Content: Earthbags Shipping
14 Inexpensive DIY Hot Tub Plans
A hot tub has been a long-held sign of status for homeowners. Being able to afford one meant you were probably doing pretty well financially, and having a hot tub adds value to your home. It might seem like a better deal to simply purchase a premade hot tub, but there are certain benefits to
8 Ways to Practice Homesteading While Living in a City
The (most recent) Back-to-the-Land Movement may have peaked in the 60s and 70s, but that doesnโt mean people havenโt had the desire for a more land-based way of life every decade before and since. Many armchair homesteaders find themselves tirelessly reading through the Storeyโs Guides to Livestock at their local library, browsing websites like Insteading
25+ Acid-Loving Plants For Your Garden
Experienced gardeners know: A healthy productive garden is one in which the plants are compatible with the pH of the soil. Not all soils are the same, and it’s important to recognize that many plants, shrubs, grasses, and trees require a specific nutrient balance. Some plants prefer a neutral soil, and others prefer a more
Getting Started With Self-Sufficient Living (And Why It IS Possible)
Self-sufficiency. What other term in the homesteading sphere carries such a weight of history, responsibility, and hope? Watch The Video Visions of lush, productive gardens, cozy wood stoves crackling with hand-split hardwood, provisions lining the pantry shelves, and healthy animals moving through the fields; all dance in our heads backed by the resounding questions: Is
Top 10 Alternative Building Books
For those of us who use alternative building methods in construction, it can be difficult to find a mentor. Trade schools generally teach stick framing, so you will be hard-pressed to find an official school in which to learn. And if you canโt find an architect who is a natural builder to apprentice under, your
Welcome to Insteading.
Welcome to Insteading. Every day, we help thousands of gardeners and homesteaders grow their garden and their skills. We have over 1,500 free articles and resources, written by folks out in their yards and fields who have been doing this for years. Truly, it’s over 1.5 million words of content – about 30 books worth!
The Basics of Firewood
Of all the ways that we heat our homes, none goes as far back in time as wood. Coal, electricity, and natural gas are all recent newcomers on the block in comparison to wood. Something about the light of a wood fire has always held the hearts of man โ long can you stare into
21 Essential Off-Grid Tools We Love
We recently asked our Insteading Community and YouTube viewers if they had any questions about homesteading that we might answer. You all replied with some great questions, and gave us a lot of ideas on material we can pull together to help you! Watch The Video So for our first installment in what we hope
Tips For Winter Emergency Preparedness
Winter blizzards can be life-threatening. Are you prepared to survive winterโs wrath? Millions of people in the United States live or recreate in isolated areas, away from the amenities of city services. If emergency services are not readily available, self-reliance is required. In an emergency scenario, your life and the life of loved ones may
๐จ Green Building
It seems like nowadays every time you look around thereโs another large suburb or apartment complex being built. Often times they replace large forests, greenbelts, and other natural ecosystems. Aside from that, the large construction machines emit carbon emissions for months at a time and all nearby residents have no other choice but to deal
๐งฑ Natural Building
Modern day building utilizes man-made materials that can be harmful to the environment. Even natural materials, like wood, utilize fossil fuels in order to be milled into the final product. Everything from steel to plastic is used in modern building, and the resources needed to create those materials are not renewable. Alternatively, traditional building methods
Lessons In Self-Sufficiency Learned From Hurricane Irene
Insteading’s Michele Decouteau shares lessons her family learned from riding out Hurricane Irene on their New England homestead.
Indoor Pizza Ovens
Dreaming! and completely decadent unless you also cook multiple items in the warmed-up masonry. If you are going to opt for a wood-fired oven in your kitchen, do investigate including a masonry heater, as they retain much of the heat from the fire. Most of the stoves featured on this page were built with pizza
Tiny House Kitchens
The design of a tiny house kitchen is a personal matter. Your final design will depend on your own individual needs and the needs of those whoโll live with you. If you want to build or buy a tiny house but donโt know a lot about design, there are some things you should look out
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Canning
For several years after I started cooking and farming, I avoided canning. It intimidated me. I was afraid of making someone sick. I was overwhelmed by recipes. I didnโt have any of the special equipment or know-how. Canning seemed complicated, technical, and elite. Best to leave it to the experts, I figured. I couldnโt have been
How To Build A Sauna
So, you’ve just gotten back from sweating in a friend’s sauna and you’ve decided you gotta have one too. Just how realistic is this goal? Well, it’s definitely going to take some time and effort, but as someone who has been helping a friend build a traditional yurt sauna, I’ve learned saunas are a surprisingly
Preparing Your Homestead For Winter
Freezing rain, sleet, high winds, heavy snow, ice, and extreme cold can present serious hazards, so it’s imperative that your homestead is ready. Whether or not you think it’s too early, it’s always a good idea to begin prepping your homestead for the winter. Preparation For Power Outages Cold temperatures and winter storms can be
Propane: The “Dirty Little Secret” of Living Off the Grid
Living off the grid sounds romantic…no more bills from dirty energy companies, self-sufficiency, green power, etc.; however, there is one “dirty little secret” found in most alternative energy homes. Without it, some off-gridders couldn’t cook, refrigerate, heat water, or dry clothes. That dirty little secret is propane. Propane is a “by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining,”. Due to