Insteading
Homesteading & Sustainability
“Latin’s a dead language, as dead as dead can be. It killed off all the Romans, and now it’s killing me!” While paging through a dusty Latin textbook from the 1930s, I couldn’t help but smile at …
Continue Reading about Why Latin Is Actually Really Useful on the Homestead →
If you've been reading (and watching) Insteading awhile, you may remember that I wrote an article about some things that pop culture gets wrong about homesteading. While enjoying a shared chuckle …
Continue Reading about An Off-Grid Homesteader’s Video Game Awards →
I have an awkward confession to make. I'm watching "The Office" for the first time (belatedly), and getting up to speed with all the jokes my friends made back in 2007. While I have enjoyed the show …
Continue Reading about The Difference Between Hay and Straw →
Winter is nearly over, and I've been flexing my irrepressible hope and getting seeds started indoors. While watching my little starting pots with great anticipation, I did a quick internet search to …
Continue Reading about A Guide for Discernment With AI-Generated Homesteading Content →
Choosing organic produce is important, but so is making sure that the dishes you use to cook and eat aren't washed in toxic chemicals. Here are some common bad guys to avoid and why you should give …
Continue Reading about 8 Toxic Chemicals in Conventional Dish Soap →
Creating community around mindful living. Traveling the world meeting a cultural demand that's already there, and just fulfilling it.That's the job description for John Krasno and Seane Hoess, …
Men approaching 40 often hit what is termed a "mid-life crisis". They dump their old car and buy something they can't afford with lots of horsepower and a sexy exterior. They start jumping out of …
Continue Reading about Avoiding Mid-Life Crises With a Life Course Correction: Burning Man →
Note: the following is a guest post from Ma'ikwe Schaub Ludwig, a resident at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Intentional Community is the radical notion that how we live ought to be based on our …
I've been contemplating the name of this blog and what it means to me personally. I don't know the thought behind the name, as I was not involved in its development. What does insteading …
I've never been a big fan of New Year's Resolutions. I understand the intention to start a new year with healthy goals, yet they rarely last longer than a couple of months for most individuals. …
Continue Reading about New Garden Resolutions: Mulch, Mulch, Mulch →
Today is World Water Day, and the entire Important Media network is celebrating with posts dedicated to this most essential of liquids. Check out all the posts from across the network on our sister …
Continue Reading about 3 Surprising Ways To Conserve And Recycle Water →
Climate change and the need to "go green” are topics constantly in the news. Solar panels line the roofs of your neighborhood and wind turbines have begun to dot the suburban landscape. Americans are …
Continue Reading about Simple Ways To Save Money By Simplifying Your Life →
The economy is in chaos, and many of the world's richest countries are coming to terms with immense debt and a disenfranchised workforce. There are few viable green franchises or business …
Continue Reading about “Doing More With Less” Shows Businesses A New Path To Success →
A simple yet creative gardening project called The Edible Bus Stop transforms a public transit area that used to be full of trash, and brings an entire community together. Image Credit: Edible Bus …
Continue Reading about Edible Bus Stop: The Community That Gardens Together, Stays Together →
How fast and far we've come in the advancement of technology! A mere century ago, the U.S. was industrializing rapidly--and creating new technologies to speed assembly, improve communication, …
Continue Reading about As Technology Becomes Ever-Present, the “Tech Detox” Movement Gains Steam →
Self-sufficiency is a big part of living a more sustainable lifestyle. When you're not dependent on others for your food, water, energy, clothes, or entertainment, you have more control over how those …
Continue Reading about Public Garden Plots Put Town On Path To Food Independence →
Here at Insteading, we like to explore alternatives to the status quo...especially when those alternatives help us save money, live smaller, get around more efficiently, or reduce waste. Instead of …
Continue Reading about Four Collaborative Consumption Trends Poised To Explode In 2012 →
One Laptop Per Child is a great project. They design hardware, content, and software for collaborative, joyful, and self-empowered learning so that kids all over the world can be engaged in their own …
Continue Reading about Why One Laptop Per Child Is The Most Important Thing At CES →
It's getting down to the wire! There are only a few days left in which to choose and make a unique handmade gift for those on your holiday list. But there's no need to fret, because we've still got …
Continue Reading about Handmade Holiday Gift Idea: DIY Necktie Eyeglass Case →
Holidays are the time for making spirits bright, right? Instead of buying expensive flavored spirits for all your holiday cocktail recipes, why not make your own? A bottle of vodka infused with …
Continue Reading about Handmade Holiday Gift Idea: DIY Infused Vodkas →
There's nothing guaranteed to soften the mood in any room like a candle. Candles are a wonderful way to release a wonderful scent or enhance relaxation. Many conventional paraffin candles and air …
Continue Reading about Handmade Holiday Gift Idea: DIY Beeswax Candles (Two Ways) →
Who doesn't love a cookie during the holidays? Unfortunately, many people don't have the time to mix cookies up from scratch so they opt for pre-made dough in a refrigerator tube, or a boxed …
Continue Reading about Handmade Holiday Gift Idea: Mason Jar Cookie Kits →
Thanksgiving is almost here. A time to share food, fun, and a grateful attitude with people you love. Unfortunately, our zeal to celebrate abundance with our families often results in lots of wasted …
Continue Reading about Top 5 Ways To Reduce Food Waste During The Holidays (and every day!) →
Big box stores like Walmart are the poster-children for the homogenization of our country and the destruction of local economies. But what can you do when a corporation with unlimited …
Continue Reading about Town Blocks Wal-Mart With Community-Owned Department Store →
Editor's Note: Today is the Word Food Day as well as Blog Action Day 2011! To celebrate, we're posting about food and offering different perspectives on the food system. Many convincing arguments …
Continue Reading about Blog Action Day: What Do Meat Labels Really Mean? →
You can sign petitions and call your Congressman until you're blue in the face, but until you put your money where your mouth is, it's unlikely to get you anywhere. If you care about is the …
Continue Reading about Buying Local vs. Fair Trade [Infographic] →
Adding a touch of lipstick to your outfit will add some colour to your face and can even accentuate your smile. However, that glamour comes with a price. The average woman will ingest about 6 lbs …
Continue Reading about Non-Toxic Beauty: Do You Know What’s In Your Lipstick? →
The other day, I finally had to surrender one of my favorite pairs of jeans to the great Rag Bag in the sky. They were far past faded and saggy in all the wrong areas, but what really did them in was …
Continue Reading about Creative Recycling: 5 Ways To Reuse Old Denim Jeans →
Have you looked at the ingredient list of a jar of conventional jam or jelly lately? Sugar, corn syrup, more sugar, and probably some preservatives you can't pronounce. This past weekend, I …
Continue Reading about How To Make Your Own Fruit Jam In 30 Minutes Or Less →
Food is out there - just hanging on vines, dangling from trees, and lying on the ground. And it is going to waste. How can you gather some of this food? Forage. Suburban landscapes are rife with …
Continue Reading about Suburban Foraging 101: How To Find Free Food →
Are you one of those people who tend to throw clothes out because you simply don't have the basic sewing skills to make a small fix? Losing a button here and there and having a few small rips on …
Continue Reading about Sustainability 101: Learn How To Fix Your Own Clothes →
Insteading is celebrating National Honey Month, and this felt like a great opportunity to talk about bees! I know, bees can be a little bit scary. They can sting, and they sometimes make the hives in …
Continue Reading about 5 Bee-Friendly Plants for Your Garden →
Blueberry season is at or just past peak in most parts of the country and this means low prices for blueberries at the market or your favorite pick your own farm. Blueberries are an easy crop to …
Continue Reading about Three Easy Ways To Preserve Blueberries →
Although honey is best known for its delicious stickiness, it has other uses as well. Still-edible honey has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs centuries later. What makes this golden liquid last …
Continue Reading about 5 Unusual Ways To Use Honey At Home →
Eating truly fresh food means buying it within 100 miles of where it came out of the ground. But your health isn't the only reason to think about supporting your local farmer. Just days ago, …
Continue Reading about Want To Create American Jobs? Eat Local Food. →
Weeds and insects are unwanted guests that can hinder efforts to have a successful garden. Pesticides are usually the option to eliminate this problem, however they have been shown to have long-term …
Continue Reading about Sustainability 101: Go Pesticide-Free With Organic Controls →
Living a sustainable life isn’t about compromising and making do. It’s not about putting up with old, unwanted items. No! - one person’s discarded furniture can actually be another’s fabulous, unique …
Continue Reading about Creative Recycling: How To Revive An Old Chair →
Despite the constant push to make everything digital, most people still experience the irritation of junk mail in their mailboxes every now and then. (Check out our handy post about how to stop the …
Continue Reading about Creative Recycling: 6 Ways To Reuse Junk Mail →
Hurricane Irene came sweeping through our southern New England homestead last Saturday night and like many of our neighbors, we lost power, phones, and internet access. As the storm cleared on …
Continue Reading about Lessons In Self-Sufficiency Learned From Hurricane Irene →
National Geographic shared a shocking infographic highlighting the loss of biodiversity in our food supply. What's wrong with this picture? A few things, but the biggest problem is that these lost …
Did you know that the average home car wash more than 500 gallons of water? That's equivalent to taking a 5-minute shower every day for 20 days! This water usage can quickly add up to 6,000 …
Continue Reading about Sustainability 101: Wash Your Car Without Wasting Water →
I just moved to a new town. While it's cool to be in a new place, it's hard not knowing anyone. Exploring is fun, but it's better when you do it with people that know a place intimately and can share …
Continue Reading about Learning By Doing: 3 Sharing Sites That Offer Unforgettable Experiences →
Chances are that by the time you sat down in front of your computer to read this post, you took water for granted at least five times: Your morning showerBrushing your teethYour morning …
Continue Reading about World Water Week: 10 DIY Conservation Tips →
RelayRides, one of the first online services to make peer-to-peer carsharing safe and legal, recently announced that several additional big name investors would now be lending their financial clout to …
Continue Reading about Sharing News: RelayRides Attracts Big-Name Investors →
What if someone told you that for the next 12 months, the only clothes in your closet would be those made with your own two hands? An artist from Vancouver challenged herself to just such a task, …
Continue Reading about Could You Make All Your Clothes For An Entire Year? →
Summer is winding down, but that doesn't mean you have to say goodbye to all the deliciousness of organic, locally grown food. Here are four options that make it easy to continue growing food inside …
Continue Reading about 4 Grow-Your-Own Kits To Jump Start Your Kitchen Garden →
There are some things that I hate to toss into the recycling bin, even though I know (hope, really) that they'll be re-used as material for other things. Egg cartons are one of these items. We go …
Continue Reading about Creative Recycling: 6 Ways To Resue Old Egg Cartons →
Car sharing is a great way to eliminate your need for a personal vehicle while ensuring that you have wheels to travel distances that are too far to bike or walk. (It's also handy in bad weather …
Continue Reading about Top 4 Peer-To-Peer Carsharing Services →
Ever notice how heavy a wine bottle weighs? Heavier wine bottles means more energy to transport since most wines are imported. Here are some ways to lighten up the environmental impact of your …
Even though it seems like summer just started a few weeks ago, some families are already looking forward to the start of Autumn, school, and all the activities that go along with the …
Continue Reading about 3 Ways To Share or Trade Your Used Clothing →
