Last summer, I got hooked on the idea of baking pizza and bread outdoors in a wood-fired oven. Baking outside, in a super hot oven with a brick hearth, (the way bread is really meant to be baked) was a hugely appealing thought. It became very clear to me that I wanted to build a […]
Search Results for: bathroom/organic-personal-care-brands/burt-s-bees
Flame Retardants
Flame Retardants are everywhere
How The Average American Uses Energy
Inspiration Green Blog. Inspiration to green the world.
Auto Parts Art
Car Henge 38 Autos – Carhenge was built in 1987 by Jim Reinders and his family. The project was a memorial to his father, who had lived on a farm on the site. It is a faithful full scale reproduction, and accurately replicates the astronomical alignments of the original Stonehenge. Alliance, Nebraska. Visit Nebraska. Flickr:
Tiny House Living
As more people downsize and choose to “live small”, you have to ask: Why are tiny houses so popular? People are joining the tiny house movement for many reasons. The increase in environmental concerns, financial constraints, and the overall burden of having so much “stuff” are just a few reasons people downsize their homes. Why
The Story Of Our Waste
Each day we create an excess of waste that builds up in landfills, in our oceans, and in our bodies. Here is the story of our waste. We create a ton of waste everyday, there is no denying that fact. This is especially true if you live in the United States– we would need FOUR
Understanding GMO Foods
The first time I heard the phrase “GMO” was at a rally, and I had to ask my 9th-grade science teacher what it meant. That was before ballot initiatives demanding GMO labelling and before Non-GMO Project logos became familiar on food labels. Since then, awareness about GMOs has increased dramatically. It is an issue that
Acronyms
Green Acronyms & Abbreviations A A Ampere AAAS American Association for the Advancement of Science AABW Antarctic Bottom Water AAC Antarctic Convergence AAIW Antarctic Intermediate Water A AMS Arctic Air Mass AAMW Australasian Mediterranean Water ABL Atmospheric Boundary Layer ABW Arctic Bottom Water or Antarctic Bottom Water AC Alternating Current ACC Antarctic Circumpolar Current ACIA
Maryland Solar
Going solar? Good call. It’s the right choice for your pocketbook and for the climate. If everyone in Maryland used solar power, it would take 45 billion pounds of carbon out of the atmosphere every year—according to the EPA’s greenhouse gas calculator, that’s the equivalent of planting a forest that would cover an area more
Missouri Solar
Going solar? Good call. It’s the right choice for your pocketbook and for the climate. If everyone in Missouri used solar power, it would take 158 billion pounds of carbon out of the atmosphere every year—according to the EPA’s greenhouse gas calculator, that’s the equivalent of planting a forest that would cover all of the
Best Canning Recipes
Canning is a fun project that gets your hands dirty, keeps your food fresh, and gives you a last-minute gift option when the holidays roll around. The key to successful canning is starting with a recipe you can trust. We pulled these gems from our favorite homesteading and farming blogs. We also recommended the best
Why Bill Gates Would Raise Chickens
What’s the best way to get a poor family in the developing world on the road to self-sufficiency? Cash? Education? Internet access? Tech industry pioneer Bill Gates has a decidedly low-tech suggestion. In a short and sweet post on his personal blog in June 2016, Bill Gates gave four main reasons why chickens are the
Phyllis Galembo – Masquerade
Portraits of masqueraders – Galembo has spent the past twenty-five years photographing rituals and religious culture in Africa, Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and Mexico. Akata Dance Masqueraders, Ogoja, Nigeria, 2004, Ilfochrome, printed 2011, edition 3/5, 30″ x 30″ www.stevenkasher.com. It is the ancestor’s responsibility to compel the living to uphold the ethical standards of past
Top 10 Most Common GMO Foods
Genetically modified food is already present in the supermarkets. We don’t always know which foods are GMO and which are non-GMO. Besides looking for label, here are 10 foods that are commonly GMO.
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
65+ Gardening Gifts
‘Tis the season of gift-giving. Since colder weather has many of us stuck inside instead of in the dirt, we figured this holiday season is the perfect time to find the best in gardening gifts including gear, decor, reading – and of course, don’t forget some of those extra homesteading specialties. We’ve compiled over 70 of
Planter Box Plans
Create a true gardenscape by moving your plants beyond the pot. Create your own planter boxes with these free online designs. I searched the internet to try and find a planter box to match just about any urban homestead and found some really great projects. Planter Box Plans for All Kinds of Homesteads Carpentry projects
How To Remove A Wall
Like all things there’s a messy way and a clean way to go about demolishing a wall. In the lively and magical world of demolition construction nearly every challenge can generally be solved with a sledgehammer and an oversized lunch pail. However, the end result is usually a catastrophic mess and a heavy film of
How To Build A Barn Wood Frame
It is hard not to admire old barns that are resting, quietly in old, abandoned farm fields. I often wonder what stories they could tell. This insight would provide a pivotal history to its former owner and the landscape the barns guard with a watchful eye. A few months ago, a friend of mine was
Raw Milk
There is nothing more bucolic and familiar in our imagination of a farm than the image of milking a cow by hand into a bucket, and then pouring a glowing glass of milk for two or three smiling children. How charming. How American. There is a serious disconnect between that image and the reality of
Cubalaya
Description Though it has the appearance and lineage of a fierce game bird, the Cubalaya does not express any of that belligerence toward its human handlers. These chickens are known for their tameness and ease of handling, which makes them rockstars on the exhibition floor! Though they were developed in Cuba for meat, eggs, and
Best Machete
As many sportsmen and wilderness trekkers already know, a machete can be an extremely handy tool. In dense brush, it can be used as a slashing tool. If necessary, wood can even be chopped by striking the spine with a heavy object to force a chopping action by the blade. It can also be used
Polycarbonate Greenhouses
“Plastic” and “durability” aren’t usually words that should go together, but in the case of greenhouses they can. Long-lasting polycarbonate is worth considering as the covering material for your greenhouse, especially when compared to the traditional use of glass. In the case of modern tempered glass, rocks and hail shatter the panes with little effort.
Installing An Interior Barn Door
There’s something mesmerizing about a heavy door gliding silently on a steel track, especially when it’s indoors. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Flooring Xtra (@flooringxtra) Recently, the Seattle based building outfit, Yellow Moon Construction, built an interior barn door using reclaimed materials found on the job site. Related Post: Recycling Old
Household Mold Removal
Gross, slimy, smelly, and dangerous to people and pets, mold is the last thing you want to see growing in your home. Mold won’t necessarily destroy your homestead, but it can make family members and pets sick while it makes your home, barns, outbuildings, chicken coop, root cellar, livestock pens, and pump house look awful
Why Manure Is The Unsung Hero of the Homestead
When I lived in the city, I had the luxury of ignoring poop. If a neighbor’s dog left it on my tiny lawn, it was a rude, unusual inconvenience. Aside from what I delicately flushed into oblivion with the touch of a lever, my experiences with poop were largely nonexistent. My suburban upbringing trained me
Disaster Preparedness For Homesteaders
Emergencies, by their very definition, are stressful. I, like many homesteaders, find myself concerned about the possibility of an emergency event such as a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, or an act of terrorism. Do you too, wonder if you have done all you can to help prepare for a catastrophic survival situation? Panic and
Adirondack Chairs
Almost no vacation would be complete without the addition of an Adirondack chair somewhere on the property. Whether you’re lounging beside the sea, or circled around a campfire with friends, an Adirondack chair is practically essential. These comfortable, spacious chairs have become staples on beaches and shorefront cottages, and we’ve started to incorporate them into
Tips For Growing And Sharing Your Own Food
In the past, farming and gardening was a community-wide effort, so why not now?
4 Sustainable Reasons To Live In A Big City
Why urban density creates the perfect environment for collaborative consumption, and 4 reasons why that’s where you want to be.
Top 4 Peer-To-Peer Carsharing Services
Commerical car sharing services, like Zipcar or Phillycarshare, are perfect solutions for those living in urban areas, but what about those of us living in the suburbs or even rural areas?
Could You Make All Your Clothes For An Entire Year?
An artist from Vancouver challenged herself to just such a task, and discovered that sustainable clothing about more than just what you wear.
Four Collaborative Consumption Trends Poised To Explode In 2012
To help you explore the new and exciting sharing economy, we’ve collected four collaborative consumption trends poised to explode in the next year.
“Doing More With Less” Shows Businesses A New Path To Success
Insteading interviews Dr. Bruce Piasecki, author “Doing More With Less: The New Way To Wealth,” which hits shelves this month.
What is an Intentional Community?
Have you come across the phrase “intentional community,” but didn’t really understand what it meant? Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage resident Ma’ikwe Schaub Ludwig provides an insiders look at what it means to live in such a community.
Broken Coffee Mug Planter (and How to Propagate Rosemary)
My kids are HARD on my coffee mugs, y’all! I don’t know if it’s because I’m a mean mom and make them do the dishes (don’t feel like you have to make your kids do this, too–mine clearly do a terrible job!), or because our kitchen is floored with a stone tile that is literal murder
Families Getting Fined for Growing Food Gardens
Want to grow vegetables in your garden? You’d better watch out – you may be facing some seriously heavy fines for growing food gardens on your own land.
DIY Hand Sanitizer That’s as Good as Store-bought
This article will show you how to make a DIY hand sanitizer that’s as effective as anything you’ll find in a store.
Tips For Bear Awareness
If you live alone, as I do, in a cabin deep in the woods, it is more than a bit frightening to hear noises in the night. Last year, on a cold and foggy morning in late November, I awoke to a loud thump on the porch. Startled, I stumbled from my bed, grabbed the
Fire Pit Tables
There’s something about a fire that completely transforms an evening. Move that fire outdoors and couple it with outdoor furniture in the way of a fire pit table, and you’ve got the makings of a memorable night on your hands. Fire pit tables have gained popularity as more people are bringing indoor living spaces to
11 Steps To Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick
Face it, everyone is doing it. We feel compelled to join in the tradition of taking a good hard look at our lives, evaluating our faults and flaws, and making resolutions to start anew. We promise this will be the year we finally lose weight, get more exercise, quit smoking, and manage to drink less
Serama
A “Living Work Of Art” You need to see a Serama to believe it. These true bantams are not just normal chickens in extreme miniature. They take a shape truly their own. Often compared to toy soldiers, the proportions of the chicken are unique: A puffed-out, heart-shaped breast that almost seems to rise above the level of
Homestead Stories: Swaddled Babies Or Baby In The Cradle?
“I have a swaddled baby to show you,” a friend said over the phone. “Like a baby in the cradle. Want to come over and see?” The words caught my curiosity. My friend was too old to have a baby in her arms — at least, not one of her own. And since she never
7 Ways To Get Rid Of Weeds Without Roundup Or Herbicides
Even the most dedicated permaculturalist has probably had moments of weakness. Sure, you know that pulling weeds by hand is the most sustainable method for your soil and plants, but you’ve probably seen a neighbor or relative spraying Roundup and walking away, knowing that they don’t have to do any more work. Of course, there’s
Growing Raspberries
Across the country, market demand for raspberries far exceeds availability and provides an ideal opportunity for homesteaders to cultivate the fruit for local markets as well as home use. A berry patch of an acre or less can provide a significant cash crop with little expense for equipment or supplies. Brambleberry production is ideally suited
Seed Saving: 5 Things I Never Knew
Before I moved to my homestead, I was gifted a huge jar of heirloom seeds by a friend who understood what we were trying to do and had experience in seed saving. I remember dreamily sorting through the tiny baggies of beans, kale, and beets; my inexperience and ignorance of gardening temporarily gilded with happy
Historical Cob
Historical Cob Buildings
Types of Green Beans
Not all green beans are created equal. With unique traits on flavor, growth, and texture, get to know the different types of green beans you can grow at home.
How To Dry Herbs From Your Garden
Growing fresh herbs is a delightful task. Raising basil, dill, cilantro, oregano, mint, parsley, and other fragrant plants provide a fun distraction each day as you caretake your little greens. But the best part about growing herbs is that you get to enjoy a wide variety of flavor in your foods on a budget! But
Homestead Stories: Forget-Me-Not Flowers
I have a special affection for the tiny blue wildflower that appears every spring. Forget-me-not flowers, the state flower of Alaska, is known to have special meaning and reflect compassionate sentiments. For me, it is a symbol of connectedness with my husband of 38 years. As a recognized symbol of true and undying love, it