Foraging is more than a hobby. Itโs a means of sustenance, and for some of us, it really is a way of life. Pretty much everyone has an idea that some wild plants are edible whether they work in a city high-rise or hoe weeds on the farm. Even in this strange modern age, many
Search Results for: eco-child/natural-cribs
Rustic Coffee Tables
Redecorating with Rustic Coffee Tables Moving into my new home, I sadly realized that a cottage by the greenbelt was going to look pretty strange with the sleek modern coffee table I had on my wishlist. In trying to stay true to the architecture Iโve got, I started shopping for some rustic coffee tables, especially
Natural Insect Repellent
If backyard barbecues, camping trips, yard work, or sporting adventures have you reaching for cans and bottles of commercial bug spray to ward off irritating insects, pause and think twice before you douse your children and yourself with noxious chemicals concoctions that often contain poisonous ingredients such as DEET. Consider safe, chemical-free alternatives that do
12 Refreshing Natural Air Fresheners
My mother survived stage IV lung cancer (!) but the effects of the disease forced her to be on oxygen 24/7. Needless to say, she’s had to make adjustments to her lifestyle. One thing she had to give up was traditional air fresheners. She loves a clean-smelling house and used chemical-ridden sprays and plugins regularly.
How to Make Soil Acidic: 3 Natural Methods That Work
When you think of the word โacidicโ, what images first spring to mind? Perhaps visions of lemons, vinegar, and upset stomachs — but I will hazard a guess that a pile of soil didnโt join their number. If youโre hoping to grow a bumper crop of blueberries or potatoes, soil acidity and learning how to
How To Add Nitrogen To Soil & 5 Natural Methods To Try in Your Garden
When you just start gardening, your knowledge of how to do it may be deceptively simple. Take a seed, put it in some soil, add water, and voila! Couldnโt be easier, right? And while this approach is a wonderful way to start, the beginner may notice that some sprouts do better than others. Surely there’s
25 Bathroom Rugs
When you step out of your shower in the morning do you step on a towel, or even worse, the cold tile floor? Do you find yourself slipping around on the floor and leaving a trail of water everywhere? If this sounds a lot like your daily routine, you could probably benefit from a bathroom
81 Awesome Documentaries for Homesteaders
From honey bees to tiny houses to TEDTalks on Capitalism and Humanity’s Future, we’ve assembled a complete list of documentaries and shows on Netflix & Hulu that would interest our fellow homesteaders. Leave a comment below and let us know which ones are your favorite, and which programs we missed! Topics Food & Agriculture Documentaries
Introduction To Integrated Pest Management
There’s one major challenge that applies to all levels of agriculture, from starting a garden to running an orchard, and everything that falls between. It’s a shared challenge that growers face regardless of location, climate, or economic resources. It’s pests – whether it’s weeds, ants, beetles, caterpillars, goats, sheep, cats, or even other humans (the last
13 Beneficial Chicken-Friendly Plants To Grow Next To Coops
If you’ve had chickens for long, you probably have noticed that they eat all day long. They peck and scratch at the soil and eat every last bit of our kitchen scraps and leftovers. Letting your chickens free-range, or giving them access to plenty of natural vegetation and/or rotating their grazing parameters, is the key
15 Natural DIY Perfume Ideas
Did you know there are over 4,000 chemicals that are used to create fragrances in skincare and beauty products? And since these fragrance blends are considered trade secrets, companies aren’t required to disclose the specific ingredients on their labels. I don’t know about you, but for me, that is reason enough to consider more natural
Fresh Drinking Water Resources & Links
Inspiration Green Fresh Water Resources. Links to water associations and organizations. Info on conservation, data, water and climate change, fresh water research organizations and much more.
Chicken Wormers: A Helpful Guide For How To Identify & Treat Chicken Worms
New animals are an exciting addition to the homestead, but thereโs always a risk when outsiders come into the fold. You never know what extra parasites may accompany them, and potentially damage your healthy herd or flock. This was the case with our new Brahma hen. We loved her beetle-green feathers and quirky feathered feet,
How to Incorporate a Wildlife Habitat on Your Homestead
Many homesteaders are lovers of the beautiful, nonhuman, natural world and want to see this world thrive on their land. They put bird and squirrel feeders, birdbaths, and perhaps, salt licks on their property to encourage birds, squirrels, and deer (among others) to feel welcome. These are great ways to attract wildlife to your homestead.
Quonset Huts
The Quonset hut, designed for military use, is finding its way into contemporary livingโ with some important upgrades. The original huts, developed on Quonset Island, Rhode Island, were cheap, temporary housing for troops on the move. They were easy to put up, easy to take down and pack, and made of inexpensive materialsโcorrugated steel and
Bamboo Buildings
Bamboo Buildings
Modern Underground Homes
Modern Underground Homes
Can I Compost Paper Plates?
Learn which paper plate types and sources are compostable. Correct preparation, and optimal composting conditions are crucial factors to produce the best compost quality from compostable paper plates!
Groundbreaking Bottled Water Tax Raises Dustup in Chicago
In 2007, the image of bottled water in the public consciousness underwent a huge shift.ย What had been largely seen as a healthy lifestyle choice had, in just a matter of months, become recognized by many consumers as an eco-sin. (Click here for a Green Options post detailing the ways bottled water is costly, wasteful,
Tire Art
Over 1 billion tires are manufactured annually, made of synthetic rubber, natural rubber, carbon black, polyester fabric, and steel wire. Tires stay in the environment a long time. Green-thinking artists are doing something with them. The Best Tire Art Tire Frame by Chakaia Booker Pic: newcambridgeobserver.com chakaiabooker.com Male Torso that left his path by Chakaia
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.
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
Vegan Gift Guide: 25+ Items For Every Vegan On Your List
More and more people are turning to veganism as a compassionate and health-conscious lifestyle, so that means you probably have at least a few veg-heads in your life. And at some point, you’re going to have an occasion to give a gift to those vegan friends, family, or office mates. And to remove any anxiety
Sand Magnified
Sand grains magnified 110-250 times reveal each grain is unique. The tip of a spiral shell has broken off and become a grain of sand. After being repeatedly tumbled by action of the surf this spiral sand grain has become opalescent in character. It is surrounded by bits of coral, a pink shell fragment, a
Is Milk a Whole Food?
Is Milk a Whole Food?
Natural Anti-Fungal
A few weeks ago we noticed a rash on my little nephewโs foot. One look at his foot and I knew it was ringworm. Ringworm can be recognized by the round, worm-shaped rash. The area is usually red and the worm-like fungi are somewhat raised and bumpy. Sometimes it can be dry and scaly. I
30 Kitchen Shelves To Declutter Your Space
Your kitchen serves many purposes. It’s the place where you make your morning cup of coffee and pack the kids’ lunches. It’s also where you cook your famous macaroni, and above all, spend time with the ones that you love. There’s a reason that the party always ends up moving to the kitchen. There’s something
Natural Ant Killer
As impressive as ants are, what with being able to lift 50 times their body weight and building their fancy colonies, they can become a bit of a nuisance in our gardens and homes. Itโs sometimes difficult to remember that ants are vital to the ecosystem and do have a positive role to play as
ProTip: You Need a Machete
I’ll leave out the part where I sometimes pretend to swordfight with it, because that’s super dangerous and not OK. Especially since the machete’s primary purpose is hacking, and you might think that you don’t have a lot of hacking that you need to do in your life, but you do. All that said, this
Cell Phone Radiation in Images
Cell Phone Radiation in Images
Easy Upcycling: Turn an Old Crib Into a Porch Swing
Have your kids outgrown the crib? Our easy upcycling expert walks you through the process of converting it into a porch swing for the whole family.
Porch Swings
After all the yardwork and chores are done, there are few things more relaxing than sitting in a porch swing with a good book or company. Imagine yourself swinging in these incredible porch swings, porch beds, and hammock chairs. Porch Swings Wine Barrel Stave Porch Swing A perfect porch addition for any wine-lover, this swing
Outdoor String Lights
There is almost no place and no occasion that cannot be improved with ambient string lighting. Most places and occasions become that much more special because of the lighting. The trick is to make the moment special without anyone really realizing that the lights are creating half of the magic. The trend toward decorating outdoor
Kitchen Stools
To have a nice island or snack bar, you’ll need different seating than traditional dining areas, namely, kitchen stools. The stools you’ll want depends on your style, the size of the space, and the functionality required. Happily, you can now pick from an amazing array of stools. Letโs take a look at a few. Our
Homestead Stories: Great Grandpa’s Rhubarb
The first heavy frost has just hit and the temperature has taken a nose dive well below freezing. The gardens are all tucked in their beds, well covered with leaves. Little nobs still poke their heads above the frozen earth, but the remnants of my great grandfatherโs rhubarb are well blanketed with a thick layer
Similac Organic Formula: Is it healthier?
Choosing the best formula for your baby is tricky business! Similac makes an organic formula, but how healthy is this option for your child?
Bunk Bed Plans
Oh, bunk beds. If you had a sibling growing up, chances are that fights ensued over who got the top bunk. The oldest almost always won, and the great pillow fight wars were never-ending. Even if you were an only child, bunk beds made every sleepover with a friend more special. They created a world
Homestead Stories: Strange Names for Beautiful Flowers
I have seen, grown, and written about some pretty unusual flowers โ unusual in the fact they have unique names. There was the story I wrote aboutย Jack-in-the-pulpit and the story about the black bat flower,ย but there are more unusual names for flowers, and some that might seem a little too bizarre. Like the flying duck
Growing Rhubarb
Rhubarb pie does eternal battle with apple in my heart — each of them vying to reign as favorite. But I have to admit, thereโs something about the tart-sweet of rhubarb that demands attention, and piques longing when itโs not there. I canโt be alone in this appreciation for rhubarb dessert. It wasnโt called โpie
35 Fun DIY Indoor Activities For Weekends And Rainy Days
Whether the rain is pouring down from the sky or you just have a weekend without any plans, there are plenty of fun ways to keep the whole family entertained while stuck inside. Having a blast indoors doesnโt have to mean a big expense, and many of the following suggestions are perfect for both kids
20 Fun Sewing Projects To Tackle This Weekend
Sewing, a skill that lasts a lifetime, is an integral part of the homestead lifestyle. The hands-on, learn-as-you-go experience of creating something useful and beautiful with your own hands, is simply irreplaceable. For decades, homesteaders excelled at mending and sewing to ensure their families were warm and properly clothed. For todayโs modern homesteader, sewing is
20 Unique Gift Basket Ideas for Your Loved Ones
Creating gifts from scratch is rewarding. Gifting something you have worked on with your own two hands makes it worth so much more. One of the best ways to give loved ones homemade gifts is by making a gift basket. DIY gift baskets are completely customizable and crafted to be perfect for the receiver. There
Live Fencing: What Is It and How to Implement It
A few years ago, I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, West Africa with the specific task of implementing agroforestry practices. Before this position, I was only vaguely familiar with agroforestry, but since then, my eyes have been opened to it, and I see it quite a lot. Whether done unintentionally through home
Homestead Stories: The Rainbow Tree
I love my trees, and Iโm always looking for something unusual or different from forests around the world. Imagine my delight to discover a tree that grows in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It is cleverly called the rainbow tree. Actually, rainbow eucalyptus or Eucalyptus deglupta, to be more accurate. Itโs also known
Ponytail Palm
โYou know those hats the young girls wear?โ my friend asked. โThe ones with the opening for a ponytail?โ She pointed at an addition to her garden collection. โHereโs a plant that looks just like that.โ The tall, spikey leaves stretched upward before spanning out in every direction, much like a ponytail escaping a hat.
Natural Roach Killer
Unless youโre a roach-loving entomologist, chances are you canโt stand having little critters all over your kitchen. Not only are they unsightly, but they are also known to be allergy triggers, especially for those who have been diagnosed with asthma. According to Pest World, cockroaches are said to spread at least 33 kinds of bacteria,
15 Earth Homes
Some earth homesย take advantage of something called thermal mass, which basically means that the mass of a structure has some capacity to store heat. So the mass of a home can stay at a more constant temperature than temperatures outside the home due to the presence and absence of sunlight in a 24-hour period. Obviously,
Tiny House Builders
With so many individuals and companies building tiny houses, how are you supposed to know who to choose? Some tiny house builders can build and ship homes nationwide or send their design plans across the world. Other, smaller builders, focus on their region and work primarily with locals. Choosing a Tiny House Builder The thing
10 Gifts To Give That Will Change The World
Every time the holidays come around, do you find yourself wondering what in the heck you’re going to get for all those special people on your list? Chances are you have at least one relative or friend who literally never wants anything. And if you love the tradition of spoiling your loved ones during the
Cob Homes
Cob Homes