Your bathroom may be the least appealing room in your house by definition of purpose but that doesn’t mean that it can’t serve as an oasis of peace and solitude! While many aspects of your water closet determine exactly how appealing it is, there is no denying the power of the bath mat in setting a tone of design and usefulness as your bathroom’s centerpiece.
Search Results for: eco-living/hemp/hemp-jewelry
20 Energy Saving, Eco-Friendly DIY Clothesline Ideas
In today’s world, people are becoming ever more conscious of the ways their behavior impacts the planet. Everything we consider a modern convenience, from electricity right down to how we do our laundry, can hurt the environment. One way to reduce your carbon footprint is to build your own DIY clothesline. Of course, you can
Old Trees
“Did you know there’s an 800-year-old oak tree in Kent, England? It’s called Majesty or the Fredville Oak.” “And what about that sycamore tree near Hadrian’s Wall?” I replied. “That one’s only famous because it starred with Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” my friend countered. “Great movie,” I sighed. “And so was
Living Walls (Green Walls)
Green walled buildings, green wall inspiration…
Planetsave Considers the Benefits of Living Off the Grid
We tend to think that living off the grid is always a good thing, but our sister site Planetsave wants us to think it through better. What do you think?
Living Off The Grid
Living off the grid might seem like a dream come true for some of us. No longer tied to electricity or natural gas coming for a utility, we have greater choices for locations and saving money over the long-term. If you are someone who wants to set down roots away from the traffic and bustle
Bamboo Buildings
Bamboo Buildings
Modern Underground Homes
Modern Underground Homes
Shipping Container Homes
Shipping container homes seem like a no-brainer. Approximately 30 million steel shipping containers are in existence, filled and floating, or standing empty in a port. 8 feet wide by 8.5 feet high, and either 20 or 40 feet long, the steel shipping container has been the globally standardized transportation module since 1956. Sending empty containers
DIY Biomass: Briquettes, Presses, Logs, and More
“Biomass” is one of those terms like “alternative energy”: it could be a sustainable approach to energy generation, but isn’t always. I once sat through a talk by an energy services company executive in which he argued that forest biomass (think trees, undergrowth, etc., cut for burning) was carbon-neutral because “the plants could grow back.”
Earthbag Homes
Earthbag Construction, Sandbag Buildings
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 doesn’t mean people haven’t 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 Storey’s Guides to Livestock at their local library, browsing websites like Insteading
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
Sustainability 101: Wash Your Car Without Wasting Water
If you wash your car at home once a month, it can use up to 6,000 gallons of water a year. Here are 4 ways to keep your ride clean without the waste.
Green Products
Eco Sports Cars
Porsche 918 Spyder Plug-in Hybrid prototype (all of Porsche’s concept cars have been brought to market) has emission levels of just 70 grams CO2 per kilometre on fuel consumption of three litres/100 kilometres (equal to 94 mpg imp). Acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h in just under 3.2 seconds, top speed of 320 km/h
The Urban Lumberjack – The Accidental Eco-Warrior of the City
Urban lumberjacking is a new term that has been coined to describe a growing core of people who seek lumber in urban situations. Typically the urban lumberjack’s activities include diving into skips (dumpsters) and rubbish bins in an attempt to find the precious wood stored within. The great thing about the army of urban lumberjacks
Top 10 Reasons to Live in an Electricity-Free Home (PPB #27)
When I designed my cob house here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage two years ago, I decided that I was going to live without electricity. I had no plans to buy a solar power system or a wind turbine. I was going to make the leap to live electricity-free in my home, in order to live
Vertical Farming
Vertical farms, urban agriculture, hydroponic vertical farms, urban hydroponics, urban skyscraper farms, urban vertical agriculture, skyscraper farming…
Tiny House Designs & Styles
Tiny houses come in many shapes and sizes. Most people consider tiny houses to be anything less than 400 sq. ft., and some even describe ~500-800 sq ft homes to be tiny. They’re certainly below the average American single family home, so it’s not unreasonable to do so. When most people think of a tiny
Our Dead Trees Became Living Fungal Art
Fungi are remarkable, and after many trees fell in our yard we discovered the beauty of living fungal art. Trees–they’re beautiful when healthy, but even long-living, solid trees can meet an untimely end. When we moved onto our one-acre country lot, we were thrilled with the bits of forest that surrounded our house. Not only
16 Cheap Fence Ideas For The Suburbs And The Country
When buying a new property — whether in the city, suburbs, or country — you may also inherit broken-down, ugly, or absent fences. With a small patch of land, this may lead to privacy concerns. On a larger acreage homestead, bad or nonexistent fencing can lead to problems like your sheep escaping and eating the neighbor’s
Green Roof Inspiration
A green roof—essentially, a garden atop any office building or home—helps save energy, promote drainage, and feed you. Why Build a Green Roof? Sod roofs are common on the Faroe Islands, west of Norway. Traditionally the roof was covered with sod on top of several layers of birch bark over wooden boards. Related Post: Green
Hell Hath No Fury Like a Mom with a Blog
Eleven ways that moms are leveraging social media to pursue the mom agenda. It’s a self-evident truth that moms know best. Until recently, though, this knowledge was largely confined to the family unit. With the spread of social media such as blogs and social networks, the walls of motherly wisdom are coming down. Concurrently, the
Moving from City to Country: The Long-Term Transition
When we moved from a city of 200,000 to a homestead in a hilly, Ozark town of 2,000 residents, my husband and I fully anticipated there would be an adjustment period. As I wrote in my first article for Insteading, there are many moments of “culture shock” that could affect this urban-fled, aspiring country bumpkin.
Homestead Stories: Dynamite Tree
“I need at least one of these trees,” I decided. “A dynamite tree. A tree that can kill in multiple ways — and I don’t mean by falling on a person. Though that could definitely kill as well.” “Why would you want that?” my friend inquired. “It might blow up in your face.” She had
Upcycling
How To Press Flowers For All Your DIY Needs
Who doesn’t love to admire a gorgeous bunch of flowers in bloom? I’m lucky enough to have a patch of zinnias still going strong in my garden — despite the chilly weather of late. If I could enjoy those flowers all year round, I would jump at the opportunity. Unfortunately, a freeze will soon kill
♻️ Upcycling
20 Soothing DIY Wind Chimes
Wind chimes: They’re soothing, relaxing, and add a beautiful, decorative addition to your garden or backyard. Wind chimes come in basically any color, material, size, and price tag, and nowadays, you can find some pretty artistic options on Etsy and at other retailers. But if you’re the do-it-yourself type that wants the ultimate satisfaction of
11 Fun DIY Dremel Projects to Try This Weekend
While the term “Dremel” has become a catchall for just about any rotary tool, Dremel is actually a brand. They were the first company to produce the popular rotary tools we know and love today. A Dremel is a handheld rotary multitool with various attachments and accessories. It can be used for wood, glass, metal,
Geocaching Teaches Kids Problem-Solving Skills
Geocaching is a growing outdoor hobby where the coordinates of certain locations or hidden “treasure” caches are made available. To find treasure, seekers are armed with handheld GPS devices, a pen and trinkets.
Quilting With Old Clothes
Ideas for your Old Clothes
Upcycling Dinner Plates And Old China
Reuse of old plates, china, porcelain, and dishes. Yvonne Ellen homeware. Yvonne paints or decals contemporary and quirky illustrations on vintage plates and other china. Each piece is original and no two designs are alike. www.etsy.com Yvonne Ellen homeware. www.etsy.com Yvonne Ellen homeware. Antique plates with decals. www.etsy.com Yvonne Ellen homeware. Combining vintage items with contemporary
Omo Valley Tribes
Imagine growing up without artwork on the walls, minimal paper and no pens but surrounded by bodies, nature, colored minerals and all sorts of animals with amazing designs. The Ultimate Canvas: The Human Body In the remote Omo valley in Africa, where the earliest known Homo sapiens remains have been found, indigenous tribes have been
Gourd Lamps
Natural Gourd Lamps by Susan Nonn. Hanging Gourd Lights by Susan Nonn. Gourd Lamp by Graham Ottoson. Ecovillage, Ithaca, NY. handsongourds.com Gourd Lamp by Graham Ottoson. Ecovillage, Ithaca, NY. handsongourds.com Gourd Lamps by Graham Ottoson. Ecovillage, Ithaca, NY. handsongourds.com Gourd Lamps by Graham Ottoson. Ecovillage, Ithaca, NY. handsongourds.com One of a kind Gourd Lamp. custommade.com Carved Gourd
Eating Acorns: From Foraging To Cooking & Recipes
The first summer my family and I moved to our homestead, we were not able to get a garden into the rocky, wild ground, but somehow we had a fantastic fall harvest and started accumulating jars of dry goods from the plenty. How was this possible? One surprising word… acorns.
Rodent Control Without Poison
As the weather starts to cool, rodents such as mice, rats, chipmunks, and squirrels attempt to find a warm place to stay well fed during the cold winter months. While these rodent pests are small, they can cause huge problems for homesteaders. Rodents contaminate food and indoor surfaces with salmonella and a diverse array 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
10 Amazing School Bus Conversions
Converting a school bus into a permanent residence is a bit like a coming-of-age story. You take a school bus, probably one very similar to the one you rode in elementary school, gut it entirely, and build a tiny home out of it. To me, the whole school bus conversion process feels very charming, sustainable,
Tiny Houses For Sale
Ready to live in a tiny house as soon as possible? You can buy a tiny home the same way you would buy any other home, already built and ready to move into. Many mobile tiny houses even qualify for RV financing if you don’t want to pay for it all at once. Tumbleweed RV
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
Tiny House Books
While we’re pretty happy with the tiny house guide we’ve put together here at Insteading, we also recognize that it’s great to have a physical book of photographic inspiration to look at when planning your own tiny house. Here are some of our favorite tiny house books and links to their Amazon reviews. Jump To
Tiny House Cost
Tiny houses vary widely in cost. The factors that are going to impact the final price tag of your tiny house are: The type of materials you use (natural materials, salvaged or new) The systems and features you chose (off-grid or on-the-grid) Whether you are building it yourself or hiring a builder If you’ll be
How to Pay Off Debt by Thinking Like a Homesteader: 20 Practical Ideas to Try
When you have the burden of debt hanging over your life, you don’t feel free. Living paycheck-to-paycheck, coasting by on minimum payments, and playing hot potato with your credit cards is not the way anyone wants to live. Watch The Video It can feel like you’re stuck in a dead end rut, working hard at
Tiny House, Big Living
One look at this tiny house and you feel as if you are about to enter a doll house! With bright pink walls, Villa Hermina clearly stands out from the rest of the cottages in the area. Situated outside the southern Czech town of Černín, it was created by HSH Architekti, which unfortunately is now defunct.
Fireplace Mantels
There’s nothing quite like warming up next to the fire. Especially when it’s a fireplace in your own living room. But there’s something about a mantel-less fireplace that just seems off! A mantel adds a finishing touch to your fireplace that ties the whole room together. Though many fireplace mantels are just decorative, others offer
Tiny House Transition: Downsizing
Downsizing is a difficult aspect of tiny house living. It’s often overlooked on social media platforms or in the press. Making the transition to a tiny house isn’t as simple as it seems, but If you downsize well, the transition will be much easier. What Is Downsizing? View this post on Instagram @tinyhousebasics remodel coming
Outdoor Patio Furniture
More people are choosing to spend their limited leisure time with Mother Nature, in the form of backyard living. Enjoying our backyards has long been part of sunny summer days and crisp autumn nights, but now, we’re extending more of our indoor living activities into the outdoors. Things like outdoor kitchens and bars, televisions, furniture
Quonset Huts
The Quonset hut, designed for military use, is finding its way into contemporary living— 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 materials—corrugated steel and