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
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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.
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,
How To Cool Down A Room: 15 Easy Methods
Lately, summers have been getting hotter. Without some sort of home cooling mechanism, the scorching temperatures quickly become unbearable — and in some cases, deadly. The human body isn’t designed to withstand high heat for long periods. Without reprieve, high temperatures eventually lead to heat illness and heat stroke. Discomfort, dizziness, profuse sweating, and disorientation
Silo Homes
Silos converted into houses.
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
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
Groundbreaking Bottled Water Tax Raises Dustup in Chicago
In 2007, the image of bottled water in the public consciousness underwent a huge shift. 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
Living Off-Grid: Our Micro Hydro Alternative Energy System
As a follow up to Sean’s post on Micro Hydro Essentials, I thought I would share an overview of my system, which has powered my home for over 13 years. We are fortunate to live on rural mountain property in Northern California with a creek that is not seasonal, although the volume of water does
5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Become A Homesteader
Are you tired of traffic jams and the fast pace of city living? Do you long to escape the rush and retreat to the quiet of rural living? If so, you are not alone. Each year, more and more people chose to leave the cultural amenities and conveniences of urban life to embrace a simple,
Ten (More) Ways to Change the World Through Social Media
Blogging, social news, peer-to-peer philanthropy, microblogging, social networking, wikis, video sharing, and more. These are the new agents of change. Back in May, we penned the original 10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media. Though most of those first 10 are still relevant, the pace of innovation and advancement on the social web
10 Functional And Productive Vegetable Garden Plans
Everyone struggles with garden design. Whether you have a small patio garden or a 20-acre farm, you want to be able to grow vegetables for your family and not have it be all-consuming. Make the most of your yard by using raised beds and putting them in underappreciated parts of the yard. These vegetable garden
About Us
Insteading helps people on their journey to live a more positive life—positive for themselves, for their neighbors, and for the world around them. As the world awakens to the need to transition away from fossil fuels, people are making alternative choices with the clothes they wear, the products they buy, and the transportation choices they
🔨 Green Building
It seems like nowadays every time you look around there’s 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
Growing Furniture
Train and graft a tree for half a dozen years or so and you have strong, local, one piece (tree) furniture. One piece wood chairs, no joints. Partially planed. The first chairs are expected to be in galleries mid-2017. by FullGrown, UK. One piece tree chair. The trees are harvested in winter and then allowed to
Whole Tree Architecture
Whole Tree Architecture
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 it’s 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
Best Chicken Breeds For City Living
By the time neighbors acknowledge that you grow the most vigorous tomatoes and bake the tastiest bread around, you’ve probably thought more than once that raising chickens might be for you. Having done your homework, you know that more cities throughout the U.S. are permitting as many as four or six chickens in a backyard
Living in a Dumpster, For a Full Year – Meet the New 1%
Environmental science professor Jeff Wilson believes that American homes have gotten too big. To prove it, he’ll be living in a dumpster. For a year.
Wanderlust Festival brings mindful joy, healthy living to north shore of Oahu
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, founders of Wanderlust. They’ve been doing this for a while, but they’ve found new elements to incorporate in the Oahu Wanderlust–especially surfing. Seeing the correlation between surfing
Willow Tree Sculptures
Living willow structures or fences start with live cut rods or withies. Once inserted in the ground, they take root. Willow sculpture may use green wood but the rods are not planted, so the sculpture can be preserved if you want. The Most Amazing Willow Tree Sculptures Wicker Sculpture – Queen at Faulkland Palace, 2012.by
Florida Law Makes Living Off The Grid Illegal
If you’re in Florida and hope to live a more sustainable lifestyle free from the influence of energy companies and massive agricultural conglomerates by adding solar panels to your home, harvesting rainwater, and planting an organic garden on your property- watch out. Citing the International Property Maintenance Code, city officials in Cape Coral, FL are
🌻 Gardening
Gardening is a cornerstone of both homesteading and sustainability. Nothing is quite as local as growing your food in your own backyard! Gardeners can come in all sorts of shapes and forms, from the apartment-dwelling indoor gardener to the 20-acre owning permaculturist. Whether you have a few plant containers to maintain or entire fields of
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
Straw Bale Greenhouses
Straw Bale Greenhouses
Galvanized Water Trough Planters
We’ve been looking for a good option for raised planters that were taller than some of our raised garden beds made with wood. After plenty of scrounging around on the internet, we ended up deciding to use galvanized water troughs, also known as round end tanks, to fill these spaces in our yard. Check out
Gutter Gardening
Gutter sculpture watering system… maison-deco.com During a very heavy rainstorm I would imagine dirt and water must pour out of these pretty gutters. Lakeside cottage, Lake Erie. Paint your old gutters attach to painted stockade fence. www.bhg.com Painted gutter garden. How to: au.lifestyle.yahoo.com Gutters on fence – filled with flowers blooming in a riot of color. pinterest.com
News Journal
Biodiversity-Ecology News & Journals News/Journals: www.iisd.ca International Institute for Sustainable Development,Reporting Services (IISD RS), brings you the latest news, information and analysis from international environment and sustainable development negotiations. Biodiversity and Wildlife Page. www.sierraclub.com Sierra Club Magazine on line. www.wn.com/newecologist World News Network. Ecology News. Links to ecology news of the day. www.esapubs.org Ecological Society of America. Publishes
How Much Does It Cost To Customize A Tiny House?
If you’ve researched buying a tiny house you know prices are usually listed as a “starting price,” just like new cars are. Why? Because a tiny house is too personal for a one-size-fits-all option to work. So builders offer options to match a customer’s budget or lifestyle. Someone doing a lot of outdoor work might
Wrought Iron Fences
Offering timeless romance and unrivaled strength, wrought iron has been trending since the 16th century. What’s the right style for your homestead—utilitarian security-oriented fences or artistic statement accessories? Let’s explore. Wrought Iron in History Allow me to share a short history of wrought iron with you: royals of past (think Louis XIV, even ol’ Al the
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 didn’t 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 couldn’t have been
Edison Bulbs
Edison light bulbs refer to those wound filament bulbs made popular by the Edison Electric Light Company. Marked by twisty and almost decorative-looking filaments of tungsten and carbonized bamboo, these light bulbs have mostly fallen out of favor due to high energy consumption. Most homes are illuminated through compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) or light emitting
How To Build An Earthbag House For $6,164
In this post, guest author Jay Eisenberg details how he and his wife built their earthbag house for $6,164, completed on Oahu recently in 2017. For years I had dreamed of building my own home and not being enslaved with a mortgage. While living in New Zealand I was connected with Shaye Boddington of DIY
Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO)
It can be difficult to have a symbiotic relationship with microorganisms when you live in a world where Purell hand sanitizer dispensers line the wall of every doctor’s office and the words “bacteria” or “fungus” cause fear. It wasn’t until I took a soil science class at the Evergreen State College, where I was exposed
Rain Chains
You know what’s perfect on a rainy day besides a good book and a roaring fire? Listening to the soothing sounds produced by a rain chain. There is something very zen-like about hearing the trickle of water during a light rain, or the roar of whitewater during a downpour! Rain chains were originally created in
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
Waste Water Treatment With Corn Cobs: A Google Science Fair Winner
Google Science Fair Community Impact Award winner Lalita Praside Sripada Srisai developed waste water treatment technology with waste corn cobs.
Low Light Plants
Not all of us have the luxury of owning a plot of land to fulfill our gardening dreams. Some of us just have to face the fact that we are, for now, apartment-dwellers. Not only do I live in an apartment with no garden space, but I happen to live in what feels like the
30 Lovely Garden Trellises
A staple of backyards and gardens for decades, trellises can serve as functional garden bed additions and decorative works of art. By supporting climbing plants, vines, and flowers, empty trellises can transform into beautiful, natural garden features—with a bit of time and patience. Larger trellises can serve as a privacy screen, while smaller, more narrow
Homestead Stories: The Outhouse Flower
I have fond memories of the outhouse at the family cottage. Years ago. When I was a youngster. Dad had built it far enough from the cottage that it didn’t project its noxious odors into the place where we ate and slept. Mom planted tall, bushy flowers around the outhouse in an attempt to beautify
Guinea Fowl
My sister and her husband recently visited our homestead, and upon being “greeted” by our male guinea, my brother-in-law exclaimed good-naturedly, “Oh look, it’s a space chicken!” And really, that’s pretty much how it feels to meet a guinea for the first time. Though the guinea fowl has been on farms and homesteads for centuries,