Thrift Schooling

  Many thanks to Tara Dodrill of Heritage Skills USA . She has graciously offered to give all readers   $5 off an annual Heritage Skills USA membership! This entitles you to download all homesteading guides , planners , and cookbooks , as well as The Homestead Homeschool curriculum for a full 12 months. No auto-renewal ever and includes all items in her digital library, now, and those that are added during your membership. Thank you, Tara! Simply use code: hsusa25 .  Plus, we are giving one ONE FULL MEMBERSHIP to one winner. Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win! a Rafflecopter giveaway Protecting Your Homestead: Tips for Keeping Predators at Bay By Tara Dodrill If you’ve ever walked out to your chicken coop and found feathers instead of hens, you’re not alone. Welcome to homesteading , where the joys of fresh eggs, bleating goats, and crowing roosters come hand-in-hand with the realities of homestead predators . I’ve cried over stolen eggs, chased coy...

  Farmhouse Devotions by Cheryl Schuermann is the book you didn't know your homestead needed. When I attended the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers' Conference earlier this year, I was overwhelmed with the various genres presented in the bookstore. Yes, Christian, but not all relatable—at least not to me. Christian murder mystery and Christian romance are not my go-to in this season of my life. This is the moment when I am in the thick of it—homeschooling, homesteading, and homemaking. This is my world and though some moms read in those genres to escape reality, I choose to embrace it. I have a running list of what I plan to do when I "retire" from homeschooling and maybe those genres will make the list, but for now, I am drawn to non-fiction helps and how-to books to better our homestead. What I had not yet found (or knew I needed) was a devotional that was relatable and relevant for the homesteader. When I saw this at the conference, I knew I had to have it. N...

Homesteading with little or no land? You can still get started today. Heather of Garnet Creek Farm shares how in Episode Two of The Thrift Steading Podcast .

Imagine this. You and your family are stranded in the wilderness. No food. No water. Not that you weren’t prepared, you did have a bug-out bag in your closet for the past two years, but those freeze-dried snacks seemed like the perfect midnight snack during your sleepover last week! Oops. Though caught off guard in the food department, you definitely have a pocket knife, flint, waterproof matches, hand shovel, fishing kit with hooks of various sizes, and a flashlight with more lumens than the most recent infomercial is currently selling to the general public. Given this scenario, would you be okay with eating grubs and crickets to survive? Of course, you would—you need to live! Although I am not sure your mom or sister will join you on day one—maybe day three. Animals survive in the wilderness on the bare minimum, so we can too, right? Or does God provide more for us? Unlike the animals in the wilderness, depending on their God-given instincts to lead them to food, God has created mank...