I want to start by wishing you all a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays! I hope you all are able to enjoy time with your families and stay safe! Since it is Christmas, and as a continuation for some natural ways to keep your house smelling great and essential oil blends for winter, today I just want to share a few simmer pot recipes that will make your house smell all festive and Christmas-y! Orange 5 - 8 cups of water 3 - 5 cinnamon sticks 1 - 3 orange peels / 10 - 15 drops of ... [ Read More ]
Top 11 Items to Barter With
Preparedness has a special place in our hearts here at Old Fashioned Families, since we are all about being self-sufficient. While there are a lot of misconceptions about preppers, namely just how intense they are, in reality they've got the right idea. Being prepared to survive is not all about the world ending— though preppers would be the most equipped— but rather surviving any kind of adversity that life throws your way. This could mean a natural disaster, losing your job, or even war. If ... [ Read More ]
8 Ways to Reuse Your Coffee Grounds
I am a huge coffee addict, but it's good for a lot more than my morning jolt! The average American actually drinks 2 cups of coffee a day, which can add up pretty quick... that's a lot of old coffee grounds, right? Here at Old Fashioned Families we prefer not to waste things, which makes me love coffee even more! Rather than throwing away your old coffee grounds, you can use them in your garden, your home, and even your hair! Here are 8 different ways that you can re-use old coffee ... [ Read More ]
Non-Food Items You Should Always Have Handy
Prepping is all about being, well, prepared. It isn't necessarily about the end of the world barreling towards us, as many people probably think, but about being prepared for all types of emergencies— bad weather, losing your job, or even an economic depression. Most often, preppers start with food and water— which is great, because obviously you can't live long without those, but other items are often overlooked. So, I compiled a list of some non-food items you should try to have handy in ... [ Read More ]
10 Best Foods for Power Outages and Emergencies
Whether you consider yourself a prepper or not, power outages happen in the winter, and preparing for an emergency situation is never a bad idea. I remember we had a huge snowstorm here in the Midwest in 2007 or so, and some places lost power for almost two weeks during that time. We lived in the country and so, while we lost power for just under a week, we were perfectly fine. Our stove was gas, and we could melt snow for water so things were just fine, if not a little boring. So, with ... [ Read More ]
How to Prepare Your Chickens For Winter
For most of the year, chickens are actually surprisingly simple to care for and require little maintenance. However, making sure that your chicken coop is properly winterized is absolutely paramount to the health of your feathered flock—especially as the temperatures continue to drop. So, today, here are some things that to keep in mind in order to prepare yourself and your girls for the cold days ahead. ... [ Read More ]
8 Questions to Decide What Animals to Raise
Starting your own homestead can be both rewarding and extremely daunting. There is so much to learn, and while a lot of it really is going to be a live-and-learn opportunity, there some things that can be researched ahead of time. Without a doubt the two primary questions that I see new homesteaders asking revolve around what plants to have in a garden, and what animals to raise on your homestead. Today I want to focus on the animal question, and we'll get into the gardening question in ... [ Read More ]
5 Natural Ways to Kill Weeds
There is a reason for the phrase "grows like weeds", and it can get quite annoying when those weeds start invading our planting zones! Rather than spraying a poison, something that can harm you and your family not to mention the Earth, you should try natural weed control. There are quite a few methods to get rid of weeds without having to resort to poison, and some should actually save you money! 1) Smother Them You can use newspaper or cardboard to kill weeds simply by covering the area ... [ Read More ]
How to Prepare Your Home for Winter
With winter creeping in here in the Midwest, I am stuck in that weird transition period where I drive to work with my heat on and when I get off work I roll the windows all the way down! Alas, I can't be quite so careless with my thermostat at home, or our utility bill would be through the roof. So, slowly but surely, I've started to winterize my house for the coming months. I am fairly new at this, so I'd like to share with you some things I already do as well as some things I've discovered, ... [ Read More ]
Homesteading Activities To Stay Busy This Winter
I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming fall and winter months, and how I can improve my homesteading skills during them. Winter can get pretty boring around the homestead, as the garden doesn't need quite as much attention, kids are in school, etc. This might leave us feeling kind of unproductive, which is a feeling I personally hate! So today I want to focus on some skills that can either be started up or improved on in the coming months. Pre-Gardening Unfortunately for a lot of us, ... [ Read More ]