Chickens are a fantastic addition to the homestead. It's completely bewildering to me why more people don't have these quirky little birds hopping around their yards. Whether you're more interested in eggs or keeping chickens for meat purposes or for laying, there are plenty of benefits to having chickens clucking around your yard. Here are ten reasons why you need chickens: 1. You'll always have fresh eggs Eggs are delicious and nutritious, and there's nothing better than a fresh egg that ... [ Read More ]
8 Essential Oil Solutions for the Homestead
If you haven't already, you should definitely look into beginning a journey with essential oils. Not only can they help your own body and mind, but they can help you in all sorts of ways around the homestead. There are endless ways to use essential oils, but today I wanted to focus on 8 ways essential oils can benefit you around the homestead! They're great all-natural ways to keep your animals happy and healthy, keep pests at a distance, and even help with bug bites and sunburns you might get ... [ Read More ]
5 Winter Homesteading Tasks To Make Time Fly
Winter on the homestead can be one of the most frustrating and boring times of the year, especially if you live somewhere where the weather is just too icy, cold, and bitter to really spend much time outside. It can be hard being cooped up inside for a few months out of the year, but don't let it get you down! There are plenty of things that you can do while the weather is dismal. Here are some things I've been working on this winter: Deep clean each room Okay, so I know that traditionally ... [ Read More ]
12 Meals for Around $5
Here at Old Fashioned Families, we are all about being self-sufficient. Cooking our own meals at home is one of the easiest ways to accomplish that, and what's great is typically it can save us a few dollars too! Even if you are trying to save some money and cut back on your grocery bill, you don't need to sacrifice taste. ... [ Read More ]
13 Foods That You Can Grow From Scraps
Growing your own food is one of the best ways to ensure that you are feeding your family the best quality foods possible. While most of us probably don't mind the time it takes to start and keep a garden going, it can be incredibly expensive to buy all the seeds to get started. Luckily, there are a handful of vegetables that you can actually sprout from existing produce. As a note, there are many plants, including pumpkins, apples, and tomatoes, which can be grown from seeds of the plant that ... [ Read More ]
7 Things You Can Make With Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is nearly magical. It has a wide variety of uses— it can be used topically, making it a great addition to your beauty supplies, and you can cook with it at high temperatures without losing its structure like most cooking oils, making it the smart and healthy choice for your kitchen as well. But, other than the obvious things like replacing your olive oil with coconut oil, how do you incorporate it into your daily routine so that you can reap the benefits? You would be surprised ... [ Read More ]
10 Healing Foods Straight From the Kitchen
There are a ton of all-natural ingredients that contain healing or immune boosting properties that I fear are often overlooked. In today's world, many of us are quick to run to the drug store each time we have an issue instead of focusing on what natural remedies we might have, or even preventing sickness before it happens! There are a ton of healing foods in the world, but today I thought we could start with 10. You'll probaly have most of these ingredients in your kitchen already, and the ... [ Read More ]
5 Common Onions and How to Use Them
When used properly, onions can add a depth and richness to many savory dishes. However, when used wrong (or too much) they can be overpowering and just downright gross. So, the first step to cooking with onions properly is understanding what the main types of onions are, and how to use them. In this article, we're going to go over the six basic kinds of onions: red, white, yellow, green, and vidalia. Shallots, leeks, and young onions are also commonly used in recipes, but they are usually a ... [ Read More ]
52 Weeks to an Organized Home
By now you guys know that I am a bit of a clean freak. But, its often overlooked that having a clean home and having an organized home are two very different things. While I am pretty good about making sure my ceiling fans don't have dust on them, and making sure my kitchen cabinets are free of any food or grime, the organization in my house is seriously lacking. The biggest excuses I make for myself are that I am too busy to worry about organizing EVERYTHING, and that my house is too small ... [ Read More ]
7 Ways to Recycle or Reuse a Live Christmas Tree
Well, another Christmas has come and gone. The presents have all been opened, the ham cooked, and the extended relatives have come and gone. Have you taken down your decorations yet? I know mine are coming down today when I get a moment, but as always, that leaves the same questions hundreds of people are asking: what do you do with a live Christmas tree after Christmas? How do you recycle a live Christmas tree? Don't worry—you're not the only one scratching their head, but there are way more ... [ Read More ]