9 Forgotten ‘Everyday Survival Skills’ From Grandma

9 Forgotten ‘Everyday Survival Skills’ From Grandma is available on Total Survival

Our grandparents didn’t spend their spare time watching TV or playing video games. The truth is they didn’t have spare time. Keeping the family fed, fields tended, livestock healthy and a roof over their heads kept them busy from dawn to dusk. They did whatever it took to survive and thrive.

While grandma and grandpa each had everyday skills that all homesteaders and survivalists should learn, today we’ll focus on Grandma’s day.

Grandma was a dynamo. She rose before dawn with a mile-long to-do list in her head. Feeding the family a hearty breakfast and sending them on their way was first priority. She then could get to her own busy day. Housework, fixing a fence with grandpa, helping the cow give birth, making pies to trade, fixing lunch, canning peaches and pulling weeds were checked off the list. Then it was time to make dinner and send everyone off to bed.

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Here are some of the skills that helped her succeed at all of these tasks.

Feeding the Family

Grandma didn’t just run to a drive-thru to grab dinner after work. She planned ahead and made meals from scratch. She knew the night before what she would make for dinner. To accomplish this, she knew how to do these things:

1. Cooking from scratch – When grandma made dinner, she created masterpieces with no help from any cardboard box mix. Her meals were nutritious, tasty and far less expensive than any of the quick foods today. Love and care for her family were the special ingredients in every meal.

2. Cast iron cooking – It is amazing how many different dishes grandma made in her cast iron cookware. An entire meal, from soup to dessert, can be made with just one cast iron pot or skillet.

3. Preserving foods – Many of us remember coming home with jars of jelly, apple butter and pickles from grandma’s. Her cellar or pantry was always lined with shelves full of preserved goodness. Learning to preserve food via canning, pressure cooking or other methods is a wise investment in your own future.

Growing or Raising Food

Running to the grocery store each day was not an option to grandma. She essentially could shop every day in her own pantry or backyard.

4. The kitchen garden – No matter what grandpa grew in the fields, grandma always had a kitchen garden. She could walk out back and pick fresh dinner fixings. She often had fruit and nut trees, as well as her herbs and vegetables.

5. Animal husbandry – Grandma tended to be the one who cared for the livestock — a cow or goat for milk, a steer or pig for meat and then, the chickens. It was hard to find a homestead that didn’t have at least a few chickens – if not more. Aside from eggs, many times an old hen or rooster ended up as Sunday dinner. Which leads us to the next set of skills …

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6. Butchering livestock – Although it was more often grandpa who killed the large animals, grandma was the one who usually cut up or butchered them. Her skills with the butcher knife were admirable. She also could efficiently wring the neck of that old hen for the stew pot.

‘Jill of All Trades’

Our ancestors did as much as they could for themselves. Things were made to last, and those that didn’t were repurposed. Here are just a few more things that grandma did in caring for her family and home:

7. Crafty creations – Grandma needed basic sewing skills to keep her family clothed. She might even be talented enough to make clothing in addition to repairs. Quilting and weaving were other abilities which could provide additional income, as well as add to her family’s warmth and comfort.

8. Stretching a dollar – Being thrifty came naturally to grandma, as nothing went to waste. She reused, repurposed and recycled everything. She often was a skilled negotiator and bartered goods or her skills for things she needed or wanted.

9. Medical care – Doctors and hospitals weren’t readily available. Grandma was required to have basic medical skills and more. She even might doctor animals as well as people. Her familiarity with medicinal herbs and plants came in very handy.

So, how did your day compare to grandma’s? Did it seem a bit lacking? It’s not too late to start learning some of these skills that she used on an almost daily basis. So put down the remote and game controller and invest your time in useful endeavors. These skills could even save your life and those of your loved ones.

What would you add to our list? Share your thoughts in the section below:

Julie Dees is a freelance writer from Central California who also happens to be a real, lifelong cowgirl. She enjoys writing about her animals, her interest in homesteading and anything related to the outdoor life. Visit her website, TheCowgirlWrites.com.

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Mycorrhizal Planet – Nurturing Fungi to to Build Soil Fertility and Support Plant Health

Mycorrhizal Planet – Nurturing Fungi to to Build Soil Fertility and Support Plant Health Read more on: http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

“Mycorrhizal Planet – How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Fertility” by Michael Phillips provides information that everyone who works with plants should know. The information in this book will radically change the way you look at soil and plant health.

Mycorrhizal Planet shifts the focus from killing insects and fighting disease to building vigorous, thriving ecosystems with plant and fungi partnerships. Strong plants are naturally resistant to attack – and provide more nutrient dense food. Mycorrhizal networks are the glue that holds everything together, partnering with plants and bacteria in ways that are only now becoming better understood. Kill the fungi, and you cut off the plant's access to more nutrients.

This is particularly troubling, given how many crops are now routinely treated with fungicides. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimated the following for 2009:

Fungicides were the most common type of pesticide used on apples, blueberries and peaches. They were applied to 87 percent of the blueberry acres and 85 percent of the peach and apple acres. Insecticides were applied to 87 percent of apple acres, 84 percent of blueberry acres and 81 percent of peach acres.

The article “Fungicide use surging, largely unmonitored” notes that, “Fungicides were routinely applied on up to 30 percent of the nation's 220 million acres of corn, soybean and wheat, according to a 2009 estimate.”

Farmers are facing disease pressures, so they spray, or treat the seeds. Nature, being nature, adapts.

We're now seeing headlines like, “Early blight disease on potato is becoming immune to fungicides“. The CDC quotes, ” Just like some bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotics, some fungi no longer respond to the antifungal medications that are designed to cure them.” I don't know about you, but I think it's time for another approach.

Mycorrhizal Planet – Regenerative Practices for the Farm, Garden, Orchard, Forest and Landscape

Chapters in Mycorrhizal Planet are as follows:

1. Mycorrhizal Ascendancy – Describes mycorrhizal types, how they partner with plants and how they propagate
2. Healthy Plant Metabolism – A more detailed look the plant/fungi partnership, with emphasis on building plant immune systems
3. Underground Economy – Establishing and sustaining robust and widespread myco colonies
4. Provisioning the Mycorrhizosphere – The conditions and amendments your healthy fungi need to thrive
5. Fungal Accrual – How to introduce healthy mycorrhizal fungi and the environments that foster them
6. Practical Non-disturbance Techniques – Protecting the fungi in the garden, landscape, orchard, forest and farm
7. Edible Mycorrhizal Mushrooms
8. Soil Redemption Song

Michael's passion for his subject is obvious. Like his earlier books, The Apple Grower and The Holistic Orchard, he bases his writings on a combination of experience and intense research. (Remember when late blight devastated tomato crops up and down the eastern seaboard? Michael's garden sailed through without a problem while his neighbor's plants fell to the blight.) He provides an exhaustive study of the role of mycorrhizal fungi in plant health, and how we can use this information to our advantage.

He sums up his approach at the end of the book:

One: Promote healthy plant metabolism as the guiding paradigm in growing anything. And two: think and think again about ways to least disturb the soil ecosystem. Our overarching goal needs to be to amplify mycelial connection everywhere.

Take Care of the Fungi and They'll Take Care of Us

The growth difference for plants with and without fungal support was amazing, but mycorrhizae do more than double the size of a tree. A few of their many benefits include:

• Improving uptake of trace minerals
• Reduced transplant shock
• Improved production
• Suppression of root pathogens
• Reduced fertilizer requirements
• Helping plants to cope with salinity and soil compaction

If your reaction to this book is anything like mine, like me you'll be working to add more mycorrhizal fungi to your garden and orchard. This book has changed my entire perspective on gardening, giving me encouragement to keep pursuing alternative plant and soil building techniques. The answer to feeding the world is right under our feet.

You may also enjoy:

• Working with Nature – Shifting Paradigms and The Essence of Organic Gardening
• Holzer Permaculture – A Lifetime of Food Growing Innovation
• Restoration Agriculture: Real World Permaculture for Farmers

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5 Old-Fashioned Toothache Remedies That Really Do Work!

The following blog post 5 Old-Fashioned Toothache Remedies That Really Do Work! See more on: Total Survival

I don’t know about you, but I really (really) hate going to the dentist. Unfortunately, this means that I often wait until I’ve made the problem worse with my procrastination. I know I should go regularly, but I always seem to find a reason to put it off.

You have to admire our ancestors, though. Imagine having a toothache with no dentist (or money for a dentist) in sight. How did they live with it?

Most times, people used herbs to relieve toothache pain until they could find a dentist or until they could find someone to pull the tooth! Other types of mouth pain, such as sores from ill-fitting dentures or canker sores, were made bearable through pain-relieving and healing herbs.

Although most of these remedies have been forgotten due to over-the-counter pain relievers and better dental care, there might come a time when we wish we knew what these herbs were.

Let’s take a look at the top 5 herbs that work to relieve mouth pain or a toothache.

1. Cloves

This is perhaps the oldest and best-known remedy for relieving toothache pain and helping gums to heal. My dentist actually has a little homemade concoction that his grandfather used to make to help with these problems. He won’t tell me everything that’s in it, but I can taste cloves and I must say that this stuff really worked to heal a stubborn sore on my gum!

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The active ingredient, eugenol, is in the oil of the clove. In fact, many dental items you buy today contain oil of cloves. Cloves have antimicrobial compounds, as well as a numbing effect, which makes them perfect for tooth or gum pain. Crush a couple of cloves and place it where the pain is for 10 or 15 minutes.

2. Cabbage

This common food once had an uncommon use — as a dental pain reliever! When applied topically, it is said to help heal mouth sores quickly, as well as numb the pain. Cabbage leaves were softened with a rolling pin, and then rolled up like a tortilla and placed where the pain was. This very old-fashioned remedy calls for using 4 to 6 leaves a day.

3. The toothache plant (Acmella oleracea)

Toothache Plant. Image source: Wikipedia

This little plant works so well, its medicinal use has become its name! Other names include buzz buttons or sechuan buttons. The flowers of this plant have a super-numbing effect in the mouth, even more so than cloves. If you look at the flowers, they do remind you of a tooth with a red “sore” spot in the middle! The remedy calls for using just the fresh flower and holding it on the painful area.

4. Onions

Onions seem to appear on every medicinal herb list, don’t they? Some people claim that onion juice is so effective at relieving pain that it’s better than ibuprofen. I don’t know if that is true or not, but the remedy is that you cut a large piece of onion (apparently yellow onions are best for this, as they are the strongest) and place it between the teeth, as close to the painful area as you can.

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Now slowly bite the onion, but only until you feel the juice come out. The idea is to get as much of the juice from the onion as possible. So bite slowly, turn the onion piece a bit, and then repeat until the pain is gone.

5. Sage and vodka

This old remedy came to America via German immigrants. Since sage has antibiotic and anti-inflammatory compounds, this remedy makes sense. Two teaspoons of dried crushed sage leaves were put in a small glass container, along with one teaspoon of salt and about one-fourth cup of vodka. This mixture should sit for five minutes before using. Mix this solution gently, and then take a sip and swish it around, biting the mushy sage leaves. Then spit. Don’t drink this or you will most likely end up vomiting. Repeat two or three times, and then throw out any leftover. This needs to be repeated three times a day with a fresh mixture, as it supposedly goes “stale” after just 15 to 20 minutes.

What all-natural methods do you use to relieve mouth and tooth pain? Share your tips in the section below:

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This Federal Agency Has Seized $3.2 Billion From People – Without Charging Them With A Crime

This Federal Agency Has Seized $3.2 Billion From People – Without Charging Them With A Crime was first published to Total Survival

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WASHINGTON — One single branch of the U.S. government, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), has collected more than $4 billion through civil forfeiture since 2007.

Disturbingly, most of that money — $3.2 billion — was seized in cash without criminal charges or convictions, a report from the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Justice found this week. The $3.2 billion figure does not include the value of cars, homes and other items the DEA took.

The report – dubbed “The Review of the Department’s Oversight of Cash Seizure and Forfeiture” – found that reasons for the seizures included “traveling to or from a known source city for drug trafficking, purchasing a ticket within 24 hours of travel, purchasing a ticket for a long flight with an immediate return, purchasing a one-way ticket, and traveling without checked luggage.”

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Darpana Sheth, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, told The Washington Post that the report “raises serious concerns that maybe the real purpose here is not to fight crime, but to seize and forfeit property.”

Civil forfeiture is the controversial method whereby law enforcement officials can seize property they believe to be tied to drug trafficking, without going to trial or even pressing charges. (Listen to Off The Grid Radio’s in-depth report on it here.)

Sheth said a criminal conviction should be required to seize money.

“Nobody in America should lose their property without being convicted of a crime,” Sheth said. “If our goal is to curb crime, we should simply abolish civil forfeiture.”

Do you support or oppose civil forfeiture? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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Triple A’s of Nature’s Medicine: Antiviral ~ Antibacterial ~ Antibiotic

The article Triple A’s of Nature’s Medicine: Antiviral ~ Antibacterial ~ Antibiotic is republished from http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Honestly there are so many Anti-medicines. For instance, Antiseptic and Anti-emetic medications could also make the list. I picked the three that I find to be crucially important to know and keep around. I personally prefer to use nature’s medicine rather than man-made medicine.

**Disclaimer: This site is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Read our full disclaimer here.

Before I tell you some of these incredible natural plants I’d like to explain what the Triple A’s mean.

Nature’s Medicine: Antiviral ~ Antibacterial~ Antibiotic

1. Antiviral:

Antiviral properties are effective against viruses. There are plants that will destroy viruses and others that stop them from spreading.

2. Antibacterial:

Plants that contain antibacterial properties stop the growth of bad bacteria that causes illness and disease.

3. Antibiotic:

Antibiotics are responsible for killing bacteria, certain parasites, and fungi. They inhibit the growth and destroys microorganisms. Antiseptics are similar to antiviral and antibacterial properties in the sense that they slow the growth of bacteria and causes it to become weaker.

When you’re in a survival situation it’s very important to know what you can use when there are no prescription medications available. These three Triple A’s make it onto my top three list because they are important when it comes to life or death. If you are in the woods fighting an infection of some sort it’s important to know what you can do to help yourself. Even if your not in a survival situation and just want to heal yourself the old way these natural medicines I’m about to share with you are pretty easy to come by.

A Variety Of The Triple A Plants

• Elderberry: Not only are the berries delicious but the are beneficial to our health in many ways. Elderberry can fight viruses including the flu, as well as, viral and bacterial infections.

• Ginger: Go back to your childhood, do you remember Ginger Ale being a go-to when feeling sick? That’s because ginger breaks down the toxins in our body helping to fight viral infections and much more. It can also be used to ease pain and inflammation.

• Garlic: Garlic is one of the first things in my kitchen I go to when feeling any sort of illness coming on. Raw garlic contains allicin which is the medicine you want, cooking it will destroy the medicine. Kills microorganisms that cause infection and bacteria. It’s really a preventative food.

• Echinacea: Echinacea tea is pretty tasty and extremely beneficial to your health. Drinking some of the tea or taking the capsules reduces infections and viruses. It also stops bacteria and viruses from further spreading.

• Olive Leaf: Olive leaf extracts and essential oil is definitely something you should add to the medicinal arsenal. It’s a hardcore virus fighter. It is powerful enough to fight the Candida, Meningitis, hepatitis and Tuberculosis.

Believe it or not, everything on this list for Antiviral is also on the Antibacterial and Antibiotics list. Liquid Gold aka Honey is also an incredible addition to the kitchen cabinet, as well as, the medicine cabinet. One of my favorite medicines to use is called USNEA aka Old Man’s Beard. Usnea is a lichen that grows on hardwood trees and it’s a potent antibiotic, antibacterial, and antiviral. You only need a little Usnea to go a long way, remember it’s potent. Here’s an article I wrote a while back that goes more in-depth on USNEA, where to find it, and it’s uses. I make a medicinal tincture with mine.

Mother Nature provides us with everything we need to live, survive, and thrive. It should come as no surprise that there are so many delicious medicinal options available if you only know what you’re looking for. Before I go, I would just like to say I am not a doctor or medical professional but I do practice natural medicine and natural healing in many forms. I hope this article has been of some help to you.

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5 Things Homesteaders Should Save Money For This Spring

5 Things Homesteaders Should Save Money For This Spring is courtesy of http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Experts say you should put 20% of your income into a savings account every month. For some of us, that’s darn near impossible after paying the bills, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t attempt to save money at all. Even the smallest amount is worth something at the end of the day.

Homesteaders Should Save Money This Spring

Before you do anything else, you’ll need to document your budget. Knowing how much you make and spend each month is the first guideline for saving. You can do this a number of ways, from pen and paper, to excel spreadsheets, to popular online budgeting tools — whatever makes most sense to you. Once you’ve recorded your budget, you’ll know how much you have leftover to put in savings.

But what should you be saving for? And how much should you be setting aside for it?

Emergencies

Establishing and maintaining an emergency savings fund should be your top priority. Unexpected setbacks (such as job loss or expensive medical bills) can leave you scrambling to make ends meet — and ultimately put you into debt. It’s especially important not to count on credit cards to cover emergencies as the high interest rates can make your purchases cost thousands more in the long run. Using cash to pay off these unforeseen expenses will save you both money and stress.

Financial experts used to recommend saving three to six months’ worth of living expenses for an emergency fund. However, after the recession and the high unemployment rates that followed, they changed it to six months (at the very least) — 12 months if you can manage it. This substantial amount ensures that you’ll be able to keep your head above water no matter what happens.

If you haven’t started saving yet, this can sound like an impossible goal. The trick is to keep working toward it — again, every little bit counts. It helps to break it up into smaller goals, such as one month’s salary at a time, and then celebrate when you reach the milestones! Once you’ve established your emergency fund, you’ll find a lot of peace in knowing that you have enough money to stay financially safe in a time of need.

What’s more, once you’ve successfully built your emergency fund, you’ll have also developed a habit. This habit will allow you to continue saving toward other financial goals, such as the ones listed below. Just remember, your emergency fund should always come first!

Home Repair

If this is the first home you’ve owned (that is, you’ve only rented before), you’ll find that being responsible for all maintenance and repairs is not only irritating, it can also eat through money like nobody’s business. That’s why putting aside money for home repairs is so important. You just never know when your siding might start to crumble or your furnace may give up the ghost.

When it comes to maintenance and repair costs, the best rule of thumb is to budget one dollar per square foot, per year. That means that if you own a 1,500 square foot home, you should save $1,500 a year. While you may not necessarily spend $1,500 every year, there will be years where big ticket items (such as your roof) need repairs.

Though the square foot idea is a reasonable estimate, it’s not perfect. There are many additional factors that may increase the likelihood and frequency of repairs. The age and condition of the house, it’s location, and the type of weather it is exposed to can all influence the need for repairs. For each of these factors that adversely affect your home, add an additional 10 percent to the square footage rule.

For example, if you own a 2,500 square foot house built at the turn of the 20th century, and it’s located in an area that experiences heavy snowfall in the winter, you’d add 20 percent to $2,500. That comes out to $3,000 a year. While that’s definitely a hefty chunk of change, the tax benefits of these repairs can help to offset these costs.

Animals

Adding animals to your homestead is often a worthwhile investment — whether you sell what they produce or keep them purely for self-sustainability. However, before you start bringing home chickens and goats, you’ll want to set money aside to cover a variety of costs.

Besides the purchase price of the animal, you’ll need to save for their housing, food, and care. The money you put down initially is just the start. Continuing food and veterinary needs will have to be calculated into your budget. Different animals have different needs, and it’s your job to know what those needs are before you commit to raising them.

New Vehicle

As we all know, buying a car is a big deal — not only because it’s exciting, but also because it’s a huge financial commitment. The average price of a new car is $33,453, and a reliable used car averages at $18,100. However, if you need to upgrade so you can haul horse trailer or hay, you don’t have much of an option. It has to be done.

When budgeting for a new car, you’re most likely going to be budgeting for an auto loan. The general rule of thumb is that no more than 20% of your monthly income should go to your car loan payments. However, if you already have a lot of expenses, and there isn’t much you can cut from your budget, that number should go down to 10-15%. Determining how much you can realistically afford — and buying within your means — is incredibly important.

Furthermore, the larger down payment you can make, the better. With fewer total payments in the life of the loan, you’ll pay a lot less in interest. Just like buying a home, aim to save 20% of the price of the car for the down payment.

Once you know what you can afford and have found a few cars that fit into your budget, you can start hitting the lots. The biggest thing to remember is this: don’t let a salesperson push you around or into something you’re not looking for. Dealers will always try to sell you more car than you need — and when lenders let you borrow more than you can afford, you’ll find yourself in a bad situation. Be firm and insist the salesperson show you exactly what you’re looking for. If at any time in the process, you find that the monthly payments they project are getting out of hand, walk away.

It’s also important to note that a new (or used) car will cost more than just the purchase price. You will need a new registration, which usually runs from $50 to $125, depending on the age of the car. The newer a car, the higher the registration and insurance costs.

Vacation

Working on the homestead is hard — and you deserve a break every now and then! Start with where you want to go and how long you want to be gone. Then, collect information on what airfare (or gas) will cost, as well as hotels in the area. With a rough idea of how long you’ll be gone, you can work out the estimated costs for food, rental cars, gas, souvenirs, and entertainment. Once you have a ballpark figure of how much money the trip will cost, you can start saving!

Determine how much money you have available to save each month, and how many months it will take you to save the necessary funds for your trip. Don’t forget to add in pre-trip costs, such as passports, travel insurance, and immunizations. When you have everything mapped out, you’ll have a vacation start date and can start the countdown!

When saving for anything, be it emergencies or vacations, the key to success is to stick to your plan. Augment your savings by cutting back where you can, from working to save energy (and thus lower your bills) to planning your meals and eating out less. Pay yourself first and always treat your deposits like any other bill — non-negotiable and subject to a schedule. If you do this, you’ll find yourself financially secure in no time. And that’s a feeling that beats just about anything.

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Do you have any other ways you save money on the homestead? Let us know in the comment section below.

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6 Intimidating (And Quiet) Alternatives To Guns

6 Intimidating (And Quiet) Alternatives To Guns is courtesy of http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

A firearm is a critical defensive tool to have in your survival kit, but there are a wide variety of non-firearm alternatives available on the market.

While a gun might be your first and best defensive option, it has some drawbacks, too. One of the biggest is noise – guns are loud, and even suppressed firearms are fairly noisy. Shooting an unsuppressed firearm can cause severe hearing damage, give away your location to an imminent threat, or scare away wild game that you are trying to hunt.

Another downside is that firearms need ammunition to function – without it, your expensive new gun is just a menacing-looking paperweight. Your supply of ammunition is limited by its cost, the amount of space you have to store it, and (in survival situations that require you to leave your home) the weight you can carry. Consequently, you may only have a limited amount of ammunition on hand when your survival plan needs to be put into play. You should consider purchasing one or more non-firearm defensive tools if:

1. You want a backup to your firearm in case you run out of ammunition.
2. You want a quiet defensive tool.
3. You cannot carry a gun in some locations.
4. You have moral, philosophical or ideological objections to the use of firearms.

This article will discuss your options for purchasing alternative defensive tools to add to your bug-out bag or emergency stash. Remember: You will need to practice and become proficient with any defensive tool to ensure that you can operate it effectively when a disaster strikes.

Projectile Weapons

1. A crossbow or compound bow.

While crossbows and compound bows are traditionally used for hunting, they also can be used as a defensive tool. While not as effective as a firearm, a good crossbow or compound bow will provide lethal accuracy out to 60 yards without the loud report of a gunshot. A well-constructed entry level crossbow (firing at 300fps or greater) will typically cost around $500, though lower-powered variants can be purchased for much less. Entry level compound bows firing at 300fps or greater will typically start at $200, and go up from there. You will want to purchase a case, spare bolts or arrows, replacement arrowheads, spare bow strings, and bow wax.

2. A survival bow.

As with the crossbow or compound bow, a survival bow is a hunting tool that can double as a defensive weapon. Unlike compound bows, a survival bow can be disassembled easily, and stored in a small pouch or carrying case. Aside from its ability to be disassembled for compact storage, the main benefit of the survival bow is its simple design when compared to a compound bow. However, survival bows are not as easy to shoot as compound bows because they have a much heavier draw. Your bow should have a minimum of a 40-pound draw – if the manufacturer doesn’t provide you with draw information, it is likely under the 40-pound mark. A decent survival bow can be purchased for as little as $90.

3. A slingshot.

They can use virtually any small object as ammunition, are compact enough to store virtually anywhere, and are very quiet. Steel ball bearings are the best ammunition for this type of weapon, but marbles, rocks and even steel nuts from a hardware store will function adequately.

The Self-Defense Weapon That Doesn’t Require A Firearms License!

While a slingshot may not kill an attacker, it can certainly break bones and cause substantial bodily trauma. The best part is the price – a decent slingshot can be purchased for under $100.

Handheld Weapons

4. A machete.

A machete is a great tool to have in your prep kit, regardless of whether or not you are looking for an alternative to firearms for defending yourself. You can find a high-quality machete for less than $50 at any hardware or sporting goods store. Just remember that machetes are designed to slash, not stab.

5. An expandable baton.

This compact, concealable defensive tool is an excellent choice for close-range defense. The expandable baton is composed of a handle that contains telescoping metal shafts, and a weighted tip.

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With the flick of your wrist, the baton expands to its full size, and makes a formidable impact weapon. An entry-level expandable baton can be purchased for around $25, and high-end versions for under $100.

6. A knife.

A fixed-blade knife is an ideal defensive tool because it is designed to withstand a lot of abuse. However, they are harder to store because of their length. Folding knives may not be as durable or reliable as fixed blades, but are good to have because they are easy to store or carry unobtrusively. When looking for a high-quality knife, expect to spend at least $50, maybe more. Some can be purchased for under $20, but their quality and durability may be questionable.

What weapons would you add to our list? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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A 5-Year-Old Girl Guarded A Pretend Castle With A ‘Stick Gun.’ She Got Suspended From School.

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RAEFORD, N.C. — Make-believe is now a forbidden activity on the playground at some schools – but only if it involves a pretend gun.

Five-year-old Caitlin Miller discovered this the hard way when she was taken to the principal’s office during recess and suspended.

Her misdeed: “turning a stick into a gun and threatening to shoot and kill other students,” a note from the assistant principal said. Or, at least, that’s how the school saw it.

Caitlin and her friends were playing “king and queen” during recess on the Raeford, N.C., school playground when she noticed a stick shaped like a Star Trek phaser pistol on the ground.

She picked up the stick and used it to guard the castle’s king and queen against an intruder – at least until teachers noticed and took her to the principal’s office. There, Caitlin was given a note to take home to her mom. It included a picture of the stick. Caitlin was suspended from school for one day.

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“One minute she’s playing with her friends and the next her teachers are dragging her to the principal’s office,” her mother, Brandy Miller, told WTVD TV. “She’s confused. Nobody explained anything to her.”

The school stood by its action against the kindergartener.

“Any student engaging in such behavior will be removed from the classroom or school environment for as long as is necessary to provide a safe and orderly environment for learning,” a press release from the Hoke County School District reads.

Caitlin has grown up around guns, as her father serves in the Army. Her mother did not know what to tell the girl, not wanting to bring up the subject of school shootings.

Now, the girl feels uncomfortable at school.

“She feels like all the teachers hate her,” Miller wrote on Facebook. “I can’t imagine being five and feeling that way.”

Do you think the girl should have been suspended? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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8 Baking Soda Uses For Your Survival Garden To Try

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Spring has officially arrived! Survivalists across the nation are already in full gear and tending to their survival gardens! In my previous article, Survival Gardening Hacks | Bringing It Back To The Basics, I covered a few great hacks to get you started this gardening season. Since it’s publication, I have noticed that there is one hack in particular that has drawn quite a bit of attention regarding the many baking soda uses in the garden! In particular…the baking soda tomato plant hack! “If you love a sweeter tasting tomato, simply sprinkle baking soda on the soil surrounding the tomato plant. How’s that for gardening magic?”

Gardeners are asking if there are more uses for baking soda in their survival gardens? The answer is yes! There are quite a few. In this article, I’ll share with you the many benefits that this extremely versatile product brings to your survival garden…some of which may surprise you! Let’s get started!

8 Baking Soda Uses

1. Encourage Blooming

If you’re anything like me, then waiting for that first bloom can seem like an eternity. Want the process to go a little quicker? Try this!

Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 2 quarts of water. Dissolve completely. Water your flowering plants (such as tomatoes) with this mixture. They’ll be blooming in no time!

2. Boost Your Plants

Recommended on full grown plants ONLY (in my opinion).

If your plants are looking a little dull or maybe they seem they need a little “pick me up”, then try this to perk them up!

Combine 1 tsp of baking soda, ½ tsp of clear ammonia, 1 tsp of epsom salt, and 1 gallon of water. Mix well. Each plant will need approximately 1 quart of this solution.

Your plants will be perky, lush, and green in no time!

Want to learn more about epsom salt uses for your plants? Check out my previous article, 5 Uses for Epsom Salt in Your Garden.

3. Natural Fungicide For Grapes

Help control fungal disease on your grapevines with this great DIY fungicide using baking soda!

Combine 4 tsp of baking soda and 1 gallon of water and mix well. When grapes start to appear, spray lightly on the vine to help prevent fungus such as black spot fungus. This mixture works great on roses as well.

4. Eliminate Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is pretty common in climates that produce high humidity and can be quite damaging to plants such as cucumbers, squash, and more!

To help prevent powdery mildew combine 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1 gallon of water, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid and mix well. Put this mixture into a spray bottle and once again shake well. Spray lightly on plants during the shady part of the day. Repeat up to 2-3 times a week.

5. Kill Cabbage Worms

Cabbage worms affect plants such as cabbage, broccoli, and kale. To kill cabbage worms, combine equal parts baking soda and flour and dust your plants. The cabbage worms will consume this mixture which will swell inside their digestive system. The worms will die within 24-48 hours.

Repeat this process as often as necessary.

6. Deterring Other Pests

Although the exact reason is unknown, pests such as roaches, ants, silverfish, and rabbits can’t stand baking soda! Just sprinkle baking soda on the soil (not the plants) and these pests will steer clear of your garden.

7. Weed Killer

One of the biggest “No no’s” for a garden is WEEDS! Using baking soda to kill weeds is simple. Sprinkle baking soda directly on the weed. This process will burn the weed’s foliage and the weed will die within a few days.

8. Get Rid Of Garden Grime

This one if for you, the gardener. After a day spent in the garden, your hands can become caked with garden grime. To help dissolve it much quicker, just simply rub baking soda on wet hands and rinse.

If you’re looking for useful survival gear that you can’t make at home, check out the Survival Life Store!

Do you have a baking soda uses for gardening that you would like to share? Share with us in the comment section below!

Check out my previous gardening articles for great gardening tips for beginners!

Composting For Beginners | The Building Blocks To A Better Harvest

Beginner’s Guide To Having an Outdoor Herb Garden | Survival Gardening

Easy To Grow Vegetables For Beginner Gardeners | Useful Survival Skills

12 Budget Friendly Must-Haves For Every Beginner Gardener

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The 5 Best Medicinal Plants You Can Grow In Your Backyard

The 5 Best Medicinal Plants You Can Grow In Your Backyard was originally published on http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Image source: Pixabay.com

Self-reliance often means relying on old wisdom to address health problems. My family believes in the use of medicinal plants to cure ailments.

Our herb garden serves a greater purpose than increasing the flavors of our dinners. We use these plants to create medicinal teas, herbal baths and healing salves. Here are the top five medicinal plants to grow in your backyard, along with some simple ways to use them in your everyday life.

1. Feverfew

Once it blooms during spring, it continues to grow throughout the season. Feverfew has been used for centuries to — you guessed it — reduce fevers. It also has properties that help to reduce headaches and stomach illnesses.

Families can use feverfew in a variety of ways, but one of my favorite methods is as an herbal bath. That is a fantastic way to reduce fevers in small children. For centuries, people have chewed on the leaves or drank herbal teas to relieve headaches, as well as fevers. (Check with your doctor about its use among very young children.)

2. Echinacea

One of the most popular medicinal herbs is Echinacea, which produces a beautiful purple flower. Echinacea grows up to 36 inches tall and has a long growing season. You will notice an abundance of bees and butterflies attracted to your garden, as well, helping to pollinate.

Learn How To Make Powerful Herbal Medicines, Right in Your Kitchen!

Echinacea can be used to boost the immune system if you have the flu or cold. Historically, people used it to fight infections, relieve pain, treat snake bites, reduce coughs and heal sore throats.

While you can use Echinacea in a multitude of ways, most people opt to make an infusion or decoction. You can steep the leaves and petals or the dried roots in boiling water, creating an herbal tea. To fight a cold, you could combine other herbs, such as feverfew or chamomile, for additional healing properties.

3. Lemon balm

Everyone needs at least one type of mint plant in their garden. Lemon balm happens to be one of my favorites! You can add it to teas to create a delicious tea, but it does more than that. Those suffering from insomnia, anxiety, an upset stomach, or a viral infection can find lemon balm useful. Our family uses it as a natural mosquito repellant and treatment for colicky infants.

There are so many great ways to use lemon balm! Make an herbal syrup to reduce anxiety at night with honey. Using fresh leaves, make a homemade tea bag for an upset stomach. Another great way to use lemon balm is to add it in homemade salves, helping to heal minor cuts.

4. Yarrow

Yarrow. Image source: Pixabay.com

Yarrow is a multi-purpose herb to grow, and is beneficial if you have kids in the house. It can reduce fevers, shorten flu and colds, help kids to relax and lessen cramps. You also can use yarrow topically to help with skin itching and rashes. Some people have success relieving allergy symptoms by drinking yarrow tea!

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There are a plethora of ways to use yarrow. Create herbal teas, combined with other herbs like lemon balm or chamomile. Tea also helps with a cold or congestion. A yarrow salve heals dry and itchy skin. Also, bathing in yarrow tea reduces fever. Native Americans used yarrow for centuries as an astringent by creating poultices.

5. Calendula

While I grow a variety of herbs and flowers, calendula is, by far, one of the most useful flowers. The beautiful, orange flowers pop in the summertime against the green grass. Calendula petals are edible; try adding them to your salads.

For centuries, people found ways to use calendula to disinfect minor wounds, treat infections, heal skin irritation and reduce pain. One of my favorite ways to use it is by creating a homemade diaper cream for rashes. Making a healing salve from calendula is simple and makes a fantastic addition to your first-aid kit. All you need to do is spread it over irritations and small cuts.

Healing with herbs does require a bit of knowledge, but it is worth it.

Get started by selecting a few of the best medicinal plants. Best of all, many of these choices have pretty blossoms that make them visually appealing options.

What is your favorite medicinal plant? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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Congress Just Allowed Your Browsing History To Be Tracked, Stored & Sold

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WASHINGTON — Internet service providers will be able to store your browsing history and sell that data to advertisers and others under a bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday.

The House bill, passed 215-205, gives the Trump administration power to block Obama-era Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that were written, in part, to prevent companies from tracking and selling browsing history. The bill already passed the Senate.

President Trump intends to sign the bill, which is known as the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and is designed to keep the Obama-era rules from taking effect, The Guardian reported. Blocking the rules will allow companies like Verizon to sell advertising (based off consumers’ browsing history) in competition with Google and Facebook.

The FCC, during the Obama administration, had introduced a set of rules, the Broadband Consumer Privacy Proposal, which would have required broadband providers to get permission from customers before tracking them and selling the data.

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“Give me one good reason why Comcast should know what my mother’s medical problems are,” said U.S. Representative Michael Capuano, a Democrat. “Just last week I bought underwear on the Internet. Why should you know what size I take? Or the color?”

Evan Greer of the non-profit group Fight for the Future said the new law will kill privacy.

“Gutting these privacy rules won’t just allow internet service providers to spy on us and sell our personal information. It will also enable more unconstitutional mass government surveillance, and fundamentally undermine our cybersecurity by making our sensitive personal information vulnerable to hackers, identity thieves, and foreign governments,” Greer said.

Said Carmen Scurato of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, “With the approval of the president, corporations will now be handed the ability to share the sensitive, personal information of millions of Americans without their consent and hinder the FCC’s role as a consumer watchdog far into the future.”

Supporters of the bill argued that the Obama regulations were an overreach and that oversight of the Internet should fall under the FTC, not the FCC.

AT&T, which owns DirecTV, was trying to sell such targeted advertising before the Obama-era FCC rules were proposed, The Guardian reported.

What do you think? Share your thoughts about the new law in the section below:

You’re Being Watched: 7 Sneaky Ways The Government Is Tracking Your Every Move. Read More Here.

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Robbed & Left To Die, He Survived 71 Days In The Desert On Frogs And Leeches

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The road was rough and dusty, as usual. Two jackaroos, or Australian ranch hands, had been sent out from the nearest cattle station to perform their day’s labor. Their first order of business required them to head into some of the most desolate country that surrounded them.

In this part of the northern outback, that meant going into some of the most isolated pockets on the continent. Jackaroos like these were accustomed to living and working in the desert conditions, and their bronzed skin and weathered clothing testified to that. Still, even with an iron constitution, the trip to this remote area was a tough one, even by pickup. Not only would the road nearly jar a man’s teeth from his head, but as it was the end of the rainy season, the temperatures were beginning to heat up.

So the duo bounced along across the desolation. With nothing in sight, the pair talked and joked with each other to pass the time. As they slowly worked their way across the expanse, they spied something moving off in the distance. It was something unfamiliar, something odd and foreign to the regular scenery. They drove closer to investigate. As they drew closer, their curiosity only grew at the strange figure that rose and fell in the distance. Ever so slowly, the tattered pickup eased across the hot sand and unforgiving terrain of the Australian outback. As they approached, the two wide-eyed jackaroos looked at each other in disbelief. The mysterious figure they had found appeared to be a walking, stumbling and living skeleton. They had found a man by the name of Ricky Megee.

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The story of Ricky Megee is a captivating tale of survival in the Australian outback. Although the story is one fraught with hardship and the reality of death, it all began with a young man full of optimism.

Story continues below video

Ricky had just landed a new job and was driving along a barren north Australian highway when he came across a group of stranded travelers huddled around their vehicle on the side of the road. Not wanting to pass a stranded person on this desolate stretch of highway, Ricky slowed down and pulled over. The group needed help to get their car going. Megee allowed a few of them to hop in his car so they could hitch a ride to the next town, where they could get help. The men piled in, and then … blackness. That is the last thing he remembers.

He woke up, naked in the middle of the desert, baking in the hot sun. Confusion overtook him as he tried to understand what had happened. He sat down in the shade for hours, pondering his predicament. Nobody in sight. No roads. No houses. No water. Nothing. Just desert. What was he to do?

Not being one to let pessimism crowd his psyche, Megee walked across the desert, barefoot and naked, to find help. Each morning he told himself that today was the day he would find help. His efforts proved fruitless, though, and he traveled for days without finding anyone. His best option, he soon realized, was to find a good source of water and to stay next to it. Fortunately, the rainy season was just ending, and the desert held pockets of water. He committed himself to one such waterhole and constructed a makeshift shelter.

After more than a week in isolation, Ricky was getting hungry. His stomach cramped, and his muscles ached from exhaustion. He knew he had to find food. Then, a lizard scurried past. Without even thinking, Megee lashed out and stunned the reptile, killing it instantly. With no fire, he improvised. He laid the lizard in the sun for a few hours and allowed it to dry. After that, he peeled the skin off and enjoyed his first bite to eat in the bush.

Over the course of his 71 days, Megee ate nearly everything he could find. Lizards, frogs, leeches, snakes, grasshoppers and caterpillars. Anything that slithered, crawled, scurried, or crept across the desert floor was fair game. In fact, he developed an affinity for certain kinds of frogs over others. Leeches, he said, are OK – but you must eat them quickly, otherwise they attach to the inside of your mouth.

Megee also ate plants. His rule for eating plants: If it tasted good, he ate it. This isn’t the safest way to test plants – in fact, it is dangerous — but he was fortunate. He mostly stumbled upon a few edible plants aboriginal people had used for millennia.

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But as much as he tried, and as much as he ate, Ricky was slowly losing his battle with the desert. He was gradually starving to death.

After a few weeks at his first shelter, Megee decided he needed to move on. He found a different waterhole and constructed another shelter, and settled in for what he thought might be his last few days on Earth. His strength was failing, and he knew setting across the desert was fruitless.

He began to battle with the thought that he was going to die in the outback. He even mounted a cross on his shelter, marking what he believed was going to be his grave. He simply hoped his corpse would be found for his family.

In his weakened and gaunt condition, Megee also felt the need to block the entrance to his shelter at night. Dingos had been prowling around his camp, and he got the impression they were sizing him up for a meal. Each night he crawled into his shelter, hoping to keep the wild dogs out just one more night.

So it went … for 71 days. By the time the jackaroos stumbled upon him, he was only a gaunt figure of his former self. Previously a strong-and-stout chap at 233 pounds, he weighed a skeletal 100 pounds when the ranch hands arrived. He was emaciated, weak and tired — but he was alive.

What can we learn from such an amazing story of survival? First, finding shelter, water and food — in that order – are the priority. Second, a positive outlook is essential. He remembered friends and family, and the thought of seeing them kept him going.

Ricky Megee was able to stay alive in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments for more than two months. Could we?

Do you think you would have what it takes to survive more than two months in a desert? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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4 Fruit-Bearing Plants You Can Grow In A Teeny-Tiny Yard

4 Fruit-Bearing Plants You Can Grow In A Teeny-Tiny Yard was first published on http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Shiros plums. Image source: StarkBros.com

I first became interested in homesteading when my husband and I purchased a house on a small suburban lot. The yard was filled with typical city landscaping — a boxwood hedge, a couple of potentillas, a lilac, some overgrown evergreens and a lot of grass taking up the space in between.

The one bright spot in all of this was the fruit trees. Instead of the usual arbor vitae, the former owner had planted an apple and two cherry trees along the fence line — not decorative cherries but a real-life Bing and Rainier. When summer arrived, all three trees produced a prolific amount of fruit. So much so that the neighbors often stopped by and asked if they could join in on the harvest. We were happy to oblige.

It was then and there that my ideas about the “right” way to landscape changed. Since homesteading was a priority for us, why not tear out a few of the ornamentals that came with the house and replace them with fruit-bearing bushes and ground covers? The formal landscaping “look: would still be intact but it would also come with the added bonus of producing fruit.

Over time and with a lot of experimentation, I was able to determine a number of trees, shrubs, flowers and ground covers that behaved well in a suburban landscape but also took me one step closer to my ultimate goal of becoming more self-sufficient. Here is a list of some of my favorites.

1. Plums — The size of a fully mature plum tree varies depending on the rootstock. Smaller-sized trees use the semi-dwarf root stock Mariana 2624. This rootstock will produce a tree between 10-15 feet in height at maturity. It acclimates well to a variety of climates and soil types. My favorite plum is the Shiro.

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Shiros tend to be loaded with an outstanding display of white blossoms in the spring, an abundance of golden orb-shaped fruits in the summer and a fiery gold display of foliage in the fall. The plums themselves are tangy and sweet at the same time without the squishiness that can be a turn-off to non-plum lovers. They make excellent jam and can be dried for later use. These trees respond well to regular pruning and are fairly forgiving to individuals who are new to the art of bonsai.

Image source: Pixabay.com

2. Mulberries — Mulberries are incredibly easy to grow and can reach a mature height of more than 30 feet with a spread of 35 feet. They have an open form when properly pruned during the first years of growth, and naturally exhibit generous, graceful spacing between branches. For this reason, Mulberries make excellent shade trees. The fruits are delicious and attract a variety of seasonal birds, such as cedar waxwings and tanagers. Mulberries can be eaten fresh, made into pies and jams, or dried for later use. Mulberry juice can be fermented into an excellent wine. Mulberries are rich in anthocyanins, iron, protein and a host of vitamins and minerals that combat cancer and premature aging. In the fall, mulberry leaves morph into a breathtaking display of canary yellow foliage that will be the envy of the neighborhood.

3. Honeyberries — Honeyberries are a small shrub native to Russia. At maturity they are loaded with elongated blue fruits that have a similar flavor and texture to blueberries. Honeyberries are hardy and easy to care for. Harvest often falls a week or two before blueberry season, which is ideal for individuals who are interested in having a continuous source of fresh fruit in their yard. In the fall, honeyberries exhibit a rainbow of red and gold foliage.

4. Strawberries — As a groundcover, strawberries can’t be beat. Over the summer, they produce a profusion of runners and can quickly cover a patch of abandoned ground. Strawberries require very little care once established, provided they are watered regularly. To propagate strawberries, transplant runners in the spring or fall. Occasionally remove older, woody plants to keep beds productive. One of the most flavorful strawberries for jams and fresh eating is the variety Shuksan. For long-term storage, strawberries can be frozen whole or in pieces. They also can be pureed and dried into fruit leather.

This list is by no means comprehensive. Edible landscaping is all around us, once you know where to look. Now is the time to start transitioning your yard into a homesteader’s oasis.

What would you add to our list? Share your fruit-growing tips in the section below:

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Horchata And Coquito Drinks | Recipes For The Cultured Homesteader

Horchata And Coquito Drinks | Recipes For The Cultured Homesteader is republished from http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Horchata and Coquito are both absolutely delicious beverages. One is coconut based and the other uses various ingredients such as rice flour or almonds. Today I’m going to share with you one of my favorite versions of each drink. These drinks are traditional across Latin America including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and many more.

Horchata And Coquito Drinks

Horchata

As I mentioned earlier, there are several varieties of Horchata beverages. You can find Horchata made with various seeds, nuts, and grain such as almonds, sesame seeds, rice/rice flour, tiger nuts, barley, and melon seeds. The recipe I make uses the rice flour.

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups Whole Milk
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• ½ Cup Rice Flour – I grind my own.
• 1- 14 Ounce Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• Ice Cubes

Directions:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat bring the milk and the whole cinnamon stick to a low simmer. Remove from the heat and pour it into a bowl. I prefer to use glass.

Whisk in the condensed milk, rice flour, and vanilla. Refrigerate for 30-40 minutes allowing it to completely cool.

Once the mixture is cooled, use a cheese cloth to strain and separate the drink from the flour.

If you want to make “adult beverages” you can add ½ of a cup of Spiced Rum and stir. Pour over ice and enjoy.

Coquito

I grew up drinking Coquito, when I was young I called it Puerto Rican egg nog because we drank it around the winter holidays. This coconut drink is incredible!

Ingredients:

• 28 Ounce Can of Coconut Cream OR Milk
• 1- 14 Ounce Can Condensed Milk
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3 Eggs or 3 Egg Yolk
• Cinnamon To Taste
• Ice Cubes

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to your blender including the ice and blend into an icy drink. This drink can also be made into an adult beverage by adding some Spiced Rum. This drink is delicious, if you don’t believe me, try it out yourself at your next get together and let the critics decide. If the drink is too thick for you, you can add a little whole milk to it. Children love the creamy texture and coconut flavor.

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Will you give these two drinks a try? Let us know in the comment section below!

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8 Overlooked Ways To Make Thousands Of Extra Dollars Homesteading

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Image source: Pixabay.com

Any homesteading off-gridder knows that income from selling produce isn’t always sufficient. Costs for the building and repair of farm structures, purchasing additional livestock, veterinary expenses, real estate taxes — and everything else in between – can leave a homesteader struggling to keep afloat.

If making extra money is in your bucket list right now, then here’s a few things you could consider. The key is to think outside the box. Look for new or unusual needs in your community, and find ways to meet them. Keep an eye out for opportunities that may come up. If you start thinking like an entrepreneur and marketing like a pro – and of course, delivering extraordinary goods – customers will soon be knocking at your door.

And with a little hard work, you can be making thousands of extra dollars.

Image source: Pixabay.com

1. Conduct farm demos and nature tours. Give talks and workshops. Share farming and bushcraft skills with schools, scout clubs, youth and church groups. Gather all your pets and farm animals for a weekend petting zoo. Hold a fall festival, complete with a pumpkin patch, games and bounce houses. Train large goats to pull a cart, and offer kids goat-drawn buggy rides! Do hiking, horse-riding, ATV, mountain-biking and snowmobile tours – complete with a picnic of your family’s specialty meal. If you have wooded acreage, consider building platforms on treetops with hanging bridges or ziplines between them. Offer paintball games. The amount of money people are willing to pay for unique outdoor experiences can be astonishing, especially in areas where there are scenic spots.

2. Rent your land. Depending on the size, features and proximity of your land to towns, industry and tourist attractions, you could rent a portion of it for different uses. Camping. Firing range. Outdoor team-building workshops. Location for film and photo shoots.

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Parking or storage for trailers, ATVs, snowmobiles or boats. Billboard space, if it’s near a freeway. Solar farms and wind turbines. Airstrips or heliports. If you live next to other farms, consider leasing portions of your property as extra cropland or grazing area, seasonally or annually.

Image source: Pixabay.com

3. Rent your structures. Rent your barn for special events like workshops, parties, Thanksgiving banquets and wedding receptions. There’s also good money to be made in leasing a room or cottage for a bed-and-breakfast stay or a winter holiday retreat. Depending on where you live, the attractions in your area and the recreation that can be done, you could lease a small cabin for a good fee. Potential clients are individuals or couples looking to get away from the city on weekends; a writer, theologian or doctorate student wanting peace and solitude to write and meditate; a young family looking to familiarize their children with the outdoors. If you have a camper, an old shipping container or a yurt that you had used before moving into your current home, you could use that for starters. Then if business grows, you can start thinking of building a bigger cottage that can host bigger families. Marketing is key — register with your local tourism board and with AirBnB.com.

4. Offer specialized services. Carpentry, welding, plumbing, car maintenance and farm equipment repair are trades that are always needed in rural areas. So are trucking and hauling goods like hay, lumber, livestock and all kinds of produce. Don’t think it’s too late for you to acquire any new skills, too. If there’s an opportunity, learn new trades that can be marketable in your area: butchery, tanning, brick-making, weaving, blacksmithing, shoeing horses. Even simple things like tree-pruning and brush-clearing are chores people are either too busy or lazy to do, and would rather others do for them.

5. Teach art, sports or a special skill. Do you have a unique talent others might want to learn? Even with this age of You Tube tutorials, there may be students in your area looking for teachers that can offer specialized, on-the-spot demonstration — without having to be licensed instructors.

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They may just want mentoring or coaching. If you’re great with people and are passionate about your craft, consider teaching it. Photography. Martial arts. Piano. Massage therapy. Herbalism. Home-brewing. Permaculture. The list goes on and on.

Image source: Pixabay.com

6. Do professional service online. There are dozens of websites where you could sign up for part or full-time contracts: Flexjobs, Upwork, Fiverr, People per Hour, and Guru. These are location-independent jobs you can do whenever and wherever, if you have fast, reliable Internet. Most of these sites allow you to create a personal profile where you can outline your credentials and provide samples of your work. Once you clinch a few good, loyal clients, you’ll be good:

• Any design work: graphics arts, photo/video editing, animation, architecture, website design, apps, furniture, clothes.
• Writing: blogs, e-books, product reviews, newsletters, technical reports.
• Translating.
• Virtual assistant: data entry, online research, making reservations. (Check FancyHands.com for jobs like this.)
• Transcribing.
• Web maintenance or managing someone’s social media account.
• Affiliate marketing.
• Bookkeeping, accounting.
• Legal and financial consulting.
• You don’t need a teaching degree to help young or beginning students to learn a new subject you’ve already mastered. You can even teach English to new migrants or overseas students.
• Music composition.

7. Make and sell crafts. Do you fancy refurbishing furniture? Repurposing old doors, windows and used pallets into unique new home decor? How about making scented candles, hand-spun yarn, pottery and faux jewelry? You can supply these to your local craft store or sell online, through Etsy and eBay. Or, you can start your own online store – it’s a lot cheaper and easier than buying or renting commercial space.

8. Sell non-edible farm produce. Sell goods that are off-shoots of what you already grow and do in your homestead. Timber. Firewood. Medicinal herbs. Fresh or dried flowers. Exotic ornamental plants. Vermicompost as potting soil. Worms for worm bins. Soaps and essential oils. Rabbits, dogs or birds that others can keep as pets.

It’s Easy To Make Extra Money With Your Truck!

With some of the above, you’ll have to check local and federal laws for restrictions that may apply. And particularly for those that involve some level of risk, you’d do best to include a liability insurance.

Go the extra mile on advertising. Capitalize on social media, telling everyone in your life that you’re in business. Inform your neighbors and the local chamber of commerce. Network with affiliate industries. Leave posters at the community center, church bulletin board, local college, library, grocery store, pet stores, veterinary supply outlets, even on your vehicle.

Focus on one business first, grow it, and then move on to another as time and capacity permit. Each small venture potentially could have a snowball effect. If you have a spouse or older children that you could recruit, ask them to pitch in. You’ll be establishing a successful family enterprise sooner than you think.

What would you add to our list? Share your thoughts in the section below:

References:

• Evangelista, Anita. 10 Ways to Make Money On Your Land. http://ift.tt/2nHTce0
• Wickison, Mary. 26 Ways to Make Money From Your Small Farm. com. http://ift.tt/2iZiPoA
• Dodrill, Tara. 7 Ways to Make Money While Living Off-grid. com. http://ift.tt/2nHT51Z

This Article Was Originally Posted On offthegridnews.com Read the Original Article here

check out the full article Here: 8 Overlooked Ways To Make Thousands Of Extra Dollars Homesteading

This State Just Banned Carrying A Gun While Drinking A Single Can Of Beer

The following article This State Just Banned Carrying A Gun While Drinking A Single Can Of Beer was first published to http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Simply carrying a gun after drinking one beer or one glass of wine soon will be a crime in one American state.

That’s because a new law in Utah cracking down on drunk driving also might, by extension, restrict gun rights in the state.

A new law, HB 155, lowers the blood alcohol limit for driving in Utah from .08 percent to .05 percent, making it the toughest such law in the nation, The Washington Post reported. The lowest threshold in other states is .08.

Governor Gary R. Herbert signed the measure into law on March 23 despite opposition from the restaurant, alcohol and tourism industries, as well as from some gun rights groups.

The new law, combined with another part of Utah criminal code, has a major impact on gun owners.

The Self-Defense And Hunting Weapon That Doesn’t Require A Firearms License!

Section 528 of Title 76 and Chapter 10 of the Utah Criminal Code states: “Any person who carries a dangerous weapon while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance … is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.”

“Under the influence” is now defined as .05 percent.

“To understand how low this limit is, consider that a 100-pound woman would most likely reach this level after one beer and as such would be unable to carry a hunting knife, firearm, or even a stun gun,” a statement from the Utah Shooting Sports Council (USSC) reads. The USSC urged Herbert to veto the law. “… The restrictions on carrying a dangerous weapon would apply at all times and everywhere including your home.”

USCC emphasized that it “is not good practice to be shooting while drinking, nor do we believe that one should be allowed to carry a firearm while drunk.”

“However, there is a big difference between actively shooting a firearm while drunk and simply carrying a firearm or hunting knife when one has had a beer,” USCC said. “We believe that a person should not lose the ability to exercise their right of self-defense for having a small amount of alcohol in their system.”

The American Beverage Institute ran an ad in some newspapers reading, “Utah: Come for vacation, leave on probation.”

Similar laws eventually may spread. The Post reported that bills lowering the blood alcohol level to .05 percent were proposed in Washington state and Hawaii but failed.

Herbert did not address the gun issue but pointed to a study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism that found, “A large body of creditable research over many years has clearly shown that impairment of tasks necessary for safe driving begins at levels as low as 0.05 percent.”

France, Italy, Russia and Australia all have .05 limits.

What is your reaction? Share your thoughts in the section below:

If You Run Out Of Ammo, What Would You Do? Learn How To Make Your Own! Read More Here.

This Article Was Originally Posted On offthegridnews.com Read the Original Article here

Originally Published Here: This State Just Banned Carrying A Gun While Drinking A Single Can Of Beer

Kevin’s Quality Clothespins -The Best Clothespins You’ve Ever Used

The following blog post Kevin’s Quality Clothespins -The Best Clothespins You’ve Ever Used is republished from http://ift.tt/1Qfw8v0

I love the smell of laundry fresh off the line – but I don't love having cheap, flimsy clothespins launch themselves off the line in pieces or finding heavy, wet items dropped on the ground below the line. Since our laundry line is on our elevated deck, when laundry drops, it really drops, falling over ten feet down. I was hanging clothes recently and thinking, “It sure would be nice if someone started making heavy duty clothespins again.”

Ask and ye shall receive, because the next time I checked my inbox, there was a message from Hilary of Kevin's Quality Clothespins, letting me know about their heavy duty, American made clothespins. I received a sample set of 10 for review.

7 Reasons Why Kevin's Quality Clothespins May be the Best Clothespins You've Ever Used

1. Kevin's Quality Clothespins are hand-crafted from solid maple hardwood, specifically end pieces from a local mill that supplies wood for guitars. I like that they are able to re-purpose what would otherwise end up as scrap. The wood has a light colored grain and will not bleed tannin onto clothing.
2. The clothespeg springs are heavy duty stainless steel from an American manufacturer – no rust or corrosion. They are much larger and stronger than standard imported clothespin springs.
3. Kevin's Quality Clothespins are made in America with materials sourced from local suppliers.
4. Each clothespin is treated with natural linseed oil before assembly to help them resist weathering. You won't find any treatment on the nekked cheapo clothespins.
5. These clothespins are big enough to go where other clothespins can't. They are large enough to tackle heavy rugs and quilts on a standard clothesline, and can even open wide enough to accommodate a 1/2 inch dowel. No more items slipping off drying racks.
6. No slip grooves at the end of the pins make it easier for the user to operate the clothespin.
7. These pins are crazy strong! I tied up a 5 pound weight in an old sock and tacked in on the clothesline with one of Kevin's Quality Clothespins. It hung there like a boss – no slipping or sliding. I didn't even attempt hanging the weight with the imported pins out of fear for the windows located right near the clothesline.

Clothespins That Last

I have a bin in my junk drawer dedicated to holding parts of dead clothespins. Every so often the boys go through and try to piece them back together. The thing is, once the springs have been stretched, they never work quite as well. Usually they end up right back in the junk bin after the next load of laundry. That is not going to happen with these pins.

As long as you take them off the line when you gather the laundry, Kevin's Quality Clothespins should be around to hand down to your children and grandchildren. They're made like things used to be made – to last. They are more expensive than imports, but less expensive than similar clothespins in a Mother Earth News article. (Those pins were also out of stock when I checked the website.) I think these clothespins would even make a nice gift item for those who appreciate practical gifts, especially if you paired them up with something like wool dryer balls or a Prairie Pin Pouch Handmade Clothespin Bag.

Buy Your Own Set of Heavy Duty Clothespins

You can click here to buy your own set of Kevin's Quality Clothespins Online.

I received no compensation for this review, only a set of clothespins, which I think are nice enough that I'm planning to buy myself some more.

Update: This review was originally posted in October 2014. It's now March 2017, and I've used these clothespins for over 2 years. They still work great, and not one has busted.

You may also find useful:

• How to Restore Cast Iron Cookware
• How to Homestead (Not Quite) Like Grandma Used to Do
• 35+ Handy Kitchen Substitutions – Printable Cheat Sheet

The post Kevin’s Quality Clothespins -The Best Clothespins You’ve Ever Used appeared first on Common Sense Homesteading.

This Article Was Originally Posted at commonsensehome.com Read The Original Article Here

Read More Here: Kevin’s Quality Clothespins -The Best Clothespins You’ve Ever Used