Homesteading

Celebrating the Seasons of Homesteading All Year Long

Does it feel like you are always looking forward to the next thing? Are you always waiting for something better to come along?

Looking forward to and planning for the future is a good thing, but it can come at a price.

The price is not enjoying what is going on now, in whatever season you are in.

So today, I wanted to help you celebrate each season throughout the year so you can appreciate whatever season you are in!

Winter

Things I love about winter:

Time of rest
Dream of the new year
Make goals for the new year
Catch up on indoor projects
Celebrate holidays
Eat the food you stored for winter
Cozy up with a book by the wood stove

How to prepare for winter:

Make sure your animals are prepared for winter
Clean up the garden and cover with cover crop or mulch
Get enough firewood stacked to make it thru the winter
Decorate for the holidays
Stock your pantry with food for the winter
Look around your house and see what projects need to be done inside

Spring

Things I love about spring:

New life comes alive (plants and animals)
There is a hope of an awesome year.
The weather gets warmer
We can start going outside without a coat
You can quit making a fire everyday and open the windows instead

How to prepare for spring:

Plan your garden for the new year
Clean out your animal stalls/coops and air everything out
Order seed and start plants indoors
Order new chicks (if needed) to replenish your flock
Turn on the irrigation water and check the pipes for leaks
Prepare your garden beds for planting

Summer

Things I love about summer:

Everything is busy on the homestead
We start to see the fruits of our labor in the garden
Long days to get stuff done
Warm weather
I have extra help from the kids
You can sit out at night and enjoy the peace and quiet

How to prepare for summer:

Get your seeds planted in late spring
Set up a plan to water all summer long
Make a chore plan to get everything done in the mornings and evenings
Make room in your pantry and freezer for extra produce and eggs.

Fall

Things I love about fall:

Harvest
Cooler weather
Canning and food preservation
Seeing the canned jars lining the pantry shelves
Changing colors on the trees

How to prepare for fall:

Keep up with the harvest by checking on your garden every day
Weed your garden every day so the task isn’t too overwhelming
Make room in your pantry for produce and canned foods
Harvest your fruit trees before the birds and bugs get your fruit

The point I want to make with this post is that every season has its good things and bad things. But every season has something to look forward to and enjoy while we are in that season.

So don’t keep hoping so much for the next season that you forget to enjoy the season you are in! I’ll keep reminding myself that as well when I am ready to plant in the spring but it is still too cold and windy outside.

What is your favorite season and why? Let us know in the comments below. And if you enjoyed this post, please share! Thanks!

13 Alternatives to TV for Great Entertainment at Home

by Julie Gropp

This winter, we have been couch potatoes.

Well, not really, but we have been watching way more tv than we should.

When it is cold and dark outside at 6 pm, what else are you gonna do?

We are sports fans, especially football. There are 5 of us and everyone has a different favorite team. So that means we don’t watch just one game a week, we watch 4 or 5.

We also love our tv shows. Our favorites right now are This is Us, Fixer Upper, The Curse of Oak Island and the Big Bang Theory.

So one of our New Year’s Resolutions was to get away from the tv and find other things to do.

But this was delayed, because we had to finish football season, the Super Bowl and then the Olympics.

The time finally came and we cut the cord (well, not literally). We got rid of our DirecTV.

We kind of enjoyed the quiet, but it was still cold and dark outside in the evenings, so what were we going to do?

While I think too much tv is bad, enjoying common entertainment as a family can bring you closer together.

You have common ideas and inside jokes around your favorite shows. It’s fun to share those with your kids.

So we started researching alternatives to tv that we could use (in moderation).

13 Alternatives to TV for Great Entertainment at Home:

Streaming Services for On Demand Shows & Movies:

Netflix– One of the first streaming movie services, most people are familiar with Netflix. For $8-14 a month (depending on how many people want to watch at the same time) you can use the internet to stream movies and tv shows into your home. You can binge watch entire seasons of tv shows if you want and they have original series as well. This is a great option for those with a decent internet connection.

Hulu– Like Netflix, Hulu is a streaming service where you can get loads of tv shows (not as many movies) at your fingertips for $8 or $12 (depending if you want commercials or not). I prefer the their tv selection over Netflix, but they both have good variety.

Amazon Prime– If you have Amazon Prime for the 2 day shipping, then you already have access to some tv shows and movies for free. There are some great, free documentaries on here as well. Check out this post for some ideas—> 49 Best Homesteading Documentaries for Streaming at Home.

Online TV channels- Many of your favorite networks have apps that you can get to stream your favorite shows. Usually the new shows are only available for a limited time and not until after they air live. Sometimes, like This is Us on the NBC app, they have extra content that goes with the show you can’t get anywhere else.

Streaming Services for Live TV:

Hulu with Live TV– This service blends Hulu on demand streaming (as mentioned above) with live sports and tv streaming for $40 a month. This seems like the best of both worlds and costs less than half of what we were paying for DirecTV. You can also record live tv (like we did with DirecTV) in the cloud to save for later.

YouTube TV– YouTube TV is a TV streaming service that lets you watch live TV from major broadcast and popular cable networks for $40 a month. Enjoy local and national live sports, and must-see shows the moment they air. Record all your favorites without storage space limits, and stream wherever you go. Share with up to 5 other roommates or family members in your household. It looks to me like the local service isn’t available in all areas but you can get national channels no matter where you live.

Sling TV– Start watching your favorite shows, sports, movies and more for just $20 a month for the lowest package. You can watch regular cable tv channels without the high price and broadcast networks in certain locations. We haven’t tried this but I am thinking about researching it for next football season!

Devices to Make Streaming Easier for Multiple Subscriptions:

Roku– Roku allows you to seamlessly transition from different streaming services in one place. You pay a one time fee to buy the device (starting at $40) and then manage Netflix, Hulu, Sling, etc. all in one place instead of constantly switching apps to find what you want to watch. There are some free channels available with the service as well.

Amazon Fire Stick– The fire stick is an Amazon product that allows you to run all of your streaming subscriptions in one place. You can also axcess your Amazon Prime Videos to watch as well. The stick is a one time fee plus the monthly costs of the subscription services. You can use Amazon Alexa to help you search for what to watch.

Apple TV– What makes Apple TV different from the other 2 devices above is the quality of the picture. With the Apple TV you can watch movies and tv shows in 4k HDR where available. It also uses Siri to help you search for what you want to watch. You can also access photos and videos easily from your iPhone to watch on the big screen. The Apple TV is a one time fee of $179 plus whatever subscriptions you pay for monthly.

Cheap or Free Movie Options:

Redbox– We still rent movies from Redbox, but it isn’t as great as it used to be. For those that don’t have Redbox where you live, it is basically a vending machine for movies. They don’t seem to get new releases as fast as they used to, but it is still a good place to find movies to rent for about $2 per night.

Library- You might be surprised about the quality of movies you can find at your local library. You probably won’t find new releases, but you may find your favorite tv show series or a classic you haven’t seen in awhile. And you can’t beat the price!

Free TV options:

Antenna- This one is something that seems obvious, but it isn’t as easy as it sounds. If you live in a city or just outside, you can probably get free network tv through your tv with just a digital antenna.

We live quite a ways out, so we need a large antenna outside the house to reach free network channels in cities 4-5 hours away. Unfortunately, we live in a neighborhood with an HOA that does not allow large antennas outside of the house.

How do we work around that? I am still researching that. Here are the options I have come up with so far:

Get a small antenna for the outside of the house and hide it as best as possible.
Try an indoor antenna, like this one here, and see how the reach is.

There are no guarantees that either of these solutions will work, but here is why I am willing to try:

Once you pay for the antenna, the rest of the channels are free.
We could get “local” news and weather, which might be helpful.
Our internet is not very strong, so streaming is sometimes difficult or frustrating.

I try to teach my children that television is only one kind of entertainment available and that we don’t need to spend all day on it. During the winter we seem to have more free time than the rest of the year. We spend time watching sports on tv instead of playing them outside. We enjoy our favorite shows and movies as well.

By cutting out the DirecTV, we are saving $100 a month, which is a significant savings. But we decided to do this not only for the money savings, but also to teach our children about other forms of entertainment. Whether that is reading a book, playing ball outside, playing a board game together or listening to music, entertainment comes in many different forms.

So if you are thinking about cutting out a satellite dish or cable, I hope these suggestions have helped you. If you have other suggestions, let us know in the comments below. If this post was helpful, please share. Thanks!

A Day in the Life of a Homesteader: Winter Edition

by Julie Gropp

This winter has been kinda strange on our homestead.

If you have been following me on Instagram or Facebook, you know we haven’t gotten much snow at all this season. Very strange for SW Colorado.

In this post, I gave you a day in the life of a homesteader during the summer.

So today, I want to show you a “typical” day for me on the homestead in the winter time.

Of course, it is hard to say typical because with 2 blogs, 3 kids and a homestead, nothing is really typical.

Today is a normal school day, so we wake up about 6 am. I wake the boys up at 6:30am. I check emails on the computer and schedule social media posts.

My husband gets ready and leaves for work about 7:15-7:30 am.

The 2 older boys get up and get ready for the day. They leave to go to seminary (a religious class at our church before school) at 7:30am.

The younger one gets up about the time they leave and gets ready for school. We leave to take him to school at 8:30.

My oldest boy has just recently started homeschool, so while the middle son goes to high school (starts at 9am) after seminary, the oldest now meets me at the rec center to workout in the mornings.

I love having this time with him and it has helped me make exercise a part of my daily routine. I haven’t ever really been good at that before. It is so much easier with a buddy!

Usually, after the workout, I go home to shower, have breakfast and start working on blog stuff.

But today, I needed to drive out to my husband’s work (which is 30 minutes away) on the reservation and take him a package he needed.

So, by the time I got home it was 11 am. Forget breakfast, I’ll just have an early lunch!

I recently started the Keto diet, so I am now eating low carb, medium protein and high fat. So for lunch, I just had some meatballs with ranch dressing.

After my shower and food, I sat down at the computer to work on my blog post. I think to myself, “How did the morning get away from me?”

I check on the animals outside (the boys take turns with animal and other chores around the house so I wasn’t worried). It has been really cold outside at night, but they are doing well. We are breeding the rabbits for Easter, but it is hard to tell yet if she is pregnant.

My youngest meets me at the orthodontist (he walked over from school) to get a new retainer at 1:30pm.

I go to the appointment, then on the way home we go to Maverik (gas station) to get a drink. I haven’t been drinking much soda lately, but I really needed a boost today!

When I get home, I find out that the rental car that have been driving for over a month (I hit a deer in December with my truck) needs to be turned in today. So I have my oldest clean it out for me.

I get back on the computer for an hour to try to get some more work done.

At 3pm, I take my youngest (he stayed home after the appointment because it was an early release day) to a friends house to hang out.

Then I pick up the middle child from the high school and we go shopping at Walmart.

After an hour and buying too much stuff, we head home.

I take my oldest son with me (so he can give me a ride home) to the car rental place to drop off the rental car.

I hope I get my truck back tomorrow. I never dreamed it would be in the shop for over a month, but the holidays put a kink in everything.

Here’s a cute picture of our dog Anna!

At 6 pm I make dinner for the family. It was yummy!

This was a new recipe for me on the Keto diet. It was a little more time consuming than I like recipes to be, but it was great. You can try out the recipe here—> Bacon Cheeseburger Cauliflower Casserole.

While I make dinner, my middle son makes a fire in the wood stove.

Then at 7pm, my husband and kids go up to the church for Wednesday night activities. Finally, peace and quiet at the house. Maybe I’ll actually get something done now!

While they are gone I work on the computer some more. Then I am ready to start quieting down for the night.

I decide to make some Keto bulletproof hot chocolate. This is my first time on this recipe too. You can get it here—> Bulletproof Hot Cocoa.

I sat down to watch one of my favorite shows, yesterday’s episode of Fixer Upper. I have the cat on my lap, a hot cup in my hand and I am ready to relax!

They get home about 9pm and I am feeling like I am ready to go to bed! What a day!

The dog was already asleep too!

We actually end up going to bed about 10pm, which is normal for us. I need my 8 hours a night to be a good person during the day!

So that’s it! It was a crazy, busy, unglamorous day. Sometimes I just feel like a taxi driver, but it is a good life. I am thankful for my busy boys and this homesteader life we live. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Thanks for coming along with me today!

How is your winter going? Let us know in the comments below! Thanks!

37 Important Homesteading Skills to Learn this Winter

by Julie Gropp

In the summer, we are so busy with the garden and yard work and taking care of animals.

The days fly by even though we have more daylight to enjoy.

But in the winter, the days can seem to drag on. We enjoy the rest from the summer activities, but we need something to keep us occupied from thinking about the cold days.

Today, I want to give you a list of things you can learn this winter to increase your homesteading skills and a link to a resource to help you master it.

Most of these you can do even if you don’t have a bunch of land for a homestead yet.

37 Important Homesteading Skills to Learn this Winter

In the Kitchen

Bake bread- One of my big goals for last year was to learn how to bake bread. Baking your own bread can help you cut costs, monitor ingredients and just makes the house smell yummy! You can read the post here on how I did it and what recipe was the best —> Simple Bread Recipes and How They Compare.

Ferment food- Learning how to ferment food is something I haven’t done yet, so I can’t offer any advice. Making things like sauerkraut, fermented pickles, and sourdough products is a great skill to learn for health and self sufficiency. Check out this post from Attainable Sustainable for more information —> Fermented Food: 50+ Recipes to Get You Started

Make butter- Homemade butter is pretty easy to make, either with a mixer or just in a jar. Check out this tutorial from Living Well Spending Less —> How to Make Butter in a Stand Mixer.

Make cheese- Homemade cheese is a little more complicated than butter, but it is a great skill to know. Check out this mozzarella tutorial from Hapa Nom Nom —> Homemade Mozzarella

Make yogurt- If you have an Instant Pot, making yogurt is easy! Check out this tutorial from Whole Natural Life —> Instant Pot Yogurt.

Make homemade vanilla extract- Homemade vanilla extract is easy and oh so yummy! Check out this tutorial from Tasty Yummies —> How To Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

Try cooking some new meals- Winter is a great time to try out some new soup recipes. If you have an Instant Pot, this post is for you —> 50 Instant Pot Soup Recipes.

Make bone broth- Bone broth is so healthy for you and is easy to make. Check out this tutorial from Whole New Mom —> How to Make Homemade Bone Broth

Make jams and jellies- We usually think of making these in the fall, but if you have berries in your freezer, winter is a great time to learn how to make jams and jellies. Check out this tutorial from Community Table —> 17 Small Batch Jam Recipes

Prepare the Garden

Plan your garden- This is one of my favorite winter activities. Planning for spring/summer is so fun and gives you so much hope for the future. You can check out this post for how we planned last year’s garden —> A Garden Design to Accomplish Our Homesteading Goals

Order seed catalogs/seeds- Seed catalogs are like a breath of fresh air in a long winter. Once you plan your garden, you’ll want to look through catalogs or online to see which varieties you want to plan and then order your seeds. In this post we discuss seed catalogs and why we still need them —> Seed Catalogs: Do You Need Them?

Start seeds indoors- Once you get those seeds in the mail (or if you have some left from last year), it is time to start those seeds indoors. Tomatoes and peppers are the best candidates for starting indoors so that they have time to get big before spring. In this post, I give some tips for seed starting —> Seed Starting for an Abundant Harvest.

Start a small compost pile- Now you may not think about composting in the winter time because of the cool weather. But if you haven’t composted before, it may be a great time to get into the habit. Just put a small trash can (with a lid) in your kitchen or just outside your back door. Then practice putting in scraps after each meal so you can build up your pile. In this post, we tell you how to start a compost pile and the do’s and don’ts of composting —> Compost Household Scraps into Nutrient Rich Soil

Emergency Preparedness

Canning Your Food- Do you have food in the freezer that still needs to be canned from the harvest? Winter is a great time to do this because you aren’t as busy as you are in the fall. In this post, we discuss canning methods and tips to make your canning a success —> Food Preservation Series #2: Canning Your Food.

Learn gun safety/target practice- Do you own a gun? The winter might be a great time to practice gun safety, cleaning your gun or going target shooting. Check out this post by Survival Life —> Shooting Fundamentals

Knot tying- Not just for boy scouts, knots can come in handy in a survival situation. Check out this post from Thrifty Outdoorsman —> Top Knots Every Outdoorsman Should Know.

72 hour kit- In an emergency situation, a 72 hour kit is essential. Check out this post from Simple Family Preparedness —> How to Make 72 Hour Kits to Get Your Family Prepared for Emergencies.

Food storage- Winter is a great time to organize and buy your food storage. This post will help you get ideas on how to get started —> Food Storage Tips To Get You Prepared.

Basic first aid & CPR- The winter time is a great time to take a first aid & CPR class. Check out this post from Beyond the Tent —> Wilderness First Aid Basics: Surviving Injuries in the Outdoors.

Handmade Skills

Make soap- Homemade soap making is a skill that may take some time, but there are so many varieties you can make. Check out this tutorial from DIY Projects —> 15 Simple Homemade Soap Recipes for Beginners.

Make candles- Making homemade candles is one of those things that isn’t as hard as it looks. This post will help you get started with homemade beeswax candles —> The Newbie Guide to Making Homemade Candles.

Sewing- Sewing is an essential homesteading skill. Whether you are mending clothes or making larger items, sewing can save you alot of money. Check out this post for easy sewing projects from Cool DIY Ideas —> 15 Easy DIY Sewing Projects for Beginners.

Homemade beauty products- Many of the beauty products you can make at home are so much better for you (and cheaper) than what you can buy at the store. Check out this post for some ideas from The Country Chic Cottage —> Handmade Beauty: Make Your Own Beauty Products.

Knitting & crocheting- Do you need something to do with your hands while you are watching tv? Knitting and crocheting might just do the trick! Check out this beginner knitting tutorial from Faithful Provisions —> How to Knit: Get Started Knitting.

Quilting- What better way to keep your family warm and cozy than by a large quilt you made yourself? Check out this beginners quilting tutorial from The Gracious Wife —> Quilting for Beginners: 5 Part Series.

Cleaning & Organization

Sharpen tools- Keeping you tools in good working order is important. Check out this post from Popular Woodworking Magazine —> 16 Tips for Sharpening

Homemade cleaning products- There are so many chemicals in cleaning products from the store. It is healthier for your home and family to make them yourself. In this post, we give you some recipes to get started —>The Ultimate Guide to Homemade All-Natural Cleaning Recipes.

Organize your pantry- Getting your pantry organized can help you from having food go bad that you would have eaten if you knew it was there. Check out this post from Decorating Your Small Space —> The 14 Organizing Tips that Will Make Over Your Pantry.

Declutter your house- Many people have New Year’s resolutions to declutter their house. If you feel like that would help you and your family, check out this tutorial from Setting My Intention —> 10 Lessons Learned after a Year of Decluttering.

Make laundry detergent- Homemade laundry detergent doesn’t have the chemicals a store bought detergent has and is cheaper too. Check out this tutorial from Love and Laundry —> Premium Homemade Laundry Detergent.

Around the House

Carpentry- Do you need some new furniture in your house but don’t have the money to buy it? Learning basic carpentry skills can save you tons of money and can give you a great sense of accomplishment when you complete a project. Check out this tutorial from Pioneer Settler —> Basic Carpentry Skills Guide for Homesteaders.

Home remodeling/painting- Do you have home repair or decorating projects that you need to do? Check out this post about painting tips from Popular Mechanics —> 14 Painting Secrets the Pros Won’t Tell You.

Relax

These last 5 aren’t things we need to learn, but rather things we can do to enjoy the winter and slower pace of life.

Read a book- I love to read books in the winter. From the Little House on the Prairie series to homesteading books like Welcome to the Farm. Reading by the fire with some hot cocoa is the best way to spend a cold afternoon.

Watch a good documentary- I love to learn from others, and documentaries are a great way to do this. Check out this great list of homesteading documentaries you can watch on Netflix or Amazon this winter —> 49 Best Homesteading Documentaries for Streaming at Home

Catch up on a tv show- You might not have time to watch your favorite show in the summertime, so now is a perfect time to catch up. If you don’t have a dish or cable, here are some great ideas —> 13 Alternatives to TV for Great Entertainment at Home.

Take a long bath– Spoil yourself a little with a long bath and some candles. Soften that dry winter skin and relax.

Visit with a friend- Do you feel like you have been so busy on the homestead that you haven’t had a night out with friends in forever? Winter is a great time for catching up with our friends (and family). Those relationships are important and we don’t want to lose them.

Well, that’s it! Does that help you get to thinking of things you can accomplish this winter? I hope so.

What things are you doing this winter? Let us know in the comments below. And if you found this post helpful, please share. Thanks!

Looking Towards the Future: Our Goals for 2018

by Julie Gropp

I love to set goals. I really geek out on making new year’s resolutions and plans for the new year.

In this post, we discussed the things that went right and wrong for our homestead in 2017.

It definitely was a busy and sometimes frustrating year.

We accomplished some goals such as starting beekeeping and increasing our garden size.

We also had several setbacks, such as predators eating chickens, late freeze on the orchard and our beehive being knocked over by an animal.

So the new year is a time to start over and access what we want to accomplish for the next 12 months.

Here is what we came up with:

Our Goals for Homesteading in 2018:

Gardening

We would like to increase the overall size of the garden and the number of varieties of plants we are growing.
We would like to build a separate raised bed area for a salsa garden (tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro, etc).
We would like to be successful in starting heirloom variety tomatoes from seed (in the past they haven’t gotten big enough to plant in time).

Animals

We will replace the beehive we lost and add another hive for a total of 2 beehives.
We would like to raise 52 meat chickens (one a week for a year) without all of the problems we had this year.
We would like to begin breeding our meat rabbits and keep them on a regular breeding schedule.

Homemaking

I would like to learn how to make a blue jean quilt and complete the quilt in one year (I tend to leave these kind of projects half done).
I would like to learn how to make homemade candles (probably beeswax or soy).
I would like to learn how to make several different kinds of soaps.

Health

We would like to get back to a real food diet. We have relaxed in our eating habits at the end of this year.
I would like to lose 50 lbs over the year (less than one pound a week).
I would like to atleast exercise 4 days a week.

Food Preservation

We need to increase the number of foods we are preserving.
I would like to learn how to braid and store the garlic we planted this fall.
I would like to find new recipes for canning to shake things up a bit.

Emergency Preparedness

We need to buy more large containers for water storage.
We would like to get 6 months complete food storage ready.
We would like to have a successful hunting trip (preferably elk) and have me and my youngest son get our hunter safety certification.

I don’t anticipate we will have any big changes in our homestead next year. Mostly, we plan on perfecting and building on the systems we already have in place. More efficiency and production will be the main goals in the new year. We have space and the ability to grow with what we have, so let’s get it done!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Click here to see our homesteading goals for 2018 and how we can help set your goals as well.” quote=”Click here to see our homesteading goals for 2018 and how we can help set your goals as well.”]

When you look at the new year ahead, have you set any big goals? Experts say that by writing down your goals, you are more likely to achieve them. So I encourage you to look at the big topics I have listed above and try to set some goals for next year. No matter where you live, you can live within the homesteading ideals and move forward.

Do you have any big plans for your homestead next year? We would love to hear about them in the comments below. Thanks!

« Previous Page

Homesteading

Winter

Things I love about winter:

How to prepare for winter:

Spring

Things I love about spring:

How to prepare for spring:

Summer

Things I love about summer:

How to prepare for summer:

Fall

Things I love about fall:

How to prepare for fall:

13 Alternatives to TV for Great Entertainment at Home:

Streaming Services for On Demand Shows & Movies:

Streaming Services for Live TV:

Devices to Make Streaming Easier for Multiple Subscriptions:

Cheap or Free Movie Options:

Free TV options:

37 Important Homesteading Skills to Learn this Winter

In the Kitchen

Prepare the Garden

Emergency Preparedness

Handmade Skills

Cleaning & Organization

Around the House

Relax

These are my top 20 favorite homesteading blogs of 2018:

Our Goals for Homesteading in 2018:

Gardening

Animals

Homemaking

Health

Food Preservation

Emergency Preparedness

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