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Category: Homestead

Small Batch Canning: Saving Time, Money, and Sanity!

Small Batch Canning: Saving Time, Money, and Sanity!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had time during the garden harvest to can all day, every day? When you see super awesome deals on produce at the store, you could purchase them and can them right away when you get home?You don’t have that kind of time? Me neither.A lot of people ask how I get so much canning done when I am busy with a full-time job and kids. I have a good sized garden and we like…

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Should I Stay or Should I Go? A Prepper’s Guide to Evacuating or Staying

Should I Stay or Should I Go? A Prepper’s Guide to Evacuating or Staying

As preppers, we like to think we can live through and survive anything. We are tough. We are prepared!However, there is a reason we have and talk about bug-out bags and 72-hour kits incessantly. We want to be prepared if we should have to leave in hurry for any reason. While we want to stay in our prepper palaces, sometimes that is not feasible.What should be the criteria for staying or going in an emergency situation? Why would you leave your…

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You Have Lessons To Learn From Those That Survived The Great Depression

You Have Lessons To Learn From Those That Survived The Great Depression

The Great Depression was an era in American History that people who lived through it would remember indefinitely. They remember how hard the times were, the poverty most people suffered, and just life in general at the time. For most people who remember living through this time, the lessons stuck with them for the rest of their life.For those who experienced the worst of The Great Depression, they never forgot. They do not or did not like talking about life…

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This Kind of Life Is Not Cute or Kitschy…It’s A Lot of Work

This Kind of Life Is Not Cute or Kitschy…It’s A Lot of Work

This weekend has been busy. I am getting ready to post several pictures on Instagram about what I got done this week and I am still struck by how much work gets done around here every weekend. What strikes me, even more, is how much work there is to do everyday and weekend.I choose this life. I wasn’t delusional about what it would entail. Being a prepper is work. Being a homesteader is work. Being self-reliant is work. Being frugal…

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The Best Way To Freeze Zucchini (And What To Do With It Afterwards!)

The Best Way To Freeze Zucchini (And What To Do With It Afterwards!)

Zucchini is one of those rare garden plants. Almost anyone can grow it! Zucchini is also (normally) very prolific meaning that it will produce very well for weeks if not months. We love here at Living Life in Rural Iowa so I like to put it up for use in the winter.You can use zucchini in place of cucumber in relishes and pickles to preserve and use up the bounty. We like to eat it straight from the garden on…

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10 Ways to Battle The Biting Insects and Mosquitoes No Matter Where You Live

10 Ways to Battle The Biting Insects and Mosquitoes No Matter Where You Live

Insects can be so beneficial and so annoying. They can help with insect control and eat mites. They can also bite you in places you never thought they could get to. Where I live we deal with the biting flies, the no see ums (sandflies), and mosquitoes. Usually, we need to have unusually wet weather to see a lot of bugs, but not always. When they decide to hatch and feed, they become atrocious! How should you deal with biting insects? You…

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