Prepping food plans commonly call for the token beans, rice, canned goods, and dried food products you can purchase online and at the grocery store.  However, one thing that might be overlooked is a fat source to use in baked goods and for general cooking.  Many fats and oils have the tendency to go rancid,
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A few years ago, tired of the cost and potential environmental hazards of commercial laundry soap, I started making my own detergent from washing soda, borax, and Fels-Naptha bars. It wasn’t long before I started wondering about making soap from scratch. I was a little intimidated by the prospect, remembering my grandmother’s harrowing accounts of making soap. I knew that homemade soap was made from lye, a potentially irritating, volatile substance, and animal fat. Still, I thought, why not give it a try? Making homemade soup is not as hard to make as you might
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Being ready for an emergency situation that could make living in the wilderness a necessity for you and your family involves a lot of time and planning. It also involves a lot of preparation so that you’re family is able to make an assortment of homemade items that are used every day but that might
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In most desperate survival situations, you won’t have much on you. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a knife. (I’ve made it my own personal rule to always have a knife on me—nothing fancy, but at least a small folding pocket knife or Gerber multi-tool.) Assuming you don’t even have that though, acquiring tools and weapons
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Before the advent of electricity, candles and oil lamps provided light indoors and out. Candles are still valued for their soft glow, although they’re rarely used for utilitarian purposes these days. From a survivalist perspective, though, knowing how to make candles and stocking up on them is a smart strategy. If you’re without power, candles provide an economical, constant source of light. And even when there is no emergency, candles create a peaceful ambiance that no electric light can duplicate. Stock up on candle making supplies and try your hand at homemade candles. Chances are,
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No matter the season or the climate, skin can get dry and irritated. And if you are living off the grid and working with animals and soil, you also likely know all about dry cracked hands as a result of washing your hands so often. Out of habit, you may simply purchase lotion from the store to soothe and moisturize your hands, feet, legs, arms, and even your face. But just how much do you really know about the lotions that you are putting onto your skin? Even organic lotions contain ingredients that are not
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Grandmother’s jellies and jams made use of the various fruits available to her and were the perfect addition to add flavor to a cold-weather meal.  I don’t know if all grandmas serve homemade jams and jellies and bread with their dinners, but I do know that it was a welcome experience when I was growing up. When making jams and jellies, pectin is often called for. How much is needed depends on the nature of the fruit being processed.  These days, it’s very easy to reach for the store-bought pectin (regular old Sure-Jell or Ball
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If you enjoy homemade soap making, you’ll no doubt be interested in experimenting with your soap—from the oils to the molds to the colors and probably much more. Soaps will naturally turn out different colors based on different oils or additives, even the type of lye that is used. For example, whenever I’ve added honey to soap, the soap has turned a golden honey color. Other things, such as beet juice, will not affect the final color at all. Soap Colorants If you want to have a broader range and more control over the color
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If you are like many people these days, you are cutting back on unnecessary expenses. This does not mean you have to cut out all of life’s little luxuries. Many people are learning to make products at home that they once bought in the store. Gel candles are one of those items. In addition to saving money, you can also earn money selling them. Before you start ordering candle-making supplies, however, it is a good idea to explore the steps involved, and get a thorough understanding of how it works. This brief overview should get
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Storing up on supplies and learning how to become self sufficient impacts the whole family. Sometimes, this means the furry four-legged family members as well. Making your own food supplies is actually very simple, as is making your own beauty supplies. It may not seem like it because it has so many ingredients in the stores, but dog shampoo is actually very easy to make. Some people make their own pet shampoo because they want to save money, and others make it because their dogs are allergic to the components in a lot of store-bought
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