A guide to buying silver and gold
By Thomas M. Buckley
Photos By Steve Lindh
Issue #126 • November/December, 2010
The standard measure of weight used for precious metals is the troy ounce. A troy ounce (31.1 grams) is just a bit heavier than...
Tips and handy hints for 4X4 living
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Tips and handy hints
for 4X4 living
By Jackie Clay
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By Jackie Clay
Where Jackie lives, a 4x4 is essential
Issue #71 • September/October, 2001
After spending more than 35 years living in homesteads that were so out of the...
Nursing: A perfect backwoods career
By John McLane, RN
Issue #88 • July/August, 2004
For many of us, a job in the traditional economy is crucial to being able to maintain our chosen lifestyle. Others who are pondering a move out...
Essential oils
By Joseph Alton, M.D. and Amy Alton, A.R.N.P.
Issue #135 • May/June, 2012
As a medical doctor/registered nurse practitioner team, we received conventional medical training at university hospitals while getting our degrees. Since that time, however,...
Moving on: A small town can be a haven during a depression
By Claire Wolfe
Website Exclusive • September, 2010
One day last summer, I departed Last-Chance Gulch and the high desert, a U-Haul trailer bobbing behind. I aimed for my beloved Pacific Northwest where a friend had...
Stashing Junk Silver for Bad Times
By John Silveira
Issue #131 • September/October, 2011
This is a pile containing $100 face value of pre-1965 "junk silver" coins, but it could represent 400 gallons of gasoline or 400 loaves of bread.
When I was...
Cold process goat milk soap
By Michele Cooper
Issue #171 • May/June, 2018
Making soap can seem scary to some people, but the truth is, it only takes a few steps.
Tools & equipment
The equipment you use to make soap needs to...
Making apple pectin
By Kristina Seleshanko
Issue #167 • September/October, 2017
One day, as I walked past an apple tree that was naturally thinning its fruit by dropping tiny, baby apples, I thought, “I wish there was something useful...
Based on years of personal experience, here are 10 good tips for homeschooling your...
By Mary Jo Bratton
Issue #41 • September/October, 1996
Are you considering homeschooling your children, but don't know where to start? The following 10 tips will help answer some of your questions.
Read, read, read
But don't read...
Space heater safety tips
By Tom Kovach
Issue #90 • November/December, 2004
If you are going to try to take the chill out of your home without turning on your main sources of heat, or if you want to add...
Avoiding heat illness
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Avoiding heat illness
By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S.
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By Dr. Gary F. Arnet
Drink early and often to avoid dehydration. The body normally needs two to three quarts of water per day, but this can increase to...
Swedish log candle
By Nick Weston
Issue #138 • November/December, 2012
At my Hunter-Gatherer school, we are constantly experimenting with different methods of outdoor cookery, from underground ovens (umu or hangi) to smoke roast tipis and run-of-the-mill fire pits....
Water: a safe supply when you’re off the grid
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #71 • September/October, 2001
That remote mountain property seemed like a steal until you found out you could not drill a well. Four years ago we were approached by a...
Power your bug-out bag
By Jeff Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #160 • July/August, 2016
More and more people are starting to see the advantage of having a bug-out bag for each member of their family. Normally these bags are kept...
There’s no such thing as free land!
(But if you're smart, you can get it cheap)
By Setanta O'Ceillaigh
Issue #165 • May/June, 2017
I have been a homeowner since I was 18 years old and I still continually shop for land opportunities in...
You could furnish an entire homestead at Lehman’s ‘Non-electric’ Hardware Store
By Don Fallick
Issue #47 • September/October, 1997
Let me state my bias right at the beginning: Lehmans Hardware has been advertising in Backwoods Home Magazine for a long time, but I made my first purchase...