Building My Scrap Wood Pile — Why I’m Doing It Myself Out on the right side of my property, tucked between two medium-sized trees, there’s a pile slowly growing — not of junk, but of …
Homestead Life
Rooted in Grit, Grown with Grace
Let’s be real — homesteading isn’t all sunshine and mason jars.
It’s sore backs, dirt under your nails, and a list of projects that never ends. But it’s also the pride that comes from doing it yourself, growing your own food, and finding beauty in the simple things.
This is where I share real homestead life — the wins, the fails, the “what was I thinking?” moments, and the quiet victories that make it all worth it.
Showing: 13 - 24 of 51 Articles
Where to Get Free Lumber for Your Homestead (Save Money on Scrap Wood)
Where to Get Free Lumber for Your Homestead When you’re running a homestead, lumber is one of those things you never seem to have enough of. Between fencing, small sheds, raised garden beds, or just …
Front Yard Frog Pond Sanctuary: Budget Build for Wildlife
My Front Yard Frog Pond Sanctuary When you live five minutes from the Tennessee River, you don’t have to go looking for wildlife — it finds you. Frogs, birds, hummingbirds, insects… they all show up …
Mapping the Free Gold of Bulk Dump Season
Every neighborhood has its seasons, and if you pay attention, you’ll notice patterns. Spring clean-up days, college move-outs, estate sales — they all add up to piles of free stuff sitting on curbs. Furniture, tools, …
Growing Food in Trash: Mushrooms, Microgreens & Worm Farms
Food prices keep climbing, but growing food doesn’t have to mean raised beds and acres of land. Sometimes, the best food grows right out of the trash. It’s cheap, it’s unconventional, and it turns waste …
Modern Bartering: How I Trade My Skills for Real Supplies
Cash is tight. That’s reality. But skills? Skills are everywhere — and they’re worth more than cash in the right hands. Modern bartering is alive and well, it just looks different now. I’ve traded digital …
Where Factories Hide Their Freebies: End-of-Line Pickups Explained
End-of-Line Industry Pickups Factories are efficiency machines, but when things go wrong, waste piles up. Misprinted labels, dented cans, off-size packaging — all perfectly fine on the inside, but worthless to a store shelf. So …
Salvage on Steroids: How to Score Returns & Damaged Stock for Pennies
Here’s a secret the big stores don’t want you to know: they don’t trash all those returns and damaged goods. They pay companies to haul them away. It’s called reverse logistics — and if you’ve …
The Secret Season When Stores Practically Give Stuff Away
Everybody loves a good sale, but let’s be real — sales aren’t where the real savings live anymore. Stores play games with “discounts” and half the time you’re paying the same price as last week. …
Fingers Crossed for the GMC: How Free Lumber Fuels My Homestead
Fingers Crossed for the GMC: Chasing Free Lumber and Freedom You know what feels like real freedom? Not a fancy vacation, not some new shiny car — just the thought of getting my old 2003 …
When Promises Fall Flat: The Ugly Truth About Depending on Someone to Fix Your Home
When Promises Fall Flat: The Ugly Truth About Depending on Someone to Fix Your Home Let me tell you something that’ll drive you crazy faster than a busted water pipe: relying on somebody else to …
When Projects Pile Up: The Honest Truth About DIY Overwhelm
When Projects Pile Up: The Honest Truth About DIY Overwhelm If you’ve ever started a project on your homestead—or hell, even just around the house—you know how quickly one job turns into ten. You pull …