Learn how to use these 14 tips to plan out your homestead for your most productive and STRESS FREE homestead year. When it comes to gardening, livestock, fruit trees, preserving, cooking from scratch, and being able to afford our homestead, planning now will help things run smoothly and ensure you don't miss an important step. Plus, planning really does help you save money and time. Snag the free download planning chart, links and resources here https://melissaknorris.com/164

Learn my 3 tips for decluttering during the holidays done up homestead style so your house is organized and simplified before the busyness of growing and gardening season. The guidelines and tips I use so you don't have bags of things piling up for a some day use while still being frugal and reusing things when decluttering your home and closet. Use these tips now to help you plan out your holiday shopping, decorating, and clean up time come the first of the year. Get my exact plan and tips for a simplified and clutter free homestead and grab the full blog post and links at https://melissaknorris.com/163

These 12 baking substitutions will save you time and money and are something every homestead kitchen needs to know. Learn how to easily swap out common baking and cooking ingredients with other items in your pantry without sacrificing results. Never forsake a recipe or run to the store because you're out of an ingredient with these easy baking hacks. Grab the full article at https://melissaknorris.com/162

Learn how to choose the best flour for baking in this home baker's flour guide, the properties in regards to baking with all-purpose flour, bread and cake flour. Plus how to choose the best wheat berries and grains when making fresh ground flour at home. The difference between hard and soft wheat, red and white wheat, ancient grains Spelt and Einkorn and how each performs, so you can chose the right flour every time in your kitchen and homestead. For resources and full blog post go to https://melissaknorris.com/161

Learn these 5 secrets to creating a stress free handmade Christmas, including my free templates and downloads to help you customize your strategy and handmade gifts, including eliminating two of the biggest stress components, time and money. Grab the templates, downloads, and resources at https://melissaknorris.com/160 so you have the best handmade and homestead Christmas season yet.

Learn the biggest mistakes we've made over our decades of homesteading and how you can avoid them on your own journey. Learn not only the tactical and practical steps to avoid these costly mistakes in raising your own food and in your garden, but also the critical mindset mistakes so you can do this homesteading and self-sufficiency. For full show notes and resources go to https://melissaknorris.com/159

Learn how to grow more food by using these easy 5 fall gardening tips now to improve soil, put the garden to rest, and create a custom plan for you and your family by evaluating this year's crop and garden for next year's. Know what to look for, what to take notes on, and what to do now. Grab the links and blog post at https://melissaknorris.com/158

Use these 8 tips for seasonal living as we move into fall to help you save time and efficiently preserve the harvest customized to you and your family's needs. Learn how to put the harvest to use in your natural medicine cabinet so you have remedies on hand as we move into cold and flu season. Today's episode is brought to you by the Pioneering Today Academy.
For links & resources go to https://melissaknorris.com/157

Learn the best care and cleaning tips of your cast iron to keep that seasoning non-stick. Our favorite and must have tools for cooking with cast iron over an open fire, what you need and what's just nice to have. Plus, how to use a tripod for cooking over a wood fire with your cast iron Dutch oven and safety tips. Learn why baking with your cast iron Dutch oven outdoors is a skill everyone should learn and how to get started. For resources, links and tons of photos go to melissaknorris.com/156 Plus, check out our new e-course inside the Pioneering Today Academy Cast Iron & Dutch Oven Outdoor Cooking! 

Struggle to find the time to get homemade and wholesome meals on the table? Use these 12 time saving tips for homemade meals with real food using the best of batch and freeze cooking to make the most of your time. Plus, get our freezer & batch cooking recipe sampler for FREE with step by step instructions on how to prepare them on your batch cooking day and the cooking instructions from frozen as well as fresh (because sometimes it's so good one simply cannot wait). Use these tips with your home canned food and as you continue to preserve up the harvest for your winter meals. Grab all the resources mentioned at https://melissaknorris.com/155 

Learn the 3 main things to consider when purchasing a homestead property. Even if you're already on  your forever homestead, there's some important clues to look for that may be signaling you it's time for a change or you need to do things differently. Plus, learn some major things to consider if you're planning on purchasing a homestead or looking to move to a new piece of land. Get the resources and full blog post for this episode at https://melissaknorris.com/154

How do you now if a canning recipe is safe and what do you do when someone isn't following canning safety? How can you make sure your canning recipe is up to date? Learn what you need to know about canning safety and recipes and how to handle those who aren't practicing up to date safe practices. Get the full blog post and resource links at https://melissaknorris.com/153

In this episode learn the 6 tips to help you create a successful homestead business so you set yourself up for growth and with a strong foundation. This is Part 2 of the Making Money Homesteading Series and goes into practical but important steps to take to get your homestead business going without getting into debt and for long term growth and sustainability, including the things you should do, but also, mistakes to avoid. Grab the show notes and links at the website at https://melissaknorris.com/152

Learn how to make money homesteading with 12 ways to earn a homestead income and real cash from your farm, even if you only own a small amount of land. Melissa share's real ways they've used to earn income from their homestead as well as how family and friends take their skills and land to earn them money and how you can too. For resources and links go to https://melissaknorris.com/151

When summer heat blasts and you still need to get the harvest in without air conditioning or a pool, how do you keep a body cool? Here's how to stay cool in summer naturally without electricity using old-fashioned methods and tricks. Grab the resources and the full written post here https://melissaknorris.com/150

Learn how to decide which method of home food preservation is best for your crops based on the time and storage you have, pro's and con's of each, and two homesteaders favorite recipes and methods, plus safety tips to make sure the method you're using is the best and safest for your family. For the free recipe and full blog post go to https://melissaknorris.com/149

How to keep your house cool in summer without electricity, especially during the hot months when you need to have your canner and stove going. I share 8 old-fashioned pioneer tips that still work and don't require electricity as well as a few modern ways that are worth it to help keep the homestead cool. Explore outdoor cooking & canning options, get links, resources and full articles at https://melissaknorris.com/148

Feel pressed for time but you don't want any food to go to waste? Then put these 8 tips to come up with your customized preserving plan for a year's worth of food, including our FREE preserving plan charts you can use year after year to put your plan into place to make sure you have the items most important to your family preserved for the year. Learn which foods can be saved to preserve until later (and why I actually prefer this route) and how to determine which ones you need to get on pronto, and my work around for day jobs and not being able to do everything all in one stretch. Grab the show notes, links and resources at https://melissaknorris.com/147

Get these tips to help you save time, increase the health of your plants- healthier plants equal larger harvests, and cut back on disease. Learn my best tips for your tomatoes and my 4 tips to save time and how to deal with the plague of almost every gardener, weeds. For the resources, links and full blog post go to https://melissaknorris.com/146

Fermentation for health benefits and food preservation. Learn how the process of fermentation changes food for increased health benefits. What you need to know about storing your fermented foods, when fermented foods have gone bad, the best recipes and foods to start with and tips for getting your family and kids to enjoy and eat fermented foods. Get the resources, links and full blog post at https://melissaknorris.com/145

Everything you need to know about keeping a family milk cow, how to avoid milking twice a day, how much milk you'll get, how to use up all the milk and more. Join myself and Jill, one of the presenters in this year's 2018  Modern Homesteading Summit, make sure you go to the blog post here to snag the link to sign up for the Summit and get all the links at https://melissaknorris.com/144

Learn how one family is using solar power to live off grid in a one room cabin without running water or a refrigerator, just like the pioneer families of old, and what tips you can glean from them when it comes to food preservation and creating your dream homestead.
Full blog post at https://melissaknorris.com/143

Learn how to use these edible & medicinal weeds growing in your backyard. How to harvest, prepare and use them in multiple dishes to lower your food bill (+ recipes) plus how to use these common weeds for natural medicine treatments. You'll never look at these "weeds" again, instead turn them into delicious meals and treats. For recipe links, resources and show notes go to https://melissaknorris.com/142

Learn how use these 14 tips homestead kitchen tips to get your kid's helping in the kitchen for stress free meal times, or as close to stress free as you can get. No matter if your kids are toddlers or teenagers, these basic kitchen skills and meal prep tips will help them (or any adult) make the most of their time in the kitchen providing healthy and whole food recipes for themselves and their family. We even break down age appropriate skills for kids. For links and resources go to https://melissaknorris.com/141

Learn how to overcome challenges in the land and weather you have to grow your own food. Melissa and Laurie Neverman from Common Sense Home share 13 tips for combating extremely cold springs, high winds, excessive rain, and drought conditions so nothing stops you from growing a productive vegetable garden on your homestead, with these easy and very actionable tips you'll be growing your own food no matter what Mother Nature throws at you. 
Grab links and resources at the full blog post here https://melissaknorris.com/140

Using chickens in your garden is the perfect way to get the most use out of your livestock and your crops, but there's 13 things you need to know for the safety of your chickens and to ensure you get the fruits and vegetables, and not the chickens, or worse yet, they destroy the plants. For the all the resources and show notes go to https://melissaknorris.com/139

Learn these 12 tips that help you declutter and organize your homestead kitchen. How I've went from getting things in order and then finding it a total mess again within just a few days (or hours) to keeping it tidy. Learn how I took the wisdom from 100 years ago to make it work for the modern homestead kitchen, laundry, and cleaning so we can spend less time cleaning and doing more of those homestead projects we love with our family. Get all the tips and resources for this episode at https://melissaknorris.com/138

Grab my spring cleaning tips & hacks on how to spring clean your homestead (aka house) pioneer style. My favorite homemade cleaning recipes, room guide, and when I do purchase cleaning things from the store, my favorites. Tips and inspiration for having a sparkling house done homestead style. For show notes, recipes, and links go here melissaknorris.com/137

Learn the 5 most common myths in regards to growing a vegetable garden, but especially in regards to raising a years worth of food. I share the exact size of our vegetable garden, how much hands on time we spend in the garden, and how we manage everything in the business of harvest and growing time in the  middle of summer. 
Get the resources and links at https://melissaknorris.com/136

Learn how and why it's important to test your soil ph when looking to grow healthy plants that give you the biggest harvest (because that's what healthy plant do). Methods for soil testing, what the tests mean, which plants grow best in acidic and alkaline soil, and how to amend your soil, when you should and what you need to know to keep your soil in tip top shape (aka what mistakes to avoid) when creating the best soil you can for your pasture, garden, fruit trees and bushes. 

For full blog post and notes go to MelissaKNorris.com/135

6 natural ways to test and fertilize your garden soil now, so it's in the best shape it can be for healthier plants and larger harvests. What you need to know about soil amendments and which is best for your soil.

My favorite sources for the best deals on real food and food storage when you're not able to grow it yourself. How I shop without coupons to build our food storage up with real food items we use on a daily basis, when I can't get it from farmers market or local source. Includes full lists of each item and how you can steal my strategies to save you time and money!

Grab the lists and links at Episode #133 Best Real Food & Food Storage Deals from Unlikely Sources

Learn how to incorporate perennial plants for less hands on time food production on your homestead. What you need to know about planting perennials, their yearly care, using them for permaculture, pruning, fertilization, and how to grow them even if you don't have any acreage or yard space of your own. Plus, how to get a jump start on your home orchard and berries even if you're renting or not in your permanent home yet. Also, what you need to know about the first years of your perennial plant's life to set up for a healthy plant and bigger harvests for decades. All in today's episode, for show notes, links and resource visit 

Why you shouldn't wait for the perfect time to start your homesteading dreams and goals. How to work with what you have right now. Even if you're in the city, how to begin homesteading now and how to transition from the city to your homestead. Learn why having a community is so important and how to move past discouragement. 

Everything you need to know about starting seeds at home, when to start them for your area, which seeds to start indoors and which ones you shouldn't. Plus get our FREE seed starting blueprint and chart.

Includes 5 mistakes homesteaders and gardeners make when seed starting and how to avoid them, plus my favorite resources to use with seed starting.

Find out how to get a free packet of my families heirloom Tarheel green pole beans. All of the show notes, resources, and freebies are at Episode #130 on the website here 

Learn how to organize your kitchen once and how that will help you build up your food storage and maximize your time and money. Why an organized kitchen is vital to a well run homestead and the exact steps and criteria to make sure it's working for you and your family, because it's all about customizing things to work for us. 

Learn what happens to your body when you eat healthy and cut out sugar following a keto diet and how a keto diet follows ancestral eating patterns of eating food when it's in season and from what you can hunt, gather, forage and provide for yourself.

Learn how your genetics play into what foods work for your body. Plus all your answers from Dr. Hillary Lampers answered on going keto, if it's safe for certain diseases or conditions, and what's going to be best for you. 

Discovering what your trigger foods are and how they affect your health is life changing. You might not even realize you're having a reaction to foods and think these symptoms are normal. If you have any of these signs, you may have a food sensitivity.

I share how to find which foods are bothering your system, three ways to test, what I'm eating after finding out my results, and if the Ketogenic diet is right for you.

How I was able to heal my stomach naturally from acid reflux and ulcers and get off of prescription medications I was taking up to 6 times a day. The exact steps and process I used to bring about healing and how you can do the exact same thing. 

Learn how to make your own homemade maple syrup from tapping your own trees (and when to know conditions are right for tapping), boiling the sap to make syrup, how much sap it takes to make syrup, the health benefits of maple syrup you might not have known, and our baking guide on how to alter your current recipes to use all natural maple syrup as the sweetener.

How we determine which crops we plant each year and how to make sure we plant enough to provide us with a full year of that food. I take you step by step through our process, even if you've never grown your garden before and don't have an inventory of home preserved food to guide you.

Get my FREE harvest and garden planning inventory sheet to help you create your best garden and harvest ever with a full years worth of food.