2018 Home & Garden Tour Part 2: Our ¼-Acre Rancher


This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouseIf you’ve been following us along for a while, you probably already know that we recently moved from our original house and homestead to our brand spankin’ new one! It’s super exciting for us because this is the first house we’ve actually bought and owned. And it’s also the first place Ryan and I have ever lived together that was completely empty when we moved in.

In the past we’ve always rented places that were full of furniture and other people’s items. Our last house (which I take you on a tour of here) was a 100-year-old farmhouse that had never been home to anyone outside of the family who originally built it. Built in 1914, it was passed down through the generations and accumulated literal tons of stuff over the decades: heavy old vintage furniture and decor pieces, old books and magazines and tools and Mason jars and all sorts of other things already filled the house when we moved in 3 years ago.

Before that, we lived in our suburban condo on the outskirts of Vancouver: a condo that we rented from my family when my grandmother moved out and into a home. And so that house, too, was already full of dining room sets and buffets, desks and side tables, clocks and dressers and bags and bags of stuff my grandma had seemingly bought, stored away and forgot about. (Plus a massive jewelry box full of Shopping Channel jewelry… I’m sure I’m not the only one with a grandma who had one of those;)

And before that we lived in Australia together, first on our friends’ couch, then in a tent, then in a more permanent tent on a concrete slab, then in a cockroach-infested double wide trailer, and finally in an old Victorian rooming house with about 4 or 5 other people.

Oh, and did I mention that we used to live in Vancouver where a basic single family home on a tiny plot of land costs upwards of a million dollars?

So ya, we were pretty stoked to get this place! Houses are still not cheap where we live, but they’re much cheaper than the city. And we’re making it work by converting our garage into a coach house to rent out.

 

The Grand Tour

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

This was the original photo on the listing for this house. See that big ol’ fenced garden in the front? It was love at first sight:)

The entire process, from making an offer on the house to actually moving in, took roughly 6 or 7 months. And we still have a lot of work to do on the place (right now the push is on to get the coach house done and get a renter in before Christmas). But we managed to renovate the interior from top to bottom, luckily because Ryan works as a manager for a building supply store and is incredibly handy, so we were able to renovate for about a quarter of the price it would normally cost.

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

This is the garage we’re converting into a coach house. It will serve as a rental suite to help us supplement our mortgage payments. As homesteaders, we’re always thinking about how our property can help provide for us!

The land itself needs some work. But that’s gonna need to wait until spring. The bones are good though, and although we are moving from a one-acre property to a ¼-acre plot of land, our new, smaller space actually has a lot more garden potential than the last place which was mostly lawn (which we didn’t exactly have the authority to tear up).

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

A view of the backyard. A greenhouse adds to the ample outdoor garden space at the front of the house.

The garden space was a huge selling point for us -especially for me- when we were looking at places. There’s a massive fenced garden in the front of the house where we get the most sun (and the most deer, hence the fencing).

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

There’s also a big established greenhouse with a giant raised bed in the backyard, plus lots of spaces around the house and property where we plan to grow our herbs, rhubarb, berries, flowers and other things of that nature.

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

We’ve got three huge rhubarb plants already as well as blackberries, red currants and a few different types of herbs. Plus an established hazelnut tree that we just recently discovered!

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

We also have a tool shed -which is an absolute necessity for Ryan- a lean-to which will act as our garden/potting shed and space outback to build another shed to house our seasonal items like outdoor cushions, summer toys, sleds and wagons.

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

Beside the tool shed, Ryan built a rabbit pen for our pet rabbit, whom we may or may not breed for meat rabbits in the future, depending on various factors.

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

This big boy’s our pet though. We adopted him from a shelter that took him in when he was abandoned in a cage outside of the hospital in our old hometown. I have a slight(ly intense) Alice in Wonderland obsession, so when I saw a giant white rabbit up for adoption a few years ago, I just had to.

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

We also have two lovely indoor kitties. And one day when we have our forever property, we’ll have lots of barn cats and I will eventually become a crazy cat, chicken, goat, rabbit and duck lady. But for now I’m just going to work on our gardens on this little ¼-acre plot:)

Now for the inside of the house…

 

Come On In!

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

The house is a 3-bedroom rancher, not much bigger than the condo where we lived in the city. This is ironic since I used to say that I loved our condo so much that if I could have picked it up and put it on a piece of land in the country, I would have happily lived there for years to come.

We also have a two-year-old daughter, Evelyn, and did have another baby on the way. Phoenix was due to be born just a couple weeks from now, but we lost him back in June. It’s been hard to look at the third bedroom knowing it was meant for him. One day it will belong to another little babe that we’ll welcome into our lives when the time is right. 

But my point to bringing up our children, is that I absolutely love that it’s a small rancher because I don’t have to put up baby gates or worry about stairs, and it takes way less time to clean up the kid-made mess at the end of the day.

So just like the gardens, the bones of the house itself were just what we were looking for. Basically, we lucked out big time. Oh ya, and the best part is that it’s on a cul-de-sac at the end of a no-thru road that backs onto a forest. Our old place was right on the busiest highway between the two nearest towns, so we are beyond grateful to be enjoying the peace and quiet at our new place.

But not everything was awesome right from the get-go. The interior needed some serious work to get it to where we wanted it to be. 

We took out a bathroom, removed part of a wall, re-floored and re-painted the entire place, redid the kitchen from top to bottom, shiplapped the master bedroom, built a custom built-in theatre system in our living room and took out the massive fireplace that took up what felt like ¼ of the living room (we’ll soon be putting in a wood stove I scored for FREE off of a local buy and sell page!) 

Here are some before and after photos of the inside…

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

The kitchen was one of the nicest areas of the house. The doors and cabinets were solid pine and the general layout of the kitchen was great for folks like me who do a lot of cooking, preserving and prep work in the kitchen. The skylight, sliding glass door and window over the kitchen sink make this a naturally bright space in the house.

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouseIn the end we decided to overhaul the kitchen and dining room anyway. We went with all white cabinets and countertops, white subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a new stainless steel farm sink, replaced the light fixtures and painted the walls a subtle sage green colour.This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouseThis is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouseThis is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

As I write this, Ryan is installing the hardware on our cabinets: black rod iron handles to match our black rod iron look faucet (which looks amazing with our farm sink if I do say so myself;)

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

I’m so excited to finally have a window over the kitchen sink! I spend enough time here doing dishes that a window is a major bonus, and one I’ve never had before. It’s the simple things in life:)

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouseThe fireplace that was here was large and intrusive. It took up a good portion of the already small living room. This was one of the first things to go when we bought the place. We have yet to put in our new wood stove, but I can’t wait to heat our house with wood this winter!

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouseRyan built this floor-to-ceiling built-in home entertainment unit for us. The corner beside it is where that old fireplace was. The tile and wood stove is going in soon!This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouseThis space apparently used to be a garage that the previous owners had closed in. It was total bonus space, but it was pretty segregated from the rest of the house and would have just ended up being a magnet for storage and clutter. So we opened up the wall between this room and the living room and turned it into an office for me. Now I have an awesome space to work on my blog without interruption!This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

Lol. Just kidding. It’s just one more space for my child to drive me crazy while I’m trying to get work done:)

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouseYou can see the doorway we cut to connect the living room to the new office space in the background. There’s much more of a flow in the house now that the rooms aren’t so cut off from each other.

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouseAfter doing laundry in a spidery basement for the past 3 years (and sharing a laundry room before that) I was over-the-moon about having an actual laundry room in this house. I figured I might even enjoy doing laundry now!

So far that has not proven to be true. But I do enjoy it a heck of a lot more than I used to.

That extra bathroom in the corner though? That had to go. We only need one bathroom, but we have definitely learned we need more storage space. So we pulled out that bathroom and put in storage shelves and a laundry sink. This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse
It’s a bit of a mess at the moment. But it’s a great place to store all of my canning jars as well as our canners and dehydrator.

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

The bedrooms are pretty basic. This first pic is of the master bedroom, and trust me, there was nothing special about it! But we made it more inviting by redoing the floors, painting the walls dark grey, installing white shiplap on the back wall and putting in soft mood lighting. Ryan says it’s like a cozy cave now. I agree:)

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

Yes, that’s my child watching Peppa Pig in our bed while I take photos. Otherwise said photos would have just been picture of toys spread all over the house. All the mamas out there, you know what I’m talkin’ about.

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

This bedroom (which is now Evelyn’s room) had perhaps the ugliest carpet I have ever seen. But we took care of that too:)This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

There is literally always a tea party happening in here.This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

There were no closet doors on any of the bedroom closets either, so we added mirrored doors to make the rooms look bigger. This last bedroom was intended for our son. It will one day fulfill its purpose as a nursery.This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

For now it’s just a spare room for storage and such.

 

Y’all Come Back Now!

This is our 1/4-acre property that we're turning into a homestead and real modern farmhouse. Come along fora home & garden tour and watch the transformation! #hometour #farmhousetour #homesteading #modernfarmhouse

So that’s pretty much the tour of the whole house (save for the bathroom, which is pretty standard too and which we never bothered renovating because we were using it to shower while living in the old house without a shower. Read more about that in Part 1 of this post).

Next year we plan to go hard on the gardens and outdoor area, but for now we’re busy with finishing touches, with getting the coach house up and running and with finishing renovations on the old place. As well as getting rid of about half of everything we own so we can fit comfortably in this house without all of the unnecessary clutter!

I’m so honoured to have had the opportunity to open my doors to you at last, and to share in the next leg of our journey with you. 

While this isn’t intended to be our forever home, it suits us just fine right now and I’m very excited to turn it into a small but mighty functioning homestead over the coming years. And I’m even more excited to share the transformation with you every step of the way.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

The House & Homestead

 

 

 


CATEGORIES
HOMESTEADING
REAL FOOD
NATURAL LIVING

3 Comments

  1. Lynda Lu Gibb

    I have been blessed watching the changes you have experienced while living in our “back yard”.Although I am very happy for you and your family to have your first home , watching your excitement , and disappointments along the way as well, it selfishly saddens me that we won’t be on the frontlines anymore.. I hope we will be able to stay connected and I think we will.. but it just won’t be the same..Enjoy this “season’ OF YOUR LIVES..as you already have stated firsts only happen once!

    Reply
  2. Gretchen

    Anna, I am happy for your new home! Wishing you all the wonderful blessings of a home of your own.
    I am in the last weeks of a three+ year renovation/restoration of a 1910 2700 sq. ft. farmhouse. The house was originally built w/no indoor bathroom… but it did come with a three-seater outhouse ?

    Reply
    • Anna Sakawsky

      Oh wow! Congratulations on being almost finished! The old place we lived in also was built without indoor plumbing and they added a bathroom on later on. The brick chimney in the kitchen was the original chimney but they built an addition to accommodate the bathroom, hence why it’s now indoors. It really was a funky house, but we’re super excited to own our own place now and have total control over what we do with it:)

      Reply

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ABOUT ANNA
Hi! I’m Anna, and I’m a city girl turned modern homesteader who’s passionate about growing, cooking and preserving real food at home, creating my own herbal medicine and all-natural home and body care products, and working toward a simpler, more sustainable and self-sufficient life each and every day. 
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Using an automatic chicken door has been a GAME CHANGER for us. It’s one of those lesser known homestead tools that can make all the difference, and I’m always recommending one to anyone who keeps chickens!

This chicken door from @chickcozy_ is so easy to install and use too, and right now you can get one for a steal during their Black Friday sale!

Save over $40 off an automatic chicken door, plus use my coupon code for an ADDITIONAL DISCOUNT!

Don’t forget to check out their chicken coop heaters too, which are also on sale right now:)

Whether you’re shopping for yourself or looking for the perfect gift for the chicken lover who has everything (which might also be yourself;) the @chickcozy_ automatic chicken door is one Christmas gift that won’t soon be forgotten!

Comment “Chicken” below for more info and to get my exclusive coupon code! 🐓

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Yes, you read that right…

Modern Homesteading Magazine is coming to an end.

This decision has not come easily, but there’s a season for everything, and more and more I’m feeling called to transition out of this season and into the next in both life and business.

And so this final farewell issue is bittersweet. On the one hand, it’s the first ever annual issue, with 100 pages packed with brand new content that celebrates the best of the past 32 issues!

And it’s the first issue I’ve ever offered in PRINT!

But on the other hand, it marks the end of an era, and of this publication that I’ve absolutely had the pleasure of creating and sharing with you.

If you’re a digital subscriber, you will not be charged a renewal fee going forward, and will continue to have access to the digital library until your subscription runs out. As part of your subscription, you’re able to download and/or print each issue of you like, so that you never lose access to the hundreds of articles and vast amount of information in each issue.

Rather than subscribing, you can now purchase an all-access pass for a one-time fee of just $20, which gives you access to our entire digital library of issues.

Plus, for a limited time, when you purchase an all-access pass you’ll also get a gift certificate for a second all-access pass to gift to someone else.

I’m also still taking preorders for the print version of this special edition issue, but only for a few more weeks!

When you preorder the print issue, you’ll also get a digital copy of the special edition issue (this issue only), and will receive a print copy in the mail later this year (hopefully by Christmas so long as there are no shipping delays!)

Click the link in my profile or visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com to check out the latest issue, purchase an all-access pass to the digital library and/or preorder the print issue today!

Thanks to everyone who has read the magazine over the past 4 years. I’m humbled and grateful for your support, and can’t wait to share whatever comes next:)

#modernhomesteading #homesteading #homesteadersofinstagram
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It’s easy to romanticize homesteading, but the truth is that those homegrown vegetables, those freshly laid eggs, that loaf of bread rising on the counter, and that pantry full of home-canned food takes time, effort and dedication. It doesn’t “just happen” overnight!

But if you work on learning one new skill at a time and gain confidence in it before moving onto the next, one day you’ll be looking back and marvelling at how far you’ve come.

That’s where I’m at now. Life today looks a lot different than it did 10 years ago, when our homesteading and self-reliance journey was just beginning.

Back then we still lived in our city condo and were just beginning to dabble in all of this stuff. But my husband Ryan and I felt a sense urgency to start pursuing a more self-reliant lifestyle, and we committed to taking small steps, one day at a time to make that vision a reality.

Over the years we’ve continued to put one foot in front of the other, adding new skills and tackling new projects along the way that have helped us get to where we are today.

While there’s always more we want to learn and do, as I look around me right now, I’m so grateful that we took those first steps, especially considering what’s happened in the world over the past few years!

If you’re also feeling the urgency to take the first (or next) steps toward a more self-reliant life, this is your final reminder that today is the last day to join The Society of Self-Reliance and start levelling up your homesteading and self-sufficiency skills so that you’ve got what it takes to:

• Grow your own groceries
• Stock your pantry
• Create a natural home
• Get prepared
• Learn other important life skills like time management for homesteaders, goal setting and how to become your own handyman

And more!

If you’ve been feeling called to level up your self-reliance skills (because let’s be honest, we’re in for a wild ride these next few years with everything going on in the world), now is the time to heed that call.

Link in profile to enroll before midnight tonight, or go to thehouseandhomestead.com/society

#homesteading #selfreliance #selfsufficiency #homesteadingskills #preparedness
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195 5

There are so many reasons to grow your own food at home:

💰 Saves you money at the grocery store
🍴 Healthier than conventionally grown food
🔑 increases your overall food security
🫙 Gives you an abundance to preserve and share

But perhaps the number one reason is because it just tastes better!

Not only does food taste better when it’s freshly picked or allowed to ripen on the vine, there’s something about putting in the work to grow something from a tiny seed and then getting to see it on your dinner plate that just makes it so much more satisfying than anything you’ll ever buy from the store.

Plus, having to wait all year for fresh tomatoes or strawberries or zucchinis to be in season makes that short period when they’re available just that much more exciting!

With the world spinning out of control and food prices continuing to rise, it’s no wonder more people are taking an interest in learning to grow their own food at home. But that also means changing our relationship with food and learning to appreciate the work that goes into producing it and the natural seasonality of organically grown fruits and vegetables.

(It also means learning to preserve it so you can make the most of it and enjoy homegrown food all year long).

In my online membership program, The Society of Self-Reliance, you’ll learn how to grow your own food, from seed to harvest, as well as how to preserve it so you can enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor all year long!

You’ll also learn how to grow and craft your own herbal medicine, detox your home, become your own handyman, and so much more (because self-reliance is about more than just the food that we eat… But that’s a pretty good place to start!)

The doors to the Society are now open for a limited time only. Click the link in my profile or go to thehouseandhomestead.com/society to learn more.

#foodsecurity #homegrownfood #homesteading #selfreliance #selfsufficiency #homegrownfoodjusttastesbetter
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84 0

If you’ve been watching events unfold over the past few years and you’re feeling called to start “cutting ties” with the system and begin reclaiming your independence, The Society of Self-Reliance was made for you!

When I first launched this online membership program last year, my goal was to create a one-stop resource where members could go to learn and practice every aspect of self-reliance, as well as a space to connect with other like-minded people pursuing the same goal. And that’s exactly what you’ll get when you join!

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn inside the Society:

🌱 Food Security and Self-Sufficiency: Learn the art of growing and preserving your own food, ensuring you and your loved ones have access to nutritious meals year-round.

🌿 Natural Living and Herbal Medicine Mastery: Discover the secrets to creating a low-tox home and and to growing, making and using herbal remedies to support your family’s health, naturally.

🔨 Essential Life Skills: Learn essential life skills like time management, effective goal setting and practical DIY skills to become more self-sufficient.

As a member, you’ll enjoy:

📚 Monthly Video Lessons: Gain access to our ever-growing library of video lessons, with fresh content added each month.

📞 Live Group Coaching Calls: Participate in our monthly live group coaching calls, where we deep dive into a different self-reliance topic every month, and do live demonstrations and Q&A’s.

🏡 Private Community: Join our private community forum where you can ask questions, share your progress, and connect with like-minded individuals.

I only open the doors to The Society once or twice each year, but right now, for one week only, you can become a member for just $20/month (or $200/year).

In today’s world, self-reliance is no longer a luxury, a “cute hobby,” it’s a necessity. Join us inside The Society of Self-Reliance and empower yourself with the skills you need to thrive in the new world!

Link in profile or visit thehouseandhomestead.com/society to learn more.

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Got out for an early morning harvest today. Been up since 3am, contemplating life, the future and the past, the order of things…

There is a rumbling right now, not just in North America, but around the world. Many of us can feel it, and know we are on the precipice of something big.

I’d been hearing about this new song that’s become an overnight viral sensation, written by an (until now) unknown singer named Oliver Anthony. His new song Rich Men North of Richmond has had 14 million views on YouTube in the past week alone, so I decided to check it out.

I also saw a clip of him playing a Farmers Market last week, and anything that has to do with Farmers Markets always has my attention;)

I can’t tell you how many tears I’ve already cried listening to that song. If you’ve heard it already, you probably know what I’m talking about, and if you haven’t, I highly recommend giving it a listen. All I can say is it’s been a while since a song resonated so deeply with me, and in this strange new world, I know I’m not the only one.

One of the lines in Anthony’s song is “Livin’ in the new world, with an old soul,” and that’s something I think so many of us in the homesteading community can relate to.

Trying to cling to better days; To a simpler time; To the old ways, all while doing our best to get by in the new world.

The world has changed drastically in the last few years especially, and it’s set to change in immense ways over the next few years. Today I’m feeling thankful for people like @oliver_anthony_music_ who give a voice to what so many are feeling right now.

Know that if you’re feeling it too, you’re far from alone. And while the future may feel uncertain and even a little scary, remember that if we stand united, we the people are a force to be reckoned with.

(Continued in comments…)
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Another garlic harvest in the books!

Garlic is easily one of my favourite crops to grow. It’s pretty much a “set if and forget it” crop. We plant in the fall and leave it to overwinter, fertilize a couple times in the spring, start watering only once the ground starts to dry out, and then harvest in the summer. We can even plant a fall succession crop after our garlic if we want so it really makes great use of garden space all year round.

Over the years we’ve managed to become completely self-sufficient with garlic. We now grow enough to eat all year (and then some!), plus we save our own seed garlic and usually have extra to sell or give away. And around here fresh, organic garlic ain’t cheap, so it’s a good cash crop for anyone who’s serious about selling it.

It took me a few years to really get the hang of garlic, but it’s one crop I’m now very confident with (knock on wood, because it’s always when we make statements like this that next year’s crop fails! Lol.)

A while back I compiled a comprehensive guide to growing, harvesting and using garlic both as an edible and medicinal crop. This is usually only available as part of a paid bundle (or in the fall 2022 issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine if you’re a subscriber;), but for a limited time I’m offering it for free, no strings attached!

Plus you’ll also get access to my step-by-step video lesson on planting garlic so you can set yourself up for success with your garlic crop this year.

Comment “Garlic” below or head to thehouseandhomestead.com/garlic-guide to get your free copy!
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#garlic #garlicharvest #homesteading #selfsufficient #selfsufficiency #selfsufficientliving #selfreliance #homegrown #groworganic #growfoodnotlawns #gardenersofinstagram #homesteadersofinstagram
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Going through photos and videos from our trip to the @modernhomesteadingconference and the vast majority are of our daughter having the time of her life!

Even if I personally got nothing else out of this gathering (which I most certainly did), watching her discover her own love of this lifestyle outside of what we do at home made my heart grow three sizes!

Homesteading is about so much more than homegrown food and self-reliance. It’s about passing on invaluable skills and an understanding of and respect for our connection to the land that provides for us to the next generation.

Being around so many other kids and families who are also pursuing a homesteading lifestyle helped show our little one that this is a movement that is so much bigger and greater than what our own family does on our little plot of land. This is a lifestyle worth pursuing, with a community unlike any other.

Glad to be back home and more excited than ever to involve my kids in everything we’re doing. But also, I think I speak for my whole family when I say we can’t wait to go back someday!
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#homesteading #modernhomesteading #raisinglittles
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If you’re simply looking for ways to save a little extra cash this summer and live well for less, here are 12 tried and tested frugal living tips for summer that you can use to save money this season without sacrificing a thing.
Head over using the link in my bio!
https://thehouseandhomestead.com/12-frugal-living-tips-summer/
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#houseandhomestead
#momentsofcalm
#pursuejoy
#simplepleasuresoflife
#thatauthenticfeeling
#findhappiness
#artofslowliving
#simplelifepleasures
#lifesimplepleasure
#simplepleasuresinlife
#thatauthenticlife
#authenticlifestyle
#liveanauthenticlife
#livinginspired
#savouringhappiness
#livemoment
#localgoodness
#simplelive
#lifeouthere
#enjoywhatyouhave
#frugallifestyle
#homesteadingmama
#offgridhomestead
#modernfarmhousekitchen
#crunchymama
#rusticfarmhouse
#farmhouseinspo
#farmhouselife
#modernhomesteading
#backyardfarmer
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A brand new issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine just dropped!

In this issue:

🌱 How to forage and use five common edible and medicinal weeds

🏠 A sustainable, affordable alternative to traditional homes, greenhouses and more

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Tips for managing a homestead while raising a family (big or small!)

🫙 What to focus on when preserving food for true food security

🌹 How to grow and arrange your own cut flowers at home

🍓 The many ways to preserve summer berries (including 5 delicious recipes!)

💇How to make your own all-natural herbal hair care products at home

🧑‍🌾 Why “community sufficiency” is the new self-sufficiency

And more!

Visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com (or click the link in my bio) to subscribe or login to the library and read the latest issue.

Plus, be sure to check out all of our past issues as well! There’s a wealth of information in our library on everything from farming and gardening to cooking and canning to herbal medicine, natural living and so much more!

*** This will be the last quarterly issue! ***

This little magazine has grown so much over the past 4 years and 32 issues, and now it’s time for another exciting evolution.

I’m excited to announce that we will be moving to an even more robust annual publication with the intention of offering the first ever print edition this fall if there is enough demand.

I’m also excited to announce the brand new Modern Homesteading Magazine blog, which is currently under construction and will be launching soon. While we will still be maintaining digital subscriptions, the blog will be accessible to all, free of charge, so that more people might benefit from the empowering and increasingly important information that we cover in each issue.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this issue happen! @homesteadingfamily @oatsandhoneyhomestead @omnivore.culture @thetaylor.leigh @doeraydesign (and more who don’t have IG pages;)

And a HUGE thank you to everyone who has subscribed over the years. Modern Homesteading Magazine would never have become what it is today without each and every one of you.

#homesteading #modernhomesteading #selfsufficiency
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If you’ve ever grown your own garlic, you might have noticed the spiral-shaped shoots that suddenly pop up in the centre of the stem, usually about a month or so before the garlic bulbs themselves are ready to be harvested.
These are garlic scapes, and believe it or not- they make delicious pesto! Get the recipe through the link in my bio- https://thehouseandhomestead.com/garlic-scape-pesto/
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#houseandhomestead
#homesteadmom
#homesteadmoments
#homesteadingskills
#homesteady
#thehomestead
#thehomesteadlife
#summeronthehomestead
#suburbanhomesteading
#lovemyfarm
#modernhomesteader
#countrygal
#country_living
#urbanhomesteading
#selfsustainableliving
#homesteaderslife
#garlic
#garlicscapes
#garlicscapespesto
#granolamom
#urbanhomesteader
#homesteadlifestyle
#farmerslifeforme
#backyardhomesteading
#homesteadingfamily
#sustainablelifestyles
#happyhomesteading
#homesteadersofamerica
#homesteaders
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This honey and chive blossom vinaigrette is a frugal, easy and healthy homemade salad dressing that pairs beautifully with fresh garden salads all season long.
Get the recipe through the link in my bio.
https://thehouseandhomestead.com/chive-blossom-vinaigrette/
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#herbalgarden
#gardenherbs
#herbsfromthegarden
#freshherbsfromthegarden
#gardenfreshherbs
#chiveblossoms
#homesteadmom
#homesteadmoments
#homesteadingskills
#homesteady
#thehomestead
#thehomesteadlife
#summeronthehomestead
#suburbanhomesteading
#lovemyfarm
#modernhomesteader
#countrygal
#country_living
#urbanhomesteading
#selfsustainableliving
#homesteaderslife
#seasonalrecipes
#eatinseason
#liveseasonally
#eattheseasons
#seasonaleats
#summersbounty
#eatseasonal
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