Olivia Brooks

  When I got my first three hens, I thought egg storage would be the easiest part of keeping chickens. Collect the eggs, put them in a carton, done. It took about two weeks of a counter covered in unmarked eggs and one uncomfortably close call with a floater that had clearly been sitting around too long before I realized I needed an actual system. Now, a few years and a few dozen more hens later, I have a routine that works, wastes almost nothing, and gets me through the slow winter months when production drops. Here is exactly how I do it. It Starts With Not Washing Them The single biggest shift in how I handle eggs happened when I stopped washing them the moment they came out of the nesting box. A fresh egg comes with a natural protective coating called the bloom, or cuticle, that seals the thousands of tiny pores in the shell. That coating is what allows a fresh egg to sit safely at room temperature in the first place. Once you wash it off, that protection is gone for good, ...

  I want to talk about something that does not come up nearly enough in homesteading conversations, not in the books, not in the YouTube channels, and honestly not even much in the forums where people are otherwise pretty candid about the hard parts. Physical fitness. Not in the gym sense. In the survival fit sense. Not in the "how many miles can you run" sense. I mean the very specific, unglamorous kind of fitness that determines whether you can actually do this work day after day without breaking down. Whether your back holds up through a full season of planting and harvesting. Whether your hands can keep going in November when there is still firewood to stack and the last of the root cellar to organize. Whether you bounce back from a hard week instead of spending the next one recovering. I learned this the hard way in my first real year of serious homesteading. I was not unfit by any normal standard. I walked, I did some yoga, I was not sedentary. But I was not prep...

  When I first started seriously thinking about expanding our homestead beyond chickens and a kitchen garden, cows came up almost immediately. Of course they did. Cows are the quintessential homestead animal. Milk, butter, cheese, cream, beef, leather, and a connection to agricultural tradition that goes back ten thousand years. On paper, adding a cow or two seemed like the logical next step. Then I started talking to other homesteaders. And reading forums. And watching YouTube channels run by people who had actually done it. And a pattern emerged quickly: an enormous number of people who are otherwise deeply committed to self-sufficient living draw a firm line at cattle. Chickens, yes. Pigs, maybe. Goats, increasingly. But cows? A surprisingly large proportion of homesteaders quietly decide the answer is no. Having spent a fair amount of time thinking through why, and talking to people on both sides of that decision, I think the reluctance is entirely understandable, even if i...

  When people begin storing milk for long term use, one of the first surprises is how different it tastes after months on the shelf. Even unopened cans of powdered milk or cartons of shelf stable milk can take on flavors that are stale, metallic or simply unfamiliar. This change is not always a sign of spoilage. More often, it reflects how sensitive milk is to light, air, temperature and time. Understanding these natural shifts can help you store milk more effectively and choose the type that suits your pantry best. Traditional homes worked with milk in ways that honored its nature. They kept it in cool cellars, out of the sun, and often transformed it into butter, cheese or cultured drinks that held up better over time. Modern storage challenges are not so different. Milk is still reactive by nature, and the way we store it influences the way it tastes months or years later. Oxidation: The Most Common Culprit Oxidation affects nearly every form of stored milk. The fats ins...

Tomatoes are one of the most rewarding plants to grow. When they are nurtured properly, their flavor is worlds apart from anything found in a grocery store. The difference comes from soil, sunlight, and a few old techniques gardeners have relied on for generations. These methods do not require special products or expensive tools. They simply bring the plant back to what it naturally needs. Below are three time tested tricks that can help you grow tomatoes with far better flavor for sun dried tomatoes , richness, and aroma. 1. Strengthen the Soil Before You Plant Tomatoes draw deeply from the soil, so the quality of the fruit always begins with what is beneath them. Gardeners who focus on improving soil before planting often see fuller, sweeter, and more vibrant tomatoes. Organic matter is essential. Compost, aged leaves, and well rotted manure add the nutrients tomatoes need while improving moisture balance. These materials also help support a healthy community of soil microbes...

  In the dry mountain air of the American Southwest, a silvery-green shrub grows with quiet resilience. Its leathery leaves glimmer beneath the sun, releasing a sweet, resinous scent when touched — sharp, healing, and unmistakably sacred. This is Yerba Santa Sage , one of nature’s oldest medicines for breath, purification, and renewal. Long before it was cataloged by science, Native healers called it “ holy herb ” — a plant gifted by the Creator to cleanse the lungs and lift the spirit. Even now, Yerba Santa remains a powerful ally for both body and soul, bridging the line between medicine and ritual, science and tradition.

The Amish are often seen as a people set apart from the modern world, living simple lives without electricity, cars, or technology. Because of this, one of the most common questions people ask is: Do the Amish pay taxes? The short answer is yes —but with a few exceptions that are rooted in their religious beliefs and legal accommodations.

Homemade soap isn’t just a craft—it’s a return to self-reliance, to knowing what touches your skin, and to honoring the wisdom our grandparents carried without needing a label to prove it. But like all good things, soapmaking comes with a learning curve. The beauty is, once you know what to avoid, the process becomes not only safer but deeply rewarding. I am writing this article because it enhances the How To Make Homemade Soap guide I got the privilege of editing for Self-Sufficient Projects.  Here are some of the most common mistakes folks make when they first start making soap at home , and how you can sidestep them with ease and confidence.

There’s no real logic to it, not that I can explain, anyway. I’ve always been drawn to the scythe. Before I ever swung one, before I even had much of a garden to speak of, something about that long, curved blade and the old wooden handle just felt right. It wasn’t nostalgia — I didn’t grow up using one — but something deeper. Like it was a tool I was meant to know.

Out of all the herbal teas I’ve tried—and I’ve sampled quite a few— Yerba Santa is one of my favorites, very top of the list. It’s not just about the taste, though that’s part of it. There’s something grounding and comforting about this plant, especially when I brew it as a warm tea on a cool evening. If you’ve never heard of Yerba Santa, or you’ve only seen it mentioned in passing, let me share why this herb has earned a permanent place on my shelf.

If you're serious about self-reliance and long-term food storage, there’s one canning method that consistently comes out on top: pressure canning . While water bath canning has its place, and newer methods like steam canning have gained popularity, neither compares to the reliability, versatility, and safety that pressure canning brings to the table. Whether you're putting away meat, hearty soups, beans, or low-acid vegetables from your homestead garden, pressure canning is the gold standard. Let’s dig into why every prepper should make this method their go-to for food preservation. Safety First: Pressure Canning Kills More Than Just Time Low-acid foods —like carrots, green beans, potatoes, and meats—are prime candidates for long-term storage, but they’re also the most dangerous to preserve incorrectly. These foods can harbor Clostridium botulinum , the bacteria responsible for botulism. A simple boiling water bath isn’t enough to kill those spores. You need the high heat of...

When it comes to gardening for self-sufficiency and survival, most seasoned homesteaders and preppers already have their trusty collection of tools: shovels, hoes, hand trowels, and the like. These are the essentials that everyone knows about and uses regularly. But if you're looking to truly optimize your garden for long-term sustainability, especially in a world where resources are unpredictable, there are several lesser-known tools that deserve your attention. These tools are often overlooked by the average gardener, but for those of us who think ahead and plan for the long haul, they can make all the difference. Organic gardening is not properly understood so we should discuss the basics. Nothing is more basic than the tools used. Let’s dive into the underappreciated, yet incredibly useful, tools that should be part of every homesteader's garden arsenal.

Every time I step out into my garden, watching the tomato plants get taller and hearing the chickens murmur, it reminds me again why I took this path. Self-sufficiency isn't just about saving money on groceries or having fun with a hobby. It is about security and resilience but also about deep satisfaction with knowing you are able to care for yourself. Too many people think that being self-sufficient is no more than a  paranoia-driven prepper's obsession  for those who believe the world will come to an end at any moment. But let me tell you, being self-sufficient isn't for doomsday believers or off-grid hermits only. Rather, it's for anyone who wants to be prepared, empowered, and just a little less dependent upon a system that may not always have their best interests at heart. Let me tell you why you should get started with self-sufficiency today.