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5 Books You Need In a Homestead Library

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As mentioned in our previous post, Ten Skills You Need to be a Homesteader, No Matter Your Circumstances, traditional skills such as food preservation, husbandry, and other life skills aren’t always passed down from previous generations. For the last eight decades, our world has become more reliant on cutting-edge conveniences and self-reliance has seemed to become a thing of the past. It's our duty to ourselves, our families, and our communities to learn these “off-grid” life skills and pass them on to future generations.



Homesteading can and does look very different from one person to the next. For some, it may be an all-in approach with acres of rural land, a barn full of animals, natural water and energy sources, and complete off-grid self-reliance. To others, it may be a slow and steady approach with small, meaningful changes for a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Whatever your approach, having a few high-quality how-to books on hand will never be a bad investment.


Whether you have lots of acreage, live in an urban environment, or the suburbs like us, having an arsenal of knowledge is key to running a great homestead. Sure, we can do a quick search from our phones or other electronic devices, but what if that option isn’t available? I’m not talking about a SHTF situation; that’s a topic for another day. Just a random instance like a power outage can really open our eyes as to what we might be missing in our preparations for self-reliance.




The Encyclopedia of Country Living

This book is massive and is surprisingly budget-friendly. You definitely get the most bang for your buck when it comes to needing a single resource on homesteading. With over 900 pages, this comprehensive how-to book has been considered by many as the homesteading Bible for over 50 years. A true classic, this guide teaches readers how to live off the grid, how to be prepared, and how to be self-reliant. Some of the topics included are food preservation, beekeeping, raising livestock, creating natural skincare products, and natural remedies.






Homesteading: A Backyard Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More

This 464-page book contains a lifetime’s worth of valuable homestead education. While the book has a ton of important, well-thought-out guidance, it's not a how-to guide like some of the other book suggestions. We found it to be more of an overview of what's possible with ideas on how to get things done. The information given makes the prospect of connecting with many of the skills our modern society has forgotten exciting. And because the author has “walked the walk” of a homesteader, the content comes across as authentic.






40 Projects for Building Your Backyard Homestead

This book offers 40 step-by-step projects, from housing chickens to erecting a windmill. With over 250 pages of step-by-step instructions and detailed photos on how to complete each project, you're sure to complete everything you need on your homestead! This book is an excellent reference for both experienced and novice homesteaders.











The Made From Scratch Life

Essential food preservation techniques, up-to-date safety standards, and tons of from-scratch recipes can all be found in this wonderful addition to any kitchen cookbook collection or homesteading library. From traditional food preservation like fermenting, to modern conveniences like freeze-drying and dehydrating, there really is something for everyone to learn. The Made-From-Scratch Life is perfect for the beginner homesteader as it walks you through every step with instructions and photos making it easy to follow along.








Road Atlas

As a resident of the southern Gulf Coast in the United States, there have been times when the electricity was off for days or weeks at a time. Hurricane Katrina not only caused physical destruction, but it also wreaked havoc on my mental health. During moments of panic, there was discussion among family members about possibly driving somewhere safer. However, with the power down, there was no way to look up options for hotels in nearby states or even directions to get there. That’s when I realized how important it is to have a printed, high-quality, road atlas available.






No matter where you are in your homesteading journey, having a vast physical library on major self-sufficiency topics is an essential element to the success of your homestead. Physical books never stop working for us. Ever. We hope this list is helpful to you and that you create many triumphs on your homestead!


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In no way is this meant to be an exhaustive list of what's available or as a complete homesteading library. There are thousands of books that can definitely be beneficial. However, as a novice suburban homesteader, we found these books extremely helpful. Let us know in the comments what books you'd add to the list!

 

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