Sustainable Home

Imagine cultivating enough food to slash your grocery shopping in half—all in less than an hour a day in your own backyard. Sounds impossible, right? Marjory Wildcraft says it's not: She's been homesteading for almost twenty years and founded The Grow Network to teach hundreds of thousands of others—some with very little space or time, some city dwellers with rooftop gardens—how to do the same, from gardening, to raising chickens, to composting, to medicine-making.

A sustainable life away from the stress of the modern world… with healthy, happy children? You can make this a reality. Right now, the idea of moving your family into a life off the grid seems daunting. But with this realistic guide to taking your family off the grid, you’ll grow your skills and confidence with every move. Uncover a vast array of practical steps to help you make your dream of a better life a reality.

Vowing to grow all his own food, harness the sun's power for his electrical needs, and consume as little fossil fuel as necessary, Doug Fine faces surprising obstacles at every turn as he discovers that going green is easier said than done.

Unlock the ancient art of pickling and fermenting with Fermenting Pickles, an essential guide for anyone eager to transform simple cucumbers and a variety of other vegetables into tangy, flavorful delicacies. Whether you're a seasoned home fermenter or a curious beginner, this comprehensive manual will walk you through every facet of the fermentation process, ensuring successful and delicious results every time. Begin your journey with an introduction to the foundational concepts of fermentation and the rich history of pickling. Discover the numerous health benefits that come with ...

Second Chances is a unique guide to a one-of-a-kind, circular wardrobe. Eleni’s superpower is sniffing out great finds and here she walks you through the art of in-person discovery at thrift stores and vintage shops, estate sales and flea markets, yard sales and antique stores—and online resale platforms. This book will teach you how to organize your existing wardrobe, evaluate pieces you find, and manifest your dream closet.

Worried about keeping your family safe in a disaster? Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of prepping advice out there? This book is your all-in-one solution, offering clear step-by-step guidance to ensure you’re ready for anything. The Prepper’s Survival Bible has got you covered: with food stockpiling, DIY home defense, essential first aid, and so much more.

Unleash the hidden potential of your backyard with Raising Livestock, your essential guide to turning small spaces into thriving micro-farms. Explore the wonders of backyard farming and discover why backyard livestock can transform your life, offering sustainability, fresh produce, and a deep connection to nature—all within your own home environment. Start your journey with insights on how to select the right livestock to fit your space and legal guidelines, ensuring harmony with your neighborhood. Dive into beginner-friendly sections that cover everything from chicken breeds for eggs and...

Imagine growing any plant without the need for soil. Imagine being able to better manage the spaces of your garden by increasing the number of plants that grow there. Imagine breeding vegetables and fish at the same time. All this is not only possible, but it is also elementary, thanks to this step-by-step guide, consisting of three books.

Learn how you can create a thriving off-grid lifestyle with the help of this practical guide! Are you sick and tired of bustling cities and crowded suburbs? Do you long for a simpler pace in life, one built on the foundations of minimalism, nature, and self-reliance? Are you looking for a guide to help you achieve your off-grid dream? Then keep reading. Off-grid living is a brilliant lifestyle that allows you to connect with nature, become more relaxed and at ease, and enjoy a slower pace of life that lets you enjoy all the little moments. But if you’re ready to take the plunge and escape...

Charles Dowding puts feeding the soil at the heart of his No Dig method of growing. He explains how to use your kitchen and garden waste to make homemade compost so that your plants can truly flourish. Discover what you can compost, how to get the perfect balance, and different ways to compost whatever your space with this beautiful, infallible guide.

Master sustainable living—achieve self-sufficiency without breaking the bank, even if you're starting from scratch! Do you dream of transforming your living space into a thriving homestead but feel overwhelmed by where to start? Imagine the joy of growing your own food, the satisfaction of harvesting rainwater, and the peace of mind from energy independence—all within your reach. The Practical Guide to Homesteading is your roadmap to achieving this transformation, bringing you affordable, step-by-step strategies for living sustainably off-grid, catered specifically to beginners.

The climate crisis and its resulting eco-anxiety is the biggest challenge of our time. The anxiety that comes with worrying about how environmental harm will impact our—and our children's—lives can be overwhelming. Learn how to balance practicing daily sustainability actions while caring for your own eco-anxiety in this revolutionary book from noted environmentalist Heather White.

Root cellars are making a comeback! Do you often wonder what to do with your harvest? How are you going to store it all? Or do you only grow small amounts because you lack sufficient storage space? Why not build a root cellar? Root cellars are an ancient tradition. Together with curing meats and pickling, root cellars have long been a food storage method, particularly root vegetables. Fortunately, root cellars are starting to make a noticeable comeback, enabling people to store more produce for longer without the need for electricity.

Huw Richards set himself a challenge - to grow his own fruit and veg for free for a year. He succeeded, and now wants to help you do the same. Can't afford a raised bed? Try repurposing an old wooden pallet. Don't want to spend money on buying plants? Look in the fridge and your kitchen cupboards for food that you can plant. Need a particular tool? Barter or borrow from a neighbour. Don't have a garden? See if someone in your area has an untended patch you can turn into a well-loved veg plot.

Most eco-friendly books start with terror-inducing lists of the carcinogenic chemicals you are liberally slathering all over every single surface in your house, painting most people as unwitting eco-villains, happily Lysol-ing their way straight to hell. Well, listeners can just relax and unpack the (plastic) bags - no guilt trips today! All You Need Is Less is about realistically adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle without either losing your mind from soul-destroying guilt or becoming a preachy know-it-all whom everyone loathes.

Essential Rainwater Harvesting is a comprehensive manual for designing, building, and maintaining water-harvesting systems for the warm and cold climates of the world. Presenting design considerations and approaches for the most common household rainwater supply scenarios.

Last night I cooked my family a delicious pasta dinner using biogas energy. This morning we all had eggs cooked on biogas. I’m not sure what’s for dinner tonight, but I know what will provide the energy for cooking: biogas. And not just any biogas - it’s home biogas, produced in our suburban backyard, and our off grid ranch as part of my ongoing “action research” into sustainable energy practices. I no longer use electricity or propane for our ooking needs - it's all done with Homemade Bio-gas.

Everything you've been told about being green is wrong. The quest for a breakthrough battery or a 100-mpg car is a dangerous fantasy. We are consumers, and we like to consume greenly and efficiently. But David Owen argues that our best intentions are still at cross-purposes to our true goal: living sustainably while caring for our environment and the future of the planet. Efficiency, once considered the holy grail of our environmental problems, turns out to be part of the problem - we have little trouble turning increases in efficiency into increases in consumption.

A poet at heart, Amy Minato rejects her life of consumption in Chicago to go back to nature - specifically, to a commune in Oregon, where she rediscovers herself. She also cops occasionally to the pretentiousness of her mission, and laughs along with the listener at her attempts to be both environmentally friendly and sane, considering the fact that she’s moved in with a bunch of strangers in a remote locale.

If you think it is complicated to reorganize spaces, especially if they are very small, then here you will find the solution for you. Less is more! Minimalism is a real art that can make your life easier. The wabi-sabi opens you mournfully.