Birds of a feather flock together? Well, when your homesteading vision doesn’t exactly line up perfectly with your resources, you make do with what you’ve got. This year we raised two Bourbon Red turkeys with our backyard flock of laying hens and two Khaki Campbell ducks. Here’s how raising turkeys went for Johnson Home: This…
Homesteading
10 of the best kitchen tools that can help a from scratch kitchen work more efficiently
When you cook in a from scratch kitchen for most meals of the day, your kitchen sink will always be full. There’s just no getting around that. But take heart! Here are 10 of the best kitchen tools that can help a from scratch kitchen work more efficiently. You know, so we can have more…
9 Cozy Winter Hobbies that Offer Rest to the Homesteader
If you’re anything like me, it can be hard to rest. Resting feels unproductive but rest is essential. So essential, in fact, that God called for it on the 7th day of Creation. For the homesteader, farmer, grower; resting is for the winter. When the fields (gardens) are fallow, the pantry is stocked, and the…
5 groceries you can stop buying today and how to do that!
Aht, aht. Before you start to argue you can buy these groceries cheaper and with less time than making them homemade, ask yourself to really look into those ingredients. Ask yourself if you can spare 5 minutes to make your own brown sugar. Ask yourself if you can use those chicken bones from wing night…
Is the Presto 12 Quart Electric Pressure Canner worth it?
When I put “pressure canning” on my yearly homesteading to-try board, I didn’t realize it would be ELECTRIC (or digital) pressure canning but here we are. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with the decision! Here is my honest review of the Presto 12 Quart Electric Pressure Canner. DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated or paid by…
The Story Behind how the newsletter “Church Clothes and Chicken Toes” got its name
Recently, I dubbed my email newsletter “Church Clothes and Chicken Toes” based off a series of random Sunday afternoon posts I’d made on social media about me and my chickens. This is the story of where that name originated. Things that rhyme For starters, it kind of rhymes and I thought it was catchy. If…
The Truth About Blogging for Fun
What starts as a fun little hobby to try out for the writer at heart can easily turn into something undesirable to do if you allow it. Here’s what I’ve experienced in over one year blogging “for fun”. Why start a blog? For a few years now, I jumped on the Instagram reels train and…
How to make summer sun tea
In North Carolina, summers get hot. Like really hot. Our heat index the past 3 weeks has been 3 digits. Lots of sun rays and also humidity which makes it feel even hotter. I’ve found a great way to utilize that solar energy to make a wonderfully delicious summer sun tea without having to heat…
Why You Need Pantry Staples, including a FREE Printable List
I often get asked how I’m able to make so many recipes at home and the answer is quite simple; albeit, not easy, keep your kitchen stocked with the basic pantry staples needed to make things like bread, cookies, cakes, marinades, dressings, and seasonings. What’s an “ingredients home”? I recently learned some people called it…
How to Decide if It’s Worth Raising Your Own Chickens for Meat
When it comes to raising your own meat birds to stock our freezer, I often get asked if it is worth it or not. The answer for my family is a resounding YES but that isn’t the answer for everyone. Read on to find out why we think it is worth raising your own chickens…
