Pages

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Mother Earth News



Mother Earth News is one of my favorite magazines to read. The articles that I've read in this magazine fall right in line with living a frugal life and getting by on less money and with less stuff. I have issues of Mother Earth News stored on by bookshelf right next to my issues of The Tightwad Gazette and other personal finance books and cookbooks. I refer back to them often as they are another useful tool in living the frugal life. 

In addition to the magazine, Mother Earth News also prints a Wiser Living Series that includes such titles as Growing Your Own Food, Living on Less and Loving It, Guide to Self Reliance and Country Skills, guide to Backyard Chickens, and a Guide to Organic Gardening.

Today I wanted to share with you the article of contents from the Living on Less and Loving It guide, so that you can look over the contents and see if you think this is a guide that would be beneficial to you in your life.

Guide to Living on Less and Loving It

Green Gazette – Choosing a new bike; Tips to use less gas; and more

Live on Less and Love It! Try these 75 inspiring ideas and enjoy life more while spending and consuming less. 

Cut Your Food Bills in Half – It’s true! You can enjoy better and healthier foods, while spending much less to feed your family. 

Instant No-dig Garden Beds – Create or expand your food garden with these simple, time-saving techniques. 

Build a Simple Solar Heater – This low cost plan lets you turn any south wall into a source of free solar heat. 

8 Easy Projects for Instant Energy Savings – With these inexpensive ideas you can reduce your carbon footprint and slash your energy bills. Spending $400 once to save $900 per year. 

Easy Ways to Preserve Fresh Food – A guide to simple seasonal storage – canning, freezing, dehydrating and more. 

A Handmade, Debt Free Home – Blend vision, patience and perseverance and you can build your dream home. 

Grow Free Fruit Trees – Grow your own delicious peaches, apricots and nectarines from seed and save!

Backyard Beef – You don't need a ranch to raise your own, healthy, pastured beef. A nice patch of grass and some fencing will do the trick just fine. 

Go Solar for Free Hot Water – Solar water heaters are an easy entry into renewable energy, and will save you big bucks over time. 

Brew Your Own Beer – Home brewing is a lot of fun, and it’s a great way to enjoy flavorful, affordable drinks. 

How Do Your Eggs Stack Up – Whether you live in the city or country, here’s how to find healthy affordable, farm-fresh eggs – and even raise a few happy chickens of your own. 

Easy Garden Anyone Can Make – Here’s how to start an instant no-till garden.
Buyer’s Guide to Solar Air Heat – Tap free heat from the sun with these nifty solar hot-air collectors.

Save Money with a New, Energy-Efficient Furnace – Advice to help you know when to replace your old furnace. 

Tips and Yurts – These lightweight shelters provide cozy and inexpensive portable living space.  
My favorite article in the Living on Less guide is the Cut Your Food Bills in Half article, but I also like the article about the Solar water heater as well. We live out in the country on more than 40 acres of land and many of the ideas found in this guide are doable for us and this is a good resource to learn about many of those ideas. 

Do you read Mother Earth News or have you been to their website? The website is also filled with valuable information. Give it a try and see what you think. 

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012 and Beyond.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

6 comments:

  1. I haven't thought of Mother Earth News in years. I used to read them at the library. And you're right, they are full of helpful information. I remember reading about keeping chickens, making portable chicken coops, building solar cookers and all sorts of useful things. Thanks for the link to their website. I'll check that out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome, Lili. We raise chickens here for eggs. Someday I'm going to do a post about them. Hope you enjoy the website. :)

      Delete
  2. I've not read these magazines. I'll definitely check out their website though.

    I want chickens on one hand...have plenty of space...but on the other hand I would have to have someone to care for them when I leave since we like to travel when we can. One of those catch 22s of life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I understand that, Shara. I would love to have a dog indoors, but traveling always makes me think twice about it.

      Delete
  3. I just got a subscription and I love it!

    ReplyDelete