Everyday Homesteading
Desperate to grow, cook, and preserve real food for your family in only 5-10 hours a week, but stuck as a new homesteader looking for practical, tried and true methods that work?
You wanted those pantry shelves filled yesterday, but the more you try, the more it seems a distant pipe dream. Online content is filled with impractical, untried homesteading advice, which wastes your precious time and money.
Everyday Homesteading steps in with practical, tested solutions, cutting through the chaos with clear plans tailored for busy beginners to reclaim your family’s health and independence through gardening, raising livestock, fresh seasonal cooking, herbal medicine and safe food preservation.
Hosted by veteran homesteaders, Josh and Carolyn Thomas, who grow 70% of their family’s food while running two businesses and homeschooling their large family, they have mastered practical homesteading for busy modern families. They have taught hundreds of thousands of new homesteaders to thrive with real-life homesteading through their online platforms Homesteading Family and School of Traditional Skills.
Tune in weekly to learn how to grow, cook, and preserve your family’s food, ditch health-destroying toxins, and save money monthly on groceries, all while building strong relationships and a sustainable legacy for your kids. Hit play now!
Episodes
282 episodes
How We Are Upgrading Our Homestead this Year
After years of pushing hard on our homestead, we reached a point where we had to ask a tough question: Is everything we’re doing actually sustainable?Last year, we intentionally slowed down. Not completely, but enough to take a step back...
7 Things I WISH I Knew BEFORE Buying a Freeze Dryer
I’ll be honest… when I first heard about freeze dryers, I thought they were a gimmick.I didn’t want to spend money on an expensive appliance that would just sit there collecting dust.But after using one in my own kitchen, I can ...
How to Start a Garden (Without Overthinking It)
If you’ve ever felt like you need to learn everything before starting a garden, you’re not alone.In today’s episode, we’re simplifying the process and showing you how to start a garden without getting overwhelmed.G...
The Dangerous Egg Washing Mistake (And How to Do It Safely)
Are your chicken eggs coming into the house dirty, especially during mud season?In this episode of Everyday Homesteading, Carolyn is joined by Amy, cofounder of Good Egg, to talk about how to keep eggs clean starting in the coop—and how...
Nature Deficit Disorder (Why Your Kids Need a Garden)
How do you get your kids excited about gardening, especially if you’re still learning yourself?In this episode of Everyday Homesteading, I’m joined by Luke Hammond from Dirt Academy Kids to talk about why gardening is one of the most pow...
Why Our Daughter Chose to Stay Close to Home
What happens when your child grows up… and chooses to stay?In this episode of the Everyday Homesteading podcast, I’m joined by my oldest daughter, Rachel, as we share the story behind her and her husband’s decision to stay close to home ...
3 Things You Must Get Right for Safe Canning
Canning safety can feel overwhelming, especially when you hear all the warnings and conflicting advice out there. But what if it’s actually much simpler than you think?In today’s episode, I’m breaking down the three things you ...
Do you have these Quiet Skills for TRULY Resilient Living?
We spend a lot of time learning the hands-on skills of homesteading like baking, gardening, and preserving. But what if those aren’t the skills that actually make a home run well?In this episode, we’re talking about the quiet skills that...
Cultured Dairy Is Easier Than You Think
Cultured dairy sounds intimidating, but it's actually one of the easiest traditional kitchen skills you can learn.In this video, I explain how cultured dairy works, why it’s so beneficial for digestion and gut health, and how you can st...
Stop Trying to Grow EVERYTHING!
Most people never fail at gardening. They quit before they begin.In this episode of Everyday Homesteading, Josh sits down with Luke from MIgardener to talk about why so many aspiring gardeners stay stuck in the dreaming and planning phas...
STOP trying to be Self-Sufficient (Do This Instead)
For many homesteaders, the dream is complete self-sufficiency. Producing all your own food. Depending on no one. Living independently.But is that really possible? And more importantly, is it even the right goal?In this episode of ...
What You Need to Know BEFORE Calling the Vet
Even with healthy, well-selected animals, there comes a day when you have to call the vet.And when that moment comes, most of us aren’t nearly as prepared as we could be.In this episode, I sit down with my longtime friend and vete...
Why Bread Still Belongs in Your Busy Modern Kitchen
Making bread isn’t about talent, and it’s not about finding the perfect recipe either.In this episode, I’m sharing why bread is one of the most foundational skills in the homesteading kitchen and how learning to read your dough ...
Things that Surprised Us about Keeping Chickens
Thinking about keeping backyard egg-laying chickens, but not sure where to begin? In today’s episode, we walk through the essential checklist every new chicken keeper should know.We cover:• What to think about before bringing ...
From Overwhelmed to Peaceful: Minimums, Mental Load, and Command Central Part 2
Feeling overwhelmed while trying to add homesteading skills to an already full life? You’re not alone. In this episode of Everyday Homesteading, I’m continuing our conversation about going from overwhelmed to peaceful and sharing what I’ve lear...
From Overwhelmed to Peaceful: Why Rhythm Changes Everything - Part 1
If you love the idea of homesteading but constantly feel behind, overwhelmed, or emotionally exhausted, I recorded this episode for you.In Part 1 of this new series, I’m sharing the household system that helped me move from constant pres...
Nurturing a "People First" Homestead with RuthAnn Zimmerman
Homesteading is about so much more than chores, food, and checklists. In this episode, I’m joined by RuthAnn Zimmerman from Homesteading With the Zimmermans for a conversation that goes straight to the heart of what this lifestyle is really abo...
The Biggest Grid We Escaped (It Wasn’t Power)
A lot of people talk about going off-grid. But what if off-grid living isn’t just about power and water, but about freedom from systems that quietly run your life?In this episode, I sit down with Jeff Burkinshaw from the Gridlessness...
What We Wish We Could Tell Our Younger Selves About Starting to Homestead
After more than 20 years of homesteading, we are looking back and sharing what we wish we had known when we first started.In this episode of Everyday Homesteading, we talk honestly about the mistakes we made, the pressure to do everythi...
Our Year of Rest on the Homestead
What does a “Year of Rest” actually look like on a working homestead?In this episode, we’re reflecting on our decision to slow down over the past year, what changed, what stayed the same, and what surprised us along the way. We share how...
Finding Peace in the Quiet Season: How to Rest After the Rush
If you have ever found yourself saying, “This winter, we’ll finally rest,” you are not alone. Josh and I have joked about it for years, imagining a slower season that somehow never quite arrives on its own.In this episode of Everyday Hom...
Think a Dairy Cow Will Tie You Down? Here’s the Truth.
Welcome back to Everyday Homesteading. Today I’m sitting down with two people I deeply respect and always enjoy talking with, Shawn and Beth Dougherty. If you have ever wondered whether a family milk cow actually fits into a busy modern homeste...
Mistakes We Made This Year… and What We Learned From Them
Mistakes happen on every homestead, and today we are sharing some of our biggest ones from the past year so you can learn right alongside us. Whether it is garden chaos, livestock mishaps, or ignoring that little voice of intuition, these lesso...
How to Make Your Own Cheesemaking Cultures at Home
Learn how to make cheese the traditional way using natural raw milk cultures like clabber, kefir, and backsplash whey. In this conversation with Robyn Jackson from Cheese From Scratch, we dig into how to create and maintain your own sta...
What We've Learned About Contentment
In this episode of Everyday Homesteading, we open up about cultivating contentment in every season of our homestead life. It's easy to feel grateful when everything is going smoothly, but true contentment is often built in the hard moments.