M.D. Creekmore

Hello, I’m M.D. Creekmore. I’ve been interested in self-reliance topics for over 25 years. I’m the author of four books that you can find at Amazon.com as well as Barnes and Noble. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about prepping, homesteading, and self-reliance topics through first-hand experience and now I want to share what I’ve learned with you.

You Don’t Need To Be Wealthy to Homestead

April 20, 2018 M.D. Creekmore

So you want to homestead but don’t think you can afford it? You see sprawling ranches on television with seven-figure price tags and think that is what homesteading is all about.

I’m here to tell you that’s not true. You don’t need to be wealthy to start a homestead. You don’t need a trust fund or a rich relative. For most people, this isn’t a hobby or a vacation house, it’s a way of life.

A life of self-sufficiency. A life that includes hard work and discipline, but also one where you will feel rewarded when you lay your head down each night.

If that sounds like the kind of life you want, you can follow these steps and begin your dreams of homesteading sooner than you might expect.

Where you choose to live is important

We all know location is everything is real estate, and that is certainly true when looking to purchase a homestead. Generally, the further you are from town, the cheaper- and more available- land becomes. In some cases, that might mean moving to another part of the state or out of the state altogether to follow your dreams.

Whether you move across town or across the country, keep a couple things in mind. What is more important to you? More land or being closer to town? And if you have kids, school could be a consideration. Would you be happy moving to another state and potentially leaving your family?

There is no right or wrong answer. But these are things you will need to think about as you begin your life on the homestead.

Buy what you can afford

You don’t need to start out big. You can begin homesteading on a couple acres and build it up over time. That’s usually a great place to start so you don’t get over your head and potentially discouraged by the amount of work a large homestead entails.

And one of the great parts about living in the country is that you can usually buy more land around you as you have the money and the need.

But it will be no fun if your property is larger than you can work or more expensive than you can afford.

Go into homesteading debt free

As you prepare to begin homesteading, becoming debt free should be in your plans. Pay off your student loans, credit cards, medical bills or any other type of consumer debt before moving forward. You might think most everyone has debt, and that’s just normal. You’d be right, but you need to be different. Why?

Because your debt will just be a stranglehold on you and your homestead. You will constantly be paying back debts, and interest to the bank, rather than being able to save for the future. This will take commitment and might mean you put off your dreams for a few years, but it will be worth it.

If you don’t think getting out of debt is possible, I am here to tell you it is. To get started, I recommend you read Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. It will bring you financial peace and change your life forever.

Buy used

That new shiny tractor at the dealership looks mighty nice. And it sure would look really nice on your property. But I’m not interested in the fancy price tag that goes along with it. Like anything with a motor, it is going down in value. So buy used. Whether it’s a tractor, trailer or your truck.

This is part of debt-free living and living within your means. If money is not an issue, buy whatever you’d like. But if you are wondering how you can make it on a budget, buy used and save.

Do work yourself

Learning how to fix things yourself– whether it’s a plumbing issue in the house or something on the tractor- will save you mightily. You’ll save money, but you’ll also save time from not having to wait for someone to come to your property when they can.

But if you’re not a DIY pro right now, it’s okay. You will learn a lot along the way, whether it has to do with your house, your property, your animals or something else. Just be ready.

Monetize your homestead

There are multiple ways that you can make money on your homestead.

First, and most obvious, is selling what you harvest. Fruit, vegetables, eggs, milk, even meat. There are still plenty of people who sell what they harvest out of the back of their truck on the side of a highway. You can do that, but in the interest of being more efficient, you can sell at farmers markets, online or through personal networks.

In this same category, you can also barter. If you need some work done that you can not do, instead of paying cash, see if you negotiate a fair trade.

You can also share your experience on the homestead through blogging. Blogging is how I was able to quit my day job and earn a full-time living without having a regular job and a boss. If you are interested in getting started, I’ve put together a comprehensive step-by-step guide to starting a profitable blog. Be sure to check it out.

Live off the land as much as possible

Maybe one day you dream of being 100 percent off-the-grid eating only food you harvest on your homestead. Even if you’re not there, as most homesteaders are not, you can still save by living off the land.

A good way to start this journey is to set goals. These goals will be different for everyone depending on experience and size of your homestead. But outline what percentage of food you want to harvest by season. See if you are hitting those goals and increase them each year.

If you follow these steps and make some sacrifices along the way, you will be homesteading very soon.

Straw Bale, Rammed Earth, and Earthbag: Three Unique Building Methods for Your Homestead

April 18, 2018 M.D. Creekmore

by Adam Leviness

If you’re reading this site it’s probably because you either are or dream of becoming, a homesteader. Living off your own piece of land, becoming more self-sufficient, and living a more simple lifestyle.

Maybe you have even started looking at pieces of land in the country that will be able to provide everything you and your family need. If you’re really lucky you already own that piece of land and are just waiting for the right time to move there and start your new life as a homesteader.

If that’s where you’re at then you are probably chomping at the bit to break ground on your plot of land and build your very own house. Maybe you’ve seen other homesteaders who have rolled up their sleeves and built beautiful homes from the ground up or hitched a tiny home they made to a trailer.

The problem with these homes is they are all basically made using the same materials and building techniques that almost every home in the country is made with. In the Western World, we have been making our homes from wood, screws, and maybe some bricks for hundreds of years. And, while that’s all well and good for the average person, these materials don’t really mesh well our homesteader mindset.

Unless you have a large timber field on your property or your own personal quarry in your backyard, you will have to ship in the necessary materials from somewhere else. And, the process of making these materials plays a part in the continued destruction of our planet. Forests are cleared for the wood and strip mining gets us our stones to make traditional homes.

This doesn’t exactly line up with how homesteaders tend to appreciate the land and everything it provides for us. Luckily there are ways to build a home that fall more in line with the homesteader lifestyle.

If we look around the world other cultures have been using building materials and techniques to make their homes without being as wasteful, with little carpentry know-how, and for much cheaper than what the average home in the West cost to build.

Homesteaders are starting to find that things like earthbag, rammed earth, or straw bale houses not only make it easy for anyone to design and build their own home but to build them using mainly what their piece of land provides.

These types of homes are great for homesteaders and people looking to go off-grid alike. If your property is far out in the country, away from towns or possibly even paved roads, then shipping in the materials to build a traditional style home will not only be difficult but it could be rather expensive as well.

That’s why I suggest you consider building your house using one of these techniques instead. They can be built with all the modern amenities you would find in any other home, so while you’re living off-grid, you don’t have to live in the stone age.

Each one has its own benefits as well as downsides, so it will be up to you which one serves your needs best. Whichever one you decide to build with, however, you can be happy with the fact that no matter your skill you can get your hands a little dirty and feel the pride that comes with building a house with your bare hands that your family will enjoy for years to come.

So, let’s get right to it so you can figure out which one is best for you.

Straw Bale House

I’m starting with the straw bale house because of the three it is closest to the traditional home design we are all so familiar with. If you don’t want to stray too far off the beaten path then this is probably the best option for you.

Straw bale houses look a lot like a traditional home, but as the name implies the walls are made of bales of hay or straw and then generally covered with plaster. The frame, roof, and foundation are all made using traditional techniques.

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking; wouldn’t a straw bale home be a huge fire risk? As it turns out these types of homes are actually less vulnerable to fire than a house made out of wood. Because the bales are so compact a flame has a hard time catching and is more likely to fizzle out resulting in nothing more than a few embers.

In fact, what you need to worry about with a straw bale house is moisture. Water damage to a straw bales house can do more harm than it would to a normal wooden house. But, if you are planning on building a house in a dry, arid region then it could be the perfect option for your new home.

And, while the water damage is a potential problem there are far more benefits to using straw to build your house. For one straw is amazing at insulating a home, which means your heating and cooling bills will be much cheaper. If you are going off-grid and planning on getting energy from solar panels or wind turbines than straw bale walls can go a long way in cutting down your energy use.

They are also pretty simple to build. A basic knowledge of building techniques and a little help from a skilled carpenter to guide you through the harder parts of the job is all it takes to build your very own straw bale house. But, in all fairness, they do take more skill than the other homes listed here.

With proper upkeep and maintenance, a straw bale house can stand for over a hundred years. But, if and when you are done using your home the materials are biodegradable and will be taken right back by the earth it came from.

Rammed Earth Homes

Rammed earth construction has been used for building for thousands of years. It is one of the oldest building techniques known to man, and it was in fact used to build part of the Great Wall of China.

Planks, which can just be a couple pieces of plywood, are set up to serve as a guide of sorts for your wall. Then a small layer of a dirt, clay, and gravel mixture is then poured in between the planks, and using simple tools or machinery the mixture is pressed and compressed as tight as you can get it. You simply repeat this process until you have finished your wall.

While it can be a laborious task without modern machinery, with time and patience anyone can make their own house using this method with almost no carpentry skill whatsoever.

Rammed earth houses also have the benefit of looking a lot like a traditional home. While the walls are made of dirt and sand you still have the type of square rooms we’re so familiar with but with a more aesthetically pleasing look of wavy sand layers.

The list of benefits doesn’t end there, however. Rammed earth homes have noise reducing properties, they are fireproof, pest proof, durable, keep your house at a tolerable temperature year round, and are environmentally friendly.

The one big downside to rammed earth is that it is somewhat susceptible to water damage. This doesn’t mean that after one rainfall your new home will turn into a sloppy, muddy mess. But, it does mean they are best used in drier climates. However, with a little upkeep, they can be built in any place that doesn’t get an unusual amount of rainfall each year. In fact, for being made of basically dirt it holds up well enough to rain that buildings have been made using rammed earth in places like Australia, France, and even South Carolina. Taking some simple waterproofing measures with your walls can ease your concerns about water damage.

Earthbag Homes

Earthbag homes are very similar to rammed earth and have many of the same benefits. And, they might be even easier to make for a first time home builder.

While the dirt in a rammed earth home is exposed, in an earthbag home that dirt is kept inside of sandbags before being used to build the walls of your home.

The first step to building an earthbag home is to level and ram down a large, circular layer of land that will be used as your foundation, no concrete needed. The filled sandbags are then laid in a circle end to end overlapping at the openings. Once you have your first layer of sandbags laid in a circle you then place a length of barbed wire on top of them that will be used to help hold all of your bags in place. Then continue the process until you have a dome-shaped room to your desired size. Finally, plaster is used to coat the entire structure inside and out.

This method of building is easy enough that one person could build their entire home even without any knowledge of carpentry.

While it is possible to make just about any shape house using earthbag, most people that design them have found that a domed shaped earthbag house is the best way to go. That’s because a dome shape will make your house earthquake proof on top of all the other benefits.

Those benefits include being soundproof, fireproof, bulletproof, and flood proof, and environmentally friendly. But, the best advantage to having an earthbag home is that they can cost as little as $5 per square foot to build.

As homesteaders and people willing to live off-grid we do things a little differently than everybody else, so why would you want to live in a house that’s the same as everybody else?

These unconventional building techniques let anybody build their own dream homes mostly using materials the land provides, in an extremely affordable manner.

Your home is where you build your life from, using these methods for building yours you can make it as comfortable and as personal as you like. And, since all three are extremely energy-efficient they will get you one step closer to living the type of self-sustaining life every homesteader dreams of..

This Week On The Homestead

April 14, 2018 M.D. Creekmore

Well, folks, it’s easy to tell that spring has sprung in Tennessee…

Every morning my truck is covered with a layer of green pollen and my sinuses are killing me. The drainage in my throat, the stuffy head, and the ear pressure. Oh, how wonderful.

I love Tennessee for a number of reasons however the spring pollen count isn’t one of them. If you suffer from seasonal allergies then you might want to consider building your homestead somewhere else, somewhere where there isn’t a constant barrage of attacks on the sinuses.

I spend a large part of this week getting my new FREE course ready for you all.

As you know I make my full-time living blogging and online and it’s great. No job, no boss, and I can earn as much as I willing to put in the time to earn all right from my homestead. Being self-employed is one the if the most important part of being a successful homesteader.

And because that’s so important I put together a FREE course to show you how to do what I do. It’s a seven-part course on blogging and you can sign up for it here – Learn How To Launch A Successful Blog!

Just click on the link and then add your first name (or a nickname or whatever) and your email address and you’ll get an email asking you to confirm that you want to receive the free course, click on the confirm button and you’re all set.

Okay, now what else do I need to tell you… oh, yeah…

Instead of sending out an email to subscribers of this site every time that a new post is published I’ve decided to send out a weekly digest of posts instead. I decided to do it that way because I didn’t want to be flooding your email inbox with blog updates.

I know that time is precious and I want to save you all of the time that I can and the weekly digest does that by sending you all of the posts since the last digest and you can quickly scroll the email and then choose what you want to read and skip the rest.

The weekly digest will be sent to your email inbox every Wednesday at approximately 10:00 AM eastern time. However, you can always just come directly to the site to read the most recent updates and comments. Don’t forget to bookmark it or just do a search for M.D. Creekmore.

I noticed this morning that someone has my book 31 Days To Survival listed on Amazon for $34.83! It’s a great book, that’s for sure, however, even I don’t think that it’s worth that price, the great news is that you can get it from me for only $21.24.

Also, if you want to set up a dirt cheap homestead then I wrote a book about how to do that too, this book will show you exactly how I did it. I set it up, lived there, blogged, saved the money that I earned from blogging and bought a small two bedroom mobile home, and then saved some more and bought this house – all from blogging income and you can do it to – take my free course to find out how.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a whole lot new done on the homestead this week. The first part of the week I mowed my grass and then the sinuses started, so I’ve stayed indoors for the most part of the last couple of days working on the free blogging course and trying to get these allergies under control.

I did order a copy of “The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner: What to Do & When to Do It in the Garden, Orchard, Barn, Pasture & Equipment Shed” I think this will be a great book to review here on the blog.

And this is when my allergy troubles started!

Okay, folks, that’s it for me what about you… what did you do on the homestead this week?

Ducks vs Chickens For the Small Scale Homesteader

April 13, 2018 M.D. Creekmore

by MacY Osborne

Beginning your small homestead is an exciting process every step of the way! One of those exciting, pivotal steps in a homesteads’ early development is the introducing of livestock. Whether you have already begun exploring the idea of creating your backyard homestead or have started living the dream, you most likely have heard the often recommended starter livestock is chickens! They are somewhat low maintenance compared to other farm animals, take up little space, are efficient producers of eggs and meat, highly entertaining, and relatively low-cost.

Not as often considered but arguably as efficient, easy, and enjoyable an animal, even in the urban setting, is the duck. Chickens and ducks fall under the poultry category. Both are positively entertaining, both are efficient producers of meat and eggs, both require little space, and both are relatively easy and cheap to raise.

When truly weighing the pros and cons, after acquiring the facts, one might start to see the argument over which bird is better for a small-scale homesteader isn’t so easily decided. Maybe you live on an acre or two in the country, or maybe you live in an urban setting with a small yard. Either one of these scenarios would be suitable for a small flock of either.

Truthfully, the backyard homestead could really never be complete without some sort of feathery friend.

If you’re looking to become a little more self-sufficient, chickens or ducks would make a fantastic addition. One advantage to choosing chickens over ducks is the fact that there are literally hundreds and hundreds of breeds to choose from vs the 17 duck breeds typically used on the homestead and recognized by the American Poultry Association. It is easy to find the perfect chicken breed for family needs, as well as a breed suitable for the climate, and backyard situation.

More than likely several breeds found will seem to be the “perfect fit”. How to narrow down the never-ending choices? Simply start with asking yourself what function and role you are expecting your chickens to serve and play. Is a surplus of eggs top priority?

Anyone with their own backyard flock or has tasted fresh eggs will tell you that they are so much more flavorful than any egg you will find in a store! Layer breeds are usually smaller than meat birds and cost less to feed. The layers have been bred specifically to convert their food energy into eggs rather than to put much meat on their bones.

Leghorns, Golden Comets, and Welsumers all are considered to be excellent layers laying between 250-280 eggs per year. This is not to say that they won’t lay more or less as it all depends on their level of care.

In the event chicken dumplings and kung pow chicken frequently make your dinner menu, it would be worth looking into meat breeds instead. Cochin, Jersey Giant, and Dorking have all been bred to make huge meat birds. They are not necessarily great layers because their food energy goes into making them larger and meatier.

The best meat birds are usually hybrids rather than purebreds. The most popular chicken for the small-scale homestead is good for both egg laying and meat, the dual-purpose breed. Rhode Island Reds, Sussex, and Silver-laced Wyandottes all are popular for first serving as efficient egg layers and then later for meat. By the time their prime years for egg laying have passed, the dual-purpose breed has plumped up enough to butcher.

Dual-purpose breeds neither produce quite as many eggs as the layer-breeds nor grow as hefty as meat birds but as far as space is considered they provide a happy medium for one who may not have the time or acreage to raise two separate flocks. As long as you keep laying and meat birds separate, due to their differing nutrition requirements, different breeds may be raised together to create a mixed flock. This makes for a beautiful collection of birds and it is fun to see the wide variety of temperaments.

Chickens require far less space than say a goat or cow! In order for these birds to live comfortably, it is recommended they are allotted between 3sq. ft.-4sq. ft. per bird. Folks do squeeze more into a space however, it creates an environment where chickens may be more susceptible to diseases and more likely to pick on one another.

Only two chickens are required to get the flock started. More importantly than keeping chickens from escaping will be keeping other predators from getting to your flock. Generally, chickens do not “run away” but they have a long list of predators including larger predatory birds, cats, dogs, snakes, raccoons, and many more.

A final note on housing, birds need a place to stay dry, warm, and also to keep cool. Providing them with a small shelter that is insulated, ventilated, and provides perches and nesting boxes are all equally important. Coops can be easily constructed out of recycled wood, purchased brand new, or found on craigslist.

If space is super limited there are even bantam breeds that are less than half the size of “normal” chickens. These are typically more ornamental and serve as pets or show birds. There are competitions all over for entering beautiful poultry and can make a little side income for the homestead.

Bantams are so small they don’t make great meat birds or egg layers. Even without entering them in shows they still have their purpose. These sweet little chickens can really be let loose in a garden to munch bugs and till or “scratch” up the dirt. Any chicken larger than a bantam would do some serious damage to growing plants. Chicken poop makes excellent fertilizer.

Despite the many exciting reasons to add chickens to the small-scale homestead, one might find they are actually more of a duck person. Ducks tend to be on the quieter side unless they are hungry or excited. Some interesting points are to be made about the quality and quantity of duck eggs vs chicken eggs.

This may come as a surprise but many duck breeds lay more eggs than chicken breeds! The khaki Campbell has been said shockingly to lay more than 340 eggs in a year! Runner ducks also lay more eggs than chickens on average. Sometimes ducks will lay more than one egg in a day.

Waterfowl also produce larger and more flavorful eggs. It is said that duck eggs are healthier than chicken eggs. There is a higher level of omega-3 fatty acids found in ducks eggs. Their eggs stay fresher longer than chicken eggs due to the thicker shells. Many folks with egg allergies claim they do not react to duck eggs the same way they do to chicken eggs and therefore may still consume duck eggs despite their allergy.

Just as there are layer-breeds, meat-breeds, bantams and dual-purpose breeds for chickens, the same goes for ducks. Another surprise found is that ducks make a quicker meat harvest. The most popular meat duck is the Pekin which is ready for harvest at ten weeks vs chickens which are not usually harvested before 3 months.

Rouen and Cayuga ducks also make huge meat birds that are quick to harvest. Duck meat is comparable to chicken meat. Both are considered lean meats. Without stripping the duck of its skin, however, there is far more cholesterol in duck. If you are considering ducks for a small-scale homestead again the dual-purpose breed is highly recommended. A couple of dual-purpose breeds that are worth looking into are the Swedish and the Welsh Harlequins which are both beautiful egg laying and meaty birds.

Ducks require the maximum space that you would need for chickens. They require on average no less than 4sq. ft. per bird. The housing situation is a bit less complicated. A duck will not be found perching and typically would not choose an elevated coop. Also, ducks will lay their eggs right on the ground and do not need nesting boxes.

Simple housing is sufficient such as a dog house or even a wood box so long as they are protected from the elements. Where the duck gets a little more tricky to keep than chickens lies in their need for a water feature. You simply can not keep healthy ducks without having water for them to splash around in. This water also needs to be maintained and kept or your ducks could become diseased. A healthy pond is your best bet in a smaller space. A kiddy pool will do just fine.

The water will definitely need to be replaced every few days for a couple of ducks and replaced every day if you have more than a few. For this very reason, chicken keepers may argue it is worth the extra construction to house chickens vs the high maintenance of a duck pool. The water does get nasty and if you live in a small urban backyard what would happen to the water each time it is dumped out? Hopefully, it would not run onto your neighbor’s property.

The argument of chickens vs ducks is not easily solved. Personal preference is what it really comes down to. Some folks love waking up early to the sound of a rooster crowing, revel with the hens sweet clucking, and love to collect the beautifully patterned feathers of their chickens.

Others might loathe the sound of crowing, or their neighbors might, and find the down feathers of the duck to be far more useful. It is quite convenient duck poop can be put straight in the garden unlike the chickens’ poop, which needs to be composted before used as a fertilizer. It is definitely a possibility duck eggs will be too flavorful or not a pleasant taste, in your opinion, compared to the more popular chicken egg.

Neither choice, chicken or duck, is the right or wrong choice for the small-scale homestead. There definitely could be a better choice for you, your family, climate, backyard situation, and neighbors though. Assessing your needs and what you are able to provide for a backyard flock of any kind is what it truly comes down to with the chicken vs the duck. Really though, why pick one or the other? With a little creativity in housing, it is always possible to keep both!

31 Ways to Make Money in Rural Areas (With Low Start Up Costs)

April 11, 2018 M.D. Creekmore

I’ve not talked a lot about making extra money here on MDCreekmore.com yet but it really should be addressed more often and I intend to start doing just that starting with this article.

One of the first things you’ll notice after moving to the country is that most rural towns and counties suffer from a lack of jobs and the jobs that are available locally are usually low-paying dead-end endeavors and even those can be difficult to get because most are held by folks with family ties and a deep history in the area.

And who wants to move to out to the country to their own homestead and then have to get up and go to work at a job six days a week? Trust me it’s nearly impossible to operate a productive homestead and work a full-time job at the same time.

It can be done, but usually, this is accomplished by a husband and wife team where one works away from the homestead at a job while the other stays at and manages the homestead.

It’s far better to combine earning money and homesteading into one endeavor if possible. And the way to do that is to be self-employed via your own home business.

As you read below you’ll notice that not all of the businesses listed can be done exclusively from home, however, they can be run from a home office and you can make your own hours which will allow you to work on the homestead when needed and to go out and work for cash when needed. Being self-employed is flexible that way.

And one more thing to keep in mind before we get started is that you don’t have to limit yourself to just one of the ideas below you can choose and do several all at the same time, for example, you could do woodworking, sell crafts online, sell your extra produce and eggs, as well as freelance writing or blogging.

Don’t limit yourself or your earning choose and diversify your earnings for the best results.

I’m hoping that the ideas given in this article will help you make enough extra money so that you can stay on your homestead, pay off your bills, save to buy your homestead property or even take a vacation or whatever that you feel is the most important to you.

Okay, so here we go… in no particular order… also, please note that some of the businesses mentioned below might require special permits, licenses, and or permits. Always check federal as well as your local and state laws to be sure what you need to avoid legal trouble.

1. Start a blog

Publishing a blog is how I currently make a living, however, the downside to starting, running, and ultimately making money from blogging is that there is a huge learning curve. For the first three or four years, I didn’t make anything at all but I kept at it because it wasn’t about the money.

My focus was and still is on helping people but I now make a few thousand dollars each month doing it. I won’t go into all of the details here but I wrote an article about how to start a blog that you can check out if you’re interested in giving blogging a try.

2. Woodworking

This is a side job that I started doing way back when I was in my late teens and still do it some but not as often as I did a few years ago. Mostly I’d make porch swings, birdhouses, picnic tables, dog houses, etc. To sell my works I’d place ads in the local newspaper, set up and display my stuff beside the road, and once a week I’d load up and haul the stuff I built to the local flea market where I’d set up and sale.

If you’re interested in doing this there are countless books and woodworking plans that will help you get started.

3. Answer surveys

Yeah, it sounds like a scam, you know the “too good to be true” type thing, but the truth is that you can get paid to answer surveys and to test products – you just have to know where to look. While I’ve not personally done this my girlfriend does and the following are the companies that she suggested that I include here – GoldOpinions.com and Paid surveys at home.

4. Groom and or Train Dogs

If you love dogs then this might be the perfect choice for you. If you don’t know anything about training a dog then you can learn – there are plenty of books and online courses that will help you learn how to do this. There is even a Dog Grooming For Dummies book available.

5. Babysit Children

This one can be a money-maker and might be perfect for you if you like taking care of children. However, you’ll most likely need some good references from previous babysitting jobs if potential employers don’t already know and trust you. In most locations, $8 to $10 per hour is a reasonable hourly rate. Click here for “The Babysitter’s Survival Guide: Fun Games, Cool Crafts, Safety Tips, and More!“.

6. Be A Handyman

I used to work as a handyman and did all sorts of “odd jobs” for people. All you need is a pickup truck and some basic tools and skills to use them. The truck is mostly needed to haul off junk and stuff when that’s part of the job description. I’ve pained, racked leaves, worked in gardens, dug ditches, cleaned out dog lots, cleaned out barns, and chicken houses, cleared fence lines etc. I found this book on Amazon about running a handyman business but I’ve not read it so I can’t say how useful it would be.

7. Clean Homes

This is another good opportunity for earning extra cash that doesn’t require a huge cash outlay to get started. All you need is a way to get to the job site, some cleaning supplies and a willingness to work. The best advertising is word of mouth, do a good job and word will spread quickly and you’ll soon have more work than you can handle. If you’re interested in this then I suggest that you start by reading this book “How to Start Your Own House Cleaning Company“.

8. Moving Service

If you have a strong back and a truck (you can rent one if you don’t have one of your own) then you can make extra cash by moving people’s belongings from one location to another. This side job works best if you live in a semi-urban area, however, there are usually customers to be found in rural areas as well.

9. Take Photos

If you have the skills and equipment needed then you can make extra cash by taking and selling photos. You can get jobs taking photos at weddings, family reunions, birthdays and other such events. You can also sell photos to print magazines and even to some online photo outlets such as Shutterstock and Bigstock.

Even though I haven’t done this myself (yet) I do like taking photos and need a better camera so I did some research and now have this one on my Amazon Wishlist Canon EOS Rebel T6 Digital SLR Camera… what do you think?

10. Wash and Detail Cars

I know two brothers who do this. They simply set up at a local car wash with a sign offering to wash and detail cars and trucks and they stay covered up with customers during the summer months. No real skill is needed and the only upfront costs are some auto detailing supplies. My guess is that they make several hundred dollars a day doing this.

12. Teach a Skill

If you’re good at something then there is probably someone who out there who would pay you to teach them so that they can be good at that something too. Are you good at sewing, cooking, automaniacs, taxidermy, martial arts, gardening, etc.?

If you have a skill then you can probably make extra money or even a full-time income by teaching others that skill.

12. Grow and Sell Fresh Produce

If you have extra garden space on your homestead then you can make extra money by growing a surplus of vegetables in that space and selling the extra produce. Granted you’re not going to get rich by selling your extra garden produce, however, it’s a good way to make a few hundred dollars after harvest.

You can sell from your homestead, a roadside stand, or set up at a local flea market. Sweet corn, tomatoes, and green beans are usually top sellers.

13. Sell Eggs

If you have chickens then you probably have extra eggs and you can turn those extra eggs into extra cash. Several folks in my area have homemade signs up in front of their homes that read “Fresh Eggs $2.50 A Dozen” or similar.

Sure, they aren’t getting rich selling their extra chicken eggs but it is a good way to make a few extra dollars without any extra work.

14. Pick and Sell Blackberries

I picked and sold blackberries when I was a teenager. In season blackberries grow everywhere around here, beside the road, in the fields, at old abandoned homesites, etc. All you need is a basket or bucket and time to pick.

It’s best to have an order with a buyer before you start picking. Most of your buyers will be older folks who want the berries to make home-canned jelly and jam.

15. Dig or Grow Ginseng and Other Roots

Digging ginseng is something else that I did as a teenager and young adult to earn extra money and often made several thousand dollars a year doing it. Prices vary from year to year, and during a good year when prices are up, you can make several thousand dollars in a couple of months digging ginseng and other roots and even more can be earned by growing it.

A good book to find out more about this is “Ginseng: How to Find, Grow, and Use North America’s Forest Gold” as well as “Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and other Woodland Medicinals“.

16. Pest Control

If you’re good at trapping and removing pests around your home then you might be able to make extra money doing that for others as well. Squirrels in the attic snakes in the basement, hornets building a nest in the barn, snapping turtles in the farm pond, etc.

These things need to be taken care of quickly and safely and if you’re good at it then people will pay you to do it for them. Think “Call of The Wildman“.

17. Cut and Sell Firewood

This one is something else that I’ve done to make extra money. It’s a lot of work, and it’s dangerous, and you need a good truck, chainsaw, and safety gear, however, if you can get past those hurdles then you can make some good money in the fall and winter months cutting and selling firewood.

I found that the best place to find trees to cut into firewood is on logging sites. Most of the time they will simply give you the wood since they aren’t going to use it for anything. You can usually cut all of the firewood that you can sell by going behind the loggers and cutting up the treetops and discarded limbs. As a bonus, by doing this you don’t have to cut down any living trees yourself.

Fortunately, like for just about everything else, there is a book on how to do it – Firewood: An Insider’s Guide for the Homeowner and Entrepreneur, from the Tree to the Stove, however, I don’t think you can learn how to cut firewood by just reading a book. Using a chainsaw and splitting wood is a skill that’s learned by doing.

18. Hiking Guide

If you’re in good physical condition, and live near a national park with hiking trails and love the outdoors then this might be the perfect way for you to earn money. Put an ad in the local newspaper, and or in hiking magazines, set up a website, etc. to get customers.

19. Fishing and Hunting Guide

This one could be combined with number 17 above, however, you can’t be stupid about this and think that you can just start a business as a hunting guide when the only hunting you’ve done has been in a video game. You’ll need real hunting and fishing knowledge and the skills to keep your customers safe and ensure that most are successful on their hunting or fishing trip.

20. Trapping and Sell Pelts

If you live up north where the furs grow thick and beautiful and you have trapping skills or want to learn those skills then this might be an excellent opportunity for you to earn money. You’ll need the traps, bait, a trap basket, and skills but if you love the outdoors and like spending hours and or days alone out in the backwoods then this might be perfect for you.

21. Panning for Gold

This is something that I’ve never done myself (but it sure looks like fun) however, a lot of folks do it and make extra income from it. A quick search on Amazon.com brought up a number of books on the subject, and another search brought up this video and this one too. These informational resources should be enough to get you started.

22. Writing

If you have some writing talent then you can make extra money or even full-time living. You could write freelance magazine articles, or write books that you can self-publish on Amazon.com for example. You could also advertise your writing services on sites such as Fivver and Upwork.

Or you could even write for me and have your work featured here on MDCreekmore.com. I pay $25 per article upon publication and an additional $5 per photo used.

23. Raise and Sell Stock

If you raise more chickens, rabbits, goats, cows, or whatever than you need on your own homestead then you can make extra money by selling off your surplus. You could even go big and do this full-time if you have the land i.e. cattle farming etc.

24. Mobile Repair Service

If you’re good at auto, farm equipment and or small engine repair then you can make a good living in most rural areas by offering a mobile repair service. All you need is a good truck to haul your tools and the skills needed to do repairs. Trust me once word gets around that you can fix things you’ll have more work than you can keep up with.

25. Lawn care and Landscaping

This is another job that I’ve done to earn extra money. Yes, it’s hard hot work but it can pay really well and is an excellent way to make extra money during the spring, summer, and fall. I once had a contract to mow a large cemetery, it took five to six days to mow it all and then off a week and then mow it again. If was the only job that I had that year and I did well. Unfortunately, the next year I was underbid on the contract and didn’t get to keep the job for another season.

26. Sell Honey

If you’re a beekeeper, then you know how valuable fresh honey is and you also know how easy it is to sell to friends, family and at flea markets, etc. If you have enough hives you can make this into a full-time income. A good book that will give you a wealth of information on doing this is The Complete Guide to Beekeeping for Fun & Profit.

Jars with some nice custom printed labels will go a long way towards increasing your sales and profit.

27 – Make and Sell Crafts

If you have a few basic tools and some skill then you can make crafts like birdhouses, feeders, wooden toys, blankets, leather gun holsters, etc. and sell those at flea markets, craft fairs, and online. This can become a full-time income if you put in the work and marketing.

Selling your crafts online is probably your best option and the most profitable. If you want to market your crafts online then I suggest that you get a copy of “How to Sell Your Crafts Online: A Step-by-Step Guide to Successful Sales on Etsy and Beyond“.

28. Mobile Welding Service

A mobile welding service could be a stand-alone business or combined with number twenty-three above. Stuff breaks and if it’s metal you can weld it back together and earn some cash doing it. While you’re probably not going to get rich doing this you can make some extra cash and extra cash in the pocket is always good.

29. Gunsmith

If you’re knowledgeable about firearms and their repair then you can make extra money doing this. Gunsmith work is yet another side hustle that I’ve done in the past. One trick to earning more is to work with local pawn shops doing repairs on forfeited pawned firearms.

30. Computer Repair

If you’re good with electronics then you can set up a computer repair and or sales shop on your homestead and you’re good to go. A roadside sign, an ad in the local newspaper paper and or phone book yellow pages, and you’ll be busy all year round.

You can earn a living and never have to leave your homestead if you don’t want to do this. If you already have the skills (you can take classes to learn those skills) then your startup costs will be low all you need is a room in your house, garage or outbuilding, and some tools for the job and you’re good to go.

31. Selling on eBay

And yet something else that I’ve done to make extra money. Before I started blogging I sold used books on eBay and did pretty well at it. It’s really not difficult with the hardest part is finding the right products to sell and staying organized.

A great book that will give you a huge push in the right direction is “eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies“.

If you have any other ideas then please share those in the comments below so others can benefit from your knowledge…

This Week On The Homestead

April 7, 2018 M.D. Creekmore

Well, folks here we are another week on the homestead and another week working and prepping towards our goal of becoming more self-reliant. Nothing beats the feeling of doing something with your own two hands when knowing that the end result will be that you are less dependent on others.

And that is the goal here at MDCreekmore.com and that is to become less dependent on others, corporations, and government. And the most effective and productive ways to do that is via homesteading, prepping, and a home business.

Okay, now let’s get into this week on the homestead…

My Homestead — This week I planted two more dwarf apple and two dwarf peach trees.

These are the apple trees that I planted and these are the peach trees…

I also added a thick mulch of straw around my other dwarf fruit trees. These are ones that I planted last spring.

Chicken coop — Cleaned out my chicken coop to get it ready for the new chicks to be transferred into it. (This is before cleaning.)

Coop after cleaning (several days after) and 12 new Golden Comet chicks added.

This week I also ordered the book – The Blogger’s Simple Guide to Taxes: A Guide to Saving Time and Money, however, I’ve not received it yet.

Well, folks, that’s it for me on the homestead this week – feel free to add what you did on the homestead this week or what you did to prep this week in the comments below…