[SoggyGranolaMomma]

We are getting ready (hopefully!) to move up onto some property a decent way off the beaten path (pop of 1500!).

I am SOOO excited and find myself trending more towards a self-sustaining way of life.

I'm overwhelmed by the changes I can be making and want to pace myself (and my family) a bit before they think I've gone off the deep end.

I'm also looking for things like natural and organic living information. For example, I have bulk food items that are stored in plastic bins right now. I'm totally not diggin' that these days. What are alternatives? Are there maybe some grass baskets with paper liners I could use instead? Where would I find these kinds of products?

That sort of stuff. And to think, it all started off with cloth diapering!

:

 

[Annikate]

That sounds great! I've really been wanting some vintage copies of Mother Earth News (you can find them on ebay). There's TONS of good stuff in those. My dad used to get them.

 

[HydeParkB]

Mother Earth News also has a pretty information-packed website. They also sell CDs of their archive. I think it's maybe $19.99 for a decade's worth of articles.

If you are wanting to can your own foods, the Bell Blue Book is 'the bible.' My husband and his grandmother swear by it.

 

[Luthien Arcamenel]

The Humanure Handbook!

 

[Hannah]

The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery.
I must warn you that the sections on slaughtering animals can be hard to read(depending on your beliefs) But there is still a ton of valuable information.

 

[4lilfarmers]

Homesteading by Gene Logsdon
Back to Basics (readers' digest book)
Living on Less (from the editors of Mother Earth News)
Putting Food By (don't remember authors)
Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz

I'd opt for glass jars to store bulk foods in...that's what we use. We get some from local restaurants (huge olive/pickle/etc jars), Frontier distributors and use large mason jars. It keeps critters/moths/etc out.

 

[2busy2clean]

Great book on the nuts and bolts of living off the grid is: Solar Living Source Book, your complete guide to renewable energy technologies and sustainable living by John Schaffer.

 

[ModernMaven]

Cradle to Cradle by Will McDonough

 

[annethcz]

Carla Emery's books are AWESOME!!! I also really liked The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour.

As for bulk foods, it depends on what the item is and how much of it you have. I do a lot of canning, and obviously use glass jars for those. But for things like bulk wheat or other baking supplies, I think that plastic food-grade buckets are ideal. Although they may not be the most environmentally friendly, they will keep your food safe from critters. After you buy the buckets the first time, get a gamma seal lid, and reuse the buckets. I grind my own wheat into flour to bake bread, and this is the best solution I've found.