Simple Living On The Homestead

Homestead Favorites

Here is a list of items that I find useful on our homestead. Everything on this page is things that I use and love, a lot of them daily

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In The House:

Kitchen:

  • Cast iron dutch oven I have the 5qt
  • Cast iron frying pans I use these pretty much every day
  • Cast iron griddle You can use this on the stove or the grill
  • Cast iron bread pans Some say cast iron takes longer to bake bread, but that has not been my experience.
  • Cast iron muffin pan I cannot find the one I have anywhere, I found it at a second-hand store, but everything from this brand that we have is good, so I would recommend this one.
  • Supoon (spatula, spoon, measuring spoon in one)
  • Slotted turner I love this because it is so flexible and it makes it easy to get it under things
  • Stainless steel measuring spoons I love that these fit in most spice jars and the measuring cups are super sturdy
  • Mixing bowls with lids Having lids for mixing bowls is so handy
  • Canister set for dry goods I use these for my flour, sugar, oatmeal, and powdered sugar
  • Bread box I like having a place to keep all the bread neat.
  • Handheld mixer We don’t use a mixer for a lot of things, but this cheap one from Walmart has held up well for us
  • Ulu knife and board Very useful for chopping meat for salads, crumbling bacon, chopping nuts, etc.
  • Kitchen knives I only have one with a metal handle, the rest of mine are plastic handles, but I do not recommend the ones with plastic handles as they are falling apart after just 2 years.
  • Small glass jars with reusable lids I know, they say baby food containers, but I use them for a lot more than that
  • Vegetable Chopper I use this all the time for chopping just about anything. It makes jobs like cutting potatoes or onions so much faster
  • Ice Maker We got this for when we butcher our birds as it was cheaper to buy than bags of ice and we use it for butchering every year and for ice all summer long

Canning:

  • Pressure canner I can’t find the exact one I have as my grandma gave me mine, but this one is the same size from the same brand.
  • Pressure regulator weight Really handy as you can put the right pound weight on and not have to watch it as closely
  • Stock pots I use these all the time for cooking and canning
  • Giant stock pot This might be overkill, but I love it for canning, I can fit so much in it
  • Canning jars We get several new dozen jars a year as we are still working on building up our supply.
  • Canning lids regular mouth bulk
  • Canning lids wide mouth bulk They aren’t name-brand lids, but we have not had a problem with them.
  • Jar lifter and funnel Very useful for canning

Food Preservation:

  • Vacuum sealer This vacuum sealer does dry and damp things, I do wish it did wet as well, but it works well for everything we have used it for.
  • Vacuum sealer bags
  • Dehydrator I dehydrate a lot of fruit in the summer and fall with this, it runs pretty much everyday for a couple of weeks during apple season

Baby And Toddler:

Accessories:

  • All in one car seat Very sturdy car seats that fit 3 across in most cars. We use them from the day they are born.
  • Structured baby carrier – I like to have a structured baby carrier when they get a little older and heavier, I use the Ergobaby original but it has been discontinued.
  • Baby wrap This is very easy to put on and adjust to your size, which is nice because both my husband and I wear the baby so it’s nice to have one that we can switch back and forth easily. I do a lot of baby carrying, especially in the early days and I loved the back support this one gives.
  • Baby/Toddler foldable camping chair Very handy for camping, especially since it has a tray
  • Mini pack ‘n play/co-sleeper We don’t use ours as a co-sleeper, but a small portable pack ‘n-play that we can travel with and tuck in a corner of the house when the baby is small.
  • Indoor/Outdoor swing We don’t use many ‘containers’ for our babies, but we do have a swing for when we need to put the baby down for a minute. This one is nice because it can be used for the baby and the toddler.
  • Cuddle swing Another swing we love, especially since it can hold adults too. 🙂
  • Pod swing Our children love swings
  • Indoor trampoline Perfect for all that winter or rainy day energy
  • Cloth Diapers I love that these covers work some without the inserts, I can use them over a paper diaper at night for extra absorbency or over underwear while potty training.
  • Bamboo inserts These work so much better for me than the microfiber ones
  • Water bottles Stainless steel sippy cup or bottle

Toys/Learning Toys:

Kids Books:

Outside Supplies:

Gardening:

Poultry:

  • Bird feeder We love this feeder because it saves a lot of food waste, there is never food on the ground under the feeder even with the geese
  • Bird enclosure For the most part our birds are free range, but sometimes we need to pen them up and this pen has worked well for us.
  • Water/extra grain dishes These rubber dishes are very versatile, we use them for extra grain, water, food scraps, pretty much anything.
  • Electric poultry netting Chickens and guineas are able to fly over this, but it keeps the geese in and the predators out (we had problems with racoons and foxes and neither have made it through the fence)

Hatching:

  • Incubator I liked this one for hatching season, I could fit quite a few goose eggs in it and I had really good hatch rates
  • Headlamp This headlamp works really nice for candling eggs. The size of the end where the light comes out is just right for setting an egg on and you don’t have to fuss with getting a good seal around the egg to get all the light to go through the egg. It takes me only a few seconds to candle each egg with this light.
  • Chick waterers – Nipple, Cup (you need the cup for waterfowl so they can dip their whole beak in)
  • Feeders I have quite a few of these, in multiple sizes
  • Portable fence this fence works good for when you first put baby birds outside. You can move it wherever you want and fold it up when you are done
  • Baby bird food we use this to feed all of our babies for the first couple of days and then supplement them with it after we turn them out on grass

Flashlights:

Dog:

  • Flea and Tick spray A natural flea spray that works. I don’t have to worry about putting it on around the kids and it smells good
  • Flea shampoo Natural flea shampoo
  • Brush set Having a long-haired dog with a double coat requires lots of brushing. These brushes are sturdy and they have one of every one you need.
  • Training treat pouch Our puppy is still in training and we like to carry her food and treats around with us during the day to enforce good behavior, this pouch holds at least 2 cups of dog food and has a separate pocket for treats.