Learning Old-Fashioned Skills | Carolyn Thomas of Homesteading Family

When diving into the world of homesteading, it can quickly become overwhelming when you realize just how many skills there are to learn. Where should you start? I’m so glad Carolyn of Homesteading Family joined me for this conversation. As a long-time homesteader and mother of 10, Carolyn shares how she got started building her skillset to support the homesteading lifestyle she desired for herself and her family. Carolyn is a wealth of information, and she is passionate about teaching others how to live this beautiful way of life, too.
In this episode, we cover:
The most important old-fashioned skills in 2022
Why learning new skills is actually easier than you think
How to fit in learning new skills when you are already maxed out
The benefits of saying no to convenience
What our children gain from growing up in a homesteading lifestyle
A few areas where we choose the convenient route
The one thing to get in order before you start learning old-fashioned skills
GUEST BIOGRAPHY
Carolyn Thomas and her husband, Josh, live on a 40 acre homestead in Idaho surrounded by gardens, livestock, and children. She spends her days rocking babies, homeschooling her children, and preserving food for the coming winter. As part of her passion, she also teaches homesteading skills to encourage other families to live simply and focus on the things that really matter... faith, family, and really good food!
DISCOUNTS
The Abundant Pantry: Canning | 25% off your purchase using this link
The Abundant Pantry: Preserving Eggs | 25% off your purchase using this link
RESOURCES
The Abundant Pantry: Canning: classes.homesteadingfamily.co... | 25% off your purchase of this canning course using code FARMHOUSE
Also check out The Abundant Pantry: Preserving Eggs: classes.homesteadingfamily.co...
Homesteading Family classes: classes.homesteadingfamily.co...
Carolyn’s Home Management Series on KZread: • Home Management Series
Homesteading Family’s Household Management Class: classes.homesteadingfamily.co...
Ball Blue Book: / 633538.ball_blue_book_...
ThriftBooks.com: www.thriftbooks.com/
Townsends.us books: www.townsends.us/collections/...
CONNECT
Carolyn Thomas of Homesteading Family
Website: homesteadingfamily.com/
KZread: / @homesteadingfamily
Podcast: homesteadingfamily.com/podcas...
Instagram: / homesteadingfamily
Facebook: / homesteadingfamily
Pinterest: / _created
Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone
Blog: www.farmhouseonboone.com/
KZread: / farmhouseonboone
Instagram: / farmhouseonboone
TikTok: / farmhouseonboone
Facebook: / farmhouseonboone
Pinterest: / _created
Join us in the Simple Farmhouse Life Facebook community: / 748012922264552
GET MORE FROM THIS EPISODE
Listen to this podcast episode: anchor.fm/simple-farmhouse-li...
View full show notes and transcript on the blog: simplefarmhouselifepodcast.co...
MORE RESOURCES
Want to start your own blog? Get my FREE blogging success masterclass: www.farmhouseonboone.com/mast...
Get your Berkey Filter with the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast discount: www.berkeyfilters.com/collect...
Watch my Berkey review video: • Do we like our Berkey ...
Download my updated ebook with ALL of my sourdough recipes: withered-breeze-7467.ck.page/...

Пікірлер: 78

  • @marshanunley5197
    @marshanunley51972 жыл бұрын

    About 30 years ago I took a night class at our local high school called Pioneer arts. We sheared sheep, carded the wool, dyed the wool with onion skins, etc. we strung green beans and dried them and cooked many months later. We made soap, we quilted, we hatched chicks etc. I am 75 and never forgot this class. Now Utube does this and I am enjoying your programs etc. one of these days I am going to try to make a sour dough starter.

  • @dellawheeler1034

    @dellawheeler1034

    2 жыл бұрын

    That would be so awesome! I wish they still offered that, I didn’t get to learn everything I wanted to before my granny passed

  • @dosanjhjatt4361

    @dosanjhjatt4361

    Жыл бұрын

    That sounds like an amazing class! Try making a sourdough starter. It easier than it seems! I started mine during the lockdown. My advice: use whole wheat flour or spelt for the starter.

  • @smason3541
    @smason35412 жыл бұрын

    I saw this thumbnail and was shook! You two have helped me so much! I’ve been following you both for about 3 years. We just bought our 6 acre homestead, got 11 chicks, planted a garden, got bee hives, planted a garden, buying two calves… as you both know the list goes on and on! Thank you both so much! God Bless!

  • @MayfieldRanch

    @MayfieldRanch

    2 жыл бұрын

    So excited for you getting your homestead! We have chickens and love it. You will be overflowing with eggs:) How exciting that you are getting cows. We have donkeys, but no cow. Gary keeps asking if we can get a cow. Do you have a KZread channel? I have a new one called Mayfield Ranch. If you are getting cows and have a channel I’d love to follow along and watch that journey! Congratulations on your property.

  • @kenyonbissett3512

    @kenyonbissett3512

    2 жыл бұрын

    How wonderful! Such a great experience!

  • @smason3541

    @smason3541

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@MayfieldRanch yes. This is it. We’ve been waiting for our Nomad internet since we’re in nomans land and can’t upload anything. We will be posting as soon as we can and vlog our process. How exciting for you too!

  • @rough-hewnhomestead5737
    @rough-hewnhomestead57372 жыл бұрын

    Love Carolyn and her family. They share valuable info and are so knowledgeable.

  • @nataliakutsev6136
    @nataliakutsev61362 жыл бұрын

    I grew up with 10 siblings on a farm. We had a milking cow, chickens, & pigs (occasionally). My upbringing was everything you talked about here. We also sewed our own clothing (shirts & dresses only). Summertime was berry picking for work, & evening were tending the vegetable garden & lots & lots of canning. I remember by 12 yrs old I was able to make homemade bread & pasta without moms help. I still do a lot of the canning & bread making, but tend to lean towards buying food from the store cause I work full time & do not have time for some of the things I grew up with. Great job ladies!!! You are amazing on all you do & teaching your children by leading by example

  • @loritrotter6354
    @loritrotter63542 жыл бұрын

    Wonderful, informative video. I have personally taken part in 3 of the Masterclasses offered by Homesteading Family and can highly recommend them!

  • @haileybowman2958
    @haileybowman29582 жыл бұрын

    These podcasts w/ all these guests are sooo good! Thank you

  • @Simplefarmhouselife

    @Simplefarmhouselife

    2 жыл бұрын

    oh I'm so happy you enjoy them!

  • @diannamc367

    @diannamc367

    2 жыл бұрын

    Agree!

  • @kenyonbissett3512
    @kenyonbissett35122 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for hosting Carolyn! She is a font of information. I’ve been recommending her YT channel for years. For a long time she was the only one demonstrating so many great skills, many that can save so much money.

  • @HomesteadingFamily

    @HomesteadingFamily

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Kenyon! :)

  • @goldakaplan1861

    @goldakaplan1861

    2 жыл бұрын

    Same. I love following Homesteading Family and have learned so much as well. Carolyn is a natural born teacher

  • @brittanybrown273
    @brittanybrown2732 жыл бұрын

    I LOVE Carolyn's household management videos! So glad for this video.

  • @SimplyBeautiful516

    @SimplyBeautiful516

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank You for saying this! I’m planning to check it out now!

  • @HomesteadingFamily

    @HomesteadingFamily

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Brittany!

  • @judyrogers8775
    @judyrogers87752 жыл бұрын

    Carolyn is solid gold!! 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

  • @ritahamm1893
    @ritahamm18932 жыл бұрын

    The Amish has the right idea, don’t they? About something’s anyway! This was a great listen!

  • @Goldiloxandthe3bears
    @Goldiloxandthe3bears2 жыл бұрын

    My daughter (15 yo) and I love your channel. I love the way you celebrate the importance of motherhood and homemaking. ❤️

  • @sarajacobs8775
    @sarajacobs87752 жыл бұрын

    I absolutely loving these collaborations!!! This one, Carolyn and Melissa, Josh and Justin, Josh and Ann of all trades! Thank you!! They have been so interesting and fun to watch and so much information to be learned!!!

  • @shannonjensen9915
    @shannonjensen99152 жыл бұрын

    My favorite two KZread people together!!! Thanks for this great chat!

  • @Simplefarmhouselife

    @Simplefarmhouselife

    2 жыл бұрын

    oh yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed it

  • @nomir4065
    @nomir40652 жыл бұрын

    I'm committing to getting household in order. Thank you for the encouragement there!

  • @chantelouverbojarski6116
    @chantelouverbojarski61162 жыл бұрын

    Love these two wonderwomen. I don't think Lisa is trying to be funny but man, she cracks me up.

  • @annadavis6322
    @annadavis63222 жыл бұрын

    Lol, gosh I wish I'd heard all of this last year!!! I ended up so so incredibly stressed out I ended up with pain inducing anxiety and eczema on my palms that left them raw skinned for months! But looking back I can see that Carolyn is absolutely right. Household management would have been the place to start and really thinking about how much more complicated your house becomes with just managing the food coming in and what you're going to do with it and mentally keeping track of it while also having a whole bunch more equipment than a "normal" kitchen, not to mention the learning process. Well I truly hope this video reaches a lot of people about to step off into the homesteading world! Blessings

  • @ribbonriver
    @ribbonriver2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you! Love that you two are together!!

  • @FarmhouseTeas
    @FarmhouseTeas2 жыл бұрын

    Two of my fav people! Love love Carolyn 🥰 The highlight of our summer last year was getting to meet her and your thier homestead. We’re hoping to go back this year when Josh is home and meet him too. They don’t live too far away from us :) she always has such great advice and has really been a blessing to our business. We have been blessed to pack their herb kits for her herbalism course the last 3 years.

  • @terraranch1459
    @terraranch14592 жыл бұрын

    This was fabulous! Thanks to both of you. Hugs❤️

  • @imTayRAWR
    @imTayRAWR2 жыл бұрын

    this is EVERYTHING ❤️ so much wisdom and knowledge! you two have to collab again.

  • @michaelbuchtel6346
    @michaelbuchtel63468 ай бұрын

    Really enjoyed this

  • @jenniferr2057
    @jenniferr20572 жыл бұрын

    Carolyn, you make such a good point. It is sometimes hard to discern who Is teaching because they know, vs those that are acting like teachers as they read the directions - so they can get a video out. It's like canning.... I've been doing it forever... And you can tell who is doing a tutorial and clearly hasn't don't it before... Which is fine, as long as you are honest about it! If you teaching yourself just say it!

  • @mrsaguas524
    @mrsaguas5242 жыл бұрын

    You two are my favorites. I follow you both and REALLY appreciate all of your wisdom and knowledge and explanation of everything. I want to get myself/our family to the point that I can learn more of these skills. Sourdough is all I can manage at the moment, and basically eating the grocery store food in the fridge before it all goes bad 😵‍💫🤣

  • @horselady4375
    @horselady43752 жыл бұрын

    Miss your morning vids.always interesting

  • @aprilyeno1919
    @aprilyeno19192 жыл бұрын

    Love this focus and wisdom!!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!! This “city girl” is adapting your knowledge to our family. God Bless!❤️🙏🏻

  • @KimmysGFSouthernCooking
    @KimmysGFSouthernCooking2 жыл бұрын

    Love this!!! Two of my very favorite people!!

  • @LandElevated
    @LandElevated2 жыл бұрын

    Wow! This is so nice 🤩

  • @tinakercher8768
    @tinakercher8768 Жыл бұрын

    I love what you all are doing for your families and for other families! Thank you.

  • @allisonlong2610
    @allisonlong2610 Жыл бұрын

    Not a lot of produce from the grocery store can be preserved. One of the processing steps to shelves prevents it. I had red cabbage on the counter for almost a week and nothing happened.

  • @shelliecummins5972
    @shelliecummins59722 жыл бұрын

    Love all these collaborations.. I watch them all.. this is so neat that they can interact..

  • @RaptureReadyMamaBear
    @RaptureReadyMamaBear2 жыл бұрын

    Found ya by recognizing Carolyn/Homesteading Family❤️ Super happy I stopped.. I am soooo struggling in time management/organizing and structure❤️ Enjoyed this episode! Blessed by both of you ladies and your knowledge and skills! THANK YOU! God Bless you both and your families❣️❤️🙏🏼✝️❤️ Kimmy

  • @FarmhouseHarvest
    @FarmhouseHarvest2 жыл бұрын

    Loved listening to this podcast today! Great tips for getting started and doing so many things!

  • @thesimplelifewife3
    @thesimplelifewife32 жыл бұрын

    What a fun collaboration!

  • @Simplefarmhouselife

    @Simplefarmhouselife

    2 жыл бұрын

    oh yay!

  • @olgamcleod2353
    @olgamcleod23532 жыл бұрын

    Wow! What an great chat! You, ladies, are absolutely amazing!

  • @joyfulinhope1210
    @joyfulinhope12102 жыл бұрын

    This is great-Carolyn is one of my favorite sources for food preservation info.

  • @laurasimon6573
    @laurasimon65732 жыл бұрын

    You ladies are fantastic, I appreciate your knowledge thank you for sharing

  • @jamieo3869
    @jamieo38692 жыл бұрын

    Loving these podcasts!! You’re killing it!

  • @focusbonheur6519
    @focusbonheur65192 жыл бұрын

    Great épisode! So much whisdom! Also, I love how you do interview you guest and not argue on what they Say. You truly seams to be there to listen with open Heart and mind. Really graceful in your conversation skills! I'm learning IT also!

  • @laurennunley3759
    @laurennunley37592 жыл бұрын

    This was Awesome!

  • @fourdayhomestead2839
    @fourdayhomestead28392 жыл бұрын

    This is an awesome interview.

  • @vintagebeliever5023
    @vintagebeliever50232 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for this wonderful chat! I enjoy these so much. 🤗

  • @Simplefarmhouselife

    @Simplefarmhouselife

    2 жыл бұрын

    So glad!

  • @103Catherine
    @103Catherine Жыл бұрын

    Wish I had someone to teach me this

  • @cherylmoran5134
    @cherylmoran51342 жыл бұрын

    Sheetpan pancakes is the way to go when cooking for a large group.

  • @Suecaroline7
    @Suecaroline72 жыл бұрын

    Loved this so much!!! Carolyn is awesome.

  • @Simplefarmhouselife

    @Simplefarmhouselife

    2 жыл бұрын

    so happy you enjoyed!

  • @kristinhassler7222
    @kristinhassler72222 жыл бұрын

    You both are amazing and I have learned so, so much from watching your videos. Thank you so much for sharing your skills and your hearts with many of us! My struggle is that we also have a large family (we are currently in the process of adopting child #8), but the majority of my children have significant disabilities and I am the main caregiver. I was wondering if you know of any resources for situations such as this. I notice so often that in larger families, the children are helping with all the chores and learning skills that ultimately make it possible for the family to live this more "old fashion" life. I did have help when my older, biological children lived at home, but now I have a 26 year old who is total care, a 20 year old with significant physical and mental challenges and a newborn who we are adopting. I'd love to find someone who could help guide me on this journey as I have found it increasingly difficult to add skills to my busy schedule. Thanks for listening and again, thank you both!!!

  • @diannamc367

    @diannamc367

    2 жыл бұрын

    Bless you! You are an inspiration just as you are!!💖

  • @HomesteadingFamily

    @HomesteadingFamily

    2 жыл бұрын

    Wow Kristin, you have so much you are doing already! We should all be learning from you, as I am sure that you are an amazing woman to have such a huge heart! Find the things that fuel you! :) Love of love and respect ❤️

  • @lindastuckey3131
    @lindastuckey31312 жыл бұрын

    ☀️☀️☀️

  • @kristinb5139
    @kristinb51392 жыл бұрын

    You should interview Mary from Mary's nest

  • @jenniferr2057
    @jenniferr20572 жыл бұрын

    Did Carolyn let slip a bit about the thing she keeps saying they'll tell us soon? Or does everyone know, and I missed it?

  • @his-sweetie
    @his-sweetie2 жыл бұрын

    😊

  • @jeslovesjesus
    @jeslovesjesus Жыл бұрын

    Loved this! ❤️ Does anyone have any recommendations of where to buy kefir grains, I’d love to get into making my own!

  • @Simplefarmhouselife

    @Simplefarmhouselife

    Жыл бұрын

    Cultures for Health is a great source.

  • @katiedarkanat2914
    @katiedarkanat29149 ай бұрын

    I'm really struggling to get my 8 year old daughter to help out on our small homestead. Any advice?

  • @Simplefarmhouselife

    @Simplefarmhouselife

    9 ай бұрын

    Find her currency and leverage it...if she loves...X...she can have that or do that after she does whatever chore you have for her and even more exciting she can do or try something new she has been wanting to try or do ...if she is consistent and does her work first. Age appropriate chores before her snack or dessert or any fun activity or free time, for example bed made, teeth brushed..before breakfast

  • @jessicaarmstrong782
    @jessicaarmstrong7822 жыл бұрын

    Why don't you can extra milk for the "dry" season?

  • @jenniferkleffner8110

    @jenniferkleffner8110

    2 жыл бұрын

    You can't safely can milk at home.

  • @vixxcottage

    @vixxcottage

    2 жыл бұрын

    Jessica I canned milk for years I had dairy goats raised for 25 years. Never had a problem.

  • @jessicaarmstrong782

    @jessicaarmstrong782

    2 жыл бұрын

    Its very consiversal. That's why I was asking their opinions

  • @jenniferr2057

    @jenniferr2057

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jessicaarmstrong782 I wonder if you could look and see what Europe does.... They do and have done forever alot of the "can'ts"...

  • @vixxcottage

    @vixxcottage

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jessicaarmstrong782 everything to do with homesteading is controversial. Examples: drinking raw milk. Butchering own meat, canning and preserving your own food. Being self-sufficient is sometimes frowned upon. I know I raised all of my own food and preserved everything. Physically unable today.

  • @fourdayhomestead2839
    @fourdayhomestead28392 жыл бұрын

    Townsends on youtube is reading from old books.

  • @andshedidbeckycrowther8503
    @andshedidbeckycrowther8503 Жыл бұрын

    Making clothing. I can do it. Don’t want to do it.