For People who Like to Grow, Make, and Figure Things Out
Gardening, food, preparedness, recipes, quiet reflections, and old-fashioned know-how — shared weekly from our Wisconsin homestead. To subscribe, just enter your email in the sign-up form below.
Can’t see the sign-up form?
Some browsers and privacy settings block embedded forms. If that happens, you can comment below and I’ll add you manually.
What you’ll receive
- A weekend newsletter with new and seasonal posts
- Practical gardening, food, and preservation guidance
- Calm, realistic preparedness ideas
- Recipes, home remedies, and wild food knowledge
- Occasional updates on free classes, guides, or trusted partner offers
Free Subscriber Bonuses
- Common Sense Homesteading 101 Printable Guide
- Printable Garden Planner
- Bread Baking Troubleshooting Guide and Q&A
- and more
This newsletter is for you if you…
- Enjoy learning practical skills at your own pace
- Prefer real-world experience over quick fixes
- Want to be more capable without being extreme
- Like a calm, thoughtful approach to preparedness
- Appreciate occasional reflections from life on a working homestead
You don’t need land, livestock, or a perfect plan — just curiosity and a willingness to learn.
A Note about Common Sense Home
I’m Laurie Neverman, creator of Common Sense Home. Common Sense Home is run by our family from a small homestead in northeast Wisconsin. We grow and preserve much of our food, experiment with practical resilience projects, and share what works (and what doesn’t) along the way.
We’re not perfect, and we don’t do everything ourselves — but we believe in learning, adapting, and using sound judgment to build steadier lives. Along the way we’ve gone through job losses, economic upheaval, and the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020. (More about us here.)
What Readers Say
“You make us readers feel like family, and you have solid advice because you and your family have paved the way for us to follow however it best fits our lives. I also love your recipes! ❤ Thank you for all you do.” – Krystal C.
“Your newsletters always feel like a note from a friend.” – Heather N.
“I like the sense of home and family and down to earth real living. You’re like my country cousin who teaches me the good ways.” – Roxyann B.
“I love the free guides. They are such a big help for me. All of the ones I have down loaded I have saved in my I-books. My husband and I have been slowly working on homesteading for the past four years and are planning a big move during this year. All of the information you share is awesome and I love it!!” – Nikki D.
If this sounds like a good fit, we’d be glad to have you along.
To subscribe, enter your email in the sign-up form above, or leave a comment below if you can’t see the form.
We send one main newsletter most weekends, with occasional extra emails when something feels especially useful. You can unsubscribe anytime.
— Laurie, Common Sense Home
Thanks
Never saw a subscription form to fill out.
I’ve entered you information. You should be receiving a confirmation email shortly.
Hi Laurie, I subscribed to your site, but so far have not seen a confirmation email. Very interested in the information you blog and appreciate the time you put into it. Hope you can help get me started. Interested also in the e-book. Thanks much!
Becki, I just checked Aweber (the newsletter service I use), and it shows your status as Pending, with “Confirmation Message sent Today, 12:20am”. Check your spam filter and junk mail folders, as sometimes the emails end up there because they’re not directly from a person.
Trying this again….my post from yesterday obviously never made it.
I also can’t find the subscribe button and would like to subscribe and also receive the ebook you mention.
Please add me.
Thank you. Ingrid
Your confirmation email is on its way. I manually check comments because some spammers still get past the spam filters, and I just didn’t have a chance to check until now.
I would love to become a subscriber…. and also receive the ebook that you offer (thank you!) 🙂 … but I too can’t see a ‘subscribe’ button…. Help, please?
Thanks, Ingrid
Please add me to your subscription. There is no button to subscribe.
Subscription confirmation email on its way.
I signed up to get weekly publishing but missed out on the free ebook. Is there a way the link could be sent to my email. Thank you
Headed your way from the laurie at commonsensehome dot com email.
No subscribe button could you add me please.
Can do. Check your inbox for a confirmation email with link to click to confirm your subscription.
Please add me to your subscription. There is no button
Welcome, Kimberly. Check your inbox for the confirmation email.
Subscribe
Done. Check your inbox for a confirmation email with click to confirm link.
I couldn’t find the subscribe button. I use Foxfire and a add-on called noscript that stops a lot of scripts on sites. It is a security feature and Google (the collector of large amounts of information) is normally blocked along with a lot of social sites. Pain in the backside? A little, but I prize my privacy while being available in the world. I am also known as The Body Whisperer and love what I do in the health arena. I came by you via Marjory Wildcraft’s Home Grown Food Summit, though a pity that I couldn’t view your presentation due to internet connectivity problems. I have sent her an email, but as busy as she is I figure she hasn’t had time to consider it.
I look forward to exploring your site and I hope that I can still view your homesteading book. I like how you described yourself and really appreciate authentic folks, sharing what they love.
Blessings,
~Thunder, The Body Whisperer
The subscription box is a script, so that would do it. I feel your pain on internet connectivity issues. We’re on a slow country connection, and it took me over an hour to upload the presentation.
The book is a download in pdf format, and not terribly huge, so hopefully you can access it. If the download doesn’t work, email me at laurie at commonsensehome dot com and I’ll try sending it directly. I entered your information, so you should receive a confirmation email shortly.
searched but with no luck. i’m using firefox (turned all script blocking off). please add me.
On it – check your inbox or spam folder for a confirmation email with a link to click on.
Would like to subscribe using firefox thank you
On it – check your inbox or spam folder for a confirmation email with a link to click on.
Hi Laurie,
I would like to subscribe please. Using Firefox and still can’t see a subscription box. Thanks!
Sarah
Got your comment, Sarah. Check your inbox for a confirmation email.
I want to subscribe
Ruthie, check your inbox for a confirmation email.
I did find a subscribe area above the “Scrolling” window. I may have been able to subscribe after all. Thanks in advance for checking. TIm
Okay, give up is not an option. I turned off all blocking apps and still confused as to where the subscribe link should be. I am just starting to (re)learn about gardening and would love it if you would add me. I remember foraging through the garden during playtime. A quick carrot or onion would keep me from being hungry until play time was over. Unfortunately, I did not pay enough attention to my parents gardening after I was around seven years old. What I wouldn’t give to know all they knew then. Thanks in advance. Happy Sustainability….. Tim
Hi,
I would like to subscribe as well please.
Thanks!
Chantal, you have signed up but still need to confirm your subscription. You should have received an email with a confirmation link. Check your spam folder.
subscribe
Check your inbox for your subscription confirmation email.
I would like to subscribe, I am using Google Chrome, I don’t see a subscription box anywhere.
Hi Marie. I’ve entered your name and email. Check your inbox for a confirmation email.