Common Sense Home Subscription Confirmed
Welcome to Common Sense Home, where we believe in going beyond “sustainability” to abundance. We live in amazing times with access to so much information it can be like drinking from a firehose.
How do you know who to trust?
We have lived on our northeast Wisconsin homestead for over 20 years, transforming an abandoned pasture into a thriving homestead. We’ve combined old and new to become more self-reliant, producing our own electricity and most of our food.
For instance, we have root cellar and use a clothesline, but also have solar electric and solar heat. We have gardens and orchards, but also use permaculture principles to boost productivity. Sometimes we use traditional food preservation techniques, like fermenting. sometimes we use modern techniques like freeze drying.
Modern media and social media like to push gloom and doom to keep us glued to our screens.
I say we need to fix the mess. We can make better choices for our food, our health, and our lives. Let’s learn and build together!
Subscriber Bonuses
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Common Sense Home Garden Planner
Access the garden planner PDF using the image above or download here.
Don’t Lose our Emails in Spam!
Please add the email “laurie at commonsensehome dot com” to your safe senders list. I use a bulk email service provider called “Aweber”, and some email services block all bulk emails, even when you want the email to be delivered. (aol.com in particular seems to be a problem.)
Find What You Need
The Homesteading Resources page lists some of my favorite bulk food suppliers, nurseries, preparedness supplies, online education programs and other references.
Remember, the menus at the top and bottom of the website link to index pages to help you find topics that interest you the most. You can also use the Search box.
We’re Here to Help
If you have a question, comment or a post request, please leave a comment here on the site. (Sometimes I miss social media comments.) Your feedback is very helpful for giving me ideas on what to publish next.
I will email at least once a week, sometimes more if there is something time sensitive.
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The photo above is our backyard on a misty morning. I’ll be sharing snippets of country life each weekend, along with seasonal content and special subscriber offers. Our focus is doing what you can, where you are, with what you have.
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Dedicated to My Mom – “Never Buy Bread Again”
In 2017 I published my first print book, “Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes“. It’s now available in spiral bound print or e-book format.
This book will help you bake amazing homemade bread, even if you’ve never baked before. Includes online baking tutorial and best bread storage tips.
Welcome!
Thank you so much for joining our online community, and I look forward to learning together with you. We live in amazing times, and it’s a wonderful gift to be able to blend old and new into into a better future for our loved ones, our communities and our world.
Laurie Neverman, Creator of Common Sense Home
Who We Are
I (Laurie) started blogging back in 2008. In 2012, we created the current website. Learn More About Laurie Neverman
My husband helps with preparedness and tech related articles. Our two sons have also been drafted into the family business, working on the homestead and the website.
Learn More About Our Homestead
If you have a question, comment or a post request, please leave a comment here on the site or reply to any of our emails. (Sometimes I miss comments on social media comments.) Your feedback is very helpful for giving me ideas on what to publish next.
Why I Created the Site
Over the years, a number of people have asked me why I started blogging. Back in 2008, our family went through a rough patch. My husband lost his job of 16 years, and the stress sent my health into a downward spiral and my weight spiraling up. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but the meds he gave me made me feel worse instead of better.
Long story short, I decided to do what I could to be proactive about my health and providing for our family, doing my own research and figuring out what worked for us. I pulled out of depression, lost weight, and got things back under control.
After five years of working away from home, my husband found a job in the area and we were back together as a family full time. Of course, the only constant is change, and at the end of 2023, my husband’s local job ran its course. Now he’s starting a new venture, doing private consulting work. Visit Neverman Consulting for more information.
We are constantly told that only industrial agriculture can feed the world, or the only way to get rid of garden pests is with poison. Medical costs are skyrocketing, while access to care is getting more difficult in many areas. Disasters happen, and we’re supposed to wait for the government to “save us”, but we know they can’t even balance a budget.
I want a better future than this, and I hope you do, too.
I think you meant to write leafing out not leaving out. I know computers self correct but they are not always correct. Haha Thanks for the good information.
I did indeed mean “leafing” and not “leaving”. That’s on me, as I was rushing a bit to get done before supper.
Not sure if I ordered this Summit twice. Please let me know if I did.
Thank You!
Linda E.
Hi Linda. I don’t have access to the purchase records for the summit, as Audrey is the event organizer. You’ll need to contact her to find out. Her email is audrey@audreyslittlefarm.com.
I just want to say “thank you” for your willingness to share from your experience! I am thrilled that my niece and her family are choosing the homesteading life and I share whatever I can. God bless you and yours and may He continue to use you to encourage others in their quests.
Thank you for your kindness, Andrea. It’s been a bumpy road at times, like nearly losing the place shortly after we built due to job loss, but we’ve hung in there and learned quite a bit along the way.
Thank you, Neverman family, for your knowledge, tenacity, and willingness to share with us. God bless you all.
If you have any wisdom about herbs, tinctures, etc. for elderly victims of memory loss and all the other ills which accompany being bedridden, it would be GREATLY appreciated. my mom is 99 years old, and she is my hero. Anything I can do to make her life easier would be a blessing.
Hi Pat.
I’m so sorry that your mother’s health is struggling. I lost my mom back in 2010, and a piece of my heart went with her.
Everyone’s situation is unique and what works for one person may not work for another, but here are some potential things that might bring comfort/small improvements.
The book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote has suggestions for helping with memory loss. I did a review here – https://commonsensehome.com/the-alzheimers-antidote/
Honey works wonders for bed sores if those are an issue. Any real honey will do.
This video shows tai chi exercises that can be done in bed to help with stroke recovery and other mobility issues – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnWRWqozC0E
Gelatin and collagen are easy to digest protein sources that may help with muscle wasting, joint mobility, and other age related issues. You can mix collagen peptides into hot or cold drinks, though with a frail constitution I would opt for room temperature or warm drinks. I make simple fruit juice based gelatin “jello” and gummies with only fruit juice and gelatin, nothing artificial. That recipe is here – https://commonsensehome.com/finger-jello/
I also have an herbal version with immune boosting herbs – https://commonsensehome.com/immune-boosting-herbs-in-finger-gelatin/
Both are simple and soothing, especially for someone who doesn’t have a lot of appetite.
I would love to do as you do, but, husband and I are both 81, he with Parkinson’s. I admire what you do, but see that it is a full time, all hands on deck lifestyle. So, I’ll just follow along and garner what tips I am able to put into practice. I hope you gain lots of young followers who can start living as you do.
It is definitely a full time commitment, but my hope is that most people can find some small piece of what we do that is a fit for them. Whether it’s a recipe, a preparedness tip, or a home remedy, anything that keeps us engaged and better able to care for ourselves is a win.
Hi Laurie,
I took was diagnosed with hashimotos hypothyroiditis. I feel like doctors are a blood draw and pill pushes. check my blood once a year just to get a refill on the only med that worked for me and not against me. Tirosint. I have a lot to say on that, but I keep digging. Thank you for your news letters. They are greatly appreciated. Kudos to better health and food.