2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 07

Lucky number 7! Week 7 of 2017 is already upon us and the Suburban Steader Homestead has been a busy one. Snow really hosed up our lives for a few days and illness ran rampant through the house. But, in the end, we made progress towards the end goals of growing our garden and getting stuff done!

This Week’s Milestones

Last week was a busy week and this past week was no different. Let’s dig in!

Oh, Hell Snow!

When I last left you, we were knee deep in a Long Island blizzard. Well, when it was all said and done, we received about 18-inches of snow. And not that light, fluffy “champagne” snow you folks out in the Rockies get. This snow was that wet, heavy crap that causes blown-out backs and heart attacks. I’m embarrassed to say that I am one of those suburbanites who hasn’t upgraded to a proper snowblower. My Toro Power Clearer does not like anything more than 6-8-inches of fluffy snow. If it’s heavy and wet, that thing wants to be outside less than I do. I think it’s time to upgrade to a two-stage auger style snowblower. Time to watch the sales as it’s the right time of year.

That being said, I did make sure to clean out the most important thing in my yard. What is that, you ask? The walkway? The stoop? Nope, the fire hydrant. The last thing I want is for my home – or my neighbors’ homes – to go up and flames and the firefighters have to dig out a fire hydrant before they can begin to fight the fire.

Designing My Next Project

Working with the snowblower got me thinking about fuel. I subscribe to the logic of having one five gallon gas tank for every month of the year. I’m slowly building my reserve and should be done in a few months. But, they’re taking up a lot of space in my garage. I spent some time with SketchUp this past week and designed a simple to build shelving unit. It will allow me to stack the jugs and save some floor space in my garage. It’ll also look nice. I’m very much looking forward to building this unit and might even get started this coming weekend. I’ll chronicle it when I start.

Blog Work

Articles continue to pump out at roughly one per week on the blog. I hope you all are heading over here to read them. This week, I wrote a review of Scott Finazzo’s book Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook. Overall, it was a great bookcase reference for when things go sideways. It’s definitely written with the thought of stabilizing the patient and getting them to advance medical care. If you’re looking for a TEOTWAWKI-type medical book, this one isn’t it. For me, there’s lot of great knowledge in there for long-trip backpacking, hunters and others who spend a lot of time in the outdoors.

Next Week’s Goals

So, my broccoli just came in this week, so I’ll be planting them this weekend. My onions are all popping up! I’m so interested in getting fresh veggies and getting away from the crap that we buy at the grocery store in the winter. That being said, my wife made a wonderful Valentine’s Day dinner with store bought broccoli. She nailed this Beef Wellington!

The blog post next week will center around some urban survival tips. I’m liking the way it’s coming out and hope you will too.

You’ll also see more involvement with me on Pinterest in the next few weeks. I’m hoping that I can take advantage of that social media platform to drive more viewers to the site!

Long Term Plans

My long-term plans haven’t changed much, although getting my shop (garage) into order is definitely on the list. I like to do some woodworking in there and also use it as a repair shop for small engine work and whatever else rears its ugly, broken head in the household. The shed is also in the cards. The more I look at it in this snow, the more I realize how much work I need to do to it. We’ll earn our keep this summer.

OK, Week 7 is in the can! I hope you all like what I’m doing here. Let me know in the comments what you like or don’t like about the site!

Thanks for reading!

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 06

Week 6 of 2017 was a critical week on the Suburban Steader Homestead. I finally planted my first seeds of the 2017 season and also did some work in the shop. The blog continues to grow as well with the latest article being a DIYer’s dream post about pallet projects.

Let’s get down to brass tacks and see what happened this past week.

This Week’s Milestones

Last week was a week of planning and this week was full of action. The ball slowly started rolling towards our 2017 garden. In addition, I started to improve my skills.

Let The Garden Begin!

I was so excited this week! The Suburban Steader Homestead garden was finally started. As I mentioned last week, I took the advice from Amy Stross’ new book The Suburban Micro-Farm and filled out all her supporting spreadsheets. I also placed all the critical dates into my calendar. All that planning indicated that last weekend was the perfect time for me to start my onion crop. Well, a few dirty hands a little bit time later, I had 108 onion plants started. I cannot wait to see the results!

Improving Your DIY Skills

I am the son of a plumber. He’s the son of a mechanic. My mother’s father was a career welder. Personally, I got my degree in mechanical engineering. To say that I like to build things is an understatement. So, when I get a chance to get my hands dirty on different things I jump at it.

The first thing I did in terms of DIY this week was visit my friend’s auto body shop. It’s always a good time to visit with him and see what kind of projects he’s got going on. On this particular trip, he had a new truck that he was putting a lift kit on, a mutual friend’s Mustang that he was fixing up (our mutual friend got hit and destroyed the entire front of his car – fortunately he was OK), and an older Corvette Stingray that he’s doing a full rebuild on. We tinkered with a few things and just caught up. Definitely one of the highlights of last weekend.

Some of you might have noticed that there was a football game last Sunday. Well, being a Massachusetts native, I am a huge New England Patriots fan (did I just hear half of you leave?). As you might imagine, I had a lot of nervous energy Sunday as we waited for kickoff. I used it to my advantage and got some shop time in. First, I tore out some old, crummy shelves that the previous owner had left and replaced them with nice steel wire shelves. I need to get another one to fit the whole area, but it sure does make the shop (otherwise known as the garage) look better.

I also experimented with some woodworking skills. I have definitely grown an affinity for working with wood in the last year and want to hone my joinery skills. Sunday was the perfect opportunity to work on my half-lap joints. In case you don’t know, a half-lap joint is a joint made with two pieces of material by halving the thickness of each member at the joint and fitting them together. I did a few by hand and also used a router for one. The router one (in the picture below) came out the best, but I learned that the whole process is more about muscle memory than anything. This skill will help in a trellis project I have in mind.

Blog Work

Blog work continues to go along at the same pace. My weekly article this week seemed to fit in nicely with my DIY theme. It’s all about pallet projects for the suburban homesteaders. There are eight great ideas there for you. Personally, I think the projects themselves are nice, but the crux of the article is to provide ideas for you to brainstorm from.

What do you think of the article?

Next Week’s Goals

Next up on the garden tasks is planting broccoli. Unfortunately, my broccoli seeds were back ordered, but I think they’re supposed to ship this coming week. Even if they don’t, I won’t be too far behind schedule. Still, it’ll be nice to have some more seeds started. The family is really looking forward to some fresh vegetables. Although, the thought of spring/summer harvests is tough to get our heads around with the blizzard we’re currently experiencing.

In addition, I want to start getting the garden in shape. I need to determine the best time to through compost and/or manure under the stray I have guarding the beds. I also want to provide nutrients to my blueberries to promote some growth this year.

My trellis project might start this weekend as well. I need to find the right raw material to get started.

I’m being diligent about the blog posts as well. I’m finishing up a book on survival medicine and should have a book review up on Tuesday.

I want to know if you guys like all the review posts. I have a lot of product to review and feel like that’s all I’ve been writing lately. Do you like them? Do you want more actionable posts?

Long Term Plans

Planting season is going to get here in a hurry. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m really excited to get outside and start doing work in the yard. This winter has been really bothersome to me, despite the relatively modest temperatures for our part of the world. We’ll be looking at fixing the shed, building up the compost area and a host of other projects that should make our land more manageable.

Week 6 is in the books, everyone! And, despite the snow flying, spring’s not far off. Keep doing your warm dance and we’ll be out there sweating in the garden before you know it!

What projects around the Suburban Steader Homestead would you like to see me tackle in 2017? Let me know in the comments!

Pallet Projects For Suburban Homesteaders

I recently bought a brand-new house in the suburbs of Boise, Idaho. One of the best things about the suburbs is the ease of access to places with pallets, which you can get for free or for just a few dollars. Here’s a great guide for how to pick a suitable pallet and to tell whether they are heat or chemically treated. Disassembling is quite easy, providing the raw materials for projects.

First, an important note: Be sure to clean and sanitize the wood no matter whether you have reclaimed wood in the form of a pallet, a local seller, or from your own tree. It could carry germs into your house. Cleaning will also help eliminate potential slivers. Once done and dried, you are ready to start your projects.

Pallet Projects

1. Love Seat

Although the instructions for this love seat call for plywood, pallet boards work just as well. Cut a template for the seat portion. Make sure it will be a comfortable seat by comparing the curves to a couch. Then, seal and stain the wood. Finally, glue or nail everything together. This piece goes perfect with a garden – but we’ll get to garden projects later.

2. Patio Couch

Have room on your patio for more than just a love seat? Upgrade to a full L-shaped couch. The majority of this project is cutting pieces to size to hide the fact that the base is a pallet. Add armrests and pillows, and enjoy the great outdoors.

3. Hanging Bed

Looking for the perfect place to sip lemonade and read a book on the weekend after gardening? If you have a sturdy tree, there’s nothing better than a pallet swing bed. The best part is that screwing together two pallets to make the bed and adding pallets for a backrest is half the project. Strap some rope to the four corners and hang it up. Just make sure the bed is level.

4. Headboard

Speaking of beds, a pallet headboard carries the pallet theme inside while being stylish. Once again, this is as simple as measuring how big you want the headboard, ripping the pallets apart, and nailing the pieces together. Stain or paint to your tastes.

5. Garden Planter

If you are on this site and don’t have a garden, it’s time to change that. Making your own planter from wood is already cheap and an afternoon’s leisurely work. Pallets, however, drive the cost down that much more. To give a planter the pallet look, leave gaps in between boards. As with the strawberry planter at the link, you can let bark and the plant fill in the gaps, or use planter lining. Feeling even lazier? Set a pallet upright, line the crossbars with planter lining, fill with dirt, and call it a vertical garden. Bonus points for planting edible flowers for not only practical but aesthetic purposes.

Source: Flickr user various brennemans (CC BY-SA 2.0)

6. Dog Bed Frame

Man’s best friend needs a place to sleep outside, too. A dog bed frame for a cushion and some blankets will ensure your pooch can hang around outside in comfort with you – especially if you are lounging on one of the earlier projects.

7. Shelving

Outside, pallet shelving can be used to store tools or toys. Inside, they fit nicely in a pantry, ready to hold canned goods. For inside shelves, all you need is an appropriate stain and possibly sealant, especially if the shelves will hold food. Outdoor shelves need to have weather-resistant sealant at the least, to prevent rot and damage.

8. Shed

This idea, without a doubt, is the most involved project. It’s also extremely practical and can fit some of the previous projects inside. Behold: The pallet shed. Buying all the wood for a shed would be expensive. But pallet wood is anything but costly, leaving plenty of money for cinder blocks for a base, nails and screws, mortar, shingles, hardware to mount a door, and glass for windows. The original builder made a 20’x8’ shed for about $500. A shed from Home Depot will cost double that for half the space.

Conclusion

Overall, pallet projects are fairly easy ways to get into the DIY world. A good suburban homesteading has certain skills that set him or her apart from the pack. Being able to improvise and create solutions with their own hands is one of those. These eight projects will get you moving in the right direction!

Pallet Projects For Suburban Homesteaders

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 05

Week 5 of 2017 was an interesting week around the Suburban Steader Homestead. I did a little bit of “homesteading” work and a lot of planning to move forward in the spring. Let me jump in and tell you how it all went down.

This Week’s Milestones

Last week was full of personal milestones that had nothing to do with the Suburban Steader Homestead. This week was a “back to work” week in more ways than one.

Failing To Prepare Is Preparing To Fail

Yeah, John Wooden knocked it out of the park with this quote. And, yes, I know that it’s a deviation from a Ben Franklin quote. OK, enough arguing over who has the best quote. What do I mean?

Well, this week I dug in deep to Amy Stross’ new book The Suburban Micro-Farm. While I think it is an incredible book, the important lesson is to plan. The spreadsheets that accompanied this book were completely awesome. I’ve used them to not only plan my garden but set up monthly task lists and schedule tasks on my calendar for the year. I have no reason why my garden won’t be run properly this year!

The planning I did with those spreadsheets allowed me to finalize on my crop selection for this year. That allowed me to order my seeds. I always buy from High Mowing Seeds in Vermont. I buy from them for a variety of reason. First, I’m a New Englander by birth and love supporting companies local to my home area. Second, they’ve signed the Safe Seed Initiative. And, finally, they provide a discount to Member Support Brigade members over at The Survival Podcast. The quality is great and I’m super happy with the product I get every year.

So, I have a plan and my seeds (they showed up yesterday – I ordered them Sunday). I set up my little planting area in the basement and now I’m ready to go!

Blog Work

The blog keeps chugging along. As I mentioned, I did a really in-depth review of Amy Stross’ new book titled The Suburban Micro-Farm. If you haven’t had a chance to read the review, please do. I truly believe this book is a must have for the suburban gardener in all of us.

Social media, especially Instagram, have been lacking a little in my opinion. Unfortunately, it’s that slow time of year where not much is going on. My injury has also limited what I can do lately.

Next Week’s Goals

We’re slowing going to get into the swing of things this coming week. I’ll be visiting a friend’s auto body shop this weekend. Pictures will be forthcoming. Nothing really homesteading related there, but it is interesting to see different shops and how they work.

I’ll also be starting my onion seeds. They are the first to get planted and also the first to get put in the ground. I’m very excited about this coming year’s garden. It’s been a struggle, but I think I’ve finally honed in on the right crops to grow that we’ll actually use. You’ll, of course, come along for the journey.

In addition, I’m working on a trellis idea that is both a garden project and a woodworking project. I need something I can “get my hands dirty” with and this might be it. It’s a simple design that you’ll all be able to make.

Blog posts will continue to come out every Tuesday and Friday. Next Tuesday’s post is a guest post about pallet projects around your suburban homestead. I know it’s kind of a trendy, Pinterest-y topic, but I really feel you’ll be able to pull ideas from it to use around your homestead.

Long Term Plans

The shed is still lingering on the horizon. I sure do talk about that a lot. Dad isn’t scheduled to visit in the immediate future, so there’s no solid plan on it. But I do have every intention of doing it. I’m also mulling over that water delivery system I was talking about a few weeks ago. One of the things holding me back on that is the fact that we may not be staying here (nothing is imminent) and I’m not sure how much sweat-equity I want to put into a place that I may not stay in long-term.

Week 5 is in the books everyone! It’s already February! Time is just flying. Summer will be here before we know it!

What projects around the Suburban Steader Homestead would you like to see me tackle in 2017? Let me know in the comments!

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 04

Week 4 of 2017 was a bit hectic for me but not so much around the Suburban Steader Homestead. Curious why? Well, it started with a trip to the AFC Championship Game and then a snowboard trip to upper Vermont. Come find out all about my adventures!

This Week’s Milestones

Last week was full of unique milestones around the Suburban Steader Homestead. This week was a bit different in that I hit a few personal milestones.

AFC Championship Game

Fair Warning – this section has nothing to do with homesteading, so feel free to jump ahead.

You know that I’m a huge New England Patriots fan if you’ve spent any time on the Suburban Steader Facebook page. I grew up in one of the towns next to their stadium and could even hear concerts at the stadium in the summer if the nights were quiet enough and my lake was calm enough. As a child of the ‘80s, I suffered through many horrible seasons so this run since roughly 2000 has been really nice to be a part of.

Anyway, late last Friday I got a call from an old college friend. He had two extra tickets to the game from a vendor and asked if I wanted them (he was already going). Oh, did I mention they were for free?!? I found out my brother would be in town (he lives on Nantucket), so we took them!

Long story short, we had a great time tailgating and cheering on boys as they completely owned the game. Props to the Pittsburgh Steelers – they played a good game but were not on the same level as the Patriots. More importantly, however, I want to give major props to the Pittsburgh fans. They were all over the stadium and were awesome. Super friendly and congratulatory at the end of the game. Good people. I have had the chance to work with folks in the Pittsburgh area in my last job and have to say that they are some of the best people in the world.

So, my boys are off to Houston for the Super Bowl and I couldn’t be happier. The trip to the AFC Championship Game was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so happy I got to spend it with my brother. That was truly a treat in and of itself.

Annual Snowboard Trip

What you probably don’t know about me is that, in college, I was a huge snowboarder and wakeboarder. I also co-founded a wakeboarding festival called the WICed Fest. It has since turned into an annual snowboard trip. This year was our 18th annual trip.

The boys on this trip have truly become my “brothers from other mothers.” I’ve been in some of their weddings, some of them were in mine. I’m referred to as “Uncle Dan” by their kids and so on.

We headed up to Burke Mountain in Burke, VT. Unfortunately, we hit some pretty bad weather. It rained during our trip and that caused not only icy conditions but delayed openings. That was OK though since it is one of the only times every year where we all see each other. We got to hang out and catch up. Good time overall.

Blog Work

I kept the blog rolling this week with a guest post about the kind of tactical gear you wish you had. It was an interesting piece but I’m not sure that’s where the blog should be going.

Let me know if the comments if you like this kind of article or if you’d rather I concentrate on other topics.

Next Week’s Goals

This coming week will be interesting. Early on in the trip, I took a fall and really bruised my tailbone (perhaps broke it). I’ve been icing and using Dr. Christopher’s Formula Complete Tissue and Bone Ointment. It was recommended by Jack Spirko on The Survival Podcast so we’ll see how it work. Regardless, the fall is limiting what I can do around the house. I think this week will be more planning than work.

I’m going to go through my seeds and finalize the garden plans. The place should be complete by the end of the week and any necessary seeds on order. I might even start some of my seeds this week as well.

The blog will continue to have an original article on Tuesday and a wrap-up on Friday.

Long Term Plans

I’m still looking at the shed as a long-term project. It will probably sit until the next time my father is down. His advice on the inside and outside conditions will be paramount to exactly what we’ll do to it. But, rest assured, I’ll keep you in the loop and will probably document it all.

Week 4 is in the books everyone! Can you believe it? Almost a full month already gone in 2017.

What projects around the Suburban Steader Homestead would you like to see me tackle in 2017? Let me know in the comments!

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 03

Week 3 of 2017 has been a busy one around the Suburban Steader Homestead. I’ve been gearing up for a trip north next week. Part of that preparation is getting my vehicle in shape for the trip and also getting the homestead squared away for my ladies in my absence. Come find out what my week has looked like.

This Week’s Milestones

If last week was a quiet week, this week has been a loud week. I spent a lot of time getting stuff squared away, and still have some to do, before my trip next week.

Vehicle Preparation

As mentioned in the introduction, I spent some time getting my vehicle in shape for my trip north. The first thing I did was get an inspection. I’m embarrassed to admit that I was about two months overdue on that one. I just never remember to get it done. Fortunately, I have a relatively new vehicle (bought it new in late 2015) and put very few miles on it so there was no problem passing the inspection.

The second thing I did for my vehicle was put a tonneau cover on my pickup. Here’s a picture of the finished product:

I chose a Lund 958173 Genesis Elite Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover. There were a few reasons I picked it. Primarily was the brand. Lund has a good history in the tonneau cover market and I look for quality in equipment for my vehicles. I totally live by the “Cry once, buy once” mentality. Second, the reviews on Amazon were good. It gets 4.6/5 stars. The tri-fold design is something I like because I want access without taking it off at times. Finally, this cover was Prime eligible which means I got it in a few days. Can’t complain about that! Overall, I like the cover a lot and think it’s a good addition to the truck.

Finally, I went through my truck and checked my preps. I have a shovel (more on that later), tow straps, jumper cables, tool kit, a first aid kit and some winter survival items (shelter, blanket, boots, clothes, etc) in case I get stranded. The one thing I don’t have in my truck is a converter. While I really want one, I don’t view that as a necessity on the road. The only electrical needs I have on the road are my phone and I can charge that through the USB outlet or the 12VDC outlet (I have a plug-in adapter). I feel pretty confident in handling anything the winter can throw at me.

Household Preparation

It was time to get the house in order once the truck work was done. I started with taking down the Christmas lights. They always seem to go down faster than they go up!

Then it was on to knocking out a bunch of the honey-dos. I won’t bore you with the details, but I did caulk some windows – we’ve been feeling some drafts – and square away a few items. The most important thing I did was not so much of a prep or improvement around the house. It was a simple task that took very little time – I cleaned off my nightstand and bureau top. I fully admit that I’m a pack-rat of sorts and the Mrs has been on my case for a month or so to get it straightened up. My nightstand is swamped with books (most of which I’m reading for review on the site) and my bureau top is a catch-all with my EDC stuff and whatever other crap is in my pockets.

Well, they’re both clean now and the Mrs is happy – so double win on my part.

I still have a few clean-up items to get done before I leave which include getting the snowblower ready to roll and making sure there is fuel ready in case the ladies get snowed in during my absence.

Blog Work

The blog schedule has been maintained this week with a post reviewing the Survival Hax Survival Shovel. I also made a video review of it here:

[youtube_sc url=”FQ_Kmfl6Azg” width=”400″]

I had pre-scheduled a post for next week, so I didn’t have a lot of work on the site this week but, do not fear, I’ll be checking in as much as possible while I’m gone.

Next Week’s Goals

Next week will be an interesting week since I’ll be on the road for most of it. Obviously, I won’t be getting a lot done around the Suburban Steader Homestead. The family is in the processing of “blessing” the planting schedule. What I mean by that is we all review it at the beginning of the year and agree on what we want to grow. Some items are experimental, some of the standbys. We base our decisions on what’s grown well in the past and what we like. I think we’re going to keep it fairly low-key this year and really concentrate on items we use (that probably means no brussel sprouts). I’m hoping to get onions started next weekend, but we’ll see.

The blog front will maintain its current schedule with a post coming out next Tuesday and a weekly review scheduled for next Friday. There’s a good chance the weekly review will be delayed a day since I’m traveling and may not get to it in time. We’ll see. I won’t leave you in the lurch though – you will get a weekly update.

Long Term Plans

The early season planting is still in the Long Term plan list but it’s quickly moving its way forward. I’ll be planting some stuff soon and will take you along for the ride when I do that. I’ve also been toying with the idea of providing drip irrigation to my beds. It would involve some major earthworks around the home to run water to my beds. I’d probably also run it to my shed just for convenience. Speaking of my shed, it really needs to get shingled this year. The roof is looking horrible and the siding is starting to fall apart. It needs some TLC before I lose it all together.

OK, that’s all for Week 3. What did you think? Did you like this article? Let me know in the comments.

Are you interested in seeing pics of my trip “real-time?” Let me know in the comments or on social media!

Survival Hax Survival Shovel Review

I was recently approached by Survival Hax to review a new shovel they had come out with. The Survival Hax Survival Shovel is filling a void in the marketplace for a budget-friendly, collapsible shovel. It’s small and lightweight which makes it conceptually ideal for hiking and backpacking. Likewise, it’s adjustable which promotes ease of use. Come check out what I thought of the shovel and where it fits into my daily loadout.

Product Description

Survival Hax describes their Survival Shovel as “a durable yet lightweight portable folding shovel made for the outdoors. With a serrated edge on one side, our trowel can be turned into a saw to cut away brush or make kindling. This multi-purpose shovel also doubles as a pickaxe and has a fire starter flint.”

It measures 24 inches long when unfolded and collapses to 8.6 inches wide by 8.2 inches high. The whole unit weighs about 2lbs.

The shovel head is steel manganese with the handle being steel as well. The orange adjustment bolt is made out of an aluminum alloy.

The overall technical specs are as follows:

Technical Specs:

Full shovel length: 24in
Pickaxe length: 16.9in
Folded shovel length: 8.6in
Handle length: 16.1in
Head length: 8.2in
Head width: 5.9in
Pickaxe length: 5.3in
Fire Starter length: 2.3in
Carry bag: 9.8in x 7in
Weight: 2lbs

The Pros

The Survival Hax Survival shovel does have some things going for it. First is its compact nature when folded up. I was able to throw this shovel in my backpack and have it take up very little room. It’s nice to be able to stow a shovel into my pack and not have to lash an oddly shaped item to the outside of it.

The second thing I liked about the Survival Hax Survival Shovel was the versatility. The shovel and pickaxe can be oriented in many different orientations thanks to the adjustability of the orange adjustment bolt. The adjustability allows you to attack the ground from many different angles than a traditional shovel. The “serrated” and “blade” edge of the shovel also present the possibility of this being a cutting tool.

The Cons

There are quite a few things working against the Survival Hax Shovel. Let’s start at the blade end and work up the handle.

The shovel blade and pickaxe themselves have a few issues. The shovel itself performed well as a shovel. The pickaxe performed equally as well. Keep in mind that Long Island is just a big freaking sandbar so our soil isn’t terribly difficult to dig in. The edge of the shovel is serrated and supposed to be sharp on the other side. Well, neither of these blades were all that sharp or useful. That being said, they were there and, with a file and some elbow grease, they would be useful.

The orange adjustment bolt is the first real issue I ran into. Survival Hax uses a fine thread on this bolt (actually, in all threaded areas of the shovel) and it takes forever to tighten and loosen the bolt. The fine thread is also is quite susceptible to sand getting in them and causing issues with tightening or loosening.

Further up, the handle extension threads on and has the same fine pitch problem I mentioned above. I found that trying to tighten the orange adjustment invariably meant the handle extension loosening up. The fine thread just doesn’t seem to lock up the way I’d want it to.

At the very end of the handle is the ferrocerium rod. I had very little luck getting quality sparks out of this rod (as you’ll see in the YouTube video review below). It’s nice to have, in a pinch, but I wouldn’t count on it. I did like that the tube was hollow and could be used to store more gear.

Overall Impression

I really want to say that the Survival Hax Survival Shovel is something everyone should have in their Bug Out Bag but I can’t wholly endorse it. It seems weak in construction to me (in fact, some have gotten it to fail during testing) and a lot of the shortcomings I mentioned above just don’t meet my tough criteria for being a “bulletproof” piece of equipment.

That being said, I do want to applaud Survival Hax. They’ve put together a budget-friendly piece of equipment that, with a few changes, could be a quality piece of equipment. If they changed the threading and improved the quality of the ferrocerium, I’d be more apt to recommend it. I’d also want to see the serrated edges either taken away or sharper.

Overall, the Survival Hax Shovel is a middle of the road shovel that has some nice perks (the pickaxe is a great addition in my opinion).

Personally, I’ll be putting the Survival Hax Survival Shovel in my truck to be used in snow removal situations. I absolutely trust it for that and can see it being a perfect tool for those kinds of jobs.

[youtube_sc url=”FQ_Kmfl6Azg” width=”400″]

Buying A Survival Hax Survival Shovel

If you’re interested in buying the Survival Hax Survival Shovel, you can buy them on Amazon.

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 02

Two weeks of 2017 are in the books. Have of January is gone. And what have I done around the Suburban Steader homestead? The simple answer is: not much. But that’s about to change…

This Week’s Milestones

Much like last week, this week was kind of mild around the old home front. It was mostly due to two things.

First, I’m on the downhill part of a really nasty cold. This thing has run its course through our house. While I managed to hold out longer than everyone else, I was not immune to its potency. The good new is that I’m on the road to recover. And none too soon as I’ll be heading out in the next few weeks for an annual adventure – a snowboard trip I take every year with my buddies. More on that as it approaches.

The second reason I didn’t get a whole lot done around the Suburban Steader Homestead is that the lovely Mrs. Suburban Steader was travelling for work. She’s got this whole working mom / homemaker thing on lockdown. The best I can do is make sure the fire department doesn’t show up when she’s out of town (it happened once, true story).

Despite these two setbacks, I was able to get a few things done. I spent some time in the woods this past weekend testing out the Survival Hax Survival Shovel. There’s a video and a write-up on that coming next week. Most importantly, though, I was able to spend some quality time in the woods enjoying the quiet solitude that comes before a big snowstorm. I just love woods time and wish I could get more of it.

The rest of the week was spent getting the homestead in order for and then removing the snow we got over the weekend. All in all, we got about 6-8” of very light and fluffy snow.

Quick story: my snowblower is Old Faithful. I do very little maintenance on it and she starts up no problems every winter. Well, not so much this year. I couldn’t get her to turn over and had to shovel about a quarter of my driveway by hand (not fun when you’re at the pinnacle of the Death Cold) before I could get her to turn over. Eventually, she did start and I made short work of the snow. I guess I’ll have to spend some time with it this spring and do a real tune up before I put her away for the warm months. The good thing about snow – I got to play around with my four-wheel drive! Oh, and there may have been some donuts done in an empty parking lot…

Next Week’s Goals

Next week is lining up to be a busy week. Since it’s already mid-January, I need to start planning my garden and order any seeds I need. Truth is, I’ve already started planning my garden.

The Grow Veg Planner is a great tool and I highly recommend it to all your suburban homesteaders and gardeners out there. It’s especially useful for those of you, like me, who utilize the Square Foot Gardening Method.

I’ll also spend a lot of time tying up loose ends and doing some work on the truck since I’ll be gone the next week. I have to make sure the vehicle is in tip-top shape for the drive up to Vermont. Likewise, the home front has to be on lockdown for the Mrs and kids. I can’t have them having any problems with me that far away.

On the blog front, I’ll have the previously mentioned review coming out on Tuesday (along with a YouTube video). I’ll also be posting my Week 03 wrap-up a week from today. And, in case you’re wondering, I’ll have a new article up the week I’m gone. Not to fear, I take care of my readers!

Long Term Plans

Long terms plans haven’t really changed much – that’s probably why they’re long term plans. I’m still looking at getting the early season crops started ASAP. Hopefully by end of the month at the latest. I think I have an area set aside in the basement where I can get them going without interfering too much with my wife’s work area (or the kids’ play area).

In addition, I’ve been keeping my eyes out for a hunting class to take so I can get in on deer season at the end of the year. Those of you with a good memory may remember that I was all geared up to take one at the end of the summer and my wife broke her foot the morning I was to go. Obviously, I had to take care of priorities and a hunters safety class was secondary to making sure my better half was on the mend.

OK, so Week 02 is in the books. Did you like this article? Let me know in the comments. Also, let me know below if there’s something you want me to talk about on a weekly basis in these posts. I’m currently free-flowing these articles – almost like a journal – so there’s definitely room to shape and contort them as you all see fit!

Thanks for reading!

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 01

The first week of 2017 is upon us and it’s time to start updating you on the Suburban Steader Homestead. I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about what I was going to write about here and I figured I’d break it down into three things: what I did this week, what I aim to do next week and long-term projects/thoughts. So, let’s get going!

This Week’s Milestones

This week was kind of slow. It was a holiday week with New Year’s Day being Sunday. That means we took it easy and relaxed. I did get some internal work done around the homestead and knocked off a few “Honey Do’s.” Mrs. Suburban Steader (still haven’t decided if I’m going to introduce real names here for my wife and kids) wanted some new shades hung in the third bedroom and the girls’ room. I took care of that and, to be honest, it felt good to get the tools out again. It’s always fun to run your drill and get your house looking nice.

Other than that, I cooked a nice Penne Alla Vodka dinner for New Year’s and taught my daughter how to make it. She loved it! Here’s a picture of her getting the sausage browned up:

I also got to have breakfast with my good buddy Mike over at The Backyard Pioneer. It’s always a good time when two like-minded guys get to bond over steak and eggs!

On the blog front, I got an article up which reviewed Jim Cobb’s book titled Prepper’s Armed Defense. Good book overall! And I was able to get a video review of the Kershaw Oso Sweet Pocketknife up on my YouTube channel. It’s embedded below for your viewing pleasure!

[youtube_sc url=”9VMwI0_0iiI” width=”400″]

I didn’t do much more around the homestead other than the typical husband/father stuff. Have to put a little plug in for one of my girls – she rocked it at her lacrosse clinic. Definitely building up to be one of the tougher girls on my team!

I did get to play with my spokeshave a little bit in the shop. More to just test it out than do anything with it. I can see a few woodworking projects in the future with that toy.

Next Week’s Goals

Next week is going to be more of the same. The weather is supposed to get worse here so I’ll probably be firing up the snowblower and making sure that works. I’ll also be building up my gas preps since I just got another 5-gallon can in the other day. Almost at a full year rotation. We’ve got basketball this weekend with the kids.

On the blog front, I’ll be working on my next article (I think you guys will like it) as well as putting together a video or two. I really like the video editing process. Not so much the filming. That is probably due to the fact that I don’t like seeing myself on film.

Oh, and I might wax my snowboard! Got a trip coming up I need to prep for!

Long Term Plans

I really hate this time of year – the indoor projects are boring and there’s nothing to do outside. The gardens are asleep and it’s too early to plant seedlings. That being said, I need to look into onions soon as I think I need to get them going. With the basement remodel we just went through, I lost my seed starting area. I’m going to have to figure out where that’s going to go and how to get it setup. More fun.

At this point, the long-term plans involve continuing/finishing our interior remodel – we have a few small touches left in the basement – and planning for spring. I have to figure out what I’m going to plant this year!

OK, so that’s it! The first week of 2017 is in the books and, despite any blockbuster announcements, it’s been a good one. I’m looking forward to what this year will bring and how this site will grow.

Did you like this article? Let me know in the comments. Also, let me know below if there’s something you want me to talk about on a weekly basis in these posts. I’m currently free-flowing these articles – almost like a journal – so there’s definitely room to shape and contort them as you all see fit!

Thanks for reading!

2016 Suburban Steader Recap

Suburban Steader had a hell of a 2016. I want to spend a little time going through what changes the site went through, some of our successes, some of our failures and a bit about what the future holds. Overall, 2016 was a good year for the site and, more importantly, for the Suburban Steader Homestead and family.

2016 Stats and Milestones

First things first, let’s take a look at some of the stats from 2016 and compare them to 2015. This post is going live on December 29^th so these numbers are fairly accurate for the whole year.

Visitors 2015: 59,953 2016: 77,812 (+29.8%)	Sessions 2015: 68,299 2016: 87,968 (+28.8%)	Page Views 2015: 144,360 2016: 165,792 (+14.8%)
Twitter Followers 2015: 641 2016: 853 (+33.1%)	Facebook Fans 2015: 4,071 2016: 4,434 (+8.9%)	Pinterest Followers 2015: 2,115 2016: 2,521 (+19.2%)
YouTube Subscribers 2015: 29 2016: 51 (+75.9%)	Instagram Followers 2015: 0 2016: 88

As you can see, Suburban Steader saw growth on all fronts. I’m most happy with the social media growth that’s occurred.

Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest are all organic growth – I’ve done very little to grow Suburban Steaders followings in those places.

Facebook, while being the smallest percentage growth, has been where I’ve spent most of my time growing the audience (I did add 400 followers). The reason for this is that Facebook, far and away, is the most productive social media driver to the website.

Instagram is a new social media account I took on this year and, while there’s a fairly small following, it’s an active following. I don’t have any stats, but I definitely get more interaction with Instagram posts than any other.

The site, while the numbers are up fairly well, is nowhere near where I want it to be and that has most everything to do with my lack of consistency posting. In fact, it’s embarrassing to admit that I published twenty-six (26) posts in 2015 and only fourteen (14) in 2016.

Most importantly, however, is that 2016 was the first year that Suburban Steader was self-supporting. The site didn’t make a lot of money, but it did make enough to cover all the costs associated with running a blog. And, for that, I’m quite thankful.

What To Expect In 2017

People spend a lot of time reflecting on the year gone by and making grand plans for the year to come this time of year. I suppose I’m not different. I had mixed emotions on 2016 – Suburban Steader saw better numbers across the board, but site upkeep and product creation was down.

Much like everyone e;se, I view 2017 as a new slate and have some plans to grow the site and extend the brand a bit

Blog Goals

Personalize The Blog

I feel like the blog is losing its voice, so to speak, and want to fix that. I think bringing more of my personality back to it will help elevate the quality of the writing and bring a more centered voice to the site. The other thing I’m going to concentrate on with regard to this topic is to use “I” more and “we” less. This site is not a conglomerate of people. It’s one guy busting his butt to make it all work and I think it’s time I own that fact!

Post Weekly

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to accomplish this goal and believe I’ve hit on a plan. 2017 will be the year of the Suburban Steader Homestead Review. I’ll write a weekly piece about the goings on at the Suburban Steader Homestead. Not only will this approach cause me to publish weekly, but it will also chronicle a year in the life of a suburban homesteader. Articles in addition to this update will be published as appropriate. The goal will be one article and one update per week, but I’m not going to promise a standalone article per week right now.

Social Media Goals

Facebook

Facebook has been on a slow, steady climb. I’ve had about 10% growth in 2016 and, while that’s not bad, I’d like to see more. I’d be ecstatic if I broke into 10,000 followers next year (yes, that’s over 125% growth) but I realize the chances of that are slim. I do think that keeping my nose to the grindstone and pumping out content on a regular basis will help grow the site organically, however.

Twitter

I’ve never been a big Twitter user and any growth I’ve experienced has been completely haphazard and organic. I will continue this approach as I’m not seeing a lot of engagement on this outlet. Essentially, that means that I’ll keep sharing on this platform on a daily basis but there probably won’t be a lot of interaction past that.

Google+

Google+ has shown to be almost a waste of time. If not for the fact that I can simultaneously post to Google+ and Twitter, I’d probably not post there at all. Unless something changes on this platform, I won’t be spending a lot of my time there. Much like Twitter, that means that I’ll keep sharing on this platform on a daily basis but there probably won’t be a lot of interaction past that.

YouTube

YouTube is one of my two main goals in 2017 when it comes to social media. I will not commit to a regularly scheduled video but I will say that I intend on posting more videos in 2017 than I’ve ever posted before. I believe the engagement is worth it and I also like the fact that it’s a creative process – scripting, filming, editing and producing. Definite skill sets that I want to gain and also a way for my viewers and followers to gain knowledge.

I have a love-hate infatuation with Pinterest. When I need something, it’s a great resource, but it’s not a place I like to spend a lot of time. I find the mobile interface clunky and personally prefer Instagram and YouTube to it. I’ll continue to post there when a blog post goes up and I’ll also post when the mood strikes. The traffic bump may be enough to make me entertain more time on the platform.

Instagram

Instagram – my social media drug of choice lately. I love the pictures you can find and the speed of interaction is just terrific. I can honestly say that if I had to pick just one social media platform to use going forward, it would be Instagram. And, to that end, I need to be more of contributor and not just a lurker. Instagram participation will increase in 2017 – the end goal will be for me to be posting at least once a day. I don’t think it’s going to be a big driver to the blog but A) I could be wrong and B) it doesn’t matter. The community interaction is what I’m after.

Wrap Up

First, I want to thank each and every one of you. Without my readers and social media followers, Suburban Steader would just be a diary of sorts. It’s all of you that make this site, and its social media accounts, what they are.

I want you to know that I fully intend to re-up my commitment for this project in 2017 but I need your help. Keep reaching out to me and letting me know what you want.

More product reviews? What kind? More how-to’s? For what skills? More general theory articles? What topics?

This site is only as good as its readers and I know I have some of the best readers out there. Help me grow it into the wealth of knowledge I know it can be!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Many blessings and good fortune in 2017!

Suburban Steader