Why is it so Hard to Find Other Blogs?

Lately I have been taking a breather in the morning before I leave for work. Instead of rushing around, I sit with a cup of coffee and try to read a little, then I start my day. I really enjoy reading blogs of a wide variety written by folks who are living their experiences.

Something I have noticed it how difficult is is to just find new blogs to read. There is no real directory and most of the time I stumble upon them by accident. Keep in mind I am not talking about the popular blogs that are boosted by advertising on social media and email your inbox endlessly about offers and past posts. I am speaking of ones like mine, written by by everyday folks, not those who have an endless budget and a marketing team. You know what I mean?

Sure some small time bloggers have managed to parlay their blog into a good source of income, but most of the time those blogs turn into a great big advertisement, repeat the same information over and over, and really do not engage me long term. I read blogs almost as a voyeur; I get a chance to peek into the lives of others, seeing the good and the bad, the ups and the downs of their day to day lives. Those are the blogs I feel are genuine and interesting.

So, I thought I might do some of those smaller bloggers a solid and mention them with a link here in my blog. There are a wide variety of folks to follow in this list. Some are religious while some have quite the colorful vocabulary, some are on a budget, some are living in ways we may never considered. Here are five of my favorites:

• The Broke Costumer: This gal creates amazing costumes on amazingly small budgets. She really has a knack for recreating the past on a dime. I love how she can reuse parts from other costumes to stretch her budget. I also love that she details how she goes about saving and explains her inspiration for her creations.  I also enjoy the history lessons tucked into each of her creations. She truly is an artist.

• The Paratus Familia Blog: I stumbled on this blog years ago and have been a faithful reader. This family lived in a Shouse in a very rural area and embraced a semi-off-the-grid-life. I found the blog while researching cooking on wood stoves. This blog documents the ups and downs of their lives and Enola Gay (yes that is a pseudonym and you get 5 points if you make the connection) even produced a cookbook (you can find it here) on prepping along with cooking and baking on a wood stove. The family recently made a big move and opened a Butcher Shop to process meat for hunters.

• Can We Have a New Witch? This One Melted: An irreverent and explicit blog, I adore Leanna. A self-described Texas Housewife, Leanna has some significant health struggles and helps keep a positive spirit by blogging. Dirty jokes, political opinion, and lots of cussing keep this blog on my radar. I crack up reading all the memes she has skimmed and posted each week, as well as the stories she tells about her husband, David. If you like dirty humor and don't get offended easily, check her out. 

• Sadie Seasongoods: Sadie is truly an inspiration when it comes to upcycling and recycling goods. Sadie scours thrift shops and resale shops then turns what she finds into relevant, updated creations. I am amazed by her endless creativity. The bonus is she sells a lot of her creations in an Etsy shop. If you like a particular creation, you may just be able to purchase it! 

• WindTraveler: The family this blog follows lives in the British Virgin Islands on Tortola. They live on a sailboat and run their own business of excursions on other sailboats. Together with their three children they live a "tiny life" on a boat. Well, they did, until Hurricane Irma destroyed Tortola and sank their boats. Thankfully the family was in the states visiting family when the storm hit. Life has not been the same for them since. They recently, after four months of being displaced, returned to Tortola. Their lives are an epic journey and now we can all follow along as they rebuild. 

How about you? What blogs do you follow? Please leave some links and info in the comments below.

Bored with Facebook and it is Affecting My Blogging

Did you ever get to a point where something you are super into and love reading about becomes the same thing over and over? Let me use Facebook as an example. I am a member of several Tiny House groups on Facebook. I have researched and read so much that the posts are now becoming painfully repetitive. The same photos, ideas, and questions are posted over and over again. Facebook in general has become that way. It is such a time thief as you scroll through post after post trying to find new and unseen information. I wonder if Facebook will eventually go the way of MySpace?

I think one of the problems is you don't see all the posts from your entire friends list. This means you see the same unhappy people posting the same unhappy, snarky memes over and over. The vibe from
Facebook seems so negative now. I used to enjoy my morning coffee while I caught up on friends and family's posts and activities. Now I just see political mudslinging, memes with spelling and grammar errors, and complaining. Facebook has become, for me at least, useless information overload and time-suckage. Am I the only one that feels this way?

This has me considering only using Facebook to update my Tiny House Homestead page on posts here and moving away from using Facebook for any other purpose. Don't get me wrong, I still think Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with distant family and friends, but maybe my interaction should be through direct posts to them, not generalized posts or memes. Does Facebook actually serve the same purpose it did 5 years ago? 7 years ago?

I think I might feel differently if there was some sort of Facebook search engine. Some way to look though posts quicker for information I find interesting. Right now I just see a mile of posts and maybe find three or four that are actually useful or interesting to me. Life is simply too short to spend hours trying to glean a gem out of this mine of useless information. My time is too valuable.

I find this repetitive information overload to be draining and it actually affects my blogging in a negative way. I hesitate with many of my posts (many never get published) because I don't want to contribute more of the same over and over. I try to update on things I actually do or try here on the homestead. I try to post things that are relevant and useful. Most of all I try to post and be real. This is after all my real life, my real experiences, my real adventure. At least when I post here you make a choice to stop by and read. I don't post five times a day, flooding your email and Facebook with the same posts over and over. I appreciate you, my readers, and I respect your time. I value your feedback.

Anyway, as I was sitting here this morning mulling over the days since my last post and trying to decide on what to write about, I found I haven't done anything super exciting or thrilling or maybe even post-worthy. I worked, collected eggs, lost a few chickens to a critter, slept, ate... well you get the picture. So, if you get irritated because I don't post a ton or I go in spurts, please understand I am trying to spare you bullsh*t fluff because I respect your time.

Are you experiencing the same overload I am? What do you think?

5 Great Podcasts for Homesteaders

I have an insatiable need to read and to learn. However, life is crazy and I find I have very limited time, which means reading is often a treat. Luckily I have discovered the joy of podcasts and vlogs (video blogs). Each day during my 50 minute commute to and from work I listen to podcasts via bluetooth earbuds and my Ipad. Eventually I hope to put in a new stereo that has an auxiliary or bluetooth capability, but for now my system seems to be working. I have an eclectic mix of podcasts I subscribe to, so I never get bored with content.

Being a homesteader, I, of course, listen to as many podcasts as I can on the topic. I have discovered many great and informative podcasts as well as some that are just entertaining. I thought today I would share my top five favorites that pertain to homesteading. These are listed in no particular order. I hope you find them as interesting, educational, and informative. Enjoy!

Tiny House Blog Roll - Yes Please!

I read a ton of blogs. Some are good, some are fun, and some I wonder why I bother. I have been following lots of other folk's blogs for some time and it has taken a good amount of time to wade through those which contain valuable, insightful information and those who blog fade. It has also taken a while to amass a list of quality blogs that apply to the tiny house community and the homesteading community. I spent some time today creating a blog roll so that others would have a good resource for finding them as well. Scroll down in the right column and you will find the beginning blogroll list. I will continue to add to them over time. If you have a blog and would like me to list it on my blog roll, please let me know. Thanks!