Anastasia Sakawsky – Melissa K. Norris

About the Author

My name is Anna and I'm a modern homesteader. I began homesteading a few years ago when I still lived in a condo in the city. It changed my life! I now live on just over an acre and am following my dreams of living a simpler, more sustainable and self-sufficient life. I love to help and inspire others to do the same & prove that the simple life doesn't have to be complicated!

Jun 07

How to Grow An Herbal Tea Garden At Home + Favorite Herbal Tea Blend Recipes

By Anastasia Sakawsky | DIY Recipes & Tutorials , Gardening , Natural Medicine Cabinet , Raising Your Own Food

How to grow an herbal tea garden at home, because if you’re a tea drinker (and who isn’t at least once in a while), then why not grow your own herbal tea garden at home? You’ll save money, you’ll KNOW it’s all organic and you can make your own blends tailored to your specific tastes. […]

Mar 08

5 Homemade Natural Cleaner Recipes – DIY Cleaners that Work

By Anastasia Sakawsky | Homestead Life

Spring is here, and that means it’s just about time for spring cleaning. Here are 5 homemade natural cleaner recipes to help you make every area of your house shine, without any harsh chemicals! Who doesn’t love DIY cleaners that work, right? Years ago, I began learning about some of the toxic chemicals in many […]

Mar 01

10 Unique Heirloom Vegetables To Grow In Your Home Garden

By Anastasia Sakawsky | Gardening , Podcast , Raising Your Own Food

Heirloom vegetables are a special breed, quite literally. Cultivated from seeds passed down through generations, sometimes over hundreds or even thousands of years, they’ve evolved into the most naturally delicious, nutritious, beautiful and uniquely adapted vegetable varieties on the planet. Here’s just a sampling of the huge diversity of heirloom vegetables that you can grow […]

Feb 01

10 Things Our Grandparents Reused During the Great Depression

By Anastasia Sakawsky | Homestead Life

Life can be tough nowadays, but most of us are lucky enough to have never known true hardship: the type that our grandparents and great grandparents faced during the years of the Great Depression. But despite how hard life was back then, where there was a will, there was almost always a way. So many […]

Dec 14

Christmas Stovetop Potpourri

By Anastasia Sakawsky | Recipes

Christmas stovetop potpourri will have your house smelling amazing without any harmful or synthetic fragrances. Best part, you can mix and match items you likely already have in your pantry and homestead to customize and make it frugal. I love Christmas, in no small part because I love how warm and cozy it is. I […]

Dec 05

Cranberry Muffins Recipe – Cranberry Nut Everything Muffins

By Anastasia Sakawsky | Bread , Recipes

This cranberry muffins recipe allows you to take what you have on hand in your pantry and create These Cranberry-Nut “Everything” Muffins to make a delicious, nutritious and convenient grab and go snack over the busy holiday season, or any time of year! As far back as I can remember, I’ve always looked forward to […]

Nov 14

Homemade Spiced Cranberry Sauce + Canning Instructions

By Anastasia Sakawsky | Canning , Canning , Food Preservation , Fruit, Jam and Jelly , Recipes , Sides , Water Bath

Homemade spiced cranberry sauce put those tinned canned jelled versions to shame. And you wouldn’t expect anything less than from scratch cranberry sauce pioneer woman style on a homesteading blog and podcast entitled Pioneering Today, am I right? You’re in for a treat today because Anna is sharing her best homemade cranberry sauce recipe today […]

Oct 19

9 Ways to Prepare For a Stress Free Christmas Now

By Anastasia Sakawsky | Homestead Life

To some, it might sound crazy to prepare for Christmas now when fall has just barely begun. But for most modern homesteaders, preparing for winter is something we do from the last frost to the first. So why not prepare for Christmas too? In fact, I start preparing for Christmas on Boxing Day (the day […]

Aug 10

Spicy Peach Jam Recipe Low Sugar and No Pectin

By Anastasia Sakawsky | Canning , Food Preservation , Fruit, Jam and Jelly , Recipes

Spicy peach jam is one you can’t miss this canning season, especially when it’s a peach jam recipe without pectin. This sweet and hot chipotle peach jam makes an amazing accompaniment to cheese platters, as a sticky marinade on grilled or roasted meats, a dipping condiment for grilled cheese (oh ya, I did that at […]

Jul 14

Mini Cherry Pies Baked in a Muffin Tin

By Anastasia Sakawsky | Dessert , Recipes

Mini cherry pies in a muffin tin, because nothing says summer like cherry pie. Something about it reminds me of fireworks and the 4th of July (or Canada Day for my fellow Canucks;) Cherry pie was the first pie I ever made from scratch. I made it with store-bought sweet cherries and a basic pie […]

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