A Week in the Life of an Off-Grid Mom: August 22–28, 2026
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
This Week at a Glance:
- Canned 101 jars!
- Planted my fall garden.
- Picked up our bulk foods and put it all away.
- Made plans for next week’s real start to school.
Around the Homestead
What I Preserved
I canned a total of 101 jars this week. It was a crazy week!
- I made 4 servings’ worth of sun-dried tomatoes. We will use these for things like casseroles or omelets.
- I canned 18 pints of chicken broth from some old roosters I was given. Need to prep for soup season!
- I also canned 22 jars of pizza sauce…enough for a full year of pizzas every other week (with another 5 jars I already canned)
- I canned 23 pints of salsa. We just can’t have enough of this!
- And I finished 38 pints of cranberry sauce last night. I’ll get this recipe up later today.
In the Garden
This week we planted our fall garden. Peas, spinach, kale, tatsoi, bok choi, beets, napa cabbage all went into the ground. It’s all frost-hardy, and we will build low tunnels over those beds for added protection.
I’m currently harvesting beans to save to pickle a few jars. We ate a good amount of zucchini and cucumbers from the garden this week too. And I think my tomatoes are finally starting to turn color!
Off Grid Life
No progress on anything else this week. My husband had to go to the hospital for kidney stones so that set us back a bit.
From the Kitchen and Pantry
With all the canning craziness, I was not very motivated to cook this week. We had a lot of simple things, like fresh garden veggies with lunchmeat from the freezer and quesadillas.
I did bake up a huge batch of kuchens for a potluck over the weekend. My recipe is here. They were well received!
I also made some yummy zucchini bread this week with all the fresh zucchini we have.
I picked up my Azure order for this month…it was a big one! The produce does look really nice, so that’s what I’m working on this weekend. It will be great to have some canned fruit on our shelves. I also ordered honey, coconut oil, coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, shampoo and conditioner, laundry detergent (for the year!), and other things we needed.
Family Life
Another exhausting week here, both day and night. I’ve decided that we have to make a few changes, and something has to go. Add in the stress of my husband’s hospital visit this week, and it’s no wonder we are so tired!
But we still made it through our first “starter” week of school, and it went well. Next week is when we go back into things at full force. It’s always good to get back on a normal schedule.
Please know I don’t share any of this to complain; this is just real life, and we happen to be in a very exhausting season. All seasons change. 🙂
Also, this week my littlest one turned 18 months old. I can hardly believe how big he’s getting!
Homemaking This Week
My new “homemaking rotating schedule” fell by the wayside this week. It was enough just to get through the busy days…the housework will wait! I do love the schedule I started making, though, and can’t wait to get back to it next week.
I cleaned up the root cellar a bit this week. It still has a ways to go, but I need to get it organized to fit in what I can. I have no space in the house for any more jars unless I start getting really creative, and I’m not even sure I have the space to get creative!
Behind Little House Living
This week, we were so thankful for LHL reader Cynthia, who sent the baby some wool socks and tub toys, as well as some flour sack towels and parchment paper for me from our wishlist! The baby loves his tub toys and spent half the week wearing his new socks all over the house like they were some kind of prize he won. It was hilarious! I’m so excited about the towels, especially…my current kitchen towels are full of holes, and I want to embroider some new ones this winter. 🙂
After working heavily on video content for the past month, I feel completely burnt out. I’ve decided to only do limited videos during the month of September as we work on some other projects here and get back into school. It’s just what’s best for my family right now. Don’t worry, though; the emails and blog posts are staying. 😉
A Few Things I’m Enjoying This Week
This week I loved seeing all those pantry shelves fill up for winter. I know I’m doing the best I can to feed our family in the coming season and it’s rewarding to see the fruits of your labor.
I also loved all the reading time I tried to fit in with my two youngest. It’s been a good way to bring a short break into the day by picking up a picture book and sitting down to read it to anyone who will listen. Our Favorite read this week was Mr. and Mrs. Button’s Wonderful Watchdogs.
Reflections
I think hard weeks remind us that decisions still have to be made, even when they are not easy to do. When we feel overwhelmed, we have to take a step back, ask why, and reconfigure what’s happening. Sometimes it’s a hard but good lesson to learn.
I know I take on too much. I’m a chronic people-pleaser, and I struggle with not being one all the time for everyone. This week has been so exhausting, but it’s a reminder to myself that I cannot continue to pour from an empty cup. I think the modern versions of “self-care” are mostly fluff, but it is important to nourish your body and soul.
I’ll check back in with you all again next week! I hope you’ll comment back to have a bit of community and connection here on this simple, old-school blog post.
Talk to you again soon,
Merissa 🥰