Rsvp here for the October 19 potluck and chainsaw milling demonstration.
Lancaster, TN
1pm-4pm
Bring a dish to share
Featured posts
Apparently, we as a society learned nothing two weeks ago about rushing to be the first to present what we think really happened, to build our political agenda into a tragedy, and to move the conversation away from sympathy for those impacted to angrily debating the details of the assault by car and gun, the supposed intentions of the perpetrator – who is deceased by the way and cannot actually confirm or deny – and other completely unrelated things, such as if LDS are or are not also Christians.
We’ve lost the plot. BUT statements are not supportive.
This is where the anchor question comes in: What is the right thing to do?
Featured Event: November 15 Farm To Table Dinner – Join us for a one-of-a-kind evening at the Holler Hub. Fresh food, good people, and real community.
Thank you to today’s sponsors:
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InvestableWealth.com – The Wealthsteading Podcast
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The outrage cycle: how online reactions to tragedy move immediately to blame, politics, and division.
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Binary programming: left vs. right, us vs. them — why it’s become the default setting and how it trains us to react in anger.
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A personal story about tomatoes: clinging to a narrative even when it doesn’t make sense, and what it took to question mine.
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The anger signal: that flash of anger is not permission to post — it’s your primary sign to pause and ask what the right thing to do is.
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Practical tools:
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Admit when you’ve been wrong.
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Give crises time to develop before hot takes.
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Share your opinion with care — or hold it until the right time.
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The better way: you don’t change the world by yelling louder. You change it by stepping out of the game and refusing to feed the machine.
Make it a great week!
Today I am joined by the Tactical Redneck to discuss selling our first ram for another flock, the payoff of homemade “convenience” meals, growing mushrooms for realsies, and more.
Featured Event: Self Reliance Festival: SelfRelianceFestival.com
Sponsor 1: StrongRootsResources.com
Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com/LFTN
Ram selling experience and the failed ear tag
I get by with a little help from my friends! Mushroom Room – Northspore plus my own grow lights
Harvesting Herbs and Drying them
Tomato wall is close to the end
Rabbit plan: 2 to the boys, and 2 to the freezer for the farm sitter
Myles’ limp and trimming nails
Weather this week as great for fall seedlings
Dingo story and weekend class update
Boys on 3rd of 4 paddocks at Basecamp – 1at time through so the fence lines will adjust
Tapping the homemade “convenience meals”
Roast Duck from Hoff Grid Meat Co
Terracing around the swim spa
Basil needs processing
Duck egg
Biochar is back in the holler
Holler Neighbors/Community: Eversoles were by for the class
Tour update at Caney Fork Farm
Finances: Ram $$ went into the cow jar
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!
Community
- Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
- Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
- Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b
Advisory Board
- The Booze Whisperer
- The Tactical Redneck
- Chef Brett
- Samantha the Savings Ninja
Resources
Today I am interviewing Tag from Life Done Free on the Living Free Podcast. He will share strategies for system-proofing your life and we will take your questions.
Want to meet Tag in person? He is speaking at The Self Reliance Festival Oct 4-5: SelfRelianceFestival.com.
Connect with Tag: https://lifedonefree.com/
Connect with us!
TheLivingFreePodcast.com
LivingFreeinTennessee.com
@nicolesauce on instagram
@LFTN on youtube
@lftngroup on Telegram
Today I am joined by the Tactical Redneck to talk about flock management, getting ready for a homestead sitter, frolicking in the herb garden and more!
Featured event: Biochar Meeting and Small Engine Class: LivingFreeinTennessee.com
Sponsor 1: StrongRootsResources.com
Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com
Promo the weekend
Promo SRF
Community – meetup Sunday and class Saturday
Caught the rat in the coop – leg caught
Boy sheep cleared the 1st paddock well at basecamp
Processing the rabbits 2 at a time
Breeding the grey one
Dingo in tomorrow so we can fill in the failed pond and do other things
Frolicking herb collection – winter is coming
Visitors this weekend – reset for both
Getting set for a homestead sitter
Watercress patch looks great right now
Peppers are basically done
Goldenrod is ready
Wildflower bouquet season
Duck setting eggs
Coyote story
Finances: Ram for sale for breeding inquiry
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!
Community
- Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
- Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
- Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b
Advisory Board
- The Booze Whisperer
- The Tactical Redneck
- Chef Brett
- Samantha the Savings Ninja
Resources
Stop. Let’s figure out what’s actually worth your time.
That’s what I wish someone had said to me a month before everything fell apart.
- I’d gone all in.
- Holler Roast at the Tennessee State Fair.
- A full slate of Basecamp Lodge classes.
- Back-to-back interviews and events.
- Canning season.
- Finalizing the Self-Reliance Festival speaker list.
- Caring for my mom after surgery.
And a cherry on top: giving a talk about avoiding burnout… while completely burned out.
It wasn’t that any one thing was bad. The problem was all of it landing on top of me at once.
Here’s the truth: Abundance comes from consistency, not intensity. If you want to build a life that works, you’ve got to stop sprinting into overwhelm and start walking, every day, in the right direction.
What Actually Works
When things get crazy now, I focus on two things that keep me grounded:
- A morning walk with the dog. Movement. Clarity. No phone.
- Five minutes with a journal — end of day, three priorities for tomorrow. Morning check-in before I start.
That’s it.
Simple. Repeatable. Real.
When I started doing these things, I could finally see where the real time leaks were. I stopped reacting and started building systems: like our Power Pantry method or checking my calendar before saying “yes” to anything.
We didn’t just get through that season. We ended it with a three-month calendar and enough breathing room to actually work ahead.
Where People Get It Wrong
Let’s name some of the traps:
- Chasing short-term dollars instead of designing your long-term life
- Switching focus too often and never gaining traction
- Grinding non-stop instead of working on what actually moves the needle
- Saying yes to everything until your week becomes one long apology
- Never pausing long enough to ask, “What do I really want this life to look like?”
It’s easy to make those mistakes when you’re tired. That’s why consistency matters more than willpower.
Your Turn
Start with this:
- Tonight, before bed, write down three things you want to do tomorrow.
- Tomorrow morning, read that list. Make adjustments. Do what matters most.
Total time investment? 15 minutes. Return on investment? Massive.
You don’t have to go faster. You have to go wiser. That’s how we build resilience. That’s how we build lives that actually work.
Want help making this real?
Join me at the Self-Reliance Festival
– October 4–5 in Camden, TN.
I’ll be there. Real people, real skills, real momentum.
!
Want to hear my audio segment on this? Check it out at The Survival Podcast
Today I am interviewing Spags from MWPP and The Great American Preparedness Tour and Alan Booker from The Institute of Integrated Regenerative Design to talk about building community.
Sponsor 1: Above Phone: https://abovephone.com/?above=104, Coupon Code LiveFreeTN for $50 off
Sponsor 2: SelfReliaanceFestival.com
Connect with all of us:
Spags at MWPP
The Great American Preparedness Tour
Institute Of Integrated Regenerative Design
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
- Follow me on Nostr: npub1u2vu695j5wfnxsxpwpth2jnzwxx5fat7vc63eth07dez9arnrezsdeafsv
- Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
- Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
- Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b
Resources
Ever feel like you are watching the world burn? That is exactly how the Media wants you to feel. Today, Sue Zoldak joins me for a chat about this, Charlie Kirk, and other important things. We will also cover our usual Monday segments.
Connect with Sue
Featured Event: Small Motors Maintenance And Repair Class, Saturday at 10 am in Lancaster, TN: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/small-engine-maintenance-and-repair-class/
Sponsor 1: AgoristTaxAdvice.com
Sponsor 2: The Wealthsteading Podcast, InvestableWealth.com
LFTN Stocking Exchange – Sign Up Today: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/2025/09/08/lftn-stocking-exchange/
Tales from the Prepper Pantry
- Fed guests with premade charcuterie sets.
- Have lamb for sale — just a few sheep left.
- Gathering herbs for winter remedies and tea blends.
Weekly Shopping Report
- None this week.
Frugality Tip
- None this week.
Operation Independence
- Kicked off a new Resilience Series on the blog: How can we build through hard times?
- First post is up: Systems Over Everything
Main topic –
This is a discussion with Sue Zoldak and myself about the Charlie Kirk Assassination, the subsequent reaction and the role media played in it. Most of our discussion centers on the bigger picture problem, as well as what we can do to from here. This is not a play by play break down of the shooting, but rather a discussion about confirmation bias, the incentives of the media and social media, mental health, building community and more.
Make It A Great Week.
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
- Follow me on Nostr: npub1u2vu695j5wfnxsxpwpth2jnzwxx5fat7vc63eth07dez9arnrezsdeafsv
- Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
- Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
- Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b
Resources
Last week, I found myself staring at the same mess for the third day in a row: jars and containers stacking up in front of the short term storage shelf, the wrong lids always in the wrong place, the same stuff getting shoved around just to find the coconut milk. Again.
And I had that moment. You know the one.
“Why is this a thing?”
I finally did the thing I always tell y’all to do: I fixed the system.
Not the symptom. The system.
Here’s what I did:
I took 30 minutes, pulled everything out of that trouble zone. Which led me to pull everything out of everywhere in the kitchen. I tossed out things that I no longer actually like or use. I melted down in overwhelm and called a friend. We talked for 5 minutes. Then reorganized it based on how I actually use it. Teas? Labelled and easy to find. Freeze dried backpacking food, up and to the left in the back. I only need that once a month. Multiples of the same thing? Moved back into long term storage.
SYSTEM RESTORE COMPLETE.
That was it. No deep clean. No Pinterest-perfect makeover.
Just a better system for something that was annoying me every single day.
As a result the entire rest of my week flowed better. Not just in the kitchen. That one change meant fewer distractions, smoother meal prep, less frustration and that freed up brain space for the things that truly matter.
This is why I say:
Systems beat hustle. Every time.
I think about my friends John and Amanda Willis over at SOE (Special Operations Equipment). That crew works hard. But they don’t work stupid hard. Everything has a system: from how they process orders, to how they clean dishes, to how the animals get fed.
They don’t waste time rethinking the same task every day. They fix the process once and move on.
Do they ever end up with messes? Sure – that is the sign a system is broken.
I’ve learned a lot from watching them. You can build a life that looks chaotic from the outside: multiple businesses, big family, full homestead. You can still feel calm, if you’ve built the right systems.
So here’s the challenge for today:
Look for one thing that frustrates you over and over again. Start with something small and annoying.
It could be your pantry. Your inbox. Your car. Your morning routine. It doesn’t matter how small. Don’t wait for a free weekend. Don’t make a big list. Just fix one thing.
A half-baked system beats no system every time.
I event did an expert segment on this here:
Today, I was joined by Ancap Tim to discuss his journey from high Christian Conservative to Libertarian then to full embracing of the agora. Along the way he realized that opting out is easier from a homestead and has launched his first music album!
Don’t forget to get your tickets for the SelfRelianceFestival.com, October 4-5 in Camden, TN at the Birdsong Marina! Use coupon code LFTN for $10 off your ticket!
Connect with Tim:
- Website: ANCAPTIM
Self Reliance Festival Links
- Tickets: https://selfreliancefestival.com/product/tickets-2025/
- Family Pass (2 adults, unlimited related children under 18): https://selfreliancefestival.com/product/family-pass/
- Vendor Space: https://selfreliancefestival.com/product/vendor-booth-2025/
- SRF Teens/Youth: https://selfreliancefestival.com/srfteens/
- SRF Kids: https://selfreliancefestival.com/srfkids/
- Agenda: https://selfreliancefestival.com/agenda/
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
- Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
- Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
- Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b
Advisory Board
- The Booze Whisperer
- The Tactical Redneck
- Chef Brett
- Samantha the Savings Ninja
Resources