Many people believe that living means going to the country to raise animals and tend to a large garden, and while this is true in some instances, for the most part, living involves taking charge of your life, regardless of where or how you live.
It entails making the most significant decisions for your family and not relying on others to complete tasks you have been given two hands.
Easy Ways Become Self Reliant
Grow Your Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs
Everyone should cultivate something, in my opinion. We all need to eat, so we should all be able to interact with our food somehow. It’s simply incredible to watch a tiny seed grow into an abundance of food for you and your family. Not only that, but the food is a basic need, and relying entirely on others to meet it is, in my opinion, extremely foolish.
Preserve Your Food
If you want to be self-sufficient, you’ll probably produce more food than you can eat at once, which means you’ll have to figure out how to store it. Freezing, canning, dehydrating, and fermenting are the most prevalent techniques of food preservation.
Cook from Scratch
Aside from the fundamental staples, the more you can prepare from scratch, the less you’ll rely on store-bought food. This will save you money while also providing you with a healthy and delicious meal. You’ll also need a basic understanding of preparing that food for yourself and your family for fresh meals if you’re growing your food.
Cooking from scratch isn’t difficult; all it needs is a little knowledge and practice. Again, if you know someone who can give you a few lessons, that is wonderful; if not, you may start by watching hundreds of YouTube videos on the subject and borrowing a few simple cookbooks from your local library.
Save Seeds
Seed saving is a fantastic technique to become more self-reliant because it eliminates buying seeds and plants every year. I’ve only dabbled in this, but it’s something I’d like to do more of shortly. Just keep in mind that only heirloom types can be saved as seeds, not hybrids.
Unless you’re dealing with something like beans or maize, seed preserving isn’t as simple as it appears. It’s a bit of science with many nuances, so make sure you’re up to speed on the subject before you begin.
Choose Cloth
Napkins, paper towels, wipes, diapers, cotton rounds, and other regularly used throwaway paper products can be replaced with reusable cloths. In addition, you can buy ready-made clothes or make your own out of discarded t-shirts.
What did people do before the invention of contemporary paper products, for example? They made do with cloth. Consider how much money you could save if you replaced paper products with more environmentally friendly alternatives like reusable napkins and kitchen towels. If you give it a try, you could find that you never want to go back.
Raise Chickens
Chickens are often referred to as the “gateway animal” to farming and homesteading, and I believe this is accurate. Chickens are one of the simplest (and tiniest) animals to care for. Keeping hens requires some time and dedication, but it’s not too tricky once you get into the swing of things.
They will also provide you with fresh eggs and meat (if desired) throughout the year and eat your kitchen scraps and turn them into compost and fresh manure. They can also eat weeds and bugs in the garden, which is an excellent addition.
Keep Bees
Bees are beneficial to your garden by pollinating it and giving fresh honey. While I’ve never raised bees before, it’s something I’d like to do at some point.
I believe that beekeeping has a far steeper learning curve than chicken-keeping, but it will be well worth it when you harvest your first jar of fresh honey from your land, right?
DIY Everything
If you want to be self-sufficient, you’ll need to have a positive attitude if you take the time to learn how you can make almost anything at home. Sewing, mending, knitting, woodworking, carpentry, and other essential skills are tremendous helpers on your route to self-sufficiency. The more self-sufficient you are, the more you can do for yourself with the resources and knowledge you have.
Think about renewable Energy
Solar Energy is a significant step toward being more self-sufficient. I haven’t done much research on this, but I intend to do so in the future. Using wood heat in the winter and chopping your wood is also a terrific way to become more self-sufficient during the colder months. You can also cook using your heat source, making it a win-win situation in terms of self-sufficiency.
Create Income
If your objective is to become more self-sufficient, you’ll most likely need to consider ways to supplement your income along the road. For example, produce, honey, eggs, meat, handmade crafts, and other items could be sold for profit.
Become Debt Free
According to the Bible, debt makes you a slave to the lender, which is the polar opposite of self-sufficiency. If you’re in debt, you’ll need a strategy and a goal to get and remain out of it. I recommend going to Dave Ramsey’s website for all the knowledge you’ll ever need on how to get out of debt.
Live Small and Need Less
The overarching principle of self-sufficiency is to live in a smaller space (home, automobile, goods, etc.) and have fewer needs. You’ll probably find it easier to be more self-sufficient if you can learn to be content with very little.
After all, the most delicate things in life are relationships, experiences, memories, and connections, not power, money, or goods. This struck a chord with me since that is what self-sufficiency is all about: achieving maximum well-being with the least amount of resources.
