Is a Self Sufficient Lifestyle Only Feasible if Healthy and Strong?

[sylvie]

Many solutions that posters have adopted are only possible if at least one person in the family is strong, healthy and capable.

Wood heat is a good example. Cutting and hauling wood, splitting and stacking take enormous amounts of energy and time. As we age that will become less of an option.

Rototilling a garden requires a fair amount of physical ability.

Roofing and many DIY projects that we tackle easily now will be more demanding as time moves on.

Some of us have disabled spouses who are limited in their contribution to a self sufficient lifestyle.
Illness and disability can strike quickly; age happens to the best of us.

It has become apparent to me that I need to examine more than the obvious solutions and look deeper into heating, DIY, maintaining equipment, water systems, etc., with these limiting factors in mind.
While capable I can keep my costs down but as I lose capability it will begin to cost more.

 

[peckndirt]

It is a sad truth that as we age there are many things that we can no longer do, but that is where the barter system comes in. Find something you do well or could learn to do well and trade your services for the things you need. If you have no one else to help ,you simply have to find a way.Just never give up . The lord will call you home when it's time to pack it in.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I think with creativity, determination, and a decent support system you would do ok, but certainly we will all come upon our limitations sooner or later.

Do what you can while you are still able.

Rototilling a garden yearly isn't necessary and some would say it is actually counterproductive. Raised beds are easier to tend and don't require tilling.

If it is possible, save up and buy a more durable roof. Metal would be ideal, especially one that you could collect potable water from.

I also feel that it makes a lot of sense to house as many people as possible under one roof (as long as they all get along), because your energy cost per person will be lower. If it is possible to find someone willing to assist you in your SS ways in exchange for free rent, try to seek that out. I think it would take many years, though, to develop a relationship with someone outside of family who you could trust, if it is possible at all.

 

[keljonma]

Sometimes you have to weigh the "cost" of DIY with paying someone to do the task. And sometimes you have to think outside the norm.

Sometimes you can find rent a do-ers in your area. Our church has a mission team of volunteers that help out people in the community - at no cost - as part of their missions work.

While it is definitely very self-satisfying to cut your own wood for heat, it is also definitely very laborious, as you well know. Perhaps a neighbor, family member or friend would be willing to cut or help cut the wood for you in exchange for some of the wood for their heating use. We've done this before. We have some dear friends who are now in their early 90's. We used to cut the wood on their property and keep half for our use.

While those same friends love to garden, they now garden in raised square foot garden beds. They no longer enjoy canning their own foods. So they gave us the canning equipment and we preserve their harvest for them.

I think just composting on the garden itself has certainly decreased the amount of work that comes to mind when I think of gardening.

I can honestly say I know how to do roofing. But I have not volunteered to do that job since I was in my 30s. It is one of the jobs I am more than willing to pay someone else to do.

Weve always looked for homes that could be lived in all on one level, in case we ever get to go a point where we need a walker or wheelchair. My sil has troubles with steps, so my db has raised the ground up by the doors of their home so that it acts like a ramp. My sil can exit and enter the house without help.

Youre right, we may all age, and if were blessed, well age gracefully and healthy. It certainly doesnt hurt to plan ahead.

 

[Beekissed]

I think it also depends on how much time and effort you invest in your health and mobility. Its a common fallacy that hard physical labor contributes to an early and decrepit old age. I've found that it is just the opposite.

Certainly there are illnesses and injuries that are unforseen and unavoidable, but alot of infirmity I see in the ages between 65-90s are from lifestyle choices and the belief that one is supposed to "take it easy" as you age.

I've also seen people who work actively each day to maintain optimal health and mobility and it involves dedication to the idea that one doesn't have to feel old and weak just because they age. They make a point of doing daily strenuous exercise, both cardio and weight bearing, they eat the most nutritious of foods and avoid those that are not efficient on the cellular level, and they wake up with a plan each day.

Yes, it takes work and time....but if you are no longer holding down full-time employment or some other forced activity...what else do you have on which to spend that time? TV? Counting your pills? And my favorite.... going to doctor's appointments.

Tallman posted a thread about older people who still work. There have been multiple studies done on longevity and health into old age. Common denominators in those areas of the world reknowned for old age and good health: diet, lifestyle, attitude, level of physical activity on a daily basis.

Difficult? Depends on who you ask. Time consuming? Probably, but one has plenty of time at that age. Worth it? Definitely.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I also read somewhere that people were healthier and lived longer when they farmed . . . before chemical pesticides and single crop farms that is.

 

[sylvie]

Many good suggestions.
I should have mentioned that I have every intention of living to 120, active, alert and healthy. I am vegetarian and pay close attention to my food choices, do not smoke, drink, or caffeine. I have a naturopathic doctor, run average 4 miles per day for 23 years, consider myself a happy person. However, DH is looking at 8 years, tops.

DrakeMaiden, the metal roof is something that has been gaining in popularity. I'll look into that.

Keljonma, outside the norm is why I'm on this forum!

 

[enjoy the ride]

It depends on the nature of the limitations a person has- I was up nailing on shingles at age 58- I just broke open the packages and took up a few at a time. With some mechanical assistance, a lot of things become easier. That was after I built a 12x24' shed to house my hay.
Illness and limitations are not always within a person's control but, if you are determined, you can do a lot of things with thought and persistance.
Long handled weeders and clippers have become my friend. I don't think rototilling is necessary anyway. I have a dump and grow garden. I haven't done it in years but I did at one time plant bunches of saplings by shovelling out a shallow hole in hard ground then putting compost and mulch on top. A lot of recommended methods for doing things are not necessay.

Eventually you will not be able to keep up the work but hopefully by then, you can sort of coast til the end.

 

[FarmerDenise]

My SO and I have been healthier, since we "gave up" our regular old jobs. We were kind of forced into depending on our one acre farm when I was layed off 2 years ago. Until then, we were hobby farmers selling our surplus on occasion.
Within two weeks of being layed off I lossed twenty pounds of excess weight without trying. I cut my caffeine and wine consumption in half. I had no medical insurance then, nor do I have it now.
But I no longer get sick, I am not so stressed out from having to deal with an impossible boss, am physically fit again in spite of assorted aches and pains.
We eat what we grow, supplemented by store bought stuff, but way better for us than what we used to eat. Just walking the circumference of our acre once is equal to the exercise as I used to get working my office job on a daily basis. I sleep better.
I don't get vacations, I live my vacation. I work hard almost every day, but if I don't feel up to par, I can take it easy and just do the absolutely neccessary things without having to make excuses to a boss. If I don't feel like weeding the garlic patch, I can clean the henhouse instead or plant a new patch of lettuce or wash all the bedding and hang it on the line to dry or make a yummy treat to eat. Sometimes things have to be done at a specific time, like preparing for a bad storm, but then it is also exciting and you feel real good when you've accomplished your task.
When we cannot do certain things ourselves or by ourselves we figure out ways we can get people to help us. Some will help us in exchange for dinner, some in exchange for our produce or something we make. Sometimes we exchange work.
It is not always easy, but we do the best we can; with the help of a few good friends, some family members and a good neighbor or two.

 

[Beekissed]

A recent Countryside magazine featured an article from a woman who was in her late 50s or early 60s, can't remember exactly, who has MS~pretty advanced. She lives alone. She has to crawl around and do her chores! She kind of outlined how she gets in wood and cares for the place and puts us all to shame. The article was titled something like "Homesteading and No Excuses".

I think its all in just how bad you want to stay independent.