SS challenge! - 100+ steps to self-sufficiency

[lcertuche]

I love the idea of vacuum sealing important papers. Texas is showing us you can never be too prepared.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

6. Use a clothesline
7. Have a compost pile
8. Grow the vegetables you save the seeds from
9. Turn that thermostat UP in the summer and down in the winter
10. Combine trips to conserve gasoline

 

[CJ1]

21. Learn to hunt
22. Learn to do your own mechanical, electrical, wood ect work.
23. Learn to process your own livestock and game animals.
24. Learn to maintain your own game herds.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Learn to:

26. Give your animals shots yourself
27. Run your own fecals
28. Pay cash whenever possible (I HATE paying interest)

 

[frustratedearthmother]

29. Make your own wine! (this might be my favorite!)

 

[sumi]

45. Switch to a solar water heater for household use
46. Save paper for reuse at home as scrap paper, homemade paper, packaging materials, pet bedding, and more.
47. Use reusable shopping bags, instead of disposable ones, and reuse store bags as trash bags.

 

[ducks4you]

78. Stock up on natural blankets, wool and cotton and turn your heat on late, off early, and use open window and fans as often as possible during hot weather. If your house is old, like mine, you might not even need any fans.

 

[lcertuche]

I don't think any of these ideas are repeats, it they are I apologize.
91. Use an old parked car as a greenhouse in the same vein as dehydrator.
92. Put bended in an arc, pvc pipe on short stakes and stretch plastic over a bed of greens to last longer, maybe most the winter for a quick, cheap cold frame.
93. Keep sourdough starter.
94. Slice cucumbers and put in the leftover pickle juice.
95. Save every bone, onion core, carrot top, etc. in a bag in the freezer and make stock.
96. Buy in bulk. Beans at store 1.25 and up but 50 bag from Sam's Club .52 per pound. Buy 50 pound bags of rice and popcorn. According to Jackie Clay popcorn can be ground into cornmeal too and any of this could be cooked and fed to livestock in a pinch.
97. Buy spices and seasonings from ethnic stores. Our local mom and pop hispanic market sells cellophane wrapped spices for a couple of dollars cheaper than any chain stores.
98. Make and freeze meals to have instead of takeout. One day of cooking can produce a lot of food. Whenever you make chili, spaghetti sauce, soups, casseroles double or triple and put the extra in the freezer.
99. Buy a filtering pitcher instead of constantly buying bottled water. Refill the bottles you do buy to take with you. Have them ready in the refrigerator or freezer to grab.
100. Cover windows with plastic and put something in front of the doors to stop drafts.
101. Change out your light bulbs. Over time this saved us about $40 a month.

 

[lcertuche]

(101) Just went through the house with all LED bulbs. They are BRIGHT! It's like the morning sun, we love them!

102. This one to me, is VERY important. BUILD COMMUNITY. Know your neighbors, know who you could count on in an emergency. Know who neighbors strengths and weaknesses. Know who would need help and make provisions for that. After all, if your neighbor has 3 little children, are you going to let them go hungry or are you going to not only feed them, but teach them to feed themselves as well? It is not enough to sit on top of buckets of food if your neighbors starve. BUILD COMMUNITY.

Talk to neighbors now. Don't come across as a wack-job, come across as someone who is trying for a better life for your family. Talk about better food, and producing it. You will find out if they want to learn how to better provide for themselves and their families. If they are not interested in keeping pigs, garden, goats, chickens and so on, they may be interested in buying from you, and you will have gained a customer. BUILD COMMUNITY.

I would have to agree with Baymule about community. It is one of the most important things. My neighbors are the best. Also, our church family helps us so much. They have gave us produce, clothes, firewood, deer meat, etc. So, so much. Of course that is also part of our community and neighbors. Be a good neighbor and/or a good friend to reciprocate. I just took one of my neighbors a mess of homemade tamales but it was nothing compared to all she and her husband has done for us like the rick of firewood he cut because we were out and a winter storm was headed our way, another man from our church heard about it and gave us more than a rick of wood and loaned us his splitting maul. This weekend another neighbor called me to get some canning jars and when we got there she gave us a canner she no longer used. You can't buy that kind of goodwill.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We have noticed the opposite here. Many years ago when I moved here there were relatively few with a garden or livestock. I planted a garden the first year I moved here. I got chickens soon after that. Then - my neighbors planted a garden and got some ducks. Few more years - a few more neighbors trying - but a lot of them didn't keep up with it.

Fast forward about 10 years. New set of neighbors. Many of these new folks are Hispanic and they are sooo very interested in self-sufficiency and even more than that - FAMILY! Several of the families re related and they all help each other. They all have animals, they have gardens, they have orchards. It's really awesome. We've become friends with one family especially. I trade them milk for homemade tortillas. They gave me blood oranges from their trees - I gave them lemons/limes.

It has worked out well for all of us and I truly believe that in the event of any crisis we would all help each other out.