Could you be self sufficient if you needed to be? By being self sufficient I mean, would you have the ability and resources to take care of yourself and your family without help? Without help? Are you kidding me?
The scary truth is, with the way our world is going today, this possibility is becoming more and more real by the minute!
In today’s dramatically changing world (terrorists, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, ebola,etc.), more and more people are feeling the growing urgency to becoming more self reliant.
A lot of today’s Baby Boomers, and their kids, are going “back to the land”. They’re “living off the grid,” raising livestock, growing their own food, producing their own electricity – basically learning how to live totally self sufficient.
These are the people who will be OK if our world comes tumbling down.
But what about the rest of us who live in cities, get all our food from the grocery stores, can’t mow our lawns without gasoline, think the only way to start a fire is by turn on the gas line in the fireplace and throwing a match on it? How will we survive? Will we survive?
These are very real and very scary questions. The vast majority of people are not even the tiniest bit self sufficient! We are so use to other people taking care of us that we can’t even imaging what life would be like if the worst happened. And if we can’t even imagine it, how can we prepare for it?
While it’s totally unrealistic to expect everyone to wake up tomorrow and say, “Oh my goodness, I need to learn how to become more self sufficient in case something really bad happens,” it’s not unrealistic for people to start to wake up and admit that being prepared is something they reallyshould start thinking about and planning for.
Few of us will ever be able to achieve full self-sufficiency because unfortunately, there are too many financial and location realities that get in the way.
However, there are lots of steps we can take to start becoming a little bit more self-sufficient and less dependent upon big corporations to serve our every need. In many ways it’s simply a matter of living more frugally and smartly.
No matter where you live or how little space you have, there are many easy ways to become more self-sufficient. Some things you can even do today to get started, such as:
1. Start a vegetable garden (if you don’t have enough yard for one, consider a raised bed garden)
2. Grow Hydroponic or Aquaponic system for better, healthier produce
3. Learn how to save and store seeds from your produce to use for next year
4. Grow fruit trees
5. Learn how to can and dehydrate fruit and veggies from your garden
6. Store a large quantity of emergency food and water-enough for at least 90 days (but don’t tell your neighbors;)
7. Create an irrigation system for your garden
8. Set up a rainwater collection system or barrel to collect rain water
9. Get a wood-burning stove for heat and cooking
10. Store matches in a waterproof container
11. Teach yourself how to cook outdoors over a fire (learn how to start a fire!)
12. Start growing medicinal herbs and learn how to use them
13. Learn emergency first aid skills and put together first aid supplies in watertight case
14. Learn how to filter and sanitize water
15. Learn about foraging for food in the wild (research local wild plants & find out which ones are edible)
16. Learn how to keep and raise bees (honey is the only food substance that won’t spoil)
17. Stock up on solar products, from lights and battery chargers, to solar panels big enough to power small dwellings or travel trailers.
18. Stash away some cash making sure you have lots of small bills and coins.
19. Own and know how to use a handgun, rifle and shotgun and have a big supple of ammunition
20. Keep an emergency pack in the trunk of all your cars
21. Put together a “bug out bag” and keep handy
22. Network with like minded people in your community and at farmer’s markets
These are just a few of the things you can do to get started today to becoming more self-reliant. But once you take your first small step, you will be amazed at how proud you are of yourself and how just that one little step will motivate you to get on the ball and start preparing yourself for what could lie ahead.
We just don’t know what’s in our future. That’s why it’s so important to be prepared as much as we can to take care of ourselves and those who depend on us.
If you want help in becoming even more self sufficient, there are many great books that will walk you through everything and show you how to do things you haven’t even thought of yet!
Here are just a few of the books we recommend for anyone who wants to become as self sufficient as possible, for themselves and their loved ones:
Leave a Comment