11 Steps to Self Sufficiency
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- 2022 is the year to start your journey to self sufficiency! Our resident self-sufficient guru Wren has come up with her recommendation of 11 steps to starting your self sufficient journey. It won't be easy, but nothing worthwhile is! Share your journey and tips in the comments below- we love to hear from you!
Original Article: insteading.com/blog/self-suff...
0:00 Intro
0:39 What is Self Sufficiency Even?
1:38 Step 1- Garden
4:22 Step 2- Save Your Seeds
5:10 Step 3- Pick Your Staple
6:10 Step 4- Breed Your Protein
7:52 Step 5- Feed Your Animals
8:44 Step 6- Prepare for Winter
9:31 Step 7- Water Supply
10:18 Step 8- Get Out of Debt
10:47 Step 9- Change Your Mindset
12:16 Step 10- Face Your Addictions
13:04 Step 11- Manage Your Waste
14:01 Is Self Sufficiency Actually Possible
16:16 Books To Read
Not Sponsored or Affiliate- these books are just personal favorites!
Books Mentioned:
The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency -John Seymour (archive.org/details/TheComple...)
Self Sufficiency Handbook--Alan Bridgewater (archive.org/details/selfsuffi...)
Cottage Economy--William Cobbett (archive.org/details/cottageec...)
The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable: The only animal care book I recommend in terms of self-sufficiency. Juliette is super old-school and teaches methods of animal care from materials you can grow and forage on your land. Almost all modern books entirely rely on store-bought minerals, feed, and medicine. (archive.org/details/completeh...)
The Foxfire Series: A huge treasure trove of stories, diagrams, and anecdotes from the self-reliant Appalachians, documented and preserved before their wisdom disappeared with them (archive.org/search.php?query=...)
Bittersweet: An Ozark version of the Foxfire project entirely available online (thelibrary.org/lochist/period...)
The Scythe Book: Cut, harvest, and cure your own hay without any machines.(scythesupply.com/the-scythe-b...)
Liquid Gold: Turn urine into a resource, not waste (www.liquidgoldbook.com/)
The Humanure Handbook: The go-to guide for safely composting human waste into soil fertility (humanurehandbook.com/contents....)
Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A good start for knowing and growing your own medicinal herbs (www.amazon.com/dp/1612120059/?...)
The Forager’s Harvest, Nature’s Garden, Incredible Wild Edibles: The BEST foraging books I’ve ever found (archive.org/details/ForagersH...)
30 Plants That Can Save Your Life, The Backyard Medicine Chest, Douglas Schar (www.amazon.com/Backyard-Medic...)
Back to Basics (Note: The Homesteading title in this series is, in my opinion, NOT worth the purchase) (www.amazon.com/dp/1602392331/?...)
Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers, and Ponds: Ways to store off-grid water (www.amazon.com/dp/0964343363/?...)
Create an Oasis with Greywater: Ways to use greywater as a resource, not waste (www.amazon.com/dp/0964343339/?...)
The Bread Builders: Sourdough is the way to go! (www.chelseagreen.com/product/...)
Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning (www.amazon.com/dp/1933392592/?...)
Stocking Up (www.amazon.com/dp/0878571671/?...)
The Art of Fermentation (www.amazon.com/dp/160358286X/?...)
The Art of Natural Cheesemaking (www.amazon.com/dp/1603585788/?...)
Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game (www.amazon.com/dp/0882663917/?...)
Edible Forest Gardens, Book I and II (www.amazon.com/dp/1890132608/?...)
Heirloom Life Gardener (www.amazon.com/dp/1401324398/?...)
The Complete Vegetable and Herb Gardener (www.amazon.com/dp/0028620054/?...)
Permaculture, a Designers Manual (www.permaculturedesignersmanu...)
Restoration Agriculture (www.amazon.com/dp/1601730357/?...)
Keeping Warm With an Axe (www.allbookstores.com/Keeping...)
Seed To Seed (archive.org/details/seedtosee...)
Nourishing Traditions (archive.org/details/nourishin...)
I went to the description to see if there would be a book list. There was a book list plus links. Ya’ll are the real MVPs.
As a vegetarian, I agree 2100% that animals are an essential part of sustainability. Thanks and love from South Africa
Hi, could you explain why? I am curious about your story.
@@bugsy8507 Regenerative agriculture requires the grazing, stamping/crushing/disturbance, urine and feces deposits and the relatively fast passage of the herd to new pasture, as well as a diversity of herds (e.g. grazers, browsers, scratchers, burrowers). It is both a fascinating and sensible approach
@@ruthlongridge2137 Thanks for the answer, makes sense.
Fun fact, Hindu's who are vegetarian dont become vegetarians because of animal cruelty. Infact, they dont give a shit about it. They become vegetarian because of culture and knowledge and wisdom. THey have developed so many alternatives that the thought of eating animal and meat disgusts them. Not the thought of killing them first. Its a totally different story.
@@dns_error I think it’s pretty broad, indiscriminate and unfair to box every Hindu into the statement “they don’t care about it.” As a religion, animals are viewed differently because they believe in reincarnation as humans or animals, and that is (I think) a fair thing to say broadly of all Hindus, simply because it’s part of what being a Hindu means. I think it’s very unfair to say that they don’t care about animal cruelty. Certainly some might not, but as a group I think it’s unfair to make that statement.
Don't forget that the larger your garden, the more important it is to realize that you must can a lot of that produce to keep it from spoiling. Some foods can be frozen if you don't want to can them but remember... in a black-out you will not have the electricity to power a freezer unless you have set yourself up with back-up power such as solar or generator. There are LOTS of things to think about when discussing ANY topic about self-sufficiency.
On the pity party point, I love the idea of embracing discomfort and staying positive. However, we all have those days and moments where maybe we deserve a little self pity. Sometimes life is sucking and acknowledging it for a minute can make things a lot more manageable. When I was in EMT and nursing school, I would set a timer and give myself like 20 minutes to feel bad and resent the things going wrong in my day/life. Let the emotion out, acknowledge it, then get back to that which must be done, with a hopefully more clear mind. As a dude, I will confidently say that a good cry is still a good cry.
Awwwwwwwwwwww.. I understand how you feel Sometimes things do suck and your idea about the timer is interesting. I tend to brood for days if uninterrupted. Hope you are having more things that make you smile than make you upset.
Having gone through some REALLY tough times twice in my adult life, I've found that what most people consider "difficult times" are really just "convenience limited times"
Seeing comments from men about the value of embracing healthy emotions make me so hopeful for our future. It is folks like you speaking up about things like this, which are historically frowned upon, who are paving the way and truly changing the world. Thank you and happy holidays!! ❤
@@Mattlott222grateful for these wise words today, thank you!
If I can say something, self sufficiency is a long road! This is our second year on our property. Part of self sufficiency was paying for everything cash by working and saving piece by piece, so it took awhile. Last year after five we finally moved onto our land to build. As I was building our home my wife tended the animals and garden. We were ok the first winter. This year being actual year two of living here we have some meals that are 70-95% off our land which I find acceptable for year two. But we bought good heirloom seeds to save, good heirloom chicken breeds for eggs and meat, we raised pigs too. I can see us being where I'd like to almost be in another three to five years. It's definitely a ton of work and we cut everything that was an extracurricular activity to save to do so. But when we can sit down and all of what we consume we grew, it's a great thing.
I really like the idea of shifting self-concept from consumer to producer, and reducing reliance on inputs, even if you're at the very beginning of your journey.
Another important trait to cultivate is flexibility, resourcefulness, and learning to make do with what you have rather than running to the store for a specific ingredient or widget. These are traits I'd like to cultivate in myself and my children. An uncertain future demands flexibility, wherever you live and work.
Carla Emory's Encyclopedia of Country Living.
Laura Ingall Wilder's Little House series, especially good for inspiration.
Backwoods Home magazine and its sister magazine, Self Reliance.
This video deserves much more than 2169 views...
Everything is so expensive. Yep gardening is so good. Charles Dowding is such a good teacher in the U.K
I saw a video online about growing food in cardboard boxes and thought I would give it a try. (I already grow huge tomato plants in 2-gallon buckets from the dollar tree. I cut a hole in the bottom and set them in a cat box, also from the dollar tree, to preserve water) I settled on trying potatoes and carrots. I used an assortment of potatoes available from our organic nursery and carrots that were short and stubby. I was thrilled with my potato harvest getting nice fist-sized potatoes with a host of smaller ones. If I had waited longer to harvest I would have had even more larger ones so next time I'm going to figure out a way to harvest without disturbing the plant. The carrots grew beautifully but next time I would be more hard-hearted and thin them more at the beginning. The boxes easily withstood the growing season and can now be put down as weed control or even composted. The soil can be re-bagged or composted for later use. All in all, I would call this method a great success for those of us without access to regular growing areas. Oh, and I have an assortment of nice heavy boxes broken down and stored behind my couch.
I know you only got the buckets at the dollar store so they were cheap. I used to work at a bakery in a grocery store and if you asked us for buckets, we could give them to you for free. I would highly recommend asking the bakery at your local supermarket for buckets
Gosh, I've finished watching the video and it's just mindblowing! You've done such a great job, it's so helpful!!! Thank you very very much❤
Can't wait to see this one! Glad you keep posting.
Thank you for the book list! I'd only add Carol Deppe's 'The Resilient Gardener' to it.
You deserve a lot more than 31,000 subscribers. Your videos are more informative and to the point than any other channel I enjoy watching to learn about this type of stuff.
Thanks. Very informative. ❤I love everything. I’m excitedly looking forward to diving into those recommend books. Pammie from Chicago Illinois
LOVE the orb weaver spider.
That was a lovely video. I started the adventure about 11 years ago and it's still so much fun. It's also always nice to get a peek into someone else's homesteading life. Thanks for sharing!
What are the chances that I would be getting into self-sufficiency AND for this vid to come out on my birthday? Pretty high apparently!
We planned this just for you... 🎂
Nice video but it would be good to slow down the voice over. Thank you
Hey Jacquie - please click the gear icon and try watching at 0.75x speed? The CZcams algorithms and short human attention spans require us to edit videos to move pretty quickly to keep people paying attention. =)
@@Insteading thank you for the suggestion. I will try that
What a goldmine of information this channel is. Very glad I found you.
Loved everything in this video! Thank you for making it. Found your channel and subscribed today. You’re the kind of voice I’m looking for-practical, honest, helpful, optimistic, realistic, and to the point. Also loved the acorn video, which is how I found you. Really commend you for leading the way with your out of the box thinking.
Ironic... I think THE ALGORITHM sent me on the same recommendations path, too!
My philosophy is to produce extra of something with a sale value so you can get fringe and nicety items like coffee grounds.
Great channel. I see you recommend some great books. My uncle owned some of the Foxfire books, and I remember how enjoyable those were to read back in the day. I do own the Nourishing Traditions book and appreciate it. These days, unfortunately, nobody in my family lives off the land (though most of them on both sides were raised out in the country). At my age (near 70) and for a few other reasons, I won't be living off the land. I wish I could have convinced my now deceased ex-hubby years ago to move back down to the holler in Eastern KY where he was born. Many of his relatives retired from their rust belt factory jobs here in SW Ohio and went back down there and had great gardens. I have no idea if any of their kids or grandkids followed suit but would say probably not. I loved going down there on weekends when we were still married. I subbed to your channel anyway. I've always been frugal, love home cooking and keep a pretty well-stocked pantry and freezerful of marked down meats here in my small apartment.
I hav started some pumpkins, heirloom tamatos and bell peppers. Crossing my fingers for my strawberries to rise up after winter.
Wonderful!
Wow! Thank you so much for this video!!!
Absolutely FANTASTIC. It's my dream and one-day goal in my life to live self-sufficient[er]. Thank you so much.
Chocolate 🍫 is a need 😂! It has magnesium, calcium, sulfur, zinc, copper, potassium, polyphenols, and antioxidant properties. That is why people crave it. So let's figure out how to grow that Coco bean!!! 😂
Great video! I appreciate the information. I like that you mentioned that animals can be used as a resource even for vegans/vegetarians. Thanks!
This video is so inspiring!!!
I thought this would be an exciting blessing but this video only overwhelmed me
Wow this was way more than I expected and the books 📚 thank you so much for that ! I'll be reading those free ones for now
YOU ARE THE BEST EVER!!!! I'm new to your channel, probably going to watch every video. There's other homesteading channels that I really love but your videos are so great!
Great video! Thank you for giving me some direction as I aim to become more self sufficient.
Amazing video..
😮😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 Thank you very much for the information
😊😊😊😊😊😊
Good Work, keep it up.
Nice video 👍
That is an inspiring.
WONDERFUL information, Thank you,
I p s particularly appreciate the book. List,
Wow. This was by far the best summary of what is required. TY. Pace your speech though.
I was Born on a Farm . However I don't have a family that makes it easier to be self-sufficient
Don't know what your family situation is, but you may want to start something like sprouting to start with, or take up cooking and baking as a hobby and gradually start raising some edible plants indoors, like lettuce. The Provident Prepper CZcams channel has some good videos on this.
Start small, and share the goodies you learn to grow and bake and cook with your loved ones. That might help them get on board.
I just found you randomly by chance what great content who knew you could make flour from acorns I love it and I'm going to give it a try...
Looking forward to kelp farming as well lol
A friend grows perrinials he hasa rainbarr with a faucet at its base there isa Y attached to the fauset one is vacant for later use n the pther a garden hose is attached n to the hos he attached a drip irrigstion hose that he strewn around the plants.
My dream!
It's my goal, but as a legally blind person, who therefore can't drive and lives in a city not out in the country I'm really struggling to find many ways.
Hi ! Do you know if some of the books you presented are in other languages too? Thank you, very nice and helpful video
Dad double planted hed plant in v early Spring baby onions n when they got bout size of tip of your little finger dig them up n sell em then hed plant his main garden for the family hed can the seconds or colls spelling n sell the best looking for more money.
Davis Ascher is AMAZING!!! his in person education is an investment in the future
I personally like having a lifestyle that’s somewhere in the middle
Overall really enjoyable video. The books recs at the end are especially appreciated.
Not sure how you can claim to be striving for self sufficiency while also claiming that "self sufficiency requires a relationship with domesticated livestock." Sounds more like animal reliance as opposed to self sufficiency. You also literally point out Helen and Scott Nearing as examples of successful veganic homesteaders... so how can you logically make a claim and then debunk it yourself? The Nearings were clearly successful, eschewing animal inputs to their system for decades.
In general you exhibit an extremely speciesist attitude. You unabashedly view animals as commodities that can "offer" you something. It is all about what you can take from them. Step 4 is literally entitled "Breed Your Protein", and by doing so you reduce sentient beings to a simple macronutrient. A macronutrient that is easily attained from plants. In fact, animals don't make protein - all amino acids are created by plants.
Honest critique. Again, enjoyed the video.
Hmm...
So if a person is a vegetarian, aren't they relying on different species to survive?
Shouldn't we get all the nutrients we need to live from water, air and rocks, all of course devoid of any microscopic life?
That's the only way to be ethically "pure."
@@ValSMITH-it4lg that's a cute little straw man that you built for yourself to knock down. Never was an argument made for purity or a claim made that you can exist in this world without causing some harm. The point is that we should strive to cause the LEAST amount of harm possible. If you think that plants and microscopic life are of the same level of sentience as say, a pig, then I don't know what to tell you. Cows, pigs, chickens, fish, and indeed all vertebrates have the ability to suffer and feel pain. They are individuals that are aware of their existence and are having a subjective experience. Plants and microscopic life do not have central nervous systems and thus do not exhibit any of these characteristics. So if we have to eat something - shouldn't we eat that which causes the least harm?
I may be late to this but I'm feeling starchy about the Staples thing
Nut trees, sunchokes, and smilax make my self sufficient vegan lifestyle pretty easy. And weed lol
I am starting hydroponics so I don’t have to preserve/pickle as many plants
👍
Potatoes are love, potatoes are life.
It's so overwhelming, I've been gardening for. 3 years .. each year I've learned more each. Year , however I'm still dependent on store bought pesticides, I live in a suburban city neighborhood and the bugs are crazy. .. ie had only 1 successful yr of squash, it's like that brought squash bugs and vine borers, and now I get one or 2 squash and it's over .. I don't know what to do ... I also cannot seem to convince my husband to create our own fertilizer he continues to purchase and continues to ignore me he doesn't respect my opinions so I'm just getting to a point of throwing my hands up , I'm not very good at this .. I can't seem to figure it out .. I live in a camper aswell . And I'm limited to space , I don't have the ability to can , I freeze what I can I bought an additional freezer .. I feel I have so many more obstacles than others . I'm at a low right now . Trying to up my motivation but it feels overwhelming today and most days and the heat makes me nauseated .
I’m sorry you have had so many challenges, especially a husband who isn’t partnering with you. Good job for starting, even if it’s been rocky! You have done what the majority of people would never even try. You are a step ahead and failure is a part of the process. Don’t give up. Give yourself grace. God created all things, so I believe He can help you and give you wisdom if you ask. May your garden be blessed, protected and grow manu squash! ❤️
You may want to look into dehydrating fruits and veggies; pretty easy and can be less expensive than buying a canner.
You have made a start toward being more independent and are further along than you were 3 years ago.
Gardening takes time, a lifetime, really.
And there are different ways to add fertility to the soil, like raising cover crops, using leaves to compost, and using grass clippings which have NOT been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides for mulch, ( they contain chemicals which can actually kill your garden plants.)
Keep plugging away, there's lots to learn and fortunately lots of resources out there to help. Don't try to do everything at once. Might want to try learning about a different fruit or veggie every year, like squash, and find out specifically what to do regarding pests and fertilizing them.
Patience is the one necessary ingredient for gardening.
You can do this!
I really tried but the words consistently got bigger. I can't do it !
Unfortunately, the very first step is OWNING LAND. And that, for the majority of us at least in the US, is only a dream to be never capable of. I love these videos but I can only daydream about them.
Start where you are.
Learn to bake and cook from scratch. Thrift stores often have crock pots, which are a terrific time saver. The Jennycancook CZcams channel has a video on no-knead bread that is fast to prep, very easy and cheap to make, and much tastier than store bought!
Raise some food indoors. The Provident Prepper CZcams channel teaches how to raise lettuce, peppers, cherry tomatoes and even green beans indoors, using stuff from the dollar store.
Many communities have community gardens where you can raise some food in your own garden bed.
Maybe you have elderly relatives, friends and neighbors who have a yard but cannot manage the work of a garden. Ask if you can raise a garden on their property and split the produce with them.
Garden on your balcony or terrace.
There are lots of opportunities to raise food. The money you save from not needing to buy all your food can be saved for property of your own someday. You can raise a lot of food on even a small city lot.
You can do this!
Maybe chatgpt can help summarize all these books 😂
Why is it that vegans get so butthurt that CZcamsrs always have to tip toe around what they say? I was a hardcore vegetarian for years but others knowledge and experiences are vital regardless of the diet they choose. It would be near impossible from my experience to be a totally self sufficient vegetarian let alone vegan.
Why destroy your own land? What is the reason Humanure is dedicated land for no animals and no human-animal food LEGALLY for 100 years??? Please delete from your otherwise wise sharing.
#asiflifeonEarthMatters
#insteading
Self sufficiency for 90% of people (Cities, Towns) is having £10million in the bank. Having chickens and managing a herb garden must be nice, however it doesn't help 90% of people.
Helping to influence a better future takes participation and money. Your version of self sufficiency condemns everyone but you. Tut tut. We could do with your help out here...hideaways are for after the apocalypse, not before.
This video is not very good just vague generalities
"How do I become more self-sufficient" is candidly a pretty vague question - so it deserves a broad answer to inspire people to continue their research in a few directions. We like to focus on reducing external dependencies, whether that means food or entertainment or finances.
What would you have preferred us to get into?
The irony of your flippant comment, towards a video about changing the way people live their lives to aid the environment and their general wellbeing, is astounding. I may be wrong but you obviously want it all on a plate. If you actually digested the message of the video, you would realise that the plate doesn’t exist. If you are serious about becoming self-sufficient, I humbly suggest you step away from the keyboard, open your eyes, learn, think, digest and DO. Maybe then you’ll be able to give future generations that plate 👍
@@Insteading How about: How did you find land that was both affordable to you and suitable for your needs? Did you even buy land or did you move onto existing family property?, How do you live as you want to live i.e. off grid and avoid harassment and/or permitting issues from your state or county?, How do you both homestead and make the money needed to pay for taxes, maintenance and other expenses that being a homeowner and landowner has no shortage of?? For some reason channels like this never answer these questions. They may be unsexy questions but they're the most important ones and without those answers there's nothing.
@@eyepodwalkman6247 Adding them to our list of potential articles and videos now. We've covered them on the site but they haven't all made it into video format yet. We have well over 1,000 articles and still around 50 videos.