Information about Homesteading, how to live self sufficient and learning to live off the grid

Living off the Grid

Three self employed ideas to get you living self sufficient

A big part of living self sufficiently is to have your own source of income, this means finding a self employed idea that will work for you. Everyone is a little different in regards to their skill set, health, and business sense but there is a self employed idea out there for everyone if they [...]

Farming and Gardening

Where to go to learn about having city chickens

Going to the living self sufficient theme, the question is always asked, why pay for it when you can do it yourself regardless of where you live. This idea goes well with eggs and so why not have your own city chicken to produce for you. City chickens are a pet with benefits. Sure goldfish are [...]

Featured

Three things to consider when you live self sufficient

The idea of living free of restraint and within your own control appeals to many and drives people to the woods to live self sufficient. No neighbors, no nine to five cube to work in, healthier food options and more exercise. There is a great deal to like when you live self sufficient. However, there are some drawbacks that many need to think about before they rush out to homesteading.

There are many things people living in a city take for granted and when they move out to the self sufficient lifestyle they get a sense of culture shock. Always keep in mind these three things when you are considering your move to a more self sufficient lifestyle.

You are an island: The things you hate about the neighborhood like loud neighbors, cars driving by and not having any space because everything is on top of you also provides a blanket of safety. When it snows your roads are cleared. When you lose power the electric company comes and fixes it. If you need help you only need to make a noise and neighbors would come running. When you move out to the middle of nowhere you need to not only create an environment that allows you to live self sufficient but understand the mentality that goes along with it. You are an island and need to be able to do everything on your own.

Power: Energy makes the world go round. When you live self sufficient you need to ensure your power is protected and you have backups if needed. You may use solar to heat your house but ensure you have a fireplace and a stack of wood available. You might use wind to power your household electrical items but ensure you have a few solar panels or a generator available in case something happens. If you are off the grid you want to ensure you have planned for backups and emergencies especially in areas which get heavy snow or harsh weather conditions.

Finances: Money in addition to power lets us get by each day. If you plan to go completely self sufficient you need to ensure you have a source of steady income which is reliable and avoids you going back to the daily grind. Learn to cut all excess from your budget and try to work all debts to nothing before making the leap. You don’t want to go through the motion of creating a dream and then run out of funding to live it.

Self Sufficient Eating – Is it really possible in this day and age

When most of us think about what we eat in any given day it can range from some vegetables, some fruits, some bread and pastas and probably some kind of meat generally chicken or steak for dinner potentially eggs for breakfast. We wash this down with some milk and maybe some wine maybe even some [...]

19 hours, 41 minutes

How to make your own tomato cages

If you are planting tomatoes in the garden you will also want to create your own tomato cages to help support the plants as they grow. The reason tomato cages are used is as they mature they become very top heavy with many arms growing off of the plant and then with the addition of [...]

3 weeks

Why window boxes are a must for any self sufficient home in a city

Many apartment dwellers or home owners in the city battle over space when it comes to gardening and having room for their plants. Window boxes are an easy solution to this problem and in my opinion a must for anyone trying to live self sufficiently within the city limits. Window boxes provide space where no space [...]

1 month

Benefits of using organic soil in your garden

These days seems like the word organic can be found everywhere you look so only makes sense that now we have organic soil added to the pile. So what is organic soil exactly? Great question! Organic soil is simply soil that has not had any nutrients added or chemicals provided except for those that are naturally [...]

1 month, 2 weeks

Different ways to use solar outdoor lights

One of the best advantages of solar outdoor lights is that you can place them most anywhere and not worry about a plug or extension cord. Solar outdoor lights also helps you remain a little less on the grid and work toward living self sufficiently. The solar lights give you the freedom to do some [...]

1 month, 3 weeks

What you need to know about raising bantam chickens

If you are thinking about getting a chicken but not sure consider a bantam chicken. Now, they are not great producers of eggs, they are behind the norm, but they make great pets if that is what you are looking for. Bantam chickens are motherly in nature and are cute to look at. They are very [...]

5 months, 1 week

Three fresh tomato recipes for any self sufficient person

So you planted your seeds in peat pods a long time ago and cared for them daily. You watched them grow and transplanted them to a bigger pot when you saw the first leaf. Months passed and you watched it get bigger and bigger until you finally saw a bloom and then you knew… tomatoes [...]

5 months, 2 weeks

4 Container gardening tips

Many people are used to planting in the ground and find the concept of container gardening more restricting than beneficial. These 4 container gardening tips are aimed to show you why it is actually the other way around. How containers are actually much more effective than in the ground gardens for many people. Container Gardening Tips 1. [...]

5 months, 2 weeks

Learn to identify when to plant garden

The old cliché about the early bird catching the worm may not apply to gardening but the earlier you plant garden, the earlier you can harvest your crop so I am going with it. Now learning when is it too early to plant garden or in some cases, too late to plant garden comes with [...]

Not everything belongs in your garden compost

One of the best parts of building garden compost is to help cut down on waste and filling up the landfills. Reusing what can be reused while adding value and nutrition to your garden. However, many people don’t know what can or can not be put into their garden compost pile. Putting certain items into your [...]

The basics of an indoor vegetable garden

In some parts of the world the growing season is cut very short due to weather and with more people moving to live in a city, the idea of growing an indoor vegetable garden has become quite popular. An indoor vegetable garden can provide a consistent flow of food for the family that can be [...]

When to solar power your house

Not everyone has a house that sits just right to be able to get the most out of solar power for their home. I was looking at my house and trying to decide if I should solar power my house and found this cool little tool and wanted to share. Check out this tool which [...]

Live Self Sufficient