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    The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Guide: 12 Months Step-by-Step Program to Self-Sufficient Life in 21st Century
    The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Guide: 12 Months Step-by-Step Program to Self-Sufficient Life in 21st Century
    The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Guide: 12 Months Step-by-Step Program to Self-Sufficient Life in 21st Century
    Ebook173 pages2 hours

    The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Guide: 12 Months Step-by-Step Program to Self-Sufficient Life in 21st Century

    By Sarah Duncan

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Becoming self-sufficient is the dream for many people caught up in the non-stop, draining workaday lifestyle most of us live in today. But it doesn’t have to be just a dream. By starting off now and moving through our monthly list, you can build your way to self-sufficiency. This doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to be finished at the end of a year. It will take time and money. But this e-book will give you good ideas and guidelines to start you well on your way. With like-minded friends, you can work together to build a valuable alternative to smog-filled cities and driving – or not driving – in gridlock twice a day. Living in a community that is sound both economically and ecologically will give your children an excellent view of humans having a living, positive impact on the world.
    This book covers:

    Priorities and Preparation
    Communication
    Water Supply Set-up and Maintenance
    Your Food Supply – Growing & Storing
    Financial Self-sufficiency
    Housing – types of homes and building ideas
    Power – solar, wind, geothermal
    Medical Training & Supplies
    Home & Family Security
    Hygiene
    Social Networking
    Transportation

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJVzon Studio
    Release dateFeb 23, 2017
    ISBN9781386653042
    The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Guide: 12 Months Step-by-Step Program to Self-Sufficient Life in 21st Century

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      Book preview

      The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Guide - Sarah Duncan

      Introduction

      ––––––––

      When you look into becoming self-sufficient, you can ask others who have already made that commitment for their help and advice. You may think it daunting, at first. There are certainly many things to consider, but if you are well-organized, you can become self-sufficient, especially if you allow yourself enough time to get everything you need.

      There are many excuses for not preparing for life off the grid, like not having enough money or not knowing how to begin. Some items for preppers (those preparing for life off the grid after a natural or man-made disaster) are a bit expensive, which is why we have allowed a year to get everything you need.

      If you are threatened by tornadoes, you may be seeking a home built into a hill, or a home built underground. If you are simply trying to prepare yourself due to understanding how the world is today, that is more like trying to prepare for any eventuality. Your sense of urgency is lower in some cases, and higher in others. It’s an individual feeling.

      In this e-book, for the sake of inclusivity, we have broken down each step into one month of planning and work. They do not have to be accomplished in the same order to be effective, but this will help to give you an idea of how to prioritize and accomplish each step.

      We will lay out a guideline that is simple and basic, to help you start prepping. Your resources, experience or personal needs may change the order in which you address the areas we are covering. This book is designed to appeal and be helpful to someone who is new to prepping. Our 12-month template can help you to prepare your home and your family for many emergency situations.

      Lists are helpful in any endeavor, and they are certainly helpful in becoming self-sufficient. Our chapters break everything into little chunks so that you can more easily digest the information. You can cross them off as you finish them, or refer back to the chapters if you need to.

      Chapter 1 – Priorities and Preparation

      ––––––––

      Becoming self-sufficient is not an overnight process. That’s why we’ve set up a program that can be run over the course of 12 months. In order to ensure that everything is covered, we will include the basics here, so that you can prepare. The later chapters will cover each of those basics, with detailed information on how to set up your housing, water supply, food supply, etc. In this chapter we will give you a brief description of what you need, so that you know what’s ahead of you.

      Whether you wish to be self-sufficient and live off the grid for personal and financial reasons, or whether you are preparing for natural or man-made disasters, you will need the basic things covered.

      Breaking Free

      It’s natural for some people to want to break away from their addiction to fossil fuel, and to eliminate more carbon dioxide than they emit every year. Achieving your goals may take years, but planning through 12 months will help you determine what you can do now and what aspects of self-reliance you may have to adopt more slowly. Sound strategies will help you in making your vision a reality.

      Being frugal now will help you move into a self-sufficient lifestyle more quickly. Forgoing luxuries like going to fancy restaurants and planning lavish trips will allow you to more easily leave within your means.

      You can rent DVDs from the library instead of renting them, and shop at second-hand stores, where it’s handy to drop off your children’s outgrown clothes and select some that fit better.

      Planting your own crops and cooking with a solar cooker will allow you to use free resources, and build on your sustainable energy and food production ideas. Without a mortgage, you will save a bundle each year.

      Purchase items that are durable and well-made. They may include clothing, tools for your garden or farm and vehicles for today and for the future. Retirement is not an issue, because you’ll be able to continue your life off the grid, and do whatever you might like to do.

      Owning land is an excellent foundation for your self-sufficiency plans. Living in a rural area allows you to organically improve the soil, plant trees for wildlife and windbreaks and use what rural land offers, like plenty of sun and wind for power. 

      More doesn’t equal better when you want to responsibly own land. Your land-management plan should be financially feasible and realistic. If you don’t have the money to buy the land and you don’t want to buy it on land contract, you can rent farmland. Be sure that the person from whom you lease your land will allow you to install equipment for sun and wind power generation.

      The only part of your house you may not build yourself is the foundation. The rest, you and your family and friends can build, or have brought to your location. Adding a wind turbine and/or a solar energy system will take care of your energy needs. 90% of your food can eventually be raised on your homestead, including goats for milk and chickens for eggs.

      Your kids may take a bit of time to adjust to living in the country, but they will thoroughly enjoy it, once they learn to help with projects and enjoy all the opportunities open land has to offer. The home you build or design will be a healthy place to raise and teach your children.

      What are your Preparations for?

      There really isn’t just one reason to become self-sufficient. You’ll want to be prepared for many different scenarios. The chances that something could disrupt your power source or banking system are greater today, with hackers invading computer systems and our aging power infrastructure.

      Start a Notebook

      This is the point at which it’s a good idea to start writing down thoughts, ideas and other information in a planner. You may be tempted to put it on your computer, since typing is easier than writing. If you do this, then print off copies when you make significant additions or changes to your plan. That way, you can carry it with you, and not need to have electricity to access it.

      There is a saying among people who are passionate about becoming self-reliant:

      You can live for about three minutes without air, three hours without a shelter of some sort, three days without much water or three weeks without any food. This is a good guideline to keep in mind when you are planning to become self-sufficient.

      Communication

      Even after a hurricane, tornado or earthquake, communicating with your family can be a problem. Miles may separate you.

      After recent hurricanes, and especially 9/11/01, you and your family should already have a meeting place established. Assuming it is still standing, a natural landmark or easily-recognized building is helpful. If you have cell signal, you can speak to family members.

      To be prepared for natural disasters and everyday situations, you need a backup plan, and an alternate way to charge your cell phone when the power is out. Chargers that plug into cigarette lighters give you a chance to charge your phone in a vehicle, or any other source of 12-volt power. You may not have service, though, even if you can recharge your phone.

      With battery-operated radios, you can hear announcements on radio stations, and listen for local news. Even if you only have a very basic emergency kit, it should have some type of radio that is operated by battery power, and some extra batteries. Don’t store your batteries right next to your radio, as they may leak and thus ruin the radio.

      Rechargeable batteries are an excellent way to help in maintaining communication. You can charge them with a solar charger. You can even buy portable radios with their own solar chargers.

      Windup radios are even better ideas. They can operate for more than an hour after just a minute and a half of cranking the power up. The crank charges internal batteries. Some have built-in flashlights, too.

      Citizen Band (CB) Radios

      CB radios are another way to communicate with your family, friends and others after any type of emergency. They provide two-way, local communication if you have no phone service. CB scanners will allow you to check the action bands for weather, utility company information, fire, ambulance and police dispatches.

      Choose a CB radio that operates on batteries, along with a backup source for power, when your batteries are discharged. Rechargeable 12-volt power supplies can be handy if you can charge them with a solar charger.

      Amateur or Ham Radios

      For those who dwell on survival, rather than people who simply want to be self-sufficient, ham radios are chosen for two-way, emergency communication. You can communicate with other operators over lengthy distances. You actually need to take a test and be licensed to operate ham radios. A General license allows you to speak worldwide to other ham operators on short-wave bands. Higher levels of tests are available if you want to take your ham radio experience to the limit.

      Water Supply

      You can survive for a few weeks without eating, but only for several days without taking in water. To be prepared for self-sufficiency after an emergency, store at least three days’ worth of water for each family member. Stay cool and reduce activity if you can, so that you will not require as much water. The minimum is one gallon per person per day. Two gallons per person is better.

      You can purify water to make it drinkable (potable) by filtering it and then boiling it or adding bleach to it.

      In addition to storing water in your home, you should also know where to access outdoor water sources like ponds or streams. Unless you must, do not use water from urban ponds or waterways. They may contain harmful chemicals.

      Water Storage

      Even the cleanest water will not last for extended periods of time, due to the growth of bacteria. When you store water, for emergencies or self-sufficiency, you should rotate it and replace it as often as needed. Old water can be used to water your garden. Containers used for water storage should be rinsed, washed and replaced with fresh water every year.

      Water shelf-life is extended by adding small amounts of household bleach. In preparing water to be stored, add four drops of bleach for each one gallon of water. In metric measurements, use one drop per liter. If you are storing water in larger vessels, use a teaspoon of water for each 30 gallons (or four cc’s for each 100 liters.).

      These measurements do not have to be precise. Be sure to use chlorine bleach without additives or scents. As an alternative, you can use calcium hypochlorite, which is sold as shock agents for pools.

      Food and Food Storage

      It’s quite challenging economically to put healthy food on your family table today. Gardening skills can make eating healthy more affordable. In post-disaster times, it’s vital to have wholesome, clean foods. Growing your own food is a tangible way to become self-sufficient.

      Plant a Vegetable Garden

      Preppers and people who simply want to eat healthy and be ready for emergencies are wise to begin gardening. You don’t need a lot of land if you’re just growing food for your family. Square foot or raised bed gardening will allow you to utilize all your growing space. Even apartment-dwellers can grow veggies - on their balconies.

      ––––––––

      Emergency Food Storage

      As far as having food for immediate use after a disaster, you can put together food pails. Stock them with items for your family to eat. If you pack food right, it will last for a long time. We’ll cover this in-depth in our chapter on food and food storage.

      You can purchase ready-made emergency food kits in food grade buckets, or make your own. The lids have rubber gaskets. If you pack your own stored food, be sure that your containers have been thoroughly cleaned.

      Self-Sufficient Finance

      You can learn to prepare for economic disasters, too. Books available online train you to become more self-sufficient putting cash away so that it

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