Who considers themselves self sufficient

[mountainsoft]

I enjoy doing things myself whenever possible (watsondiy.com). Car work, woodworking, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, remodeling, crafting, landscaping, computer programming, etc. As other's have mentioned, that still requires a bit of reliance on modern conveniences. I haven't made my own chisels, built my own table saw, or forged my own car parts, for instance.

I enjoy cooking but have never tried canning. We don't get enough sunlight on our property to grow vegetables, so there's nothing to can. Also, some things just aren't worth the trouble. I thought about making some pumpkin ice cream a few weeks ago, but when I added up the cost of the ingredients I realized I could just go buy a few cartons of ice cream.

Oh, and it's DIY (Do It Yourself), not DYI (Do Yourself In). My wife gets that confused all the time too...

 

[daylatedollarshort]

While we aren't fully self sufficient, I do try to have very low overhead and avoid buying unnecessary consumer goods and services. Some of our projects have been:

LED lights inside and solar outside
Reducing energy usage with a Kill a Watt
Low water, low energy use washer
Spin dryer / dryer balls
Drying racks
Making my own cleaning supplies
Make my own hand sanitizer
Low flow shower heads
Non electric thermal cooker
Getting some items on Freecycle type sites, thrift shops
Cooking more from scratch
Attending more local and non profit events - local museums, gardens, parks, bands, community theater, and college events
Using the library - free event passes, music downloads and streaming, like Great Courses

For entertainment we try to go local and nonprofit - college events, community theater, naturalist activities at the parks, community band concerts, etc.

Future projects include things like xeriscaping the yard, trying out our local bus service, getting a solar cooker and making my own kimchi.

 

[Arizona1]

We’ve been living in a big motorhome for about 21 years now following the weather. We usually camp without hookups on public or private lands 9 months out of the year using around 500 gallons of water, 20 gallons of propane, and 30 gallons of generator gasoline a month. We dump the tanks every 2weeks.
Solar takes care of some electric needs.
RV uses about 200 gallons of fuel yearly.
For our food and necessities we hunt at Costco and Samsclub at least once a week.
We aren’t self sufficient in any way but we are independent.

 

[easysurfer]

Philosophical question like the if a tree falls in a forest ...

"So, if I do my own taxes with tax software and not using paper and pencil, am I self sufficient?"

I pretty much do my own stuff. I don't cook over a fire with logs I've chopped down, but if the car breaks down, I bring it to the shop. Plus, do my own cooking, grocery shopping and household chores and finances.

 

[aja8888]

My DW on being self sufficient:

ME: "Honey, let's buy a tent and go on vacation and camp out in the woods by
a stream. I will clean the fish I catch and you can cook it on an open fire. We can spend quality time out under the stars!"

DW: "Honey, camping to me is staying in a 5 star hotel and having a good steak in the restaurant."

 

[NW-Bound]

Oh, and it's DIY (Do It Yourself), not DYI (Do Yourself In). My wife gets that confused all the time too...

Eh, some DIY tasks may turn hazardous quickly if one does not know what he is doing.

DIY may become DYI in an instant.


In my early 20s, I read the following article in the newspaper, and it stuck with me. It happened somewhere in a midwestern US state.

A person driving by a home observed 3 pairs of legs sticking out from under a car in a carport. He notified the police, who discovered 3 men crushed to death underneath a car they were working on. They were a father in his 70s, his son in the 40s, and a neighbor in his 50s.

The car they were working on was, or used to be, supported by bumper jack(s)!

 

[Gumby]

No I am not. I'm handier than many people I know but compared to my grandfather and others am pretty pathetic (but enjoy a higher standard of living... at least materially). Of course, my grandparents lived in a community where people were more reliant on and connected with their neighbors than we are today so maybe he was just more handy but no more self-reliant. You could probably argue that their town was more self-sufficient than cities today with a more disbursed supply chain.


....


Reading "1 Second After" and "Lucifer's Hammer" have convinced me that I won't last long (the 1 Second After" series is really good and well researched and reasoned) if society collapses.

I read "1 Second After" and one thing that stuck with me was the observation that now, after the EMP killed all the electronics, they had reverted to 19th Century technology, but people only had 15th Century knowledge and ability to use it.

 

[Sojourner]

I would say that some of the Amish are mostly self-sufficient as a community, but not individually. Apart from them, I don't think there is any such thing in today's world.

Actually, there are a number of isolated tribes of hunter-gatherer peoples around the world... so-called "uncontacted peoples". The Sentinelese are one of the most well known of these. Totally isolated and very hostile to outsiders. And 100% self-sufficient, apparently.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinelese

Of course, this isn't what the OP was getting at when asking about self-sufficiency. Along those lines, I am far from self-sufficient in a modern, practical sense, although I am handy enough that I don't reflexively call for help when things around the house stop working or need minor repairs. Even the handiest DIYers who live among us in "normal" society are far, far from true self-sufficiency.

In case you've never heard of him, Richard Proenneke was a fascinating guy who lived an extremely self-sufficient life in Alaska. He was about as close as I think you could come without living as a fully isolated hunter-gatherer. Check out the YouTube video below to watch an old 1970s-era documentary on his life. Truly inspiring and amazing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Proenneke

 

[NW-Bound]

In case you've never heard of him, Richard Proenneke was a fascinating guy who lived an extremely self-sufficient life in Alaska. He was about as close as I think you could come without living as a fully isolated hunter-gatherer. Check out the YouTube video below to watch an old 1970s-era documentary on his life. Truly inspiring and amazing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Proenneke

Thanks for sharing.

I did not know of Proenneke, only of the young Chris McCandless who did not last too long in the Alaska wilderness.

In contrast with Proenneke who was an older and experienced man in his 50s when he started his solitary life in the wilderness, McCandless was inexperienced and in over his head when he thought he could manage by himself.

Proenneke lived and worked in Alaska for nearly 20 years before he went to Twin Lakes to build his own log cabin. McCandless jumped in head-first, and paid a heavy price.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_McCandless.

 

[Sojourner]

Proenneke lived and worked in Alaska for nearly 20 years before he went to Twin Lakes to build his own log cabin. McCandless jumped in head-first, and paid a heavy price.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_McCandless.

Yes, there is a vast difference between the two. I find both stories fascinating, though. I've read Into The Wild and seen the movie (twice). I've also watched the Proenneke documentary Alone In The Wilderness a few times on PBS. His life was truly amazing.

 

[pacergal]

My best action on this is to have 3-14 days of food, water, cooking fuel and supplies for possible disaster.
Definitely not self sufficient or self reliant.
I do have a book on PNW edible plants, and wilderness survival.
And I do know a few neighbors I would want to create a compound with in case of extreme problems or zombies!!

 

[Trailwalker]

We’ve been living in a big motorhome for about 21 years now following the weather. We usually camp without hookups on public or private lands 9 months out of the year using around 500 gallons of water, 20 gallons of propane, and 30 gallons of generator gasoline a month. We dump the tanks every 2weeks.
Solar takes care of some electric needs.
RV uses about 200 gallons of fuel yearly.
For our food and necessities we hunt at Costco and Samsclub at least once a week.
We aren’t self sufficient in any way but we are independent.

You're living my dream. Unfortunately, my wife does not share that dream, except for the hunting at Costco.

 

[pjigar]

I read "1 Second After" and one thing that stuck with me was the observation that now, after the EMP killed all the electronics, they had reverted to 19th Century technology, but people only had 15th Century knowledge and ability to use it.

I try to tell DD about how things are made/grown/manufactured, etc. in the hopes that she knows some basics about how the world turns (now and in the past). I grew up in a village in a 3rd world country so I can't help to compare and contrast the ways of making/growing things. She is not always fond to hear the stories and argues that she is never going to need to know this. Your commend made me chuckle.


PS: DD is taking ECON 101 class this year and she told me she had been acing all the tests because she knows most of what is taught in this class; thanks to my uninvited lessons on finance over the years (her words not mine). So may be I will keep telling her how the world works behind the scene!

 

[CindyBlue]

Reading "1 Second After" and "Lucifer's Hammer" have convinced me that I won't last long (the 1 Second After" series is really good and well researched and reasoned) if society collapses.

I have read both, plus as many other what I'll call apocalyptic novels as I can find. My DH says I have a "thing" about being independent and taking care of myself (and him.)

But I agree with other posters - I couldn't be self sufficient anymore. I just sold the only non-electronic car we owned. No big garden. I freeze instead of can to preserve, therefore dependent on electricity. We no longer have animal stock to depend on if things go south - our last horses passed away a couple of years ago and we haven't found new ones and might not ever again. If the "end" comes, we'll end with it.

A book I've read a number of times is "Alas Babylon." A bit dated but still very informative. A few of the survival ideas I've gotten from this book: Live next to a river or lake (which we don't); have the means to protect yourself; make sure you have spare eyeglasses; and have good relationships with some of your neighbors who have survival skills you don't have.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Thanks CindyBlue, I just added Alas Babylon to my wish list at the library!


The big takeaway for me from 1 Second After was as a Floridian I'll be dead. My folks were friends with someone that retired to Black Mountain and he actually knew some of the characters in the book as they were based on real townsfolk. The third book jumped the shark a little bit but the first left me hungry for more!

 

[CindyBlue]

Sorry to say that "Alas Bablylon" is set in Florida, too...I don't hold out much hope for Floridians (wry smile!)

I very much enjoyed "1 Second After." Haven't read the next two books in the series, but they are now on my list!

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Philosophical question like the if a tree falls in a forest ...

"So, if I do my own taxes with tax software and not using paper and pencil, am I self sufficient?"

I pretty much do my own stuff. I don't cook over a fire with logs I've chopped down, but if the car breaks down, I bring it to the shop. Plus, do my own cooking, grocery shopping and household chores and finances.

One could make the argument that voluntarily doing your own taxes makes you self-slaughtering chattle! Taxes are about the antithesis of being free and self-sufficient as you are living and existing at the permission of the state (or, more kindly, paying the state to take care of you).

 

[Midpack]

I try to be as resourceful as possible and I’m always learning. But I can’t imagine any of us being truly self-sufficient.

 

[audreyh1]

Happily pay other people to do things to save us the time and trouble.

Did plenty of homesteading type stuff decades ago. We have other priorities now.

I remember the old British comedy about self sufficiency. “The Good Life” https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/the_good_life/

 

[Walt34]

And here I thought way back then that having a steady job that paid enough to afford my own apartment was being self sufficient.

There went anther bubble....

 

[RobbieB]

I'm self sufficient. I'm retired and I've got enough dough to pay for what I need -

 

[travelover]

I eat my road kill.

 

[aja8888]

I'm in the process of a dental implant via bone graft, drilling the hole and implanting the mounting stud. I don't think I could tackle this myself even if I have the use of the lab. So that's off the self sufficient list of things I can do myself....

And making the new tooth would be another challenge off the list.

 

[Calico]

Sure, I'm "self sufficient" - just don't take away my internet and the Submit Order button.

 

[Zathras]

If society collapses, I would die within a week of my insulin running out.
As such, I have little concern about being self sufficient in other ways.

I admire self reliance, I just won’t survive a total collapse long enough for it to come into play.