What does it mean to be self sufficient

The term “Self Sufficient” is described as follows:

adjective
needing no outside help in satisfying ones basic needs, especially with regard to the production of food.

There are numerous definitions of the term but it basically means that you can rely entirely on yourself to provide the things you need in life, but what it doesn’t explain is there are several different ways you can do this.

If you have a high salary and can buy everything you need in life because of your income then you can be classed as self sufficient, even if you aren’t actually producing the things you need yourself. You can also be entirely self sufficient in just one area, with food being the most popular choice for anyone looking to rely more on themselves.

Food is by far the easiest thing to get started in on your journey to becoming self sufficient, with the tiniest initial investment saving you hundreds over the year, depending on how much growing ground you have access to of course.

The biggest problem with people looking to live a self sufficient lifestyle is the initial set-up cost. A good example would be a roof full of solar panels which can save you hundreds of pounds a year, depending on your energy demands and how kind the weather is, but the cost to buy them in the first place would be thousands and wont pay for itself and get you into profit for several years.

The five biggest factors to living a self-sufficient lifestyle

Home

If you live in any kind of large settlement bigger than a small village then you will be very limited to what you can do. Building things such as a small wind turbine will not only require permission from the council, but can also be objected by neighbours and anyone who complains. You will also be locked into a water, gas and electricity grid and will have to pay things like council tax which cover services you may not want or need.

To live in a self-sufficient home you will need some space and the freedom to build and grow the things you’ll need, but this doesn’t mean building a mansion somewhere in the countryside, as homes like static caravans can cost as little as £10,000 and provide a surprising amount of comfort.

Food

This is by far the easiest thing to get started on and can save you money faster than any other self-sufficient method. The only problem is that if you want to live entirely off the things you grow, then you’ll be limited to what you can produce in the region you live.

If you want to go 100% with the food then this will see you lose basic fruits such as oranges and bananas. Herbs and spices will be limited as well as access to fresh seafood, so the biggest thing to consider when thinking about growing all your own food is how much you are willing to give up.

There are certain methods that can provide things you otherwise couldnt produce, like the use of Aquaponics to produce fish along side leaf crops. For a better look at this growing method have a look at this Introduction to Aquaponics.

Energy

Short of paying for your own house to be built this one requires the biggest initial investment and takes the longest to see a positive return on it. Providing all your own energy is something you’d do when creating your own homestead as opposed to just trying to save some money living in a townhouse.

If you have the space and are good enough with your hands you can make certain things yourself. A car alternator combined with a homemade vertical wind turbine can be made for less than £50 and can provide enough power for a light bulb or two, handy for outside lights and small individual devices, but if you want to run a home of regular power consumption you cant avoid a size-able set-up cost.

Attitude

The single most important factor when it comes to living a self-sufficient lifestyle. Your attitude will determine your level of effort and can make the difference between a dream coming true or turning into a pile of mouldy logs where your log cabin should be.

The two biggest things to affect your attitude will be sacrifice and patience. If you intend to live off food you grow yourself you’ll be giving up allot of things you have become used to, with most of your diet consisting of vegetarian food with meat being something few and far between.

Patience is also very important as it takes a long time to learn how to effectively grow things, and planting your first crop of onions only to see the whole thing destroyed by bulb mites is exactly the kind of thing you’ll need to be strong, and patient enough to overcome.

Unproducable goods

No matter how much land you have and how smart you are, its impossible to produce everything you’ll need unless you are prepared to live life as they did in the 1700’s. You wont be able to get the tools and raw materials to make things like medicine and machinery, and so will need a way to provide them somehow.

The most popular and easiest way is to grow a cash crop which you can sell and use the profits to buy the things you cant make. Even though you aren’t producing the end item yourself, you are still producing the means to acquire it yourself, and all without having to get a high paying job to do so.