Self-Sufficiency

Alright Noble Readers!
The big question on my mind today- what level of self-sufficiency are you at? Are you living in a bunker eating canned foods? Do you live on a giant farm with gardens and fields and livestock where you grow all your own food and your animals' food too? Do you keep a "bug-out" bag ready so you can run away from disaster? Or are you more the type to have an animal or two who is useful, can foods from your garden, and maybe a rain barrel? Maybe you just keep a can or two of sterno and some extra dried goods around in case the power is out. I want to know! I'd love to hear about how you ensure your family's lifestyle through sustainability.

My Huband and I make an effort to reduce the cost of living and our reliance on the grid, but I wouldn't call us extreme. Cheap, maybe, but that's about it. We are working on a fence to go around our rather large garden (it was an accident that its so big) and we have Daisy, our Jersey cow, who we plan to breed next year. We also have chickens for eggs, and angora goats for fiber. We plan to use the fiber to make a small profit. We have every intention of eating or selling the offspring of Daisy, we plan to freeze, can or dehydrate all of our veggies that we don't eat, and all of our animals pay "rent" in that they have some sort of job.

I try to bake any bread or flour items we need to reduce the processed foods we consume, I try to buy the meat we eat from friends who also farm, I make my own laundry soap to cut out the preservatives and chemicals we are exposed to and I use homemade or all natural soaps in our showers. It sounds like a lot, and sometimes it is, but mostly it's just a lifestyle we have adjusted to. We really like it so far, and the more I learn about the things our government is allowing big business to get away with, the happier I am with it- but this isn't a political blog. I hate politics! :)

Next week I hope to share some sort of tutorial with you. Also, if anyone responds and tells me about their homesteading (pictures please!) perhaps I will feature them!
Until next time!