One Person's Self-Sufficiency Definition
Let’s be honest. It is easier to go get your meat at the store, buy frozen veggies in a plastic bag you can throw into the microwave but there is a cost more than monetary for doing things that way. In my opinion, you pay more money for lesser quality goods and you get a whole lot of unhealthy additives and preservatives on the side.
Self-sufficiency is all about having it your way by doing it your way. Anyone can welcome subsistence living into their life in some fashion.
Self-Sufficiency Definition: Do What You Can
My family butchers chickens, hunts deer and grows vegetables. We like to go fishing and snack on morel mushrooms and wild blackberries.
We know where our food comes from, and enjoy the health benefits of the labor involved in bringing our food to the table. We are able to control how we preserve our food both by process and in terms of what ingredients we use to preserve it.
By canning, freezing and drying our own food we are able to eat flavorful, healthy food all year. If you get canned peaches imported from China, and compare that with eating a home-canned Georgia peach, you’ll know what I am talking about.
How much you are able to grow and harvest for yourself depends on where you live and how much time you are able to invest in these endeavors.
My advice is simple: Do everything you can for yourself. It is not the easiest path, but it is the most rewarding on many, many levels.
Self-Sufficiency Definition: It Can be Fun, but Not Always
Is it fun to get up at 4 a.m. and crawl out to your deer stand in the snow? Not always, but what is fun is bringing home food for your family at the end of a long sit. Is it fun to be sitting up at midnight waiting for your canner to be done? No. However, the pride you feel when you are able to point out to your children that you all had a hand in everything on their plate is amazing.
Self-Sufficiency Definition: It's Not About the Money
Everything in life comes with a cost: money, quality, or time. In my opinion, paying with money may be the easier way, but it is not the best. If you, like me, are interested in investing a little time and effort in order to have a higher quality of life for yourself and your family, I hope you will join me in living a life of self-sufficiency wherever and whenever you can.
What's Your Definition of Self-Sufficiency?
Not everyone is on the same page when it comes to self-sufficiency. But so long as folks are making an effort in some capacity, they'll be better off overall. How are you self-sufficient? Leave a comment below.
Be sure to download Tracy Schmidt's Living Ready University Online Course, Food Preservation & Garden Planning, for tips on becoming more self-sufficient year-round.