How to Make Your Home Self-Sufficient
It isn’t just hippies and environmentalists who are deciding to become more self-sufficient. It’s now a realistic option for all kinds of people. If you want to eliminate your carbon footprint, or just want to stop relying on companies and utility providers, self-sufficient living might be for you.
It’s a big step to take though, and you should know what you’re getting into beforehand. All those luxuries you and your family are used to might have to be put on hold, and you’ll have to put in a lot of work to get things off the ground. But it could all be worth it! Read through this guide for some ideas to get you started.
Make as Much of Your Own Food as Possible
Making your own food is the easiest place to start when you’re thinking about becoming self-sufficient. Start by dedicating part of your garden to growing fruit and vegetables. It’s easy to start growing potatoes and carrots in the garden. After that, you can plant an apple tree and start growing rhubarb. Before you know it, you’ll be making apple pies and rhubarb crumbles and enjoying your own homegrown food. It always tastes better you’ve put some work into growing it!
Repurpose Furniture
When your furniture gets worn out and breaks, the ordinary thing to do is have a look around sofa stores and buy a new one. But there are alternatives. You could repair and repurpose your old furniture and junk. Repair the frame of your broken sofa and reupholster it, and you’ll give it a whole new lease of life. You won’t spend much money either! These kinds of creative solutions make the most of what you already have and break the cycle of constant consumer spending.
Install Renewable Energy Generating Systems
If you want to be free from the price demands of big energy companies, you should generate your own renewable energy instead. If you install solar panels or wind turbines alongside a good battery, there’s no reason you can’t power your home all year round. You could even make your own wind turbine. You just need to get the electrics in place, get the right bearings using www.locateballbearings.com and then fit the rotor blades. You can find detailed guides online to help you.
Keep Animals
If you have the free land to do it, keeping animals can be a great way of producing your own food. The best place to start is with chickens. Obviously, they provide you with a steady supply of eggs. And if it goes well, you could buy more chickens and sell the eggs you don’t use yourself. That way you not only feed the family but also turn a small profit too. What’s not to like about that?
Sell Your Unwanted Possessions
An easy way to make a bit of money is to sell all your unwanted junk. Just because you don’t want it anymore, that doesn’t mean no one else will. It’s a cliche but, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! With the money you make, you could invest in your renewable energy system or insulate your house or replace the windows. And selling your stuff is much better for the environment that throwing it in a landfill.
