Tips on How to be Self-Reliant and Live Simpler

Living a self-reliant and self-sufficient life it a lifestyle. It is not something that you do for a day a week or a month. Your need to practice it daily and make it part of your life.  Just as living green and healthy is a lifestyle and something that  becomes a natural part of your daily life; being self-reliant and self-sufficient all work together to help you be healthier and to help the make our world a safer and healthier place for all of us today, tomorrow and for years to come. That is why I participated in the Self Reliance Challenge for a Simpler Life so that I could share my ideas as well as the many other wonderful bloggers to work together as a team to educate, learn, and share so that together we can make a difference.

We live in a world of uncertainly about our world around us. Life has changed so drastically from the time of our grandparents to present day.  Our grandparents made their own clothes wore them until they were worn out. Very few people do that in fact most people in our society have so many clothes that they don’t enough of days in the year to wear them. It time to cut back to get rid of what is necessary.

Homesteaders are usually very self-sufficient and some homesteaders go completely off the grid but that is not always possible for all of us and we don’t have to go to that extreme we can live anywhere and still learn to be more self-reliant and self-sufficient. You can be suburban homeowner or an apartment dweller and still take steps toward a more independent lifestyle.  Learn little ways each to become self-sufficient, self-reliant, and prepared for the future.  Being self-sufficient is just learning to be able to survive without depending on going to the store to buy everything you need and being prepared for any type of emergency that may come along.

Let’s take a look at what we have learned during our challenge & at some of the ways that we can accomplish self-sufficiency.

•  One question to ask yourself is why you want to travel the road of self-sufficiency!  I am sure you can find many answers as you read on and consider your own situation. Some bloggers set their own self-reliant personal goals that are relevant to all of us and to you.
• Have your own garden, grow your own herbs, even if you live in an apartment you can learn to be can grow herbs on a window sill or grow strawberries in a pot.
• We have learned so much about gardening such as steps to start seeds indoors. Tips on how to grow tomatoes, how to prepare our soil for spring planting and many other gardening tips.
• Cutting back on your energy use, saving money by buying in bulk or growing some of your own food. Buying food from your local farmer that you know is safe and healthy and storing it for winter.
• Ways you can dehydrate or freeze foods.  Tips on foods we can during the winter in Mason jars.  We learned the essential of how to store food such as oats.  How to make simple citrus syrups in jars that are so tasty and wonderful for additional to add to any meal. Preserving food, what we preserve and store and how we do is a personal choice and one that fits into your lifestyle and your situation.
• Being frugal with our money. Cutting back on bills and saving money for the future so that we can survive without the constant worry. It’s not always easy but it is definitely possible and feasible. Don’t live above your means. If you can’t afford it and it is not necessary than don’t buy it. It is just that simple!
• Simple things like using old towels instead of buying paper towels or at least buying recycled paper towels and using them sparingly.  We have learned about things to stop buying at the store and start yourself and save money!  We have shared how to get free firewood!
• Walk instead of getting into the car and driving if possible. The exercise is great for you health and it cuts back on fossil fuel and pollution.
• Making you own homemade household cleaning recipes and products, by using baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, lemons, and herbs to clean your whole house.  Stop using chemical cleaners that are harmful to your health and to the environment. Plus have you ever added up how much and how many cleaners you might be buying that just aren’t necessary or needed.
• We have learned 105 ways of being more self-reliant by utilizing some important skills such as horticulture, woodworking, gardening, natural health and so much more. We even learned how to make homemade dog biscuits for our best friends that need to have nutritional and healthy food too.
• We have learned how to use herbs and natural ingredients to make DIY body scrubs that are save us money and are so much healthier for our skin and body.
• We have learned how to prepare for a winter storm and how to keep our family safe and survive.  We have provided some very useful tips on generator safety for any emergency situation.

During the Self Reliance Challenge for 2019 I hope you have learned as much as I have and that you have made some changes in your own life and become more self-reliant and self-sufficient. I hope this challenge has helped you learn to live a simpler and healthier life without all the extra baggage we as a society seem to accumulate.

You now have the tools but it’s up to you to implement and utilize the many helpful suggestions and tips as much as possible to fit into your life. Do this so that you and your family can live a healthier, happier and less stressful life that will help you improve your environment and entire well-being which will help your mind, body and soul find peace and fulfillment.  I want to say thank you to all the bloggers that have helped me learn so many useful guidelines and tips that will help me to live a cleaner, simpler, frugal lifestyle and be prepared for whatever tomorrow might hold!

About the author

Marla

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Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! I believe in living green, organically, and natural in every aspect of our lives. My mission is to help educate you on how to live green, help save our environment and to help you and your family live a happier, healthier life!