Self-Sufficiency

Lately, I have been interested in the concept of Self-Sufficient Living. I would not want to go to the extreme (farming, etc.), but I have been experimenting with making my own bread to use instead of buying that 1.69 loaf at the grocery. It is certainly much cheaper to make it from scratch and tastes absolutely wonderful, but I have yet to figure out how to make sandwich-type bread instead of the fluffy bread that you can eat with your dinner. Any thoughts?

I have also made my own ice cream! It is heavenly and extremely rich. It was fun to do and I would definitely experiment again, but it is certainly more expensive than what you can buy at the store. I think because I used heavy whipping cream in it! Yum!

Other attempts at being frugal and self-reliance are hanging my laundry out to dry and growing some romaine lettuce for my bunny. So far, I have only had to use my dryer once this summer (it was a rainy week and we really needed clean clothes!) and my lettuce is growing quite nicely. Twix goes through quite a bit of lettuce, which means we buy it all the time. Hopefully, my "garden" will be ready to harvest late summer!

Here are some additional ideas I found for living self-sufficiently:

1. Plant a vegetable garden.
2. Change your own oil in your car or truck.
3. Start a small orchard for a variety of fruits.
4. Learn how to preserve food by canning.javascript:void(0)
5. Raise chickens for meat and eggs.
6. Raise goats or a dairy cow for dairy products.
7. Grow herbs for cooking and for medicinal purposes.
8. Sharpen your own tools.
9. Use a push mower instead of a gas or electric one.
10. Use a bicycle whenever possible instead of a motorized vehicle.

I think some of these would be fun to try, but I do not think I will get too carried away. *cough* push mower *cough*

List came from this website which has even more ideas!