Self-Sustained Living

Everything we rely on and use that we can not produce ourselves makes us dependent. We can either produce more things on our own, choose to use more things we produce ourselves, or choose to use less of what we can not produce ourselves. Everything we use that we rely on someone else to produce makes us a dependent consumer. Being a dependent consumer puts many on the hamster wheel of living pay check to pay check. When the paycheck fails, or the system that produces what we want fails, we will be left with what we can produce on our own as soon as our stockpiles are used up. I use a hybrid approach: It might be cheaper/ easier, say, to use grid power when it is available, but what about when the grid goes down? How can we be less reliant on something like the electric grid, that we know can and does go down?

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Food

For us, being mostly vegetarian helps us to be able to grow most of our own food if needed. During the spring and summer we grow in raised garden beds/ platforms with pots and containers. Toward the winter months, we open up the south facing window to let heat and light from the sun in for the season. This includes the food plant shelf where we grow fresh lettuce, parsley, strawberries, and other leafy and/ or smaller plants. We use supplemental lighting above them to add more light. The bright white, higher kelvin lighting helps keep everyone inside, including the plants, to stay alive and vibrant during a time when everything outside is dead, and the sun is more of a dimmer orange/ red for the season. It's almost like a signal to all life to go dormant and hibernate for he season leading to many being depressed. Being self sustained includes being able to stay in a healthy state which presents the need for treatment and possible dependance on others due to an unhealthy state that can be prevented.

Power

You could go without power and probably live if you had some mental strength and creative ability to produce what you needed; but not many would really want to.

Water

Not only do we need water, but the water needs to be clean and safe from chemical and biological threats. It is a good idea to have a way of getting it from nature that does not rely on grid power, and a way of purifying it.

Shelter

I have known people that survived living in a tent for most of the summer, but when the storm came they preferred to stay the night in their vehicle. A good strong shelter to help keep the elements out of your living space is crucial.

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