Reddit Reddit reviews The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It

We found 20 Reddit comments about The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It
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20 Reddit comments about The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It:

u/HomesteaderWannabe · 18 pointsr/homestead

Hey Satchkey, don't despair... there is hope and a way to fulfill your desires!

A year ago today I was 31 and still living in Ottawa (the capital city of Canada) working a desk job in an office cubicle for the federal government. I had felt exactly as you do for years, wanting to get away from the masses of people and get back closer to nature and capture that feeling that I also had whenever I went hiking or camping.

Fast forward to today. I still work the same job for the federal government, but now I work from a home office. This allowed me and my fiancee to buy some land and move (last July) back to my home town in the mountains of northwestern British Columbia (on the west coast of Canada). I bought 6 acres of land with a small (850 sq foot) cabin on it with outbuildings and we have been living the dream ever since. We had enough time last summer and into fall to build a chicken coop and we have a small flock of 9 birds that provide us with ~4 eggs/day. Just this last weekend we went up to the woodlot and starting cutting some trees down to chop up for firewood for next winter (the cabin is heated by an old fashioned wood cookstove). We're getting ready to plant a big garden this year and we're also finalizing plans to construct a hog pen this year so that we can raise a couple pigs for meat.

All this is to say that it can be done... if I can do it, anyone can.

On to your question about material! This is how I started formulating my dream into reality as well, and I can honestly say that of the MANY MANY books that I have bought, the one that I go back to fairly often is John Seymour's Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It. This book has the basics for everything you mentioned, and more. I highly recommend that you start there, and if you have any more specific questions or topics, feel free to ask and I'll let you know any other books I might have on the topic (I have a LOT).

Good luck, and keep striving for the dream! Despite what some might say, it is attainable. I even still have internet and can game online with my buddies like I always did! You don't have to trade in all the luxuries of a modern life just to have a simpler one!

u/[deleted] · 15 pointsr/SelfSufficiency

Completely agree. One insect infestation, one round of bad seeds, or an overly rainy or dry summer and you and you're family are dead. I've seen a few [books] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Self-Sufficient-Life-How-Live/dp/0756654505/ref=pd_sim_b_17) on self-sufficiency on a single acre and that seems more possible. But even then, that assumes an already established farm with a ton of capital improvements - everything from pantries, cold rooms, chicken tractors, fencing, canning equipment, a greenhouse, sheds, bee hives etc. Not to mention really crucial things like housing for the animals, and space for compost bins both of which the infographic completely omits.

So more like, read a bunch of books, buy a small piece of land, spend five years and tens of thousands of dollars on infrastructure, and maybe, MAYBE, in your 6th or 7th year you could start to approach self-sufficiency and have canned enough surplus goods to not live in fear every winter.

edit: a word

u/jnux · 10 pointsr/homestead

I'm relatively new to it all, but I've really gotten a lot of use out of John Seymour's "The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It" - the first sections are useful "Use Case" examples (what I'd do with 1/2 acre... 1 acre, 5 acres, etc.) which is useful to get an idea of how much land you may need to reasonably do what you want (assuming you also follow his land use ideas). And then the rest of it is like an encyclopedia. When I want to grow a new plant I go there first and read his description of how to handle it, what pests to watch for, and when to harvest.

u/Independent · 10 pointsr/collapse

IF you already have a bug-in kit covering serious first aid, not just bandaids and Tums, water filtration, fire and cooking without power, etc......

The first two titles assume that you have at least some yard with reasonable sun access, or the potential for access to a community garden. (Could presently be a community park, a church lot, neighbor's land, whatever.) Books are presently roughly in the order that I'd replace them if my copies were lost. Buy used when you can. Some of these are available used for not much more than standard shipping.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It

Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times

Where There Is No Doctor

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

If you have no comprehensive cookbooks that cover a wide range of garden veggies and game recipes, something like Joy of Cooking is probably in order. The point being that one way or another you may have to get used to enjoying whatever can be had, from an abundance of zuchinnis to rabbit, to acorn meal.

If you are not (yet) handy, find an old copy of something like Reader's Digest How to Fix Everything in a used bookshop for maybe $4.

A regionally appropriate guide to edible and medicinal plants such as A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Of Eastern and Central North America

Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation

optional, but cheap, Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis

u/Necronomiconomics · 8 pointsr/SelfSufficiency

The Bible of Self-Sufficiency is this: Self Sufficient Life & How To Live it

Even better than Carla Emory's Encyclopedia of Country Living, which is #2.

u/eramnes · 5 pointsr/preppers

The best resource for this that I know of is The Self Sufficient Life And How To Live It, a book by John Seymour. There are explanations and drawings of pretty much everything you would need to work on a one or five acre holding - with 10 acres you would be even better off. He talks about farming, wood harvesting, butchering, beekeeping, woodworking, and basically anything else you can imagine about being as self-sufficient as possible. If you want to "try before you buy" you can read an older edition [PDF warning] for free. You'll get more information on plant types and other things by purchasing the revised version though. I'd suggest a hard copy in any case.

Carla Emery's book has been highly recommended to me, but I've never read it so I can't say anything about it one way or the other. Most posters here are trustworthy though so if they're suggesting it I would pick that up as well.

If you are looking for other resources, I can suggest the Foxfire series, which deals with how life has been lived in the Appalachian region of the US before the introduction of modern life. There's a lot of good information there if you're willing to put up with a good deal of folklore. Not that the stories contained are bad - they're highly entertaining if nothing else.

Another choice you might look in to is the Village Technology Handbook [PDF warning, again]. This book details a lot of improvised infrastructure items that may be of use to the self-sufficient person. This book can be difficult to find in print - I bought my copy from AbeBooks for about $60.

If you're looking for something that discusses a specific technology or problem, let me know and I may be able to point you to a resource.

Good luck - I wish I had the acreage you do!

u/onemadfool · 4 pointsr/SelfSufficiency

Excellent book! May I also recommend the self-sufficient life and how to live it

u/Zodiac23 · 4 pointsr/homestead

A thousand times: No! Debt is the last thing you want to start building your homestead on, especially a mortgage. Like others have said before...save until you can afford a small piece of unimproved land, and then build it up yourself as homesteaders for centuries have been doing. You could get the 10 acres and build you own home for a fraction of the cost and not be a wage slave to the banks. In fact, I would recommend 2 things: First, look for unimproved lots around 5 (10 acres is a lot more than most homesteaders need unless they want to grow a huge cash crop and actually be a farmer, not just a modern homesteader) acres all over the country to get a price baseline then focus on the areas and prices that fit your desires and budget. And second, get this book and look over the various layouts they have for different sized homesteads: The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. It's an amazing and essential book for new modern homsteaders if you haven't already checked it out.

u/AliceInPlunderland · 4 pointsr/SelfSufficiency

My favorite so far is probably The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour:

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Sufficient-Life-How-Live/dp/0756654505/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=61t6SRQzuNL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR129%2C160_&refRID=19QK02D2JDVH1815J35Y

I've also enjoyed The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery:

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=029NTQA9FBYZB5Z7SDMF

Some of the Storey's Guide books have also been helpful to becoming more self-sufficient (Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits, for example). I'm always on the lookout for others! <3

u/HaveShieldWillTravel · 3 pointsr/Homesteading

I was asking a similar question not that long ago. One thing I realized is that it's a difficult question to answer. "Homesteading" describes an incredibly diverse range of activities: planting and gardening, livestock, building, repair, assessing land and soil quality, cooking, canning, bee hives... The list goes on and on. I'd recommend a couple of general books to start with, picking up books on each specific topic as you go. Pick one new thing to add to your homestead at whatever pace feels right.

I purchased both of these books based on numerous recommendations. They fit the "general homesteading" label rather well, and I think they're probably a good place to start.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour

and

The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery.

They both cover a broad range of topics with enough depth to get an idea of what is involved with a project, though I'd probably suggest more in-depth material for really diving in to something.

u/FruitNutMeatGrain · 3 pointsr/preppers

Self-Sufficient Life and How To Live It by John Seymour

https://www.amazon.com/Self-Sufficient-Life-How-Live/dp/0756654505

Or maybe the Foxfire series

u/kal00ma · 2 pointsr/Norway

I'm a big fan of The self sufficient life and how to live it. I grew up on a ranch with several goats--they're extremely destructive animals but definitely fun to watch.

u/spontanewitty · 2 pointsr/homestead

All of the posts so far are great. I would also suggest to anyone with less space, look into miniature or smaller breeds of certain livestock, possibly. There are quite a few books on working to get more out of small plots when it comes to gardening and farming. Rotational grazing and other wise pasture management can help you get the most out of your space without turning it into a manure-coated moonscape! There are many more, but here are a few of my favorites to homesteaders starting out. Others have already mentioned some I really like as well.

Desert or Paradise - Sepp Holzer
*Sepp usually works with larger tracts of land, but his methods and ideas often still apply to smaller scale.


The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It - John Seymour This one talks about a variety of DIY homesteading things. It also gives some basic layout and space allocation ideas for different sizes of homesteads. They're a suggestion, not an absolute template. Customize to your needs as with everything.



The Resilient Gardener - Carole Deppe Carole discusses growing the majority of food for her and her flock of dual-purpose (meat and egg) ducks. She's also a scientist and shows ways to work more efficiently. She has a couple other great books and sells seeds when she has extra. Her method of growing certain types of garbanzo beans to pop into a nutty treat is something I'd like to try. http://www.caroldeppe.com/

Also check out this site. They grow quite a bit on a well-tended suburban-size lot. It's about 1/5 an acre.
http://urbanhomestead.org/

u/SirSmalls · 2 pointsr/TinyHouses

This is my favorite book about self-sufficiency. Not really about Tiny Houses, but just awesome.

u/cookieday · 2 pointsr/Permaculture

John Seymour's The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It might not be about permaculture per se, but it is a great exploration of what our real material needs are, and how to meet them using time-tested agricultural techniques.

u/DraperyFalls · 2 pointsr/SelfSufficiency

I recently picked up this guy.

u/kibitzello · 2 pointsr/homestead

I'm a bit of a generalist. I always have lots of projects going on at once, each in a different state of completion. The books I have listed I do own, and read and pick through the most often.

The first two are generalist books. I say that because they both have such a breadth of information it's hard to describe them. The third is more specialist in that it covers only a single subject, but does so in such detail and in a recipe type format that it's easy to follow along. It starts with how to build a blacksmith shop, what tools you need, and how to use tools you make to build bigger tools to help build other, bigger tools.

https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402

https://www.amazon.com/Self-Sufficient-Life-How-Live/dp/0756654505/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FR7BRBKJ9CA3XRWW1N8H

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473081102&sr=1-15&keywords=blacksmithing

u/re-tired · 2 pointsr/homestead

John Seymour has great suggestions and more in this book.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0756654505/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_zm0HAbQHHZN63

u/Strid · 1 pointr/Outdoors

Some of my favorites that's relevant to this subreddit:

u/Pullupthendown · 1 pointr/homestead

I lucked out and found a book at my local Goodwill by John Seymour that discusses this and a few other topics. I think it might be the same or very similar to what dead_indian mentioned.

https://www.amazon.com/Self-Sufficient-Life-How-Live/dp/0756654505