There are millions of ways you can become more self sufficient. From producing your own electricity to growing your own garden. It is a dream of many people to not have to depend on the system for there basic needs.

The challenge is that it is such a big project that most people never get started. They believe that it will take too much time and effort to accomplish, since there is so much they have to learn and do to accomplish the ultimate goal of total self sufficiency.

This may come as a surprise but there is no such thing as total self sufficiency. Everyone is dependent on someone or something to provide for some of there needs.

On the other hand everyone has the ability to become more self sufficient then they are right now.

If you would want to reduce you dependency on others and provide for some of your own needs then here are five steps which will get you on the right track.

Decide what area you would like to be self sufficient in first

There are three main areas of your life

Your food
Your energy
Your income

Which of these areas would be the simplest for you to become independent in.

Some factors to take into consideration are
Do you have garden space?
Are there housing rules which would make it difficult to use alternate energy sources?
Do you have a marketable skill or business knowledge?
Consider your options before deciding on what area you will focus on first.

2. Determine where you stand

Before you can make plans to become self sufficient in anything you must first know where you are starting from. If you have chosen your energy first then you will need to know how much energy you consume on a monthly, and yearly b
asis.

Energy consumption is easy to track. You can call your energy provider and get a printout of your energy consumption over a year.

Food is more difficult and requires that you keep a log over a period of time to determine what you consume, how much, and how often.

3. Begin reducing your usage.

The lower your usage is the easier it will be to become self sufficient in that area so start to look for ways to reduce what your use.

Do you:
Put leftovers in the refrigerator only to through them out a week later?
Leave lights on when no one is in the room?
Pay for things with a credit card and not pay the entire balance off at the end of the month?

All these are examples of things which you can change to reduce your usage of products or services.

4. Learn more about your chosen area.

There is an abundant amount of information available which will provide you with information about how you can reduce your dependency on others. Knowledge is power if you use it to provide for yourself and your family.

5. Instigate one idea every month

Having the knowledge is one thing but doing something with it is another. If you were to put one idea into action every month either a way to reduce your usage or to provide for one of your needs you will slowly loose yourself from the systems hold on you.

Becoming self sufficient is a process. It isn’t something which you can do in one fell swoop. You will have to learn, do, and change continuously to become freer and more independent of the system.

Self sufficient living is one of those dreams which most people hold for a long time without doing anything about it. Being self sufficient is what made North America a dominate force in the world today and in my view we need to get back to. The strength of a country is determined by to strength of it’s people.