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DIY Projects for the Self-Sufficient Homeowner: 25 Ways to Build a Self-Reliant Lifestyle
Build your way to a more self-sufficient lifestyle with step-by-step projects for backup and supplementary utilities--including independent water, heat, and electricity--growing and storing food, raising small livestock, beekeeping, and more. Many of the projects require basic materials available at your everday home center, but this book also provides valuable DIY resources for solar, hydro, greenhouse, and gardening needs. This book will help you build security with utility backup systems and become more sustainable, resulting in less dependence on city systems for basic needs. Whether you have a city plot or simply pots, this book includes all of the information needed to plan, build, and succeed with greater self-sufficiency.
Homesteading in the 21st Century: How One Family Created a More Sustainable, Self-Sufficient, and Satisfying Life
Not since Thoreau made his home in the woods at Walden Pond has the notion of self-sufficiency held more universal appeal. There's no question we're going through some tough economic times, but this book offers an alternative. It's a guide for anyone who imagines a better life--from struggling families tired of energy dependency to dreamers who always wished they could live off the land someday. This ultimate DIY guide holds to the premise that anyone can homestead, and raise at least a portion of their food themselves--even if they live in the city. This book is absolutely brimming with ideas on how to take control of your life by degrees--whether that means keeping chickens, growing a garden, or brewing your own beer.
Just in Case: How to Be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens
When the power fails, prepared families settle in, stay warm, and eat well. With careful planning, organization, and a detailed assessment of the needs of each family member, it is possible for every household to survive at least several days with no outside services. A sensible home system will take over the work of providing warmth, shelter, and nutrition. Author Kathy Harrison guides readers through the empowering process of setting up such a home system with her OAR method - Organize existing supplies, Acquire additional necessities, Rotate everything for freshness. Her comprehensive coverage of emergency preparedness includes food storage, alternative heating sources, personal supplies for every family member, entertainment ideas, toiletry and proper clothing, pet supplies, emergency family communication plans, and neighborhood cooperatives. In addition to preparing the home for extended periods without electricity, Harrison also discusses evacuation plans - where to go, how to meet up with family, what to pack, and how best to protect all that's being left behind. Self-sufficiency at home or in a temporary safe haven takes away much of the fear and helplessness associated with disasters. "Just in Case" puts the power back in the hands of individuals who are equipped and ready to take over when public services fail. Disasters can strike an entire region or a single unlucky family. They can be brought on by weather (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, severe heat or cold, landslides) or by man (terrorism, acts of war, simple human error). Whatever the cause, these catastrophic events have the potential to disrupt routines and cost money and lives. Why not be one of the prepared few? Just in case . . . Review With the assumption that "many of us have a false sense of security... assuming that technology will prevail or that some government agency will bail us out in a crisis," this extensive guide gives detailed, down-to-earth advice on what to do when disaster strikes, be it a house fire, an ice storm or biological terrorism. Aided by charmingly retro illustrations vaguely reminiscent of a 1940s air raid brochure, Harrison ("Another Place at the Table") presents her "OAR" system for preparedness-organizing, acquiring and rotating supplies-and techniques to safely and even comfortably survive any kind of emergency. She shows how to prepare for a short-term crisis: building a supply of food and water; preparing first aid and evacuation kits; planning communication and a family meeting place in times of crisis. She also presents long-term strategies for self-sufficiency: "eliminating debt and securing a supply of cash in your home"; planting a garden, canning food and making cheese; replacing an inefficient fireplace with a woodstove; building a solar oven. Harrison shows that learning to do it yourself, besides providing some security in an increasingly insecure world, br
Little House Off the Grid: Our Family's Journey to Self-Sufficiency
Like so many other city-dwellers, Cam and Michelle Mather longed for a simpler, quieter life in the country. When they found a century-old farmhouse on 150 acres of land that was in their price range, they jumped at the chance to make their move. The fact that the home was "off-grid" with no power or telephone lines connecting it to the outside world seemed like a bonus Twelve years later their life in the country is not quite as simple as they had envisioned, but it is peaceful. There were more challenges than they could have anticipated, as well as more rewards. Along the way they installed more solar panels, erected a wind turbine, and upgraded and replaced all of the major components of their off-grid electrical system. They installed a solar-thermal hot water system; figured out how to have a phone, internet, and satellite TV; and kept their home heated with wood cut from their own property. They also carved out a garden and began growing much of their own food. They acquired new skills and knowledge, but, most importantly, they learned to appreciate the value of good neighbors, good books, and good manure. Cam Mather is a writer, publisher, and video producer who knows how to equalize batteries and pinch suckers off of tomato plants. Michelle Mather looks after the editing, the website, and the dwindling bank account and keeps Cam calm during times of crisis.
Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre
Mini Farming describes a holistic approach to small-area farming that will show you how to produce 85 percent of an average family's food on just a quarter acre-and earn $10,000 in cash annually while spending less than half the time that an ordinary job would require. Even if you have never been a farmer or a gardener, this book covers everything you need to know to get started: buying and saving seeds, starting seedlings, establishing raised beds, soil fertility practices, composting, dealing with pest and disease problems, crop rotation, farm planning, and much more. Because self-suf?ciency is the objective, subjects such as raising backyard chickens and home canning are also covered along with numerous methods for keeping costs down and production high. Materials, tools, and techniques are detailed with photographs, tables, diagrams, and illustrations.
New Choices in Natural Healing: Over 1,800 of the Best Self-Help Remedies from the World of Alternative Medicine
Tap the Power of Alternative Medicine with "New Choices in Natural Healing" Acupressure-- for pinpoint pain relief Aromatherapy-- relieve stress and tension Ayurveda-- a customized system of better health Flower Therapy-- heal the mind, and the body will follow Food Therapy-- the power to erase disease Herbal Therapy-- a healing partnership with Mother Nature Homeopathy-- medicines perhaps more powerful than prescriptions Hydrotherapy-- bathe yourself in natural healing Imagery-- picture yourself perfectly healthy Juice Therapy-- the curative essence of fruits and vegetables Massage-- hands-on healing for yourself and your family Reflexology-- speed restorative energy to organs and body parts Relaxation and Meditation-- achieve a higher state of health Sound Therapy-- soothe your body with music's gentle waves Vitamin and Mineral Therapy-- natural prescriptions for healing Yoga-- stretches for better health
Organic Body Care Recipes: 175 Homemade Herbal Formulas for Glowing Skin & a Vibrant Self
Radiantly healthy skin, hair, feet, hands, eyes, and nails. Commercial beauty products make this promise every day and live up to it with varying degrees of success. Stephanie Tourles offers a better solution to everyone frustrated with the endless cycle of expensive, synthetic, famous-name cosmetics that often fall short of expectations. Take control of beauty treatments with homemade products that use safe, nourishing ingredients to pamper the body and soothe the senses. Tourles, a licensed esthetician, herbalist, and aromatherapist, has developed 175 recipes that are fun, simple, and immensely satisfying to make in home kitchens. Her natural beauty treatments deliver the results promised by department store brands -- skin, hair, and nails that glow with vitality and inner wellness. Lotions, scrubs, toners, balms, and masks polish and balance the skin, soothe current problems, and prevent future ones. Shampoos, rinses, and conditioners tone the scalp, boost highlights, and leave hair soft and shiny. The book's whole-body coverage also includes recipes for hand and footcare, nail treatments, shaving cream, and even popular spa treatments such as microdermabrasion exfoliants, detox and cellulite soaks, ayurvedic oils, and herbal cold salves. Most important, there is never any doubt about the purity of these ingredients Each formula is clearly presented in recipe style, with notes on prep time, storage, and uses. Many products can be customized according to personal needs, whim, or mood, and they all use readily available, natural ingredients. "Organic Body Care Recipes" is a natural treasure for every body.
Self-Sufficiency: A Complete Guide to Baking, Carpentry, Crafts, Organic Gardening, Preserving Your Harvest, Raising Animals, and
Now, more than ever, people across the country are turningtoward simpler, greener, and quieter ways of living--whetherthey're urbanites or country folk. Following in the footsteps ofBack to Basics and Homesteading, this large, fully-illustrated bookprovides the entire family with the information they need to makethe shift toward self-sufficient living.Self-Sufficiency provides tips, advice, and detailed instructions onhow to improve everyday life from an environmentally and organicperspective while keeping the focus on the family. Readers willlearn how to plant a family garden and harvest the produce; canfruits and vegetables; bake bread and cookies; design interactiveand engaging "green" projects; harness natural wind and solar energyto cook food and warm their homes; boil sap to make maplesyrup; and build treehouses, furniture, and more. Also included arenatural crafts readers can do with their kids, such as scrapbooking, making potato prints, dipping candles, and constructing seasonaldecorations. Whether the goal is to live entirely off the grid orjust to shrink their carbon footprints, families will find this book athorough resource and a great inspiration.
T'Ai Chi Ch'uan: A Simplified Method of Calisthenics for Health and Self-Defense
This is the original classic about Short Form, the most popular and widespread form of T'ai Chi in the West." T'ai Chi Ch'uan" is a must-read for every serious T'ai Chi student. This book is not meant to "teach" T'ai Chi Ch'uan, but meant to expound upon its meaning to the earnest practitioner; to offer the layperson a glimpse into this ancient art; and to communicate the author's unique perceptions and experiences that only a lifetime of practice can cultivate. Taken in this context, this is a most valuable book.
T'Ai Chi: The "Supreme Ultimate" Exercise for Health, Sport, and Self-Defense
The Chinese secret for youthfulness, health and long life lies at least partly in T'ai Chi, the ballet-like calisthenics they've practiced for centuries. This rhythmical art stresses slow breathing, balanced and relaxed postures and absolute calmness of mind. The practice itself need take no more than ten minutes a day. This book is a complete step-by-step manual for the beginner that will enable anyone to master the sequence of thirty-seven postures that make up the T'ai Chi solo exercise.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Self-Sufficient Living
"How to be green, save green, grow greens-even turn a thumb green." Self-sufficient living can mean a healthier life, a way to protect the earth, or a way to save money. This guide helps readers find their perfect degree of self reliance in the areas of food, shelter, energy, clothing, and more. For both the urban and rural dweller, it covers gardening, cooking from scratch, preserving food, raising livestock, keeping chickens, generating or supplementing energy, essential tools and equipment, foraging for wild foods, hunting, fishing, and trapping. a Saving money in today's economy and self-sufficiency go hand-in-hand a For the growing number of eco-friends considering self-sufficiency a Existing books focus on either rural or urban self-sufficiency, but this covers both
The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It
"The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It" is the only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more. Our 2003 edition included 150 new full-color illustrations and a special section in which John Seymour, the father of the back to basics movement, explains the philosophy of self-sufficiency and its power to transform lives and create communities. More relevant than ever in our high-tech world, "The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It" is the ultimate practical guide for realists and dreamers alike.
