Self Reliance Inspiration

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by ditch witch, Jan 2, 2015.


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  1. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    I'm not really sure where this belongs so mods, move it as needed.

    I'm on a backyard meat rabbit group on Facebook, made up of what it sounds like, people who breed meat rabbits in their back yard. One of the members posted this today and I thought it was inspiring.

    "Yesterday I tried to take stock of where I was and where I'm now at and this was the results. In August 2013 I decided to attempt to only eat what I grew, raised, shot, scrounged or gathered. I also decided to begin exercising again. I'm now 58 and in the last 17 months I've lost 120 lbs. I now run, walk and bike 10 miles a day. Last year I ran two 26.2 mile marathons. My blood pressure is now down to 110/65 and my cholesterol is non-existent. My grocery bill is something like $10 a week. (My wife has not joined me in this yet). I live in an older development and I raise rabbits, hens, broilers and ducks on my 1/4 acre suburban lot in XXX, Pa. I have a large garden in my yard and I also plant two other plots. I have an aquaponics set-up in my basement that gives me salads, and tilapia, all winter long. I even raise limes and green tea down there. My regular diet is fresh, frozen or canned fruit for breakfast, a tossed salad for lunch and a soup made from rabbit or chicken for dinner. I gave up coffee during this and I drink mostly mint tea now.

    Even with the cold, frozen weather we've had I've still been able to get some fresh greens(kale, chard, spinach) out of my garden. I was also able to gather some huge rose hips, watercress and frozen crab apples this weekend while deer hunting.

    I checked my freezer and I have 35 rabbits, broilers, ducks and geese in it. I have about 80 lbs of fish, 2 deer and about half of a wild hog that I shot last summer. I also have more than enough frozen vegetables to get through to spring. I have 105 packets of frozen fruit and a large amount of mint frozen also. I looked downstairs and I have about 100 lbs of white potatoes, 50 lbs of sweet potatoes, 50 lbs of carrots, 11 pumpkins and squash and 105 jars of canned fruit, vegetables, pickles and kraut.

    In the coming year I hope to loose another 30 lbs and to run another 26.2 mile marathon in May. I would not consider myself a health nut by any stretch of the imagination nor would I have ever imagined the results that I had some 17 months ago but I have learned that what I grow and what I eat matters.
    I also wanted to thank everyone for there help and advice in this and especially Boyd for hosting this site. His input on raising hay in my yard and getting beyond pellets has helped a lot."
     
    tacmotusn, chelloveck, stg58 and 8 others like this.
  2. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    :cool:
     
  3. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Definitely inspirational!! Lucky they have that much property to raise a variety of foods.
     
    stg58 likes this.
  4. DarkLight

    DarkLight Live Long and Prosper - On Hiatus

    This is where i want to be headed. We just paid off a huge chunk of consumer debt today. In a couple of days I'll pay off another couple grand and then in a couple of weeks (once the balances are completely updated) we'll be moving the remainder to a card via 0% balance transfer and throw enough at it every month to be out of it in 6 months. At that point we will have a mortgage, two cars and the monthly bills.
    This will have cut our monthly bills down by $1600 which will then get put towards retirement, the cars and ultimately a different home with some land. Obviously there will be things that come up and we'll be doing things around the house with some of that money but at least now we'll have it to use.

    It's going to take a couple of years but assuming we have that long is an attainable goal.
     
  5. NotSoSneaky

    NotSoSneaky former supporter

    Shows what ya can do if you commit and keep at it !
     
    Dunerunner likes this.
  6. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Best move I ever made, was to pay off all our Debt, and then remain Debt Free ever since... That was 15 years ago... And if feels so good, not to have those Debts hanging over us, in our Old Age... I am a Total Advocate of living Debt Free, and encourage all I meet, to live that way.... It doesn't mean, one can't have good, and nice Things, it just means you get those things, with Financial Discipline....
     
    tacmotusn, stg58, Airtime and 11 others like this.
  7. Pax Mentis

    Pax Mentis Philosopher King |RIP 11-4-2017

    That "$0.00 interest paid this year" is such a wonderful phrase...
     
  8. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    I have thought about this man's story since yesterday. This guy only has a 1/4 acre with a few plots elsewhere- not sure on how big they are. I walked around in my yard, we have so much unused space. Yeah the lawn looks nice but it provides nothing but an excuse to mow. I looked inside an found a spot for an aquaponic set up (not huge).

    Does anyone else read posts like this then realize you could incorporate some of this into your life?
     
    Tracy, oldawg, NotSoSneaky and 2 others like this.
  9. Pax Mentis

    Pax Mentis Philosopher King |RIP 11-4-2017

    Moto...I look at posts like this and see portions that could be adapted, but I really don't have the same overall objectives as this gentleman. I have no real interest in living now as if all the conveniences (and foods that I really enjoy) were unavailable, but rather to have the ability to do so if those things become no longer available. I started putting together our refuge back when large chunks of land were more affordable and went that direction rather than making a concentrated food factory.

    Were I starting out today, I am still not sure I would put together something like this gentleman has. It strikes me that he is not prepping for a collapse as much as living a self-reliant lifestyle in a situation that would be difficult to maintain if/when SHTF. If my life's work taught me anything applicable to prepping, it is that there are far too many "takers" out there for me to think that he could maintain and defend such a system after a fall...especially in a suburban development.

    As I said, there are things there that a person could adapt, but more as a healthy, frugal lifestyle than preparation in a dangerous world. Honestly, I am a bit too much of a hedonist bent on enjoying what I can while I can to follow his plan. My lifestyle has never been about survival in the current world, but prepping for what could go wrong while still taking advantage of the world that currently exists. It's all a matter of what one wants.
     
    Motomom34, chelloveck and kellory like this.
  10. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    Moto there are several on that group and another called Micro Homesteading that really opened my eyes to what you can accomplish on the average urban/suburban lot. Especially the Aussies... when it comes to aquaponics setups they're wizards.

    I don't want to go to the lengths that guy went to... I like steak and bacon too much and can't raise either in my back yard.... but it does motivate me to take my own backyard gardening and whatnot more seriously.
     
    Tully Mars likes this.
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