Getting used to thrift shopping

Guest post written by Alice Stephenson

I kind of had an aversion to thrift shopping until about a year or so ago when my best friend told me that she was tired of hearing me say "ew" every time she said she found something cool at a thrift store. She did have a great point and she is my best friend so I agreed and I've added quite a few pieces of thrifted clothing to my wardrobe as a result.

But I don't trust myself to go thrifting by myself. That would be far too dangerous. I'm kind of an impulse buyer so combining that with the cheap price tags will really mean trouble if I don't have someone there to warn me against going crazy. I also use my Clear Greensboro to find new thrift shops and vintage stores in my area. I go to there a lot less than places like Goodwill though because most of the times those have higher prices.

But I also like to use thrift shopping as a way to buy new decorations for my house. It's just so much more interesting that way.

How To Live A Country Lifestyle And Become More Self Sufficient

Author: Debbie

Have you ever wanted to move to the country and become more self sufficient?  If so, you are not alone.  More and more people are choosing to move out to a more rural setting and acquire some land.  You don't have to go crazy and buy 10, 15 or 29 acres.  Even 5 acres will allow you to live a country lifestyle and become more self sufficient.

You have your land, now what?  The first step you need to take to become more self reliant is to grow your very own garden.  If you have never gardened before, small may be better the first year.  Any garden can be a lot of work and a very large garden can be a huge amount of labor so be sure you know what you are getting into.

Once your garden is lush and producing abundantly, you should consider learning to preserve your harvest.  There is really no sense in growing lots of veggies if you can't have them through the winter months.  You can also talk to your neighbors and maybe trade some of your abundant veggies for some you didn't grow this year.  It is also possible to learn to harvest your own seeds to put up for next year.

Living in a more rural area usually means that you can find wild fruit trees and berries like black berries, cherries, plums, apples, etc.  You may also check with your neighbors to see if they have any fruit trees that they don't mess with or that maybe have an overabundance of fruit.  This is a great free way to be able to put up jambs, jellies and juices for the winter months.  Just be sure that you don't "steal" from your neighbors by getting permission first.

The next thing that all small farms need to become more self sufficient are livestock.  Chickens are perfect animals to start with because they are small, easy to care for and they can provide eggs and even meat for the not faint of heart.  You will need some chicken fencing, a chicken coop and a chicken run if you have a lot of predators.

Depending on how adventurous and strong of stomach you are, you can also try your hand at raising a few rabbits, goats and hogs for meat as well.  The goats are also a great source of milk that you can drink or you can sell in your local area.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/how-to-live-a-country-lifestyle-and-become-more-self-sufficient-3401181.html

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You can live a country lifestyle and become more self sufficient.  Living this kind of lifestyle can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.  CLICK HERE to get more information on how to become more self sufficient.
   

What's Wrong With Self-Sufficiency?

Believe it or not, there is a downside to working toward self-sufficiency, and it's the very thing that most of us fall victim to -- getting carried away by the dream.

Read what my guest George has to say about this, and heed his warning:

The Biggest Downside of Self-Sufficiency

Author: George L.

This just hit me and I had to get it off my chest. Every endeavor in this life, without any exception, has its pitfalls. We are mere humans and we like to take things to extreme, because we think that the more we do, the better results we get.

Not true at all!

Self sufficiency has already proven to change lives. It's already changing the lives of thousands of American families who, right now, couldn't care less about peak oil or the inflation.

But...

Some people, because they want so much to be self-sufficient, the start too much ... alone.

They take this too seriously and think they need absolutely no one in order to survive.

The fact of the matter is, self sufficiency is just as much about doing it yourself as accepting the help of others.

And the first group of people who are critical to your self sufficiency are your family.



The absolute first thing you need to do when you decide to become self sufficient (or if you already are but want to take it to the next level) is to involve your spouse and children in the daily household activities.

You have to give your kids the mindset of self-sufficiency from an early age and actively involved them in gardening, feeding the chickens, making and installing solar panels (under strict surveillance of course) and everything else.

Again. Don't  do this alone or you'll feel so exhausted you'll start thinking self sufficiency won't work. Seek the help of others, let them help you and help them in return.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/the-biggest-downside-of-self-sufficiency-3633692.html

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If you enjoied my advice, visit my blog right now for more high quality information about self sufficiency: http://www.selfsufficiencyclub.com
   

Get a Start in Self-Sufficiency

Everyone claims to want it, but few are willing to take even the first steps toward a self-sufficient lifestyle.

Here are a few practical tips from Rob Carr to help you determine where you are on the path and whether it's even a realistic lifestyle for you.

A Start in Self Sufficiency

Author: KristHiles



You may also generate a little additional income. This article will give you some tips on starting on the road to self sufficiency.

To begin you need to look at your reasons for wanting to take on a more self sufficient lifestyle. These could be a desire to leave the "rat race" or be more environmentally friendly, you may want to generate an additional income or simply be less dependent upon the global society in which we live.

So what do we mean by self sufficiency? Well, most of the people I speak to think of self sufficiency as generating your own power, growing your own food, and using as little commercial produce as possible. Of course complete self sufficiency is very hard in the world we live in. But there are many things you can do to put you on the right road such as:

1) Grow your own food - This can be done in anything from a window planter to a whole garden. You can save hundreds, by using fresh produce from your garden and have the added benefit of really tasty vegetables or fruit. I have personally grown carrots, beans, peas, parsnips, raspberries, plums and apples and with each of them I found the flavours 100% better than the store bought produce.

2) Generate power - this could be a simple solar cell to power a shed light or a complete solar and wind power system through which you could even sell power back to the national grid. Many companies around the world are offering the opportunity to sell them power and whilst the initial set up costs can be high, generating your own power could pay for itself in a short period of only a couple of years.

3) Use less - recycling maybe all the rage but do you actually go out of your way to use less? You will be surprised how much you can save by simply using less commercial produce such as over-packaged foods. When you buy many commercial produce you are paying a large amount just for the packaging.

4) Brew your own drinks - you can create some delicious drinks by following a simple method and brew nearly any kind of fruit or vegetable into an alcoholic drink. But be careful, I have made Blackberry and Plum wine at home from my own grown fruit (The first batch I made could have stripped paint!), after a little experimentation you will find the right process.

There are so many ways for you to become more self sufficient and using the above tips as a starting point you may even save enough money to reduce your hours at work; freeing up more time to spend on your new self sufficient lifestyle.

Thanks for reading.





If you have found this article useful and would like to know more Go here for more information.

Rob Carr is an analyst and self sufficiency advocate living in England UK.



Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/a-start-in-self-sufficiency-4042362.html

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