Truth About Self Sufficiency Nobody Talks About

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 10 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 77

  • @joycewilson6359
    @joycewilson6359 8 днів тому +24

    You can make seasoned croutons, breadcrumbs, French toast, bread pudding. You don’t need to waste eggs even if you don’t have a freeze dryer you can waterglass them, dehydrate and powder to use in homemade dry mixes in a jar. Make all yeast bread products not just sourdough, don’t buy canned cream of soups, gravy or seasoning mix packages make them homemade. We don’t buy meat chickens or layers we breed our own so we don’t depend upon others. We have been homesteading for over 40 years I have been gardening since 1973. By budgeting, saving, working we bought and paid for our homestead with cash no mortgages no loans we both worked 2 jobs each raised our 4 sons all in their 30’s now and ran our homestead of 150 head cattle 60 hogs, 250 chickens, 60 ducks, 40 geese. So I raise very large gardens from my saved seeds and I start my own plants. I was raised on a farm raising livestock, gardens, orchards, herbs, medicinals. In your first years start off your orchards berries, grapes, rhubarb, walking onions, horseradish, sunchokes, strawberries , raspberries blackberries, blueberries, figs all the the things your family likes, herbs and medicinals. Make your own dairy products from sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk, butter, cream cheese, hard cheeses with milk and cream from your milk cows, raise cattle and hogs for breeding and eating butcher and process salt and sugar cure smoke to preserve it all. Fish and hunt to add other proteins. Making your own cold processed soaps and bath body products cleaning products is one of the ways I bring in extra income plus I don’t depend upon buying them. The more vegetables you can produce and preserve along with your meats means you spend less money in grocery stores. We have to purchase sugar, flour, wheat berries, oats, rice, barley, spelt, einkorn. We raise sorghums so we cut back on buying sugar here in Kentucky sugar cane won’t over winter or we would produce our own sugar. I’m severely allergic to bees or we would have hives. It takes a few years to get to the point where we are at.

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  8 днів тому +1

      Oh this is AMAZING Joyce!!! Yes yes yes!
      We absolutely need to figure out how to breed chickens. We’ve never been able to do it yet. Our broody hens always leave the nest around the 2nd week or so and the eggs go rotten. I guess we could just hatch the eggs our selves in the incubator.
      But we are hoping the try the new American Breese chickens very soon!

    • @meljordan220
      @meljordan220 7 днів тому

      THANK YOU!! This is the guidance I needed! I have watched so many videos on how to start a homestead / self-sufficiency journey. This comment breaks it down very clearly! Again, thank you!

    • @meljordan220
      @meljordan220 7 днів тому +3

      @@BetterTogetherLife One think I have done in this regard: I had two broody hens. One stayed true the other kept leaving her nest to sit on other eggs. I brought the eggs in and put in the incubator. When the chicks hatched, I put them under the good hen and she raised them well!

    • @mrspogadaeus
      @mrspogadaeus 5 днів тому

      ​@@BetterTogetherLifetake each day's fresh laid eggs and replace them in the nest with the fake clay eggs. Hold on to the eggs until you have enough to put in the incubator. Definitely watch some tutorials on incubation cuz tho I haven't done it myself, I know it can be screwed up so ... But yes. I recommend it.

  • @WorkFromHomestead
    @WorkFromHomestead 9 днів тому +10

    Our two biggest “hacks” if you will right now is
    1. putting our chickens to work making compost out of all the dead leaves on our property. They break down about 8 wheelbarrows a month into black gold using a deep litter method in their run. That compost gets used everywhere. Our property is extremely sandy soil so sometimes I just dump the compost on the ground to help the grass grow.
    2. Utilizing junk haulers. I’ve found and reached out to 3 different local junk hauler guys and built a relationship with each. Now anytime they do jobs nearby with things I may want they text me and ask. It saves them money on dump runs and I’ve gotten more good wood than I know what to do with, 10 gas cans, 2 seed spreaders, 2 hoses, a shop vac, multiple extension cords, several pieces of good corrugated metal, totes etc etc. it’s been awesome.

  • @AudreyGreene-v9o
    @AudreyGreene-v9o 8 днів тому +5

    I’m with you. When I grew up, beginning in the early 50s, we had chickens, hogs & a milk cow. The table scraps went into what we called a “slop” bucket & its contents went to the pigs, as someone went to milk the cow & feed the chickens. Those were truly the good old days. Instead of a huge diamond or other nonessentials, my mother received an automatic washer for Christmas. Yes, we grew a big garden, as the mouths to be fed grew to eight. I remember gathering around the wood cook stove & oil heater for warmth. So, thankful to have these experiences & have learned skills that are so needed today, if not for us, for teaching others. My husband & 3 sons are handy builders, repairers & figure-it-out -at homers! I am blessed. For the coming year, I want a big cold frame. 🤞🏻

  • @MaureenHowry
    @MaureenHowry 8 днів тому +4

    Love your videos. Begin studying the off-grid lifestyle when covid sent prices to the roof. So I don't want to work on a side hustle, as a matter of fact I quit working for the corporations, began working for myself and only doing what I wanted to do, freeing myself up to do more things to set myself up to where I don't need money. I find it more rewarding to never give in and work for somebody else, I always choose to work towards financial Independence. I am my own power company, my own water company, my own fire department, and yes, community is key!!

  • @southernyankeehomestead3230
    @southernyankeehomestead3230 10 днів тому +10

    Going along with what you're saying we have several things we do to "break even" our goal is to sell off any excess that we have to fund what we need. We've been doing pretty good at it for the last 2 years. So our goats when they kid produce more milk then we can drink. We freeze it but due to local laws we can't sell raw milk. We ended up making soap and selling that at farmers markets. It takes a little time to make but goats milk soap helps us minimize loss while turning a profit. We also use the capping wax from bees to make lip balm. Candles don't sell well.
    And with this time of the year it's all about compost. We do long term compost not hot compost. So the pile we start this year will be used in the fall of the year after next (fall 2026) We start in the fall with yard cleanup. The bagger on my mower sucks up everything and starts the base. Then throughout the year we keep adding bedding from the coops, goat barn and animal harvest (blood adds a lot of nitrogen). Then we scatter the previous years compost across the garden and use the chickens to turn up the garden (and add their own nitrogen). We don't remove anything from the garden either. When we're done harvesting we leave plant tops in place and let the chickens break them down over the winter.
    And finally. If you want to really make money, learn how to do basic vehicle maintenance. Replace your wipers, change oil, check air and fuel filters. Learn how to rotate and when to rotate tires. You can double your expensive tire life by just moving them around every couple months and it will only take you an hour and maybe 2 beers. With shop prices being what they are and dealership service prices raking you over the coals it's good to learn a basic skill that's hard to mess up and pays that kind of dividend.

  • @lectrickitty
    @lectrickitty 8 днів тому +2

    Those are some great ideas. Thanks for sharing. Here are some of my homestead hacks.
    1. Why buy flour when you can grind wheat berries and have fresh organic flour any time you want for a low investment. I buy wheat berries from an organic farm in Oklahoma. If you buy in bulk, you can get really low prices.
    2. I don't buy chickens; I raise them free range. You can start with a mixed-use bird for both meat & eggs and hatch eggs, so you never have to buy another chicken and very little, if any, chicken feed. I think I buy maybe 2 bags a year for a flock of 30 to 50 birds. Grow grains/sunflowers/maize/etc. to overwinter them and let them eat bugs all spring/summer/fall.
    3. Chicken poo enriches the soil, so I love letting them clean up the garden every fall. You can put Banty chickens in the garden all season long to eat the bugs that attack the garden. Once the roots are established, they will not scratch up the plants (full size chickens will destroy a garden but Bantams are ideal)
    4. I have red clay soil, so I got some worms (Alabama jumpers!) who actually eat the clay turning into rich black soil.
    5. If you have some tomato plants early in the season, you can root the suckers to propagate the plants. If you root a LOT of them, you can make some pretty good money selling them from you driveway. Same with potatoes. One potato lain on a bed of straw can produce 80 to 100 eyes that can be rooted in a 2 oz dixie cup. Sell or plant them. I always leave the best potato from the plant in the ground when harvesting and it grows at the proper time the following year, so I sell the dixie up starts when they are about 9" to 12" tall. Move them into a red solo cup to sell.
    6. Keep a hand water pump in or near the garden. Good exercise watering the garden and it comes in handy for house water when the power is out.
    7. Invest in a freeze dryer and a generator. I am in the process of canning everything in the freezer in preparation for power outages. I want my food to be shelf stable, so it won't spoil when the power is out. BTDT and don't want to repeat that experience.
    8. Invest in a silent generator (3000 watt or 2 to 3 1000 watts), like a Jackery with solar panels. You'll eventually need it! Yes, it takes time to accumulate but is so well worth it.
    .

  • @serenityhillhomestead5392
    @serenityhillhomestead5392 9 днів тому +4

    Its not just about building typical homestead items. Learn to design and build things for your house. My wife wanted shelves above the washer and dryer. A couple edge glued pine shelf boards and three 2x4 later and she now has a really nice shelf unit that keeps things from falling down behind the washer and dryer and provides laundry room storage. Much sturdier and much cheaper than the wire shelf "solutions" they sell at the big box stores. She was dragging a laundry basket between the bedroom and laundry room. Some scrap plywood, free cypress boards, four 2x4, and 4 casters later and she has a really nice laundry cart. She wanted something to hold up a cookbook so after rummaging though the scrap pile a few minutes I found materials to make a cookbook holder. Storage solutions, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, wooden spoons are also things you can make not only for your homestead but to sell at Farmers Markets and craft fairs. I took in over $4000 last year doing that and didn't work it very hard because I was concentrating on getting our house to where we could move in. I hope to do more volume in 2025. I've also gotten some commission builds as a result, and they make a nice profit.

  • @hairymanonetwo
    @hairymanonetwo 5 днів тому +1

    Im a farmer and have been for over 50 years. Food prices are not expensive ! Take for example. The price of chicken / turkey ??? Buy chicken on sale ! Think about the many meals you can make using chicken. Potatoes .......are dirt cheap ! Include potatoes in every meal ! I grew up on potatoes !
    All the mixed up garbage is what cost money ! Leave it sit !
    I also was a Peace Corps volunteer to Liberia African. Could live on a dollar a day ! And that was with 4.00 dollar a gallon gas / fuel !
    Stay home and eat !

    • @taunyaw2181
      @taunyaw2181 4 дні тому

      I agree. All of the processed food people eat is crazy expensive when you compare just doesn't make sense. Stick to the basics overall. And that obviously helps your food budget. And things go on sale. Just got a plan and not use doordash every two seconds.

  • @aryan1956
    @aryan1956 10 днів тому +7

    We use the stale bread for french toast cassarole & bread pudding.

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  10 днів тому +1

      YES!!!!! Love this, way to go!!!!!! We absolutely love using the stale bread for French toast also!

    • @pamelavance648
      @pamelavance648 10 днів тому +1

      Bread crumbs

  • @hairymanonetwo
    @hairymanonetwo 5 днів тому +1

    Soups ......there was a reason why they had soup lines during the depression. Because....... ? Soup stick to the bones !!!! Eat the same foods separate ......you will be hungry . Making soup........its filling. Can get soup bones from the locker cheap !

  • @delmadehoyos1946
    @delmadehoyos1946 10 днів тому +6

    Thank you for the video. This type of video gets me excited to continue trying to build up my garden (would like Vego beds), and eventually get a few chickens (here in the city/San Antone, I believe we can have up to 8 chickens) for eggs. ❤🤠❤

  • @paulinemarr586
    @paulinemarr586 10 днів тому +7

    My goal is to use water three ways before it goes back to the earth. Fresh water for dishes, then gray water to flush toilet and water plants. Off for 12 years.

  • @kayleighf.6599
    @kayleighf.6599 6 днів тому

    Liked and subscribed for the BSFL setup. Can't wait. TY!

  • @ParvatiHumhara
    @ParvatiHumhara 9 днів тому +3

    I couldn’t even imagine my husband trying to feed my sourdough starter 😂

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  9 днів тому +2

      🤣🤣🤣 Usually me and my boys run the sourdough bread train here to give Kelly that break!

    • @ParvatiHumhara
      @ParvatiHumhara 8 днів тому +1

      @@BetterTogetherLife that is so amazing! I love you watching y’all channel

  • @MandyConner-vg2ux
    @MandyConner-vg2ux 2 дні тому

    1. Up cycle….up cycle….up cycle!!! We save and collect everything. Our homestead infrastructure has been created using repurposed wood, tin, screws, and more. Our basic cost is minimal.
    2. Learn to and process ALL your own meat. We pay no processing fees on our meat products. This eliminates a huge cost in the end.
    3. Cook meals at home. We allow ourselves 1 meal out every 6 weeks or so when we do our grocery shopping.
    4. Learn to can food for storage. No refrigeration needed. I can meat, veggies, fruit, stock, basically everything.

  • @CanadianDreamer
    @CanadianDreamer 9 днів тому +1

    Very informative 😎
    Thanks!

  • @prescottosegie
    @prescottosegie 10 днів тому +2

    Good video very informative 😎

  • @heidigendron3638
    @heidigendron3638 4 дні тому

    With the milk idea, you should have also included egg shells. Save, rinse, dry at 200F for 20min to sterilize, crush and give back to your chickens/ducks. Never have to buy crushed oyster shells again.😊

  • @Search4Facts
    @Search4Facts 5 днів тому

    Wow good info new sub. Thank you.

  • @hestiasgardenhomestead7562
    @hestiasgardenhomestead7562 8 днів тому +1

    We rinse our dishes off into the pig bucket before we wash them, but we wash dishes by hand.

  • @pamdore9292
    @pamdore9292 9 днів тому

    Powdered eggs are great in the pantry. Your kids could make apple sliced and fd for snacks. Banana slices are also great.

  • @chriswf
    @chriswf 9 днів тому +1

    Great video.
    The part I hated hearing is the budgeting. We have growing savings and investments. But it could be so much more 😢
    Btw I'm in East Texas and we have a ton of black soldier flies. It's a little bit of work... But you can attract them with wet chicken poop or fermented-anything really.
    I use that^ bucket of stank to attract them. Put a window screen over it to keep houseflies out of the bucket (or keep flies in lol). Put cut up plastic signs (corrugated plastic) on the screen. Could use cardboard I guess...
    When I see eggs in the corrugated sign pieces, I move them to my self harvesting box (the ramp method).
    Careful because not all of them will take the ramp so don't put it indoors or soldier flies will start appearing indoors lol.
    The harvest box thing will stink like ammonia, so you can cut that smell by 99% with shredded cardboard/paper. This also starts the proper composting of the larvae poop and the cardboard 😂
    Also don't put the corrugated plastic/cardboard with bsf eggs in the harvesting bin... Instead of taking the ramp they'll crawl into spaces.
    Also it's very easy to produce more bsf than you can feed and you'll start starving them out. They'll start turning white/grey and they'll look visibly sick.
    Anyway... More Americans should utilize these bugs lol. I'm obviously an advocate and love helping people with it.
    Thanks for the video!

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  8 днів тому

      Love this Chris!!! Thank you for your bsf tips!! I need to raise these so bad to cut our feed bill!! 😁😁

  • @heidimisfeldt5685
    @heidimisfeldt5685 7 днів тому +1

    Try to grow some fruit trees from seeds.
    🌳 🌳 🌳 Just because you can. 😊❤

  • @hairymanonetwo
    @hairymanonetwo 5 днів тому

    At 3:07 you can not raise chicken/ turkey for what it costs in town. Buy it in town ! Put your time into something more productive !

  • @Thingys-Jill
    @Thingys-Jill 5 днів тому

    I feed it to my chickens (no raw potato or avacado).

  • @jakebredthauer5100
    @jakebredthauer5100 4 дні тому

    Feed milk to chickens.

  • @gregreinhart5928
    @gregreinhart5928 6 днів тому

    Unless you are raising your own replacement stock or are raising all your own feed for your livestock you are kidding yourself about self-sufficient.

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  5 днів тому +1

      Well we like self sufficient. I think you might mean self sustaining. We would be dependent. But we have a lot of community that breed. We believe most in working together as community sustainability. We got farther together.

  • @heatherjolly8389
    @heatherjolly8389 9 днів тому +2

    The title should be the advantages of homesteading or something along those lines not necessarily "the truth" which often implies beibg critical about homesteading choices. I love the passion in your video though!

  • @theantil7
    @theantil7 10 днів тому +1

    @16:12 jokes on you I precisely came on this video to learn about budgeting, so I can know when I can go all out on a homestead.

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  10 днів тому

      Hahaha, well that’s so awesome!!! What all do you need to know about budgeting regarding getting to a homestead?

    • @theantil7
      @theantil7 10 днів тому

      @BetterTogetherLife I'm unfortunately living abroad for another couple of years. I wanna know how much to save up before I move to the States. I'm originally from MA but I want a state that's more free of regulation and that facilitates OTG living. I plan on working a bit in MA then retire as a homesteader.

    • @AgnesMariaL
      @AgnesMariaL 7 днів тому

      How much you need depends on where you go and how big you want to start. Like, is your plan to build a house/buy property that already has a house, or would you be fine roughing it in an old camper on raw land? The difference between those two is about $100,000 if not more!

    • @theantil7
      @theantil7 7 днів тому

      @@AgnesMariaL I'd like to build a house, maybe a barndo, I heard those are cheap and spacious. Then once it's built I'd move in. Looking for a freedom state with low regulations, open to suggestions.

  • @Sjveck
    @Sjveck 4 дні тому

    if you can produce some fertilized eggs, start posting them for sale and learn to ship them. hatching eggs sell for ten times what eatin eggs do.

  • @jojoihrke
    @jojoihrke 6 днів тому

    Hey where did you get that green wheel thing for the chicken tractor you use to move it??

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  6 днів тому

      It’s awesome. Called a chick lift www.chicklifts.com/?ref=bettertogetherlife@gmail.com

  • @meljordan220
    @meljordan220 7 днів тому

    From what I understand, if you cook the bones long enough, they become soft enough to grind up. Then you dehydrate them and use them in the garden as bone meal. Is this correct?

  • @ericedwards3708
    @ericedwards3708 8 днів тому

    Firewood to ash, ash on the garden.

  • @freakinchrist
    @freakinchrist 10 днів тому

    The nebulous "they". If you can't name your enemies, you have no enemies.

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  10 днів тому +1

      Oh, hmm. I guess I said “they” in the video? Did I say that somewhere in the video?

    • @ArmyVetlady-m6k
      @ArmyVetlady-m6k 7 днів тому

      We know exactly who “they” are, so don’t pay that hater no mind! 😅 There is always a clown out there who dissects every single word a content creator uses! An intelligent person gets what you are conveying on your video! 🙄🤷🏾‍♀️

    • @katie7748
      @katie7748 7 днів тому

      Ahh, another one who doesn't get it and doesn't *want* to get it SMH

  • @thebikerbee
    @thebikerbee 10 днів тому

    ❤❤

  • @luzfelipe2964
    @luzfelipe2964 10 днів тому +2

    You need beef 🥩. For more nutrition. Birds are not enough.

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  9 днів тому +1

      I do agree! We are trying to do the same as well. But yikes, we have A LOT of birds! haha. But yes, beef is a better meat source for complete nutrition.

    • @ArmyVetlady-m6k
      @ArmyVetlady-m6k 7 днів тому +1

      Not really, you can get protein from other sources like beans, legumes ect Some folks digestive system doesn’t process beef well! 🙄

    • @katie7748
      @katie7748 7 днів тому +1

      ​@ArmyVetlady-m6k
      It's not the same, though.
      Plus, there are ways to fix your digestive system...including eating only certain types of meat.

  • @noonespecial5517
    @noonespecial5517 5 днів тому

    We crock our chicken, save the bones and make bone broth.

  • @drillsergeant623
    @drillsergeant623 8 днів тому

    Nice commercial.

  • @SecretplaceintheGlory
    @SecretplaceintheGlory 4 дні тому

    Jesus won’t let His people starve when the times comes for us to go home. Yes, we should be wise in all our ways. But we should be more like Mary, than Martha. I guess most of all be obedient to what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do.

    • @BetterTogetherLife
      @BetterTogetherLife  3 дні тому

      Both Mary and Martha have huge value. So place your hope, love, and adoration in Jesus. AND prepare your lamps physically and spiritually. Like Zebedee, wise ones will prepare and use that to bless the community and Kingdom works.

    • @SecretplaceintheGlory
      @SecretplaceintheGlory 3 дні тому

      @ yes, the oil is the Anointing. Simple obedience is all that is necessary.

  • @heidimisfeldt5685
    @heidimisfeldt5685 7 днів тому

    🍞 🥨 Homemade bread is absolutely the best. 💯 %