How self-sufficient are you?

[diy_fun_uk]

Simple enough question. When it comes to being self-sufficient, how proficient are you? I suppose as a guide, think of the old tv comedy show 'The Good Life.' Some examples, do you:

grow any fruit and/or veg?
keep animals that contribute to your food intake?
recycle e.g. clothes, water?
minimise waste?
minimise use of vehicles?
compost all suitable matter?

That sort of thing.

 

[jj4091]

Very self sufficient, I go to Tesco by myself every day

 

[JP_]

Simple enough question. When it comes to being self-sufficient, how proficient are you? I suppose as a guide, think of the old tv comedy show 'The Good Life.' Some examples, do you:

grow any fruit and/or veg?
keep animals that contribute to your food intake?
recycle e.g. clothes, water?
minimise waste?
minimise use of vehicles?
compost all suitable matter?

That sort of thing.

grow any fruit and/or veg?
yes, but nowhere near enough to feed a family with

keep animals that contribute to your food intake?
no

recycle e.g. clothes, water?
yes, as much as possible. Most clothes go to charity (kids usually) - I wear mine until it falls apart!

minimise waste?
try to

minimise use of vehicles?
WFH for as long as I can! Also drive cleanish cars (Hyundai i10, Ford Focus 1.0 Ecoboost)

compost all suitable matter?
Yes, use the council veg waste bin, and also have my own compost bin for some garden waste. Although, I am not sure how well that is working ... lots of bugs in there though!


But we still create far too much waste. Less than neighbours (some have 4-5 sacks of plastic each fortnight!) but still too much. I tried to cut down on plastic but so bloody hard, especially when you can't afford to shop at the plastic free shops.

 

[pcaouolte]

Simple enough question. When it comes to being self-sufficient, how proficient are you? I suppose as a guide, think of the old tv comedy show 'The Good Life.' Some examples, do you:

grow any fruit and/or veg?
keep animals that contribute to your food intake?
recycle e.g. clothes, water?
minimise waste?
minimise use of vehicles?
compost all suitable matter?

That sort of thing.

Grow some tomatoes/cucumbers.
Don't eat any of my pets.
Wear the same clothes lots of times.
Have a water butt for watering the garden.
Only waste things that I don't need any more.
Only use the vehicles when I want to travel somewhere.
Take compostable material to the council tip as I wouldn't have any use for the resulting compost in my own garden.

7/7 very well done.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Grow some tomatoes/cucumbers.
Don't eat any of my pets.
Wear the same clothes lots of times.
Have a water butt for watering the garden.
Only waste things that I don't need any more.
Only use the vehicles when I want to travel somewhere.
Take compostable material to the council tip as I wouldn't have any use for the resulting compost in my own garden.

7/7 very well done.

lol

 

[Captain Nemesis]

I tried to cut down on plastic but so bloody hard, especially when you can't afford to shop at the plastic free shops.

Im known to remove excess packaging and leave it in the shop. At least the the b******* have to pay someone to tidy it away and then pay to dispose of it.

Do you ever buy stuff in tubs from the deli counter? Take your own "tupperware" type.

 

[JP_]

No, I don't tend to do this, although I keep saying I should!

 

[^woody^]

I'll ask the mods to change the title to "How hippy eco Thunberg are you".

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I'll ask the mods to change the title to "How hippy eco Thunberg are you".

lol. I have to confess, I'm not (self-sufficient) at all but interested to know who is. I have a mate who's good at growing some fruit and veg in his back garden, collecting rain water and the like. I do none of this, not saying that proudly, just stating the fact.

 

[Mottie]

grow any fruit and/or veg?
Yep, allotment for a fair amount - spuds, carrots, toms, garlic, kale, sprouts, cabbage, butternut squash, sweetcorn (although the squirrels robbed me this year), cauli's, broccoli, radish, salad stuff, runner and French beans, beetroot, rhubarb, horseradish, asparagus and courgettes.

keep animals that contribute to your food intake?
No, but help out on local shoot and get given birds for the pot.

recycle e.g. clothes, water?
Used clothes go to charity shops or if not good enough end up as work clothes and I harvest rainwater at the allotment

minimise waste?
Wherever possible and I always finish off what Mrs Motties leaves on her plate.

minimise use of vehicles?
Cycle, walk or use train where possible. Maybe more cycling now I have converted my bike to electric assist.

compost all suitable matter?
Yep, I have three compost bins on the go at the allotment and we save all our vegetable peelings from home to take over there too.

 

[mattylad]

I do my own shoelaces up, does that count? lol

I am quite thrifty, I don't buy stuff I don't need, I have run Freecycle/Freegle groups since 2005 recycling/reusing stuff in the community.

Do you really need to know how often I shower or change my clothes?

 

[Doug99]

What you're asking is if we would survive if everything shut down. After a period of civil rioting, once all the shelves have been stripped bare and the local allotments robbed..........most would starve.

 

[securespark]

Grow any fruit and/or veg?
Herbs and spices.

Keep animals that contribute to your food intake?
No.

Recycle e.g. clothes, water?
Yes, mostly to charity. All my lads old school uniform going to the needy.

Minimise waste?
As best I can. My local council don't make it easy. They only take plastic bottles. Other councils nearby take a far wider range of plastics.

Minimise use of vehicles?
We walk where we can.

Compost all suitable matter?
Yes, I also religiously recycle every scrap I can. It's a bit of an obsession.

 

[Brigade77]

I can forage & I can hunt, if forced to I reckon I could survive in the wild longer than most if given a short time to prepare & tool up.

I don't grow anything edible apart from pansies, which I often use in a salad. I should do really, I have the garden space but lots of my mates grow their own & there's no shortage of seasonal tasty fruit, salad & veg being thrust in my hands in t'pub.

I'm going to be keeping 2x pigs in the near future. My bestest mate is a retired slaughtering butcher & still keeps his hand in for favours. I also have the space for a hydroponics setup, the theory & economics of which I am becoming increasingly interested in . . . .

Could I survive if/when it all goes tits up? Our community certainly could, we have the local skills & knowledge to feed & shelter us if/when society collapses. The biggest worry would be the hordes of roaming townies with hungry bellies who thought that if the shelves of Tesco are empty they could always pop round to Asda !

 

[ellal]

grow any fruit and/or veg?
Yep, allotment for a fair amount - spuds, carrots, toms, garlic, kale, sprouts, cabbage, butternut squash, sweetcorn (although the squirrels robbed me this year), cauli's, broccoli, radish, salad stuff, runner and French beans, beetroot, rhubarb, horseradish, asparagus and courgettes.

keep animals that contribute to your food intake?
No, but help out on local shoot and get given birds for the pot.

recycle e.g. clothes, water?
Used clothes go to charity shops or if not good enough end up as work clothes and I harvest rainwater at the allotment

minimise waste?
Wherever possible and I always finish off what Mrs Motties leaves on her plate.

minimise use of vehicles?
Cycle, walk or use train where possible. Maybe more cycling now I have converted my bike to electric assist.

compost all suitable matter?
Yep, I have three compost bins on the go at the allotment and we save all our vegetable peelings from home to take over there too.

Just out of interest, would you care to explain where is the self sufficiency whilst simultaneously taking many thousands of pounds out of the taxpayer's pockets?