What exactly is self sufficiency, anyway? Why might community be important? What products can your character make at home? What will your character need to ask themself? Find out on this episode.
You can find full episode notes and links to find more information on each topic at my website: https://alleyhart.com/
What exactly is self sufficiency, anyway? Why might community be important? What products can your character make at home? What will your character need to ask themself? Find out on this episode.
You can find full episode notes and links to find more information on each topic at my website: https://alleyhart.com/
What exactly is self-sufficiency anyway? Why might community be important? What products can your character make at home? What will your character need to ask themselves? Find out on this episode. Welcome to Writing Rural with Alley, the fiction writer's Weekly Inspiration Station for Rural Life, and Lifestyles. From historical to post-apocalyptic, helping you bring your rural stories to life. I'm Alley, and this is episode number 65, Self Sufficiency, The Mindset, Part One. Stick around to the end to find out all the way as things could It could possibly go wrong. Now, let's get into this. Self Sufficiency is defined as not relying on the government, grocery store, family, friends, or anyone else to meet your character's needs. Your character can, or at least will try their best to do all they can for themselves. Now, true self-sufficiency is almost impossible in modern times, and a group of like-minded people joining together to help each other out is often what happens. This is called community sufficiency. The best example of this is the Amish communities. Other examples I have heard of are farmers plowing and planting for their fellow farmer that was injured and couldn't do that for a few weeks. Even a community coming together to help each other out after a house fire is an example. That said, it is possible to be fully self-sufficient, but many times this looks like doing without in some area. In history, people bartered and traded. So maybe your character has eggs and their neighbor has candles. Logically trading would give them each what they needed. But if they did not trade, one would have to eat and bake with something other than eggs, while the other one might not have light in the winter. Now, I'm going to talk about this in a modern sense, but this can easily be applied to history. Adjust however your story needs. First step on the mindset list is to minimize. Okay, I know this is a trend at the moment, but you don't truly need 872 knickknacks and 82 color-coded bins that no one uses. Of course, there are things that you do need, but if they have not been used in the last year, likely they are not needed. Your character can donate what they don't need. Now, there are some things that this rule does not apply to. There are seasonal clothing options. Another is baby stuff. If your character has already had a baby and they plan to have more, they might store it until it is needed again. A crib will work for many more years than one child would use it. Personally, I can't stand to get rid of blankets. Unless the thing has a giant hole in it, it can still be used. And even then, it can still be repurposed. More on repurposing in part two of this series. Only you can decide what your character will need. Why do I feel like I just gave a smokey the bear line? One of the best ways for your character to decide that is to have them ask two important questions. Do I need this? And do I need this, really? Your character might think they need a bigger, newer, shinier one. But many times the one at home works just fine. Now, don't let that keep your character from trying new things to see if they are better quality. My example of this is my husband. I am the one who is ever saying,"Yeah, but we already have that." Or "why get that when I can find it for cheaper?" A lot of times I am right, but a lot of times he is too. In my early 20s with three kids and no cable or internet, I found myself entertaining the kids outside a lot. That led to a side effect of needing new shoes every month or two because they kept tearing up and getting holes. It was crazy. One day, my husband decided that we were going to splurge and order some 511 shoes that were over $50. I was paying 12-ish for the shoes at Walmart, and at that price, it made me worry that we were just wasting money. But at his insistence, and because we had the money to spare, I agreed. It was worth every single penny. Those shoes lasted 10 years until they were thin and I got replacements. But I still have them and can wear them to work in if I want. All that is to say, sometimes spending a little more gets you a lot better quality. Next on the minimizing list is use less. Every time your character goes to buy something, they need to ask themselves, Do I need this? Do I need this, really? Do they really need the coffee on the way to work? Do they really need Netflix? This works historically, too. Do they really need the new cloth to make a dress when they already have a dress that they love? Do they really need the new straight razor for shaving, or do they need to take the time to sharpen what they already have more often? If they don't bring it home, they clearly won't have it. Next on the mindset list is, I'll just make it myself. There are many things that can be made at home for pennies on the dollar that are just as good, if not better than the store-bought ones. Candles are something simple that could be made at home. Okay, they can get complicated, but they don't have to be. Nor do your characters need fancy things. Functional is perfectly fine. They can learn to cook their own meals. Youtube has a ton of beginner tutorials. Elderly neighbors most often love teaching younger generations things. All they have to do is ask. In fact, my husband's grandmother knew how to use the things in the kitchen to take care of diaper rash that the modern stuff was not helping with. Other things that can be made from home include, but are definitely not limited to, soap, shaving cream, face cream, body wash, laundry soap, home cleaners, dog food, bug spray, deodorant, lotion, diaper rash cream, toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, clothing, rugs, children's toys, and so much more. Next on the list of doing it yourself. Self-sufficient people don't want others doing what they're perfectly capable of. And if they don't know how, they're not scared to learn. Again, the same places as I already stated are great places to learn new skills. I learned how to flare copper piping in my 20s when our propane line got a leak. Your character can change their own oil and spark plugs. It's not hard, and most owners' manuals tell you how. In fact, if you ask the guys at the auto parts store, most of the time they'll do it for you free of charge, at least in my area. It's one of the reasons people are very loyal to their chosen store. They go above and beyond making the customer want to come back. Okay, that got off topic. Back to the point. Your character can raise their own chickens for meat and eggs. They can keep rain barrels to water the garden and animals to save water that they pay for or to keep the reserves of the well from running dry in the summer. They can mow their own grass. It's not as hard as you think. Basic home repairs and basic mechanics will come in handy for so many things that they don't have to find somebody else to fix for them. Likely, the most well-known one in the self-sufficient community is growing and canning your own food. With enough land, your character can feed a whole community. But with a smaller plot, they may have to supplement. Growing their own food isn't enough if they don't know how to store it for winter. From canning and dehydrating to root cellars more, I have several episodes devoted to those topics if you want to learn more.
Fun fact:a 2017 survey showed that about 20% of people who are of driving age in the United States do not know how to change their own tire. However, of those who did know how to change the tire, 90% said they would be willing to teach someone else how to change a tire. Personally, all I see is standing between knowing how to change a tire and not being able to is simply asking. Now, if everyone's favorite part would possibly go wrong! Before getting to the best part, if you enjoy this podcast, I hope you will take a minute to follow, rate, and review on your favorite podcasting platform. If you're listening on YouTube, subscribe, hit the like button, and drop me a comment. I love to hear from you and answer questions. Don't forget to share with a friend. As always, you can find this episode's show notes and helpful links from where more on my website, alleyhart. Com. Now for everyone's favorite part.
Likely to go wrong:while learning to change oil in their tractor, your character accidentally gets into the draining oil stream, spilling it all over themselves.
Also likely to go wrong:your character is self-sufficient in their off-grid home. However, now many people in their life want them to share all of their things. They expect it to be free because they can do it. And why wouldn't they help? They do not take your character's needs, family, or even the expense of helping into account. This leaves your character angry and resentful. your character is learning how to do things on their own and struggles to grasp something. They assume everyone else knows how to do it except them and mentally rage at themselves for not doing better.
Possible to go wrong:your character is learning how to can, and some of the lids are not sealed correctly. When they try eating the food in the winter, they get food poisoning.
Also possible to go wrong:your character is determined to be fully self-sufficient and doesn't ask for help when they really do need it. While working on a tractor, they have an accident. With no help nearby, this could be deadly.
Unlikely to go wrong:your character is so concerned with doing everything themselves, they are willing to make a poorer quality blanket than the one that they can buy to keep them warmer. When winter comes, they are very cold.
Also unlikely to go wrong:your character is mad at the mechanic and yelled at them that they will just do it themselves, and the mechanic tells them to go for it. However, they have no idea how to work on their own car and no one to help them. your character refuses to have anything to do with anyone after the Apocalypse because they don't need anyone. The other survivors make a community without him. When he becomes ill and needs a doctor, the community refuses to help him. They throw his words back in his face. He can do this himself. He doesn't need them. Improbable, but still technically in the realm of possibilities your character makes a child's toy. A small part breaks off choking the child. They will have to do the Heimlich maneuver to save the child. Also improbable, but still technically in the realm of possibilities: your character asks their neighbor if they could teach them how to compost as they can see their very good compost. The neighbor says "NO" and slams the door in their face. Also improbable, but still technically in the realm of possibilities: your character is learning how to cook watching YouTube tutorials. However, they did not first look into kitchen safety. When they have a grease fire, they throw water on it. This expands the fire and their whole home burns down. Thanks for listening. Until next time, happy wordsmithing.