When your goal is to be self-sufficient, you can’t just start with no knowledge – that’s a recipe for disaster. Believe it or not, there’s a lot to learn about before you set out on a plot of land to grow your own food, find your own water supply, raise animals, and create a home. You will also get great recipes for meals involving a smoky hot sauce and crusty sourdough baguette bread.

I've been blessed in my career, beginning as a 16-year-old, being an assistant manager at 17, a general manager at 20, and the face of the franchise at the age of 30 for over 16 years. This has led to me learning how to get people more motivated to perform their work than they ever thought possible when they accepted the position. I spent over 30 years literally “growing up” with this company and in this business, having been exposed to some of the best companies within their respective industries, learning how they source, on-board, train, and retain their team members, as well as some of the most influential motivational speakers throughout the world. Plus, the fact that it was written by a spunky teenager, self-named Dolly Freed, gives this work an upbeat, audacious tone that makes you feel like you can take on the world after reading it. With wisdom beyond her years, Dolly says, “It’s easier to learn to do without some of the things that money can buy than to earn the money to buy them.” Then, she shows you how in hundreds of ways. Of course, along with growing food, these two single male paradise lot makers also find “sweeties” (as in ladies to spend their lives gardening with) which makes for a bit of a dilemma. I don’t want to give anything away, but this is a great story about growing food in unconventional ways and building community by going bananas. (You’ll understand the going bananas reference once you read the book).

Live Better, Spend Less

For over 40 years, John Seymour has inspired and motivated thousands of people to make more eco-friendly choices to enrich their lives and live sustainably. Now, his bestselling self-sufficiency book offers step-by-step instructions on all things environment-friendly, from preserving your harvest to living off land, this survival guide has it all. So what are you waiting for? Here we show how how to eat better for less and share our tips and frugal recipes. You’ll be surprised how well you can eat and on how little money. Seventh Edition. All chapters fully revised and also now illustrated by Cindy Davis; 25,000 (?) mimeo copies started March 12, 1977. The first 7 editions (before the Bantam edition) were 3-hole-punched and usually were bound with a bent length of plastic-coated copper wire in pretty colors or were Velo-bound (with a soft or hard cover). Detailed step-by-step guide for achieving a self-sufficient lifestyle tailored to your needs and environment My top 6 books about homesteading, self sufficiency, and off the grid living: 1. The Self Sufficient Life And How To Live It- by John Seymour.

It’s a philosophy of life that has served us well over the years. The three main legs of this way of life are: What can you do with a glut of tomatoes? How do you bottle plums and string onions? What can you do that is interesting with all those huge marrows? How do you keep potatoes through the winter? Angier’s legacy lives on in more than 35 books on how to survive in the wild and how to be a minimalist off grid. I want to share with you my top 6 all time favourite books about homesteading, self sufficiency, off the grid living, all of which I learnt an incredible amount from. If you are looking for somewhere to start, or gift ideas for a homesteader, I suggest starting with this list. This book is more than just practical advice, as it gives you illustrated examples of how to perform tasks. The illustrations go so far as to break down accurate floor plans for a new home.If I'm honest, I became a gardener because I like getting dirty. Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Tom Kitten is the story of my childhood (and my adulthood too, only now I don't have to pretend I'm going to stay clean). Of course, high-quality soil leads to high-quality produce, and I deeply adore the flavors of strawberries growing in deep, dark soil. Biting into a juicy, homegrown tomato still warm from the summer sun is bliss. Fiftieth Anniversary Edition. Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the book’s beginning, all resource information has been brought up to date.