Category Archives: planning

More things to consider when raising chickens

Posted on by Posted in chickens, gardening, planning, Self-Sufficiency .

I always find it funny how people react to the printed words in articles and on the internet. The last two articles I wrote about chickens have caused the single largest number of emails I have received on any subject I have written about to date. In just the last two weeks I have received over 400 emails from readers. Most of those emails have been yelling at me saying I was “down on raising chickens”.

I assure you, nothing could be further from the truth. I love our chickens and I find it difficult to think of not having them here at Six Acres. I’m a realist too however. In my experience talking with hundreds of other self-sufficiency enthusiasts and even preppers (sigh), several people go into things with little knowledge or incorrect beliefs that this lifestyle is somehow a cakewalk. Continue reading →

Be Careful Where You Spend Your Money

Baby Steps

Learning is fun

Posted on by Posted in DIY, Family Fun, Make Your Own, planning, Remote Living, Self-Sufficiency .

I love when I receive email from my readers and I do receive a lot of it. Last week I received an email from a man who read a couple of my articles. He had read the one about how hard it was to find good reliable help out here in the sticks and the latest one about starting with a portable building for a house cabin. He asked a pretty good question, “What if I just don’t have the skills to do the building and construction you talk about?”

I realize not everyone has been trained or even exposed to such things, but for me this is what I find the most exciting about the lifestyle. The constant learning and trial and error at skills I may not have is what keeps this lifestyle interesting for me. While I have had some training and plenty of practice in building construction, I don’t have all the answers to every problem we face out here. Continue reading →

A roof over our heads

Posted on by Posted in DIY, Family Fun, Make Your Own, planning, Remote Living .

portable-buildingThis series of my articles has been about deciding if this self-sufficient lifestyle is right for you or not. In my “Back to the Basics” article on January 3rd, I mentioned the six things Ranae and I put at the top of our list when deciding to make the leap to be 100% in this lifestyle. Those six items are: water, shelter, food, energy, finances and community. Keep in mind, we filter every decision through the frugality filter.

Last week I talked a bit about how we were able to get internet out here in the sticks and how that provides for my ability to make a living. So, once we had all the big hurdles met, what about a roof over our heads? Continue reading →

Internet in the sticks

Posted on by Posted in Ham Radio, Internet, planning, Remote Living, satellite, WISP .

microwave-transceiversWhile living a self-sufficient lifestyle, especially in rural America, does mean doing without some modern conveniences, such as the ability to run to Walmart any time you like, it doesn’t have to mean doing without internet. I am a computer programmer and my income depends 100% on my ability to be connected to the internet.

Out here in the sticks, getting internet can be problematic to understate it greatly. DSL or Fiber simply aren’t available in many rural parts of the country, and where I live is no different.

This lack of connectivity has created an industry all its own. WISP is an acronym for Wireless Internet Service Provider. Typically a WISP company will install a large radio tower within 20 to 30 miles of where you live. They may also use existing towers such as your local water tower, etc. Continue reading →

Good Help Is Hard To Find

Posted on by Posted in planning, Remote Living, Self-Sufficiency, Workers .

Help-WantedChoosing this self-sufficient lifestyle has its rewards and a lot of them I might add, but it doesn’t come without a hefty dose of frustrations too. I want to make sure anyone who considers this lifestyle does so with their eyes wide open.

When we returned from living as missionaries in Guatemala, we had very little money to our names. Before going on mission, we sold every replaceable item we owned. We had cashed out our retirement accounts and when we returned the USA, all the money we had in the world was less than would buy a month’s worth of groceries. We had to work and save in order to buy our land and begin this lifestyle. Continue reading →

Back to the basics

Posted on by Posted in community, gardening, planning, power, Remote Living, Self-Sufficiency .

back-to-the-basicsHappy New Year! I pray this new year brings each and every one of you joy, peace, love and many blessings.

I apologize for missing an article last week. I normally write my articles Sunday morning before going to church. But last Sunday, I was under the weather and couldn’t sit at the keyboard or anything else for that matter. I have had a heart condition since birth and last week, my ol ticker decided to start acting up so it was much needed (and rare) day of rest for me.

The past three articles have talked about some planning and mindsets needed for this lifestyle. In the first article in this series, I suggested to everyone to be frugal. In the next article I suggested that you needed to make sure your partner was of the same mindset about this lifestyle and in the third article, I gave a few suggestions about how to properly make plans. This article is about what came first in the planning, for us. Continue reading →