Is the self-sufficient life simple or hard work?

[homesteadmamma]

I think in some ways it is simple, however most times it's hard work. Growing a garden is a simple act, however once it comes up it's time to weed, water, weed again and again. Then it's time to preserve the harvest - more work. The planting part is the simple part, the rest is hard work.

What do you think?

[dwallyfam]

It is both. There are some things that are easy to do and some that are very hard. The simplicity is that you do get rewarded at the end of the task.

[LastDragonfly]

I too believe it is both. Speaking for myself, the hard physical work is rewarded by my satisfaction.

All summer long while I was engrossed in canning and gardening and nothing else, my mom kept saying, "it's too much work for you, it's too hard, it's not worth all this work".....I kept telling her she had no idea how much I enjoyed it and what a good time I had EVERY DAY. I also reminded her at Thanksgiving when we had the black-eyed peas, pickles, pickled peaches, pickled okra, apple pie ...all from what I did this summer.

I like the freedom that self sufficiency gives me. Of course I'm not totally self sufficient, but I'm happy with myself and the skills I am learning.

My brother makes fun of me and accuses me of being a radical fear monger because I have a deep passion for learning how to live without. Silly him it only makes me more determined.

Oops, I didn't mean to write a novel here.

[QM]

I think that the self-sufficient life is hard work...that's why I tend to stay away from the majority of it! I think if there was a close friend who was really good at being self-sufficient and I could see how it's done firsthand it would encourage me to more.

[brook]

hard work? yes if you hate gardening and canning, and if you raise livestock, tending them. Farming to raise food for them isn't easy..

but I love it!

I can't raise enough food for my livestock so I have to go out to purchase it.. but that is ok, helps keep my local farmer in business.

[elphie]

I think that a simple life is different for each of us. For example I have a friend who is a SAHM like myself. She prefers washing dishes by hand and doesn't think it would be worth the hours she would have to put in at a job outside the home to pay for a dishwasher, however I would much rather go to my part time job than stand scrubbing dishes all the time, a job I despise. However my friend does not like to cook as much as I do and they spend more on groceries because I cook all our meals from scratch using staples and she buys some convienience foods. We live in a time where we can choose simplicity or technology and the great thing is that we don't have to be all or nothing with it, every part of our lives is a choice.

[Debbie-cat]

I also think it is both. Being self-sufficent is hard work but it is the most rewarding thing we can do for ourselves. How good does it feel to not need to run to the store for every little thing? I need a tomato, I walk out to the garden and pick one. I need some wood for a campfire in the backyard...I walk to the wood pile that I cut and stacked myself. It is getting back to the land, the land God gave us to use to survive.

[joyofsix]

Being self sufficient has costs but so does purchasing things. Self-sufficiency takes time, effort or physical work but purchasing things takes time (at a job, at the store), effort-(have to drive there, get things home) and work (I find loading that dishwasher more work than washing, preparing for an expensive vacation exhausting). These are personal choices and you have to decide what is worth the most to you.

[Cricketlegs]

It is both. Most days it just comes easy but sometimes I just get so tired of always being on the lookout for the best deal, working the budget, saving, reusuing, recycling, and whatnot.

Every single decision is a conscience thought.

There is no room for waste here and no time I am not working for this family.

24/7. Most days it is easy as breathing but some days(not often) I juet get TIRED lol.

[old_lady_in_the_shoe]

I think it is a simple life style that is just full of hard work.

but as my mom always says, "a bit of hard work ain't gonna kill anyone."

not to mention, that I would rather work hard, because the rewards are so much better...

example: baking bread- I have to grind the wheat berries first, then mix and knead the dough, let it rise, bake it and slice it, but it is oh' so delicious, way better than any bread I can buy in the store! not to mention that it is just plain ol better for us!

[fixer]

I am currently involved in a project that pertains to this thread. I am making frames. This morning I had a problem that really frustrated me. My first thought was how easy it would be to make a call and write a check. The thing is the reason I could write a check is that I don't write checks. For me, doing it myself is easier than relying on someone else. It can still be hard. The harder the job, however, the greater the satisfaction upon completing it. That, or you are just glad to be done. Either way it feels good.

[homesteadmamma]

I am currently involved in a project that pertains to this thread. I am making frames. This morning I had a problem that really frustrated me. My first thought was how easy it would be to make a call and write a check. The thing is the reason I could write a check is that I don't write checks. For me, doing it myself is easier than relying on someone else. It can still be hard. The harder the job, however, the greater the satisfaction upon completing it. That, or you are just glad to be done. Either way it feels good.

My dh makes frames all the time. He struggled at first too, now his frames are better than any boughten one.

[Thrifty Mom]

When I think about the things I do to be somewhat self suffecient, I sometimes ask myself why, then WHY NOT? It is hard work to tend a garden & preserve your own food, but I get so much pleasure from it. I love looking at the jars of canned fruit in my closet & see my freezer full of various veggies. I like figuring out how to fix something myself without having to call someone & depend on their time schedule. I keep striving for a simpler life & if it is a little more work, so be it.

[Persimmon Lace]

I think it's enjoyable hard work! I think the simpleness comes from the beginning of something say, planting a garden.

The hard work of starting the garden, but the simple joy of planting seed and seeing it grow to become something you can feed your family!

The hard work of preserving the fruit of your labors, but the delight in serving simple wholesome food during the cold winter days after the harvest.

The same thing with remaking clothes into other things, baking bread, foraging, taking care of your farm animals and hunting. These are simple things that do require some hard work to get results. We (the collective we) have become more and more removed from the hard work of living that we have forgotten the joy of just simply doing something because it needs doing!

[Greebo]

"Simple" is not the opposite of "hard work", so it is not an either or question