Operating a self-sufficient lifestyle

For some, a self-sufficient lifestyle is the dream and to be able to live off of their own land and resources would be a great accomplishment. There are many, many ways to be able to live in a sustainable manner and although at first these methods can be expensive, in the long-term they will pay off and the money would save, as well as vastly improving the environment around you, would be of a great benefit.

It may sound a little drastic, but eventually, most households will have to live in a self-sufficient manner as irreplaceable materials and resources will continue to run out and we’ll have to rely on other means.

It’s not all about recycling either; creating energy and materials is also a key part of a sustainable lifestyle. Investing in apparatus such as solar panels and growing food are equally as important.

Creating energy

You could look around most suburban areas these days and see that many households have decided toswitch their energy resources to solar power. Harnessing energy from the sun, solar panels can be up to 15 per cent more efficient than traditional equivalent systems and don’t tend to require much in the way of sophisticated machinery to install and is in essence a simple process.

Wind power is another alternative and is one that again doesn’t require the most advanced technology to set up at the home. There is one problem however with this method in that only two out of five homes tend to be able to make wind power financially viable.

Recycling water

It is incredible to think that less than one per cent of the water on the planet is actually drinkable and considering how much we tend to waste on a day-to-day basis, that fact becomes quite daunting.

To live a sustainable lifestyle it helps to have a system that will recycle potentially wasted water, one that will harvest the water that goes down the sink whilst you brush your teeth or wash your hands. Such systems can preserve this water for a later time and you can choose how you use it instead of allowing the water to swill in with the sewage after just one usage.

Hanging onto furniture                                                                                     

Most people are happy to throw out or sell furniture they’ve had for a number of years, or, you may well have attained the perfect collection of oak furniture and although it’s a bit worn, you’d like to keep hold on to it.

The key to a sustainable lifestyle is to reuse or upcycle items such as these and plan different ways in which they can serve a purpose elsewhere. Perhaps you’re after a new table for the living room; if so it could be an opportunity to personalise the old one and use it elsewhere in the house to make room for the new one.

Grow your own food

This is one of the most vital parts of sustainable living as it substantially lowers your food bill for a start, but it also reduces the need for things like packaging and can even serve numerous purposes after use.

Obviously you’re restricted to what you can grow and items such as herbs, vegetables and fruit tend to be the main ones, but this is reason enough when buying fresh items can be so expensive. Food waste is also a big issue, but composting old food is a very eco-friendly way of sustaining your gardening exploits and keep up the natural order of an eco-lifestyle.

Sam writes for thefurnituremarket.co.uk, a place for quality solid oak furniture for the bedroom, living room and other areas of the home. Photo by woodleywonderworks