Not Happy with SS?

[BarkerChickens]

It is hard to take a vacation. You need to find someone to water the plants and take care of the animals, if you can even afford the $$ to go on a trip.

I also don't like the friends who think that because we grow it ourselves, it is free and they expect handouts or say things like it's only $9.95. When you only have $100.00, $9.95 is a lot.

Vacations are tough! Luckily, most of friends realize it is a lot of work and offer to buy eggs/veggies from us, but it is rare that they actually comes down to that. Usually it is a trade system.

The hardest part that we have is a) property and b) time. We need a larger property! We on 1/2 an acre, which is not enough to be fully SS. Time is tough when we both work. Well, in my case, I am also finishing up school (only a few more months though). I happen to love my career (geologist, so I work outside with rocks, water and dirt and get paid to do it! Plus, I work in a environmental sector and it is moving in a sustainable focused direction, so I don't feel it conflicts with our goals). The plan is that it will be a sufficient income so that DH can stay home so that we can build towards being SS. We already live frugally, make the best SS choices we can, raise chickens and have a garden (DH is building a greenhouse) and we DIY EVERYTHING in this house from flooring, plumbing, landscaping/irrigation, etc). If we don't know how to do it, we can find out from online or calling one of our dads.

Another issue is that rural living leads to a commute into the city for work. While it is not horrendous and we do have a hybrid that gets 55 mpg, it is still counter-productive. But, bills got to be paid, right?

Our coworkers think we're nuts, but they know us well and all agree it fits our personalities, so they are all nice about it. I think they realize how happy it makes us and accept it. Plus, they usually don't argue with us about how we live when we tell them that our bills are SO much cheaper (our electric is 10% of many of theirs and our mortgage is about a 1/3 on average).

 

[Wolf-Kim]

A little like the story of the Little Red Hen. Nobody wants to do the work, but everyone wants a slice of the good bread. (By the way I ALWAYS LOVED that story as a kid. Go figure.)

That whole FREE or reduced to friends thing is why I no longer have 50 laying hens. (well one reason) I made a nice profit with my free range eggs, but some people thought I should just "hook them up" for free. Well free don't pay feed bills.

With my three or four hens I can say "just enough for me" and they get it.

Also by keeping good books I am able to raise plenty without having a huge glut that I need to move. Saves me lots of work and THOSE people don't get used to handouts. Kind of like those rules about never feeding the bears!

That was my favorite book growing up!! I can pretty much recite it from memory. LOL

 

[TanksHill]

The vacation thing is why I only have chickens. If I could get my dh to stay home from the desert in the winter months I would have a zoo. I just don't have anyone willing to help. The elderly German couple I live next to watch my hens but I just could not ask any more of them. I even went as far to ask the young lady I almost bought my goats from if she could "goat sit" she laughed at me. I took that as a no.

You know I think this goes back to the old adage "It takes a village to raise a child". Families do so much better when they stick together. You have help and community. The gal with the goats lives in a "multi family home". I guess that's a nice way to say commune. When I went for a visit there were all kinds of people just on their little half acre working and helping out.

Many hands make like work is what Grandma always said.

 

[me&thegals]

It is more work but I don't think I will ever go back. If I did, this is what I would be missing:

1. Watching bees do their thing in their new, home-built hives. Tasting honeycomb only minutes out of the hive. Making my own body butter and bee's wax lip balm.

2. About 1000 learning experiences for my kids. Collecting morels. Trying to get our new turkeys to strut and gobble at us. Collecting eggs and explaining to their friends that egg shell color makes no difference to the egg inside. Watching a new mama hen tuck her chicks under her wings. Taking bee's wax and honeycomb to school to share with the class. Taking homemade pancakes and homemade maple syrup to share with their classes. Building tree forts in the woods. Helping haul wood to keep the family warm all winter. Helping pick blackberries to keep us in fruit smoothies all year long. ........and on and on and on.........

3. A tremendous sense of satisfaction. I don't get such a great sense of satisfaction working a job that pays $, but I feel HUGELY proud to good check out my rows and rows of canned goods in the cellar.

4. Physical fitness. Need I say more?

5. Real-life knowledge. It really comes down to food, shelter and warmth, hey? It feels good to know that my husband and I have the know-how to provide all for our family.

The list could go on even longer, but even though being more self-sufficient than a lot of people I know is hard work and takes a lot of time, I continue to do it for all of the above reasons. Yes, it saves me $, too. But I could go get a full-time job that paid more and buy all these things instead, but that wouldn't do it for me.

 

[Henrietta23]

It is hard to take a vacation. You need to find someone to water the plants and take care of the animals, if you can even afford the $$ to go on a trip.

I also don't like the friends who think that because we grow it ourselves, it is free and they expect handouts or say things like it's only $9.95. When you only have $100.00, $9.95 is a lot.

Vacations are tough! Luckily, most of friends realize it is a lot of work and offer to buy eggs/veggies from us, but it is rare that they actually comes down to that. Usually it is a trade system.

The hardest part that we have is a) property and b) time. We need a larger property! We on 1/2 an acre, which is not enough to be fully SS. Time is tough when we both work. Well, in my case, I am also finishing up school (only a few more months though). I happen to love my career (geologist, so I work outside with rocks, water and dirt and get paid to do it! Plus, I work in a environmental sector and it is moving in a sustainable focused direction, so I don't feel it conflicts with our goals). The plan is that it will be a sufficient income so that DH can stay home so that we can build towards being SS. We already live frugally, make the best SS choices we can, raise chickens and have a garden (DH is building a greenhouse) and we DIY EVERYTHING in this house from flooring, plumbing, landscaping/irrigation, etc). If we don't know how to do it, we can find out from online or calling one of our dads.

Another issue is that rural living leads to a commute into the city for work. While it is not horrendous and we do have a hybrid that gets 55 mpg, it is still counter-productive. But, bills got to be paid, right?

Our coworkers think we're nuts, but they know us well and all agree it fits our personalities, so they are all nice about it. I think they realize how happy it makes us and accept it. Plus, they usually don't argue with us about how we live when we tell them that our bills are SO much cheaper (our electric is 10% of many of theirs and our mortgage is about a 1/3 on average).

This is where we are too. Two full time careers to pay the bills, a small 3/acre yard, fully surrounded by trees that aren't all ours to cut down. We strive to do a little more all the time but it's hard. We're lucky to live in an area where others are trying like we are to be more SS while realizing that we'll never be totally there. So we frequent our food co-op and the farmers' markets to support our local farmers.
I am on the fence about goats too. I really want two dairy goats but I keep putting it off because of the milking. I'm currently polling friends to see who might want to learn to milk along with me so I'll have "farm" sitters. We don't go away often, or far, but we do occasionally have family to visit.
I've gotten over not fitting in with coworkers and friends. If they don't accept who I am then I don't really want to invest the time and energy.
The thing I hate most is that I'm too squeemish to process meat birds!

 

[2dream]

I can't think of a single thing I hate about my lifestyle. I will never be totally SS. Don't even know that it is possible. Not striving to be. Just enjoy my chickens, rabbits, garden, baking bread and canning. Full time job sure cuts into all my fun work but then without the job there would be no money to buy food for all the chickens and rabbits. LOL

Vacations are not something I do anyway. All my feeders will easily hold two days worth of food and a weekend is all I am willing to be gone anyway. Plus a weekend 1 or 2 times a year is more than enough away time for me. I like my home time. I love taking care of my chickens and rabbits. Especially when its cold and rainy. Its such a stress release to come in from work in the winter, slip on those rubber boots, throw the poncho on, grab the flash light. Tromp thru the mud, fighting the rain and the wind, get to the feed shed and listen to everybody start clucking. I know they are saying "Look, Mommys home, come look at all the eggs we laid you today". Rabbits bouncing around their cages, all excited to see me. The dog jumping up and down and dancing thinking "Cookies, Cookies, Cookies, I know she is gonna give me Cookies".

Now I ask you, has anyone in your family ever been that excited about your arrival home on a cold, wet winter day. All I really need to add to the mix is a couple of milk goats to be bleating as they anticipate "I'm Next, shes gonna make it all better".

Back in the warm cozy electric heat of the house, I get to open up jars of food I canned and fix a meal that I grew, harvested and preserved. Then to top it all off I get to log into my computer, and tell all you wonderful folks all about it, as I drink hot chocolate that I purchased at the store cause I can't grow chocolate.

Nothing at all SS about any of that. Its just plain ole fun and satisfying.

 

[me&thegals]

Exactly, 2dream!

 

[Farmfresh]

 

[sylvie]

Depends on what day you ask me and if I had any successes.
Yesterday I made loads of progress and very up on SS efforts today.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Sylvie, I love your signature!