What tool(s) or machinery make you more self sufficient?

[patandchickens]

The question came to mind just now as I was using the big, two-wheeled weed whacker (basically a 2wheeled string trimmer on steroids) to mow head-high grass and weeds out of the main drainage ditch, rather belatedlly (in a light rain and with several inches of water standing in the ditch) on account of lotsa rain forecast for tonight and then again this weekend. No problemo. I passionately love this item; it is SO handy around here (especially as we have no tractor, not even a lawn tractor, so it's how pastures get mowed too). (Although this particular model has a bit of a mechanical reliability issue, ahem - I will never buy anything from Sears again; it's been a long time since the Craftsman name was worth anything, and I really shoulda known better...)

I only even found out about this thing because of an offhand comment, years ago, by someone on a horse list that I belonged to. Yet it would be a great deal more difficult living here without it -- drainage problems, poor pasture growth, would be harder to cut extra forage for chickens (occasionally even for horses), etcetera.

So, what do you depend on? (I am confident you could do without it, I just mean, what will they have to pry from your hands over your cold dead body? )

(Me, I would also have to list "cordless drill, bread knife for gardening, and the broken shovel-handle that is somehow just *perfect* for tamping when you're setting new fenceposts).

Pat

 

[heatherv]

anything that I can borrow in lieu of purchasing!

 

[enjoy the ride]

You took mine- the cordless drill.

But so far, portable fencing along with goats have been my weed wackers. I do use an electric weeder wacker for around the house.

Also the two wheeled garden cart- no more tipping over in the worse possible spots or sinking into the mud.

And the computer for information checkings. lol

 

[shareneh]

My big Ford F250, my power nailer and my chainsaw

 

[krjwaj]

I am sure there is more than a few, but off the top of my head:

1. our bread maker (used more for pizza dough, than bread)

2. Automatic garage door opener

3. DH's plethora of power tools

 

[punkin]

That would be so hard to narrow down. We haven't hired any outside help in years. We build, repair, maintain everything ourselves. The riding lawnmower (2.5 acre yard), cordless drill, power saws, bushhog, tillers, trimmers...the list goes on and on.

My husband is extremely handy. He can weld (welder is on that list, too), take apart, rebuild most anything. So maybe my husband is my most self sufficent tool.

I'm not just a stick in the mud, either. I'm pretty handy myself.

 

[Beekissed]

My utility trailer and my garden/dump cart!

My rickety old UT has hauled my family everywhere(moved 6 times in one year with that thing), loaded so high that we looked like the Grinch that stole Christmas! I finally bent the axel and the frame last year hauling a big load of manure for mine and my mom's Mother's Day present(yes, we can't say we didn't get s *** for Mother's Day! ). We still use it but we have to be careful how heavy we load it now. There is no way we could have survived at all without that trailer. We haul wood, wood chips, hay, trash, furniture, manure....well, you get the idea!

My garden cart is the same way, except on a smaller scale. We can use it as a hand cart or attach it to the lawn tractor. It has so many uses I can't begin to name them and I have used them for all of it! I could not harvest my apples, haul my wood to the house, clean out my garden, dispose of branches, haul manure, etc. without my handy dandy garden cart. :bun :bun :bun

 

[FarmerChick]

Silverado 4X4 2500 Heavy Duty

3 small tractors, 2 medium tractors and 2 giant tractors for the farm

tractor rototiller

hydraulic dump trailer (holds 2 ton feed)

gooseneck horse trailer, goat trailer, cow trailer and hay wagons and 18 ft trailers and such on the farm

tractor finish mower

bush hog equipment, disc, plow, ripper, etc. etc.

front end loader, backhoe, dump truck, road scraper from DOT, old farm truck to beat up..LOL

propane stove installed so have emergency heat now when power outages

2 big riding mowers

4 refrig. in the garage, 2 freezers

power washers, power battery chargers, etc. etc.

my SUV for daily life (HA HA)

We don't hire any outside help.....we do basically everything by ourselves. We lend our stuff to others mostly...but all this equipment was expensive...so I know it helps me be sufficient but if I didn't pay for it maybe I would be money sufficient>???--HA HA

 

[miss_thenorth]

Reading everyone elses posts, I'm just gonna have to steal some answers.

My dh is very handy also. so he is #1 on my list.He does almost everything around here too. I am proudly his assistant

My utility trailer I could not live without, hubby couldn't either. The internet is also very handy as I have learned so much about frugality from the net.

But for me by myself, I would have to say everything kitchen. I make (almost) everything from scratch, so I need a good stove, oven, an good frying pan. Good knives etc. I love my dehydrator and bread maker(arthitis stops me from kneading)and my food processor.

But hubby is #1!!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

FarmerChick, I think you win the prize, but for what, I know not!

I don't know if you could call all that high dollar equipment exactly being self-sufficient, as it seems to show very much dependence on being mechanized. I'm not saying you don't need them, but I can't imagine having to pay for them!!! No offense, but when I picture self-sufficiency, it doesn't include 7 different tractors! :bouquet

Now, self-sufficiency would be producing your own fuel for all that stuff!