Self-sufficiency: How can I achieve this effectively?

I have purchased a traditional two bedroom farmhouse on two acres of land with a view to down-sizing my life and becoming as self-sufficient as possible when I retire from the day job.

I'm hoping to leave the day job in 15 to 17 years time, at which point I'd expect to have the place well set up for self-sufficient living. At that stage I would consolidate my assets and move lock, stock and barrel to the farmhouse. I don't have any dependents. Other than a bit of heat, a comfortable bed to sleep in, regular access to food, internet access, t.v., and the odd book my needs are few. I love the outdoors and animals so this lifestyle will suit me perfectly.

Physical work has never fazed me. I am, however, starting to lead a very sedentary life and my job is getting more stressful by the day. I need to radically change my lifestyle or I'll never see old age.

Purchasing the farmhouse was the biggest move I've made in the direction of positive change for a long time. A more active but less stressful lifestyle is what I'm aiming for. I can only but try to achieve it while I'm still in the position to do so.

My outgoings at the moment are on the usual (and include):

• E.S.B.
• Eircom (Broadband and Phone)
• Sky (as basic a package as you can get)
• Road Tax
• Car/House Insurance
• Fuels costs - oil and the odd bag of coal
• Basic foodstuffs
• Mortgage on the farmhouse (which I hope to pay off when I retire and use money after consolidating assets i.e. current home)
• I'm paying 13.5% of my salary into AVC' contributions at the moment but I'm having serious thoughts as to whether I am throwing hard earned money down the money pit hole.

I'd be hoping to break free from a lot of the 'usual' bills when I retire.

The house is habitable at the moment but it does need upgrading etc.

I'm trying to compile a list of what I need to do in order to maximise my chances of becoming self-sufficient. For example; is self-sufficiency with regard to having a domestic windmill financially viable?

The area around the house is currently under grass and it has some wooded areas. The site is quite sheltered and it would ideally lend itself to the erection of a polytunnel, the planting of timber for fuel, etc.

The house doesn't have any heating installed. The only source of heat in the house is from an open fire.

Suggestions as to how I should be approaching this lifestyle change in both practical and financial terms would be very welcome and much appreciated.

(Mods: I hope this thread is in the correct area. It started off as a Home/Garden Improvement thread but it has financial elements within it. Feel free to bump it into another forum area if necessary.)

While I'm a few years behind you, I too 'dream' of self-sufficiency at some stage in the future. Growing firewood for heat is an obvious one, there's a thread currently going in H&G on this.

For food, IMO look no further than the River Cottage series (on Living TV) and a decent vegetable growing manual. I planted a considerable orchard about 2 years ago (got the trees for E12 each from a guy in Sixmilebridge in Clare, well worth the trip from Cork). Have about 20 trees of various fruits that I hope will come to full fruition (!) in a few years.

I think domestic renewable energy technology will improve in years to come, at the moment the photo-voltaic solar panels seem the best of a bad lot. IMHO any private windmills I've seen are rather unsightly.

Can't think of anymore suggestions as yet but will follow what could be a very good thread with keen interest.

Good luck in your endeavours.

Hi Paddybloggit,
You will not be able to become totally self sufficient with 2 acres, but don't let that spoil your dream. May i suggest you read a book called The art of self sufficiency by John Seymour. Please don't blame me if you become completely hooked as my wife and i did 15 years ago. Feel free to ask for more advice.

When you say some of your land is wooded, how much exactly? Might be worthwhile doing some research online about how much woodland you'd need to heat a small house - if you prepared it now i.e. plant willows etc. to fuel a wood-burning stove, learn how to manage a coppiced willow plantation etc.

If you're going to upgrade the house, I'd insulate very heavily to minimise ongoing heating costs when you're on a reduced retirement income.

Would you be willing to raise livestock, produce veg/eggs etc. for sale? Would be a good idea to start dabbling now so that you make your (inevitable) mistakes while you can afford them. A polytunnel would dramatically increase your site's productivity - again, might be an idea to get a small greenhouse now so that you get experienced at growing under cover.

I'd say your main aim should be to try to use the next 15 years to prepare yourself as best you can by trying the type of stuff you'll be doing when you live on your farm full-time - that way you have the security of (a) time and (b) a regular salary, with which to make mistakes/learn from experience.

FYI the [broken link removed] in Leitrim run a lot of courses which would be useful for someone in your situation - check them out online and maybe give them a shout.

Also, spend some time getting to know the neighbours - no man is an island!

Couple of small suggestions, that you can implement right away, i.e. no need to wait until you move to the farmhouse.

Satellite TV: You don't need to be paying a monthly subscription for basic satellite TV, All BBC, ITV, C4, Five and a few other are now free to air.

Keep an eye out for the next Lidl satellite Kit, everything you need ( dish, cable, sat finder, set top box) included for a one off cost of about €90.

This will immediately save you about €30 a month in outgoings.

Quality is excellent, if anything possibly better due to a larger dish than Sky.

Phone/Broadband: Look at www.callcosts.ie to check you are with the best supplier for your usage profile.

Petrol for the Car: You did not mention this, but if you are near to a Topaz filling station, consider getting a fuelcard, its free, Generally you will get a lower price ( couple cents per litre) than the advertised puimp rate, savings are not huge but every bit counts, and as your petrol costs are all itemised on one bill its easier to keep an eye on it.
http://www.motorcard.ie/ ( no connection, just have one)

also www.pumps.ie if you have time to analyse and shop around more agressively.

Well for self-sufficiency you will need trees for firewood, there’s another thread on here on different trees, their growth times & quality of firewood they provide

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=97185&highlight=willow

if you have 15 years you could plant some different types of trees, and sure if work is stressing you out I’d say annual tree felling and chopping firewood would be a great way to de-stress & build up your reserves of firewood.

Also it would be advisable to plant trees on the northern side of the property, these would give some protection from wind & cold

Orchard could also be planted now

Best of luck to you with your plans.

This site might be usedful on practical farm (US based)
Self sufficient on a farm

Fruit & veg growing, with an urban twist for the rest of us. (UK based)
Urban self sufficienct

This might be of interest if you are looking for specific skills with doing up your farm. You might find someone who will work for you in exchange for e.g. a weeks accomodation as part of a working holiday. Its a awap, not a payment, so costs will not be financial.
Swapaskill

I think the complete guide to self suffciency along with the complete self suffcient gardener by john seymour are a must. Also the irish forum www.countrytalkandtips.myfreeforum.org has many like minded people on it

Get yourself a shotgun(licenced of course) and take a few lessons.You can add a lot of protein to the pot such as rabbits,pigeons,pheasants(in season).
A couple of fishing rods is a good idea too,you can eat virtually any sea fish and during the summer the likes of mackerel can be caught in large numbers.

Wexfordguy said:

Get yourself a shotgun(licenced of course) and take a few lessons.You can add a lot of protein to the pot such as rabbits,pigeons,pheasants(in season).
A couple of fishing rods is a good idea too,you can eat virtually any sea fish and during the summer the likes of mackerel can be caught in large numbers.

Click to expand...

Just make sure you're not shooting on preserved land and have the permission of the land owner

Why not watch "The Good Life" on the telly???

Mpsox said:

Just make sure you're not shooting on preserved land and have the permission of the land owner

Click to expand...

Its very easy to get permission to shoot pigeons and rabbits,most landowners regard them as pests.
You're right though,always obtain permission first and dont shoot on land that belongs to gunclubs.

There was a couple who tried this in the seventies. T & B Good. Now if only I could find their number....

baldyman27: This 'dream' of mine was a back of the mind dream for a long time until I was lucky enough to find a place that gave me that 'I'd be happy to live out the rest of my days here' feeling. I had been watching the property market for a few years but never seriously though I'd buy anything until the recession started to bite ... property suddenly became affordable. A few years back I couldn't have afforded it.

I've been following the 'growing firewood' thread with interest and I will follow up on it. River Cottage and yer man with the big long name has me hooked for a long while!

johnjoda: 2 acres I know isn't a lot but if I use it wisely I should cover myseld somewhat. I'm going to search for the book you suggest on the net and make the purchase! And thanks for the offer of further advice.

Sherman: When I say wooded I mean wooded but not in a planned way. The grounds are laid out in such a way that areas could be planted without impacting too much on the site. I have a relation in construction and he is well up on modern methods so I'm hoping he'll have some words of wisdom in relation to renovating/insulating.

I'm all up for dabbling 'cos the weekends would be a welcome break there from the pressures of the week.

I have spoken with neighbours down there already ... it was a neighbour told me about the place .... I'll be forever grateful to him .... a visit with that bottle of 'Paddy' is on the cards! Thanks for the link to the Organic Centre.

RSMike: Great suggestions ... I'll need all the cost saving advice I can get if I'm to keep within budget. Am a fan of Lidl/Aldi .... only for them I wouldn't have a nice collection of tools!

I rarely use my house phone ... line only used for broadband and I'm on the best package I can be on. I reckon I'll stick with Eircom as they have never let me down (yet).

Car ... yup tis petrol .... my fuel costs aren't over the top .... basically used for travel to work and the odd trip at the weekends. There is a Topaz near me so I'll look into the fuelcard. Thanks for that tip!

bamboozle: Am following it with great interest. Must cut some turf this summer. No harm stocking up!

D8Lady: Thanks for the links. I especially love the Swapaskill link!

lofty: On my way to the forum. Cheers for that!

Wexfordguy: Always had my eye on a Baikal over-and-under shotgun .... but only for shooting clay pigeons rather than game. Went shooting pheasant once but couldn't see the point of shooting such a beautiful bird especially when they weren't going to be eaten. The house comes with its own boat and the bay is big enough for me to make mistakes as I get my sea legs so fishing is definitely on the cards.

Mpsox: Between 'The Good Life' and 'Last of the Summer Wine' and all the rest I'm very much a 70's sitcom buff! And that Felicity Kendal always looked good in a pair of slacks!

callybags: Did I mention Felicity Kendal? ..... now that would be a good life. No wonder Richard Briers always had a smile on his face!


Thanks for the brilliant tips ..... keep 'em coming!