About

Get Self Sufficient is a blog started by three friends from across the globe: Rick from the US, Julie from the UK and Catherine from Australia.

We all got talking one Skype call a little while back and realised we all had a passion for improved self sufficiency so decided to make a project – this blog, Get Self Sufficient – out of it. We’re all very excited about the possibilities of where this could lead us!

We realise that self sufficiency means a whole lot of different things to different people so we hope that our different perspectives will provide more accessible options and ideas for your own self sufficiency journey.

One thing we all have in common is our shared desire to improve our self sufficiency, live more sustainably and find more financial and material independence.

We hope you’ll join us on our journey.

More about Julie…

I’m Julie, and I live in the North of England. I live with my son, a fifteen year old, semi tame Man-cub, and two budgies, Sky and Jasper.

When I’m not working I like to walk with a friend and her two dogs; Toby (satanic hell hound and squirrel hater) and Bonnyboo, (the Marilyn Monroe of the doggy world). Toby, our pack leader, guides us up hills and down dales, through fields, woods, undergrowth, overgrowth and any obstacle that will give him the chance to score points over us mere humans and to have a good old laugh at our expense.

Over the past few years, foraging has become part of my life. It started as a search for hazelnuts in the local area and soon developed into a challenge to find as many free foods as possible. We now collect hazelnuts, blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, rosehips, apples, crab apples, pears, elderberries and anything else edible that we can find. I’m continually trying out new recipes and I’m keen to improve and develop my wine and jam making skills.

I have always enjoyed crafts. I’ve tried knitting, felt making, sewing, stained glass, wood turning, jewelry making, embroidery and my crafty passion this week is for freeform crochet. As prices have risen I try to make some of my own clothes and gifts.

Self sufficiency is very important in my life and I’d like to take it even further. I’m keen to cut costs, eat a healthier diet and to share information over the internet. I enjoy a good challenge and this blog will certainly provide lots of great opportunities to get involved with new projects. I’m looking forward to sharing ideas with Catherine and Rick and readers of this blog.

More about Cathy…

Hi, I’m Cathy and I live in Sydney, Australia. I’m recently married and my baby is a small opinionated dog called Miffy (hopefully she’ll get a real human sibling one day). Living in the inner city, self-sufficiency can be a bit of challenge. For example, I would love to have ducks but there’s not really the space nor would my neighbours appreciate the noise they make. Fortunately, we do have a garden so chickens are a real possibility.

I do a few things already – I compost and have a bokashi (it ferments so lets you compost a greater variety of food waste) and try to use my leftovers creatively but I know I could do this a lot better. I know I’ve got a lot to learn in the gardening area – I had a little herb garden a while ago that lost its way when my life got really chaotic. My mother is actually starting a horticulture course this year through a local technical college and has promised to share her learnings so there may still be a chance for me to develop some green thumbs yet… I love cooking so the thought of having organically grown interesting vegetables and fresh eggs to use in my cooking is very motivating!

When I get some free time (rarely), I’m a very enthusiastic sewer. I hardly buy clothes any more (not because of my super sewing skills – cough! – but rather more because I have bought my fair share in previous lives and they’ve kept well). I also do a bit of knitting and some embroidery. I’m always interested in learning something new when it comes to crafts.

My work background is in IT and policy/research so I’m a bit of a geek. I currently do web consulting (though I’m moving more into producing teaching resources). For me, self sufficiency isn’t going completely off the grid (though occasionally would be probably be quite healthy for me!), but improving priority aspects of my life to gain more independence and security.