About Real Self-Sufficiency
Real Self-Sufficiency is a website dedicated to helping you learn to grow organic produce, nurture pets and livestock holistically, make your own simple remedies, and embrace a cost-saving, DIY lifestyle.
At Real Self-Sufficiency, we embrace the essence of living harmoniously with nature. Established in 2015, our platform is a haven for anyone who wants to return to their roots and cultivate a sustainable and self-reliant lifestyle that nourishes not only the body, but also the soul.
Real Self-Sufficiency is a website that teaches people how to grow organic vegetables, fruits, herbs, and plants, raise pets and livestock naturally, save money, and make things instead of buy them. RealSelfSufficiency.com helps you become more self-sufficient and self-reliant, no matter if you’ve got a huge, sprawling homestead, a little urban yard, or a few window boxes.
Our Expertise:
Real Self-Sufficiency is a website filled with practical, field-tested advice and knowledge in a multitude of areas, including:
- Organic Gardening: Discover the joy of growing your own food, learn about permaculture design, soil health, and pest control in a natural, sustainable way.
- Livestock Rearing: Unveil the essentials of caring for and raising livestock in a humane, eco-friendly manner.
- Herbalism and Foraging: Explore the world of herbal remedies, wild edibles, and the ancient art of foraging for your own medicine and nourishment.
- Natural Pet Care: Delve into holistic approaches to pet care, canine nutrition, and creating a nurturing environment for your furry companions.
- Green Living: Embark on a journey toward reducing your ecological footprint, embracing renewable energy, water conservation, and eco-friendly DIY projects.
- Crafts & DIY: Making stuff! Mending stuff! Getting creative with your own two hands and making gifts, practical things, and pretty things instead of wasting money buying them.
- From Scratch Cooking: Recipes for humans and pets based on real wholefoods. Recipes to preserve your harvest and nourish your body.
Our Promise
We get it. The internet is flooded with advice, and it’s hard to know whom to trust. That’s why at Real Self-Sufficiency, we’re committed to delivering reliable, practical, field-tested advice from experts. Our guides aren’t just based on hearsay; they’re crafted by folks who’ve been in the trenches, growing veggies and raising livestock. And they’re double-checked for accuracy.
Homesteading for All With Real Self-Sufficiency
The beauty of homesteading is its inclusivity. Whether you own acres of farmland, a small urban plot, or just a sunny windowsill, there’s room for you in this movement. And we’re here to support you at every stage.
You don’t need to dive in headfirst. Start small, learn at your pace, and gradually integrate self-sufficiency into your life. With RealSelfSufficiency.com by your side, you’ll find the tools, resources, and community to guide you on this fulfilling journey.
Who We Are In A Nutshell
Real Self-Sufficiency is a website for homesteaders, green living, and natural living enthusiasts. We talk about growing organic food, raising livestock, natural pet care, recipes (for humans and pets), herbal remedies, DIY projects, and more. We provide trustworthy, field-tested, expert advice for anyone interested in living simpler, greener, more natural lives. Whether you’ve got a little urban yard or a sprawling homestead, we can help you with sustainability, self-reliance, and building a greener future.
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Real Self-Sufficiency’s Founder
Katy Willis is a writer, respected gardener, and holistic practitioner who embodies the essence of a modern homesteader. She founded RealSelfSufficiency.com in 2015 to share her passion, experience, and knowledge with the rest of the world. A master gardener, master herbalist, and canine nutritionist, Katy has spent decades honing her skills and knowledge in homesteading, green living, and holistic wellness. Her journey is a testament to the profound, enriching experience that a life intertwined with nature can offer. And she’s always learning and passing that information on to you – our wonderful community.
More about Real Self-Sufficiency
Welcome! Here at Real Self-Sufficiency, we provide real, practical, genuine advice and information related to modern homesteading. We have first-hand experience and/or education in all aspects of growing food and ornamentals organically, raising healthy livestock, herbal remedies, DIYing, and more.
We never write about stuff we don’t know about – we only ever want to give you information you can trust. And we’ll never put this information behind an overpriced paywall or inside an insanely expensive (and often useless) course.
We want to share our combined knowledge and experience to help you learn new skills, grow a productive garden to help feed your family, raise healthy livestock, reduce waste, save money, cook delicious, healthy food from scratch, and learn how to build things.
Whether you’ve got a tiny square-foot flower bed or a sprawling 50-acre homestead, we provide the knowledge and skills you need to make the most of it. We know how to keep livestock thriving and we know how to compost properly, how much to water which plants and when, and how (and what) to forage.
You can depend on us, because we live this lifestyle. Our writers have practical experience in the topics they write about. They each have their own areas of expertise related to modern homesteading and self-sufficiency, so you can rely on us to provide real, field-tested advice from people who run their own farm, feed their family from their backyard, cook from-scratch meals, preserve food, and more.
We’d love it if you’d share your favorite articles with your friends and do remember to follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter. You can get in touch with us via all the usual social platforms, or you can email us at info@realselfsufficiency.com
Katy,
I came across your article searching for information on companion planting. Of course I’ve I ended up finding much more when I started searching your site. After reading your “About Us” page I couldn’t help but leave a comment. You mentioned how your site isn’t taking off as fast as you’d like and I’m sure you’re aware that with millions of bits of information available to any one search on the internet makes it hard for someone to compete, much less be successful. Now, now, I’m not a Debbie downer type of guy. I appreciate what you’re doing because it’s helped me and more than anything it’s been your passion for living your life the way you are that has a greater affect on me. That passion gives me hope that there are others out there that not only want to live a greener, more self sufficient lifestyle but you’re willing to get out there and make a difference sharing your knowledge of what you love the most.
I try to educate people on foods, GMO’s, GE crops and seeds, and a multitude of mass produced, marketed, chemical infused, chemical processed foods that millions consume everyday. I cringe at people lined up at fast food drive-throughs. Most of my coworkers don’t want to hear about it. Others say it doesn’t matter, you’re going to die of something one day. So, I do what I can for my daughter and I in being well educated, well informed advocates for a greener, safer, chemical free life. My grandparents lived into their late 90’s and they ate items cooked in lard, greasy foods, soda, junk food for snacks, but they also ate a plethora of fruits and vegetables grown in their garden. Todays processed foods don’t hold the same nutrients as they did many years ago because the soil has been stripped of it’s nutrients or destroyed with chemicals. I hope that God lets me live long enough to enjoy my retirement years working the land and gardening like my grandparents did. To grow my own crops, preserve them for the winter, raise bees, and the many wonderful things you already do and know about.
In the end it’s great to share a belief, a way of life, and have a conversation with a likeminded person as yourself. It’s great to read about what you post and be able to contact you and to say thank you for what you do. Whether your site does well or not (and I hope it does) just don’t ever stop reaching out, educating, being an advocate for a better way of life. You just never know the impacts you might be having on others. My motto has been to keep on talking, sharing, and mentoring, and in the end, all that truly matters is if I reached just one person. Then that makes it all worth it.
My best to you and your family.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for your kind words! It means a lot when someone finds my site valuable enough to reach out and say “hello”. And yes, I’ll keep sharing my knowledge and passion in the hopes of helping others embark on their own journeys. You won’t find much processed food in my house – I make everything from scratch. I like to know what I’m putting in my body – same for my dog. He eats a balanced, raw diet with treats that come straight out of my dehydrator! Thanks again for reaching out, and I hope you are managing to grow at least a little of your own food (aside from the health benefits, it’s SO rewarding) and are enjoying plenty of outdoor time.
Best,
Katy