About Real Self-Sufficiency
Real Self-Sufficiency is a practical homesteading and self-reliance website founded by Katy Willis in 2015.
I created RSS to help everyday people grow more of their own food, waste less, save money, learn useful skills, and feel more capable at home. That might mean starting a vegetable garden, raising backyard chickens, preserving a harvest, fixing something instead of replacing it, or figuring out how to live a little more simply and a little less dependently on expensive systems that don’t always serve us well.
This site is built for real life. You do not need a big farm, endless free time, or a perfect country lifestyle to get value from self-sufficiency. Whether you have a homestead, a suburban yard, or a few containers on a patio, there are practical ways to grow, make, mend, store, and prepare more for yourself.
At Real Self-Sufficiency, you’ll find helpful, experience-based content on topics such as:
- vegetable gardening and growing your own food
- chickens and small-scale livestock care
- homesteading skills and seasonal living
- food preservation and from-scratch cooking
- practical DIY and handmade projects
- frugal living, preparedness, and household resilience
My approach is straightforward, realistic, and rooted in doing. I’m a master gardener and permaculture specialist, and I care deeply about sharing advice that is useful, clear, and grounded in real experience. I’m not interested in fluff, fantasy homesteading, or making self-reliance feel exclusive. I want to help people build practical skills and confidence, one step at a time.
While much of the site is written by me, Real Self-Sufficiency also features contributions from other experienced writers with practical knowledge in their subject areas. Every piece is selected to be helpful, clear, and relevant to people who want to build a more capable, resilient life at home.
The internet is full of vague, recycled advice. Real Self-Sufficiency exists to offer something better: useful information, honest guidance, and ideas that ordinary people can actually apply in their own homes, gardens, and daily lives.
Self-sufficiency is not about doing everything perfectly or all at once. It is about becoming a little more capable, a little less wasteful, and a little more prepared over time. That is what this site is here to support.
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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