What do you love most about being a bit self sufficient?

[okra]

So much, its hard to know where start so I suppose at the beginning.
Going to let the chickens and geese out in the morning, and then picking a couple of Toms to go with my home smoked bacon and eggs, walking back to the house after peeing on the compost heap.
After breakfast the Dogs takes me for a walk down to the Veg patch, where I potter about for an hour or so, before they take me down the road to test the progress of my neighbours wine, with of course our two other neighbours helping, until the dogs decide its time for me return home, via the patch to collect the salad for lunch.
That's to Wednesday, from there on in it's work, you know, the digging ,weeding, mowing, shovelling muck, watering, sawing, chopping; spraying, looking for the bloody Axe you know you left down by down by the water tank, but find up by the rose trellis, which reminds you that the trellis was supposed to have been fixed 2 weeks ago, by command of her indoors.
I'm lucky, I am old and retired but spent my life working, sometimes at 2 jobs, I have no debts, and my family are provided for; Some would say I am lucky, and of course I am, but if I had lived my life on credit cards, instead of savings, if I had spent my life buying instead of making, if I had spent my life believing that food came out of supermarkets, instead of growing in what some would call dirt, but which I call earth.
This is what we call Self-sufficient, but it is more than that, it is respect and love of nature and enjoying the gifts, and enjoying the skills that each and everyone of us is endowed with whether it is the wine maker, the dress maker, the Jam makers, these are the skills from our past, and I for one am proud to be one Known a TIGHT ARSE

Well said and for me sums it up wonderfully - especially the tight arse part which we call being frugal and careful

[berry]

for me its being able to put my creativity and resourcefulness to use.

i dont just see an old milk crate i see beer storage (not that it last long ) or a perfect place to put the pickles and jam jars ready for the mad preserving months or a seat for the garden with a cushion on top!

the scrap of fabric isnt waste and those leftovers arent.. well leftover but something new and exciting to be made! many a favourite dish has evolved from leftovers!

its the walking in the woods and the boy being able to identify fruits, trees and flowers and his questions with new things always start "what is it? can i eat it? do we need to cook it first?"

its not having to "keep up with the Jones'" because we're already seen as a bit odd and its not expected! which leads on to being able to be tight/thrifty without question!

the boy has taken this "frugalness" and collects pennies/change from off the street and puts it in a tin to save. he has about £15 in there so far from just gathering lost change outside.

[Skippy]

I think Oldjerry's post has said pretty much everything really.
I'm not totally or near self sufficient but being able to lessen the clutches of consumer society a little bit more really pleases me and I can't help but feel smug when people moan about being in debt or not being able to get there hands on the next must have piece of gadget crap and I'm sitting there happy with what I've got.
I cleared a garden for someone recently and found an old shovel and a rake and felt really happy with my finds especially when I was asked "can you dispose of that junk as well"


Pete

[Stonehead]

Cider.

[Milims]

Not appearing to have much, by other peoples standards yet wanting for nothing and feeling rich beyond measure (And we aren't half as self sufficient as man others here!)

[Green Aura]

Same here Milims. Eating far better than many with much higher incomes; not needing several holidays per annum to relieve stress; knowing what's in everything we eat; getting huge amounts of pleasure from seeing just how many things I can make from scratch and how much better they taste; doing battle with my garden (and winning some of said battles ); living a much slower paced life; having time to notice the birds/insects/stars/sunshine etc etc.

In short, we want for little because we now derive our self esteem from what we can do, not what we can afford to buy - which is probably just as well!