Practicing self-sufficiency during COVID-19 quarantine
Here are 20 self-sufficient things you can learn to do while socially distancing yourself under the COVID-19 quarantine! BONUS: These are all accessible whether you have land or not!
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20 ways to get closer to self-sufficiency while quarantined in your home.
What better time is there to practice self-sufficiency than when you’re under a COVID-19 quarantine? I don’t know about you, but there are so many different things I want to do with all this extra time at home!
Self-sufficiency and baking bread
There’s been some hilarious stuff (memes and such) on social media about people baking their own bread but I’m serious y’all, it’s not a bad thing to know how to do! There are so many recipes to keep you busy during the COVID-19 quarantine and you’ll feel more self-sufficient than you ever have in the days to come.
A perk of this activity is you can even sell the bread and make some side income. Of course, be sure to adhere to your local guidelines. Brownie points if you tag me on Instagram with a picture of your fresh-baked bread!
Learn to knit or crochet during your quarantine!
I’ve tried many times to knit and the truth is I don’t quite have the patience, unfortunately. If you can learn to knit or crochet, you can also sell your beautiful products as a side gig on Etsy or in personal Facebook groups and such!
My sister creates some beautiful products and sells them on Etsy and boy do I envy her talent. It’s a great activity to do for self-sufficiency and when you’re quarantined in your home for weeks.
Learn to sew for self-sufficiency
Although I don’t have the patience to knit or crochet, I do seem to have the patience to sew! I’ve created so many great products over the years to give as gifts such as makeup bags and drink koozies. My best friend Tiffany (who also has an amazing Etsy store where she sells upcycled products!!) taught me a few great tricks with sewing and I was hooked.
ALSO, right now while you’re quarantined, you can make these simple masks to contribute to the shortage in the medical masks! I plan to pull out my sewing machine and get a few done myself.
Start a blog!
That’s right, folks. You have all this time, why not write about what you’re passionate about? Since it can take a little start-up money, you can always just write away and build your actual website once you’re not quarantined. Starting a blog is good for self-sufficiency for two reasons.
1. You’re your own boss and 2. You can make some passive income with it! I don’t make a lot of money off my blog but the small amount I do is a nice help during the month.
Start your own kombucha
I’ve written all about starting your own kombucha which you can read here when you start your own. Kombucha is so expensive in the stores and so cheap to make at home, aiding in your journey to being self-sufficient.
It’ll only take an hour or less of your day-of-quarantine. Let me know if you try out any fun flavors!
Learn to ferment foods
I’ve only ever made sauerkraut with some homegrown cabbage of mine but it was super easy! You can try making kimchi, too. A friend suggested this book to me and I have yet to get it. It’s on my to-do list!
Make cheese or yogurt
I’ll admit that this is another thing I haven’t tried. I eat A LOT of cheese and I put yogurt in my hubby’s smoothies so I need to get on top of it. I’ve been told a few times it’s pretty simple. I’ll add it to my Self-Sufficiency, COVID-19 Quarantine list.
Learn to can food
Kick me, but I haven’t done this yet either! Canning food is on my bucket list and I hope o FINALLY have enough of a crop this year to do it. I want to start out with the simple, most common vegetables like green beans. I have this book that I plan to use as a guide!
Start your victory garden!
Some people have said this will naturally happen after the COVID-19 and quarantine era is said and done. I sure hope it does! Why not start it now? If you live in an apartment, you can start a few simple herbs and put them in the windowsill or even find a community garden to participate in.
Growing a garden is one of the top 5 self-sufficient things you can do – why not start there?
Embrace frugality
Naturally, we’ll all be doing this due to the quarantine but you should think about making it a permanent thing! Being a little more frugal means more money in the bank, leading to financial stability, etc. COVID-19 is putting a lot of folks out of work and many of us will be hurting in one way or another eventually. Becoming a penny pincher is a very self-sufficient thing to do!
PURGE for self-sufficiency
Quarantine + purging your home = happiness. Think about it, after all this is done you’ll have a pile of things to donate and a less-cluttered house. A fellow blogger, The Tannehill Homestead, has some really great tips on decluttering!
Learn some delicious, simple recipes
We’ll all be cooking a little more during our days of the COVID-19 quarantine and that’s fine because it’s also in the Top 3 most self-sufficient things you can learn to do!
Become an entrepreneur
I’ve already mentioned a few things you can learn to do to kickstart your COVID-19 Quarantine Business! Knitting, crocheting, sewing, starting a blog, baking bread area all simple, self-sufficient things to learn in order to start your small business.
Given, you might not have the means to immediately start a business after the pandemic is cleared up but you can stockpile merchandise while you’re quarantined!
Make some DIY home cleaners!
Self-sufficiency is all about doing it yourself y’all. Actually, the definition of self-sufficient is “needing no outside help in satisfying one’s basic needs, especially with regard to the production of food.“.
It’s super simple to make your own home cleaners and can actually save you money, playing into the frugality factor of self-sufficiency! While you’re sitting around your house, play with some essential oils, vinegar, baking soda, and lemon!
Learn to do some maintenance-related chores!
Changing the oil on your lawn-mower is pretty simple, hanging curtains, re-painting, building shoe racks, etc. are all things that re doable. I know this because I’ve done them!
I feel the most self-sufficient when I am able to do chores around the home myself. Now, there are things that I always believe you should call someone for such as anything electricity-related (but maybe that’s just me).
Cut expenses
Again, during our quarantine days, cutting expenses will be somewhat naturally occurring. Practicing it in your everyday life is also a great idea and a huge step towards self-sufficiency. COVID-19 is going to impact our lives in some negative ways, but we can also alter it to impact our lives in a positive way also!
READ
I can’t say it again, y’all. READ. I don’t read enough and I admit that but I definitely plan to catch up with the free time I have now! Thank you, COVID-19 quarantine! Here are a few great suggestions on books if you’re a beginning homesteader.
Join a farm share
Farm shares, community gardens and CSA’s are a great way to practice self-sufficiency any time of the year, whether you have land or not. During the quarantine, it could be of great benefit with all the stores having such bear shelves.
Not to mention you’ll be supporting local farmers, which is AMAZING! Find a CSA in your area using this link —> https://www.localharvest.org
Learn about medicinal herbs and elements
I’ve been planning a medicinal herb garden for a while now and I’m JUST getting to the point of putting it together! While you’re planning your COVID-19 victory garden to start after quarantine, remember to add on a medicinal herb garden to play into your new life of self-sufficiency!
Learn to ask for help
If you don’t take in ANY of the other 19 things I mentioned, please remember this one! People sometimes think that wanting to achieve self-sufficiency means you are doing everything all by yourself. To do every single thing by yourself is not realistically possible. Or if it is, I suppose I don’t understand it at all. Community is such an important aspect of life.
Look at this COVID-19 pandemic and all of us being under quarantine for who knows how long. I suspect by the end of all this, we’ll be itching to get back in our community. Lend a helping hand, ask for help if you need it. There is no change at all in asking for help.
Excellent list. Not only will this help to keep me busy during self-isolation but it will also help me become more self-sufficient. I already do a few of the things on this list and some others I have been meaning to do for a while, so I guess I have no more excuses since I have all the time to do them – though some may have to wait as I don’t necessarily have all the needed items for it such as making cheese or yogurt.
Hi Sarah! I feel the same way. And don’t feel bad, I don’t have items at hand to try cheese or yogurt either but I know there are people out there who probably bought far too many jugs of milk while panic purchasing! I plan to add a few of these into my schedule, also. Good luck to you and thanks for reading! Stay healthy! – Chelsea