What Can I Do? Volume 2

A promised 2nd post about little things we can do to declare our independence.

Some months back I wrote about things we can do to buck the system, regain some of our liberty, and find our freedom in an un-free world.  So often, we feel like we must “do” something and usually that something (in most people’s minds) is political.  Anyone who has participated in a protest knows the thrill of being part of a giant group of like-minded individuals screaming to be heard.  It feels great but, unfortunately, usually accomplishes very little.  At best it *may* show a few dirty politicians that there are more people than they thought who are not wanting what is being dished out. 

In my opinion, the greatest protest any of us can take part in is the individual protest!  I’d like to credit one of my readers, Fat Rabbit Iron, who brilliantly stated in a comment something to the effect of “everyone doing little things is what it is going to take…”  I couldn’t agree more.  We may feel like the little things we do on an individual level don’t really make a difference, but nothing could be further from the truth. 

Every time we pay off a debt and *do not* create new debt.  When we learn to grow some of our own food.  When we learn how to cook from scratch.  When we do not go down the cereal or processed food isles in the store. When we bypass the processed frozen foods section.  When we sell our shiny new vehicle and opt for an affordable, efficient used vehicle.  When we learn to walk again to go a couple of blocks instead of feeling like we must drive.  When we learn to preserve food.  When we turn off our fondle slabs (cell phones and tablets) for a bit of time each day, hell, when we decide to just leave the damn thing at home once in a while! When we learn to “doctor” ourselves and our families without rushing out for tests and pills every time we have an ache, pain, or sniffle. The list goes on and on and on…

Every time we do any of these things, we are declaring our independence from a system that is trying to kill us.  We take back our liberty when we say NO to big corporations, big banks, big tech, big cell phone, big medicine, and BIG government.  We don’t have to start a movement to do any of these things, and they *all* matter.  Even if the things we do to declare our independence don’t affect the group of cabals I listed above, they do affect *us* on a personal level.  When we decide that we’ve had enough of the beast system and start fending for ourselves, keeping our money (instead of giving it to banks) and figuring out ways to live *without* said system we boost our confidence.  Our demeanor and countenance changes.  We don’t have nearly the same amount of stress and we live happier, healthier lives both physically and mentally.  I promise this is a fact!

I have often mentioned that I don’t ever suggest people do things that I don’t either do, or attempt to do, myself.  We have so much hypocrisy in this world anymore I would feel bad if I was telling people to “go do something” if I wasn’t doing it in my own life, home, and with my family, neighbors and friends.  I hope you will enjoy these pictures of things I do to declare my independence.  At first glance, it may seem silly or even “simple,” but I assure you, I sleep well at night, I eat well every day and do it all with just one debt… which is a small mortgage (almost impossible to not have a mortgage or rent in today’s world).  I put my foot down years back and said I was done with debt.  I worked like a mad man to either pay off or sell everything I felt was unaffordable or stupid to be making payments on.  A debt free life is the only way to truly be free.  If you are in debt, before you do anything else, get rid of it.  It is going to be very important in the years to come to be living as debt free as possible. 

Here are a few things all of us can do to not only get out of debt, but reclaim/declare our independence from the evil beast system:

Learn to bake bread!  I *never* buy pre-made bread.  It’s one of the easiest things in the world to make and if you feel like you can’t do it, just get a bread maker.  The bread purchased from the store is loaded with chemicals (at last count, I believe Wonder Bread has FORTY-TWO ingredients!).  Bread is made with just a few ingredients (typically 5 for a basic loaf).  A loaf of bread at the store that costs 5 dollars, and is killing you, can be made at home for 50 cents or less.   I also mill my own flour for some things but you don’t have to go that far.

Chocolate Challa made in a bread maker

Biscuits, Sandwich Buns and a Simple White Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Light Whole Wheat Bread made with home milled flour

Invest in or build, a smoker.  Things like Canadian bacon (pictured below) can be made for a fraction of the cost of what it costs to buy at the grocery store.  If you are a meat eater, things like pork shoulder and chicken are often on sale and can be smoked to perfection, portioned, vacuum sealed and frozen.  It keeps for months and months in the freezer.

Make your own junk food when you get that craving!  Junk food does not have to be junk.  If we make our own pizzas (including the dough from *scratch*), hamburgers, fries, and other “junk” food, we still might not be eating as healthy as we should be (so don’t eat it every day), but we are eating much healthier than if we go through the drive through and grab a bag of food without any nutrition and mystery ingredients that we had no control over selecting.

Cheeseburger made with home ground beef, tomato from the garden on a homemade bun. There’s homemade mayo that you can’t see as well

Source local eggs or raise your own chickens if you can!  The eggs you find locally are usually from chickens that are treated with love and care and often fed a much healthier diet.  The eggs taste better and are much more nutritious.  They may cost a bit more, but they are well worth it.  I would rather spend 50 cents more for a dozen eggs than support the industrial egg companies who do nothing but literally torture these gentle animals for their very short lives.

Beautiful eggs from one of my local producers

Learn to make your own pasta!  It is extremely easy and, again, you can decide what quality of flour is used to make it.  Store bought pasta is still (for now) relatively safe, but it doesn’t taste as good as homemade.

 Learn to can food!  It may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but once you have “put up” a couple of batches you will be a pro.  It is very easy (the prep work can be a bit laborious) and the reward is worth it.  Home canned goods are “fresh” for a year or so, but if stored correctly can be eaten years afterwards. The investment can set you back (jars, canner, lids), but will pay for itself over time (especially if you are gardening and want to have several ways to preserve your bounty).

Sun Dried Tomato in Olive Oil, Canned Garden Tomatoes, Chili without beans, English Bread and Butter Pickles, Chicken Thighs, Dill Pickle Sandwich Slices and Beef in Wine Sauce

Learn to cook!  If you don’t know how to cook from scratch, it’s time to learn.  My grandmother always said, “if you can read, you can cook!”  Although there are millions of recipes online, I highly recommend just buying a decent all-purpose cookbook.  If you can find a pre-1990’s version they are the best because those books still have some of the manual ways of doing things included.  Many of the modern cookbooks rely way too much on premade items and lots of gadgets to make up a dish.  If things go south in the world (which they just very well might) we will need some of the “old” skills to endure.

Shrimp with homemade Alfredo Sauce with homegrown sun dried tomatoes on homemade pasta topped with steamed homegrown zucchini

And, of course, I couldn’t end without once again mentioning growing some of your own food!  Even if it’s just a pot on your balcony with a tomato plant in it, basil in a sunny windowsill or sprouts.  Every one of us should be growing at least one thing we eat

Beautiful 2’ tall homegrown Celery

Spaghetti and Butternut Squash (so easy to grow)

I won’t make this much longer as I know your time is valuable.  Don’t be frustrated when you look around at the world and think, “what can I do?”  Look at your own life and ask yourself, “what can I do for me?”  It makes much more sense to work on the things we actually have control over rather than “hoping” that a politician or a group of activists is going to fix the world for us.  It will never work that way.  I’m not saying that Politicians and Groups can’t be valuable at times, but the goals they are trying to achieve usually take years and sometimes decades to bring to fruition.  Most of the things we can do in our own lives can be started *today*! 

Is living a more independent life more difficult?  Yes. There’s often more work involved but guess what?  Many of our parents and grandparents did it and our great grandparents definitely did it.  There is no excuse.  I heard a lady on an interview saying the reason she didn’t grow any of her own food is because she has two children. It made me think of my mother and Grandmothers with 2 to 6 children working in the garden, oftentimes *with* their children.  Usually, the excuses we come up with are used not because we can’t do something, but because we don’t want to do something.

Declare your independence by taking back control over just one area of your life.  I promise the reward is well worth the trouble.    

“If you’re not free now, it isn’t because you haven’t done enough to change the world. Quite the contrary, it may be that you’ve been doing too much to change the world. The effort you’ve expended in that direction could have been used to provide freedom for yourself.” Harry Browne