Voluntary simplicity is about striking a balance in life that allows for harmony within ourselves, our families and our communities as well as with the earth and its resources. For many voluntary simplicity is about frugality and living a less consumptive life. It is also both a philosophy and a practice that centers around "living lightly on the land": living well while seeking to reduce the size of one's ecological footprint. This can mean following in the footsteps of Thoreau...or choosing to use a clothesline instead of a 4000 watt clothes dryer

Survivalism is different things to different people, but a strain of survivalism is present in many people who choose to homestead, and some people have come to homestead primarily in order to practice survivalism. Survivalism is about being prepared for true emergencies by acquiring the skills and goods needed to be self-reliant. This can include everything from long-term food and water storage to self-defense and first aid.

The above post was a OOPS...

 

Recycle goods where ever possible .

 

Be content with one economical vehicle , drive it at it's most efficient speed.

Mend clothes and repair goods whenever possible ( suppliers are trying to make this increasingly more difficult )

Turn off lights and appliances when they are no longer being used.

Install a water tank to catch the rain, this is a healthier water supply .

When purchasing new appliances, look for the best energy and water ratings.

Take up "bee-keeping" , honey is a good food, and the bee's play an important part in nature.

If your cold , put on some more clothes and not a heater of some sort.

Install a compost toilet , you can save enormous amounts of water and produce something good for the garden.

Use and operate wood heaters , hotplates and ovens etc, efficiently , you can save money.

Don't use airconditioning in the house or car , save money where less clothes .

Walk to the shops , ride a bike to work, if it's too far , use public transport.

Realize nature's diversity is being lost.

Throw away the(in sink) garbage disposal, mulch your organic scraps and use the compost in the garden.

Plant some fruit trees , fresh oranges and apples etc. are much more beneficial when not processed .

Install a solar hot water system , you will be conserving energy.

Build energy efficient homes , or retro fit your home with some energy saving ideas. - Much can be done!

Install a PV electric system to supply your low power appliances and lights , ( no more black-outs! )

If you live in a windy area, install a windgenerator system to provide power.

I have a PV system set up at the farm down home, it works great too. Just in case anyone is wondering, PV stands for Photo Voltaic and are cells that are constructed usually of silicon or similar semiconductor material. They are photosensitive and produce electric current when exposed to light. Basically what I just told you is that they are solar panels. We have them in the roof of the house, among other places, but we also have generators (the farm is pretty far out there and it's near impossible to get city power run out to it without paying out the nose for it, but it's useless, we have used this type of stuff for years and ever since the place has existed, there has never been any type of public utility on the property except for a few natural gas wells that get pumped off and we get paid for). The only other thing is you need to face the panels south when you install them, that way they get the most out of the sun.

You can combine individual cells to form arrays which in turn produce larger amounts of power. A typical home system (from what I have been told) for a utility grid tied connection is in the 3 to 4 kilowatt per hour range. We have enough down home that we are ( I am pretty sure ) in the the 16 kilowatt area somewhere plus we have a lot of batterys also, part of the reason for so many panels. It's free energy!