14 Top Tips For Self-Sufficiency In The City

A self-sufficient life isn’t limited to those with acres of land. Even if you’re living in the centre of a city, with a bit of time and effort you can learn the ropes and master all you need to know about self-sufficiency in the city.

For many of us, quitting the city and living a more bucolic lifestyle isn’t on the cards right now – but the truth is that life can be precarious in urban areas, so if something goes wrong it’s important to be prepared.

It can be empowering to know that if an emergency situation arises, you will have a good chance of getting through it unscathed.

Even if that emergency never materialises, who doesn’t want to know how to protect themselves and their families? And if you have children, they can really benefit from understanding more about how to fend for themselves when necessary.

Ready to Learn About Self-Sufficiency in the City?

It’s important to note that becoming self-sufficient in urban areas is harder than in rural areas. It takes more preparation and resourcefulness. You don’t have a lot of land to support your growing efforts. You probably won’t have as much space to build up a food supply.

There are people everywhere and more competition for resources. If an emergency situation were to arise, there would be fewer places to hide.

That being said, there are specific actions you can take and skills you can build in your journey towards self-sufficiency in the city – here are 14 tips to get started.

Table of Contents: Self-Sufficiency in the City

Self-Sufficiency In The City: 14 Tips & Tricks

1. Get to Know Your Neighbours

People living in cities aren’t exactly known for being friendly. It can be easy to become disconnected from those around us, just hurrying around with our heads down, scared to say a word to anyone.

But the reality is those who are in your immediate vicinity can be extremely helpful in times of need so it’s important to cultivate strong relationships.

Take time to introduce yourself to those around you, volunteer to help them out when the situation arises.

They can keep an eye on your home while you’re away, inform you of any suspicious situations, and may even be able to help you in emergency scenarios – such as with food supply backup if food shortages occur.

If your neighbours aren’t very friendly, at least you will know you can’t rely on them in a difficult situation and you can seek allies elsewhere…

2. Container Gardening is Your Friend

If you are living in a city, it is unlikely you will have acres of farmland at your disposal. It’s far more likely you’ll have a relatively humble backyard, garden, rooftop or balcony. This is where knowledge of container gardening can help you to build a backup food supply.

If an area of your outdoor space gets sun for at least a few hours a day and you have enough room outside, you can get started with easy-to-grow staples such as onions, garlic and potatoes.

You can even grow vegetables and herbs indoors on your windowsill as long as they have a sufficient light source and you know how to transplant your seeds into larger containers if they need it once they’ve started to germinate.

Whether you are a newbie to self-sufficiency in the city or you’ve had experience growing food in the past, it’s best to get started growing in your urban area as soon as possible to learn the basics of container gardening.

3. Find Your ‘Safe Place’

Having a safe place to gather in case of an emergency is an essential component of urban emergency preparedness and can ultimately save lives.

It’s especially important in situations where communication channels may be disrupted, like during a power outage or a terrorist attack and can allow you to have a sense of security and comfort during times of crisis, giving you time together to regroup and discuss what action to take next.

4. Learn to Garden on a Budget

Learning how to garden on a budget means you can reuse and recycle things you already have available. You can also master growing food from vegetable scraps, grow cut and come again lettuce and salad leaves and recycle resources such as coffee beans for fertiliser.

Container gardening can be surprisingly expensive, so taking a flexible approach and learning how to do the best with what you have, is an excellent way to become more self-sufficient.

Building a kitchen compost or even one outside is another way to help you save money, save resources and move towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

5. Build Your Survival Pantry

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” – so said Benjamin Franklin, (according to the internet at least).

This aphorism can certainly be applied to failing to build an emergency stock of food – a ‘survival pantry’, so to speak.

Being an urbanite, you’re unlikely to have a ton of space –not least a literal pantry to keep your supplies, but there are a few helpful rules to remember, including:

• Find a place that is unlikely to be affected by flooding like the basement.
• Make sure you don’t store your food in an area prone to pests.
• Do an audit of how much food you need to store per person.
• Learn about the best types of survival food so you know what food lasts long-term and what will go off.
• How far are you from alternative food sources, like an allotment or an urban farm?
• Don’t forget the essentials! Toilet paper, soap, an emergency kit and of course, water.

Experts advise to store enough food to last at least three days – but two weeks of emergency supplies is better. And, if you don’t already know, learn how to make a good meal in an emergency situation.

You can also discover how to forage for wild edibles if you are feeling adventurous. Just remember to proceed with caution so you avoid plants that could be dangerous – and always remember to ask permission beforehand.

6. Master the Art of Preserving Food

Learning to preserve food is a great skill for times of scarcity. Whether it’s food you’ve bought, cooked yourself or grown, you can sleep sound at night safe in the knowledge you’ll be able to get through the long hard winter months by preserving your food.

You can do this by:

• Canning
• Drying
• Freezing

There are other ways to preserve foods such as through pasteurisation and fermentation, but the above are the most common.

Preserving food requires a versatile mindset and is an important step towards self-sufficiency in the city. It’s about working with what you have and thinking about how you can make your items last longer.

Two examples that immediately come to mind include canning your fresh tomatoes and making jam from your fruit yields.

7. Observe Your Surroundings

When you are living in a city, you need to be hyper aware of your surroundings. An understanding of your local environment can help you to make the right choices regarding which self-sufficiency skills to develop.

I’ve already mentioned getting to know your neighbours, but it’s also key to think about where your water comes from, how your energy supply works, as well as where your nearest hospital is and how close you are to a source of transport.

Questions to keep in mind include: What kind of problems do you tend to have in your area? Power cuts? Bad weather? Think about what emergencies could arise and plan accordingly.

Also, consider where you could keep extra food supplies, or even chickens and livestock – if your city permits this.

8. Develop a Communication Plan

If the power goes out, you may not be able to communicate with your loved ones.

Even if you have a designated safe space, people can go AWOL and if someone is out of the house you may not know if they are ok or when they will be home.

Power cuts can be common in some areas and aren’t necessarily dangerous – but you’ll still need to know how to contact your family and friends.

Perhaps you could have a secure place where messages are left, or have a timeframe within which you meet each other – and a backup place after that? Think about what issues could arise in your area and plan accordingly.

9. Learn how to Cook without Power

Survival cooking – or cooking without power – is a vital skill in your self-sufficiency skillbox. Building a fire may not be an option if you don’t have a garden or backyard.

But one thing you can do immediately is purchase a compact fuel stove or mini portable grill you can keep to use at home.

Another way of generating heat without power is using Sterno fuel to cook. Sterno uses Smart Can technology and is designed to generate maximum heat fast and can be burned directly in its can. It is also useful for keeping warm when there’s no heating. You can also buy a Sterno stove as an option to cook without power.

And a handy tip: when the power goes down, you’ll still need to be able to see what you’re doing when preparing food – so make sure you have a bunch of candles and a torch to hand!

10. Discover Alternative Energy Sources

Because you are in a city, cooking over a fire isn’t really a viable option for you – so if you are looking for alternative fuel sources, you will need to find ways to cook and heat your home that allow for limited space and don’t breach any neighbourhood rules.

If you’re thinking longer-term, you may want to think about installing solar systems. A solar oven is one way to cook in an efficient way that not only saves you money and is energy efficient, but also eco-friendly.

If you’re looking for an option that operates as backup in case of an outage, a power generator could work for you. These can be noisy, so are problematic if you want to keep a low profile and don’t want to alienate the neighbours.

11. Build Your Self-Sufficiency in the City Emergency Kit

Building an emergency kit in an urban area is an essential step towards ensuring personal safety and well-being. Your emergency kit should contain enough supplies to sustain you and your family for at least 72 hours – but two weeks of food is probably the sweet spot.

I’ve already touched on the importance of storing food, so additional items to include in your kit could be a portable phone charger, hand-crank radio, portable phone charger, water purification tablets, non-perishable food items to access on the move, first aid supplies, and a multi-purpose tool.

You may also want to consider an alarm in case you need to alert others quickly to where you are – although it is best to use this sparingly.

Remember to regularly review and update your emergency kit and tailor it according to your specific needs.

12. Winter is Coming: Be Prepared!

Cold weather can create a range of challenges, such as power outages, frozen pipes, and learning about the perils of bad insulation – joy of joys!

Prepare ahead of time for winter by ensuring that your home is well-insulated and that heating systems are in good working order.

It’s also important to preserve food specifically to get you through the winter months, so it’s best to start thinking about keeping on top of your food supplies in summer/early autumn.

Finally, you must plan for transportation in case of winter-related travel disruptions, such as snowstorms or icy roads.

A car may not be possible, so having another mode of transport like a bike or a sleigh – or even skis if you’re living on a hill in a Nordic country, can ensure you’re prepared for a worst-case scenario.

13. Keep a Water Stash

Storing water can be big problem in cities due to the bulky nature of storage containers. One way to get around this is to harvest rainwater and keep it in a single barrel as back-up.

This way, you will have a good head start if access to water becomes difficult – just be careful your water doesn’t get contaminated.

A single barrel may not be enough, so try to store as many big bottles of filtered water as you can in your home.

Just make sure you have enough water to drink, cook and bathe for at least a week if necessary.

Additionally, it is crucial that you know how to purify water, especially if you are on the go – you can do this with purification tablets.

14. Secure Your Home

Urban areas are especially vulnerable to a variety of emergencies, which can lead to civil unrest.

There are also more general risks in cities, such as burglaries and car theft. Simple steps such as securing windows and doors and having a sufficient alarm system can make all the difference.

Other important security steps include ensuring that smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are in good working order and knowing how to respond to emergencies such as gas leaks or electrical fires.

Self-Sufficiency in the City – Final Thoughts

The skills listed in this article are not only useful for self-sufficiency in the city, but can also help you tackle a range of emergency situations if they were to arise.

It’s not always easy to become self-sufficient in the city, but it is well worth making the effort.

If you pay attention to this list, understand your limitations and have a good grasp of your immediate environment, you’ll be far ahead of most people and able to build your mini-homestead even if in the middle of a concrete jungle.