Seeking Self-Sufficiency

Currently, my household is nowhere near realizing self-sufficiency. But, we are slowly moving in that direction. Our new house is a wonderful house, but not set up for surviving any kind of real social/economic upheaval. For instance, the kitchen is all electric. No power, no cooking. The windows are the old original ones (working on that at the moment). And the previous owner converted the wood-burning fireplace to gas logs. I would like to undo the gas bit and put in an insert, but I haven't figured that out and it will probably cost far more than I am hoping.

On the up side, we did have a garden this year. This was a first for the kids and the "novelty" of growing our own food trumped their usual new-food-suspicion. I put in exactly one eggplant plant, thinking there was no way the kids were going to eat eggplant. But they were totally excited when we harvested the first one. "THIS came from OUR garden?! Awesome!" How cool is that?

We have also started a compost pile. We have contributed so much to it that we could actually use another. Although I have noticed that when I ignore this one for a bit, it does its thing and before I know it there is room for new additions. Ah, the miracle of decomposition!

Now, I should point out that I don't actually expect a social/economic upheaval that would require us to be self-sufficient. But stranger things have happened! I just think it is prudent to be able to take care of oneself if necessary. Plus, there is an enormous sense of satisfaction and comfort that comes with every step we take toward self-sufficiency.

I would love to hear about your journey toward self-sufficiency- and any tips you'd like to share.