You pretty much hit the major points of my home improvement wish list.

I've ruled out solar for me. The roof has an ell on the south (suncatching) side that would need to be designed away before I would have enough area to make it worthwhile. That's way too much $$$.

I'm looking into the feasibility of putting a propane tank behind the garage and getting some LP jets to fit the burners on the stove, furnace, & water heater should the flow of natural gas ever be disrupted. The tank wll also serve as a fuel reserve for a LP powered generator.

An electrician friend says he can put a cutover switch in that will prevent any power I generate from backfeeding onto the grid. I guess during a power outage that's one of the bigger threats to the power company guys.

Eventually I would like to add a grain burning stove as a backup heat source. A portable kerosene stove currently fills that role.

A privacy fence around the back yard protects my garden from prying eyes. I'm still weighing the benefits of a hydroponics setup in the basement.

I keep 35 2L soda bottles filled with water and an extra 90 day (at least) supply of canned and dry goods rotated through the pantry.

All incoming water is filtered through a whole house water filter.

Home security can still stand some improvement. I don't have a safe room and, as a bachelor, don't really see an immediate need.

I live in a pretty quiet, blue collar neighborhood that's home to lot's of cops and firefighters and is walking distance to work(<2 miles). I work for the phone company so should be safe from all but the most severe economic downturns.

All in all I think I'm well on my way to urban self sufficiency and have a solid plan for improving and protecting my assets.

One of the better books for ideas that I've bought is "How To Implement A High Security Shelter In The Home" by Joel Skousen. He covers alot, from a hidden room in the closet to a full blown, multi room walk in shelter. He also covers redundant water, power, communications, bug out bags, barter goods, etc.

Ed