I want to buy some land in Wyoming, and build myself a house. I’ll have some dogs, a few cats, some chickens, sheep, lots of plants to eat, etc. What do I need to do?
For complete self-sufficiency, my first thought would be to pick a location more conducive to year-round agriculture & survival than Wyoming.
Location, Location, Location.
Mother Earth News is a great place to start.
WAG
Go west young man, go west.
Get OJT !
One trhing you need to be self sufficient is salt.
Theodore Kazynski might be able to give you some ideas.
A book you might find useful is “One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey.”
My local PBS station recently ran a program on the man the book is about. He lived for decades out in the wilderness virtually without assistance and rare human contact.
Total self sufficiency, what do you mean by this? To me there are multiple levels of self sufficiency
Not being connected to a grid (ie having your own power & water) but still going to a store to purchase goods
Not going to a store but still having tools and products made in the industrialized world (axes, chainsaws, gasoline)
Living like people in the 1800s (who still went to the store mind you).
I assume you mean the second, growing your own food but still using modern tools to do it. If you need power i’d recommend windmills. Books on the subject homesteading will fill you in much better than I could.
If I were you I would still maintain contact with the world though, it’ll make your life alot easier (if you actually want an easier life, maybe you want the challenge I don’t know). A chainsaw is alot better than an axe, and buying flour and sugar for 25 cents a pound is alot easier than growing your own grain and pounding it by hand. Insulation can be a nice luxury too, as can warm clothes.
You might want to listen to act 1 of This American Life episode 273 (available here). It’s called “Farm Eye for the Farm Guy”, and is about a guy who decided to go totally self-sufficient as a farmer and isn’t making it all that well. They arranged for him to talk to a real farmer for advice, and the farmer’s assessment was that some people just aren’t cut out for it.
It might be discouraging, though. 
Good show, regardless.
I would take advantage of the technology available to me, to an extent. I don’t want to have to have a large supply of gasoline on hand at all times. Most of my energy needs would have to be covered by renewable power sources, such as solar or wind. Water will be from from rain and/or a stream, river or lake. I only need to produce enough for one or 2 people, plus enough to use for barter or to sell to a store. I assume I’ll need to purchase salt, grains and some meat on a regular basis.
Also, I’m more likely to buy a house, then build one. I was reading the Mother Earth News site - a 1200 sq. ft.home designed to to use solar energy is a actually a good deal.
My heart is not set on Wyoming, btw…
Take a look at the Real Goods website. It has information on equipment that can be used for living off the grid.
Lindsay Publications has a lot of handy sources of information. You might also check out Backwoods Home magazine and look at building an Earthship home. Square foot gardening should help you reduce the area needed to grow your own food, but I’d pick a warmer climate, so you’re not living off of canned foods during the winter.
Read the Foxfire series. They have lots of info on old farm practices, etc. If you’re going to give up a good deal of modern technology, these will be your best bet. Much better than most of the “survivalist” literature I’ve seen.
For a light read, pick up My Side of the Mountain.
Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skillsby Reader’s Digest
ISBN: 0895779390
If you really want to go back to nature, try
Outdoor Survival Skills
by Larry Dean Olsen
ISBN: 1556523238
Bushcraft;: A Serious Guide to Survival and Camping
by Richard H. Graves
ISBN: 0805234489