Living Off The Grid

By Tommy Bailey In July 2010 I finally had the opportunity to pursue a dream of mine – to begin construction on an off-grid passive solar cabin that I designed and would build myself. It took me about 3 months of several weekends and evenings to rough in the entire structure and I spent the [...]

I know some folks who almost entirely rely on freezing food, including all of their meats and veggies. I even know people who freeze their grains. While freezing is a convenient and important part of food-saving, you should always try to include a variety of methods in your plan, including drying and canning. I have [...]

Ever get the feeling that you are living inside a George Orwell novel? Ever get the feeling that you’re being lied to, cleverly deceived, patronized or just plain distracted? Our print, radio and TV media universes are getting smaller and smaller while the internet swells ever larger with a more diverse range of opinions, news [...]

We’ve posted a lot of how-to articles on this site and hope you have enjoyed them. But now it’s time for me to ask a how-to question of my own: How can I stockpile medication?

We’d like to put up some profiles from those readers / visitors who don’t mind sharing their story. Here’s looking forward to reading about some regular, everyday, inspirational off gridders!

If we allow – or worse, contribute to – the withholding of another American’s right to make personal choices that affect none but themselves, we don’t deserve to have our rights either. We might as well just give up because we’ve already lost the fight.

Cob is also energy efficient, owing to walls that are often a full meter thick. Building with cob allows more customization than other forms of building, and are capable of more truly reflecting the tastes and aesthetic inclinations of their dwellers.

According to Phil Linderman of The Frugal Blog, we’re in for some economic inflation on everything from Cotton to Coffee. Here are some of the items he brings up as at-risk for inflation after a discussion with Dawn Thilmany, a professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University.

Becoming a certified solar panel installer requires obtaining certifications from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). Learn how to get started!

Pole barns and pole buildings have become increasingly popular over the past several years because of their efficient use of materials. Here are some of the most amazing ones we could find.

Learning how to build a basic wind turbine is often not as difficult as many people imagine. It is certainly not simple, but with the right planning and research, you can build a basic wind turbine in a short space of time.

The full title of this hardcover coffee-table style book is Hometown Memories… Outhouse Spiders and Tin Tub Baths: Tales From the Good Old Days in the Blue Ridge Mountains . My, what a mouthful! But this book lives up to every letter of that title. I can’t recommend it enough.

Basically the Troy-Bilt 3090 is a huge and powerful snow crushing monster but some of the bells and whistles were unnecessary and it’s not as rugged or smooth running as I’d like.

This is the story of a chicken who thinks it’s a turkey.

I may have to go get my eggs in the rain today, but at least I don’t have to worry about this recall.

Recently my home heating ‘backup’, a criminally inefficient old furnace, died. Pondering replacement options gave me an opportunity to consider the many ways one can power a furnace.

If you can tolerate the price, I heartily recommend a Stihl powerhead in a size that’s comfortable for your needs, or slightly larger if you can justify a professional saw fitted with a bar that’s not too long.

The Off Grid Living blog carnival, where we share some of the best posts on the internet from people sharing their off grid living tips, personal stories and thoughts.

You can’t put a price on peace of mind and the safety of yourself and your loved ones. Here’s what I’m doing to protect our place.

I just spent two hours researching and choosing a hand-cranked grain mill. Here are a few of the mills I considered and which I ended up going with in the end.