Living Off The Grid

Nevermind the graffiti, half-sunken shopping carts, floating plastic bottles and the occasional crazy bum jumping out at you – catching large, dinner-table-sized fish in the middle of the city is apparently something worth trying.

Top Bars have been used in developing countries for many years because of their ease of design, low maintenance and low cost. They can be made from salvaged materials, and even hollowed out logs.

When you’re ready to begin living off the grid, the smaller your home is, the easier it is to make it energy self-sufficient. Some people have taken this to an extreme, spawning the tiny home movement. And when they say tiny, they mean it – most tiny homes are somewhere between 65 and 800 square feet, with varying levels of comfort.

I sent this to the following people last night in regard to NAIS: National Animal Identification System. Please consider contacting your own State representatives regarding this bureaucratic threat to the small farm and self-sufficient way of life lived and dreamed-of by many Americans.

A+ for The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City. I really do like the book that much. If you want to live a simpler life but happen to live in the city/suburbs, you will too.

There are definitely some easy, stylish options available but they just cost too much right now. Like anything new they will drop in price in the coming years as the process of making them becomes more efficient and the competition more fierce. But just a taste of what we may be able to do in the future…

A pressure canning chart with foods, processing times, PSI settings and adjustments for elevation.

A chart providing water bath canning processing times for different foods, including guidelines for altitude adjustments.

If you’re on a budget like me, consider making your compost bins out of readily-available, free wooden pallets. They’re all the same size, square, and come prefabricated with ventilated slats that help your compost stay aerated!

Whether your plan is to live on the road full-time in an RV, or to have an RV on a property that is off the grid, some of the resources here will help you in your quest for how-to guidance and practical information.

But there is yet another definition to living off the grid: Being a ghost to the government. Living under the radar. Staying on the move. Being as free as free can get in today’s society.

We can take this could-be-but-probably-won’t green living idea and adjust it to suit an off-grid, self-sustaining life style by turning it into an instance, cheap, easy root cellar.

Residents of Bellaire, OH were sent tap water containing hydrochloric acid after water department workers accidentally dumped it into the water supply at a treatment plant. Apparently they though it was fluoride.

What is the difference between AC and DC, and which type of appliances should I use in my off-grid home or RV? Learn more at Living Off Grid.

For all of the hawks, foxes, coyotes, neighborhood dogs and mountain lions Americans have to put up with – at least we don’t have to worry about these five animals…

The free online version includes all of the great, heavy-duty content as the printed version, but does not include all of the pictures, diagrams and product suggestions that I find so useful in my print copy. You should go check out the free online version and, if you like it, consider buying the print version as a reference manual and off-grid living yellow pages.

I made my first successful batch of hard cheese over the weekend to use up some surplus milk. The recipe I used came from Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses.

One of the arguments I always had with myself against buying a pellet burning stove over a wood burning one is that I didn’t want to be dependent on someone else to supply my fuel. To me, that just kind of defeated the purposes in some ways. While researching this issue I came across several pellet-making devices, such as the one shown on the left.

Which is better? A modern wood burning stove or the new pellet burning stoves? Proponents of pellet burning stoves cite lower moisture content, more heat, less smoke and particulate emissions, and an efficiency of somewhere between 75% and 90%.

Starting an agritourism business may solve the fundamental problem that keeps many would-be hobby farmers from moving to a rural location: Making a living in the country without commuting hours to work in the city every day or risking the entire year’s income on the whims of nature?