Living Off The Grid

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?

Admittedly, The Omlet is a very cool-looking, functional, ingenious design for an urban chicken coop and run. Of course I want one, but that’s besides the point. I only “want” one if it’s free because when you do the math paying for one just doesn’t make any sense.

Yes, you read the title right. And no, this isn’t a joke. We have one of these in our basement bathroom, because there is a toilet but no sink, and it works perfectly.

Most off-grid folks, homesteaders and sustainable living devotees will tout the benefits of reusing everything and fixing up old stuff until it’s lived several lifetimes. That goes for everything from adding a new handle to an old shovel to finding throw-away windows at the dump or fixing up the old washing machine. For the most part, they’re right. The financial and environmental cost of producing something new, even if it’s more energy and cost-efficient, is usually much more than the cost of fixing something old.

I was looking for a new image to use as my computer desktop wallpaper today and found some very beautiful and inspirational homesteading pictures so I wanted to share these homestead photos and paintings with you.

Les Stroud, probably best known for his Survivorman series, talks about living off the grid and chasing the dream of a self sustaining lifestyle in his documentary Off The Grid.

These are the homesteading blogs I read. The blog owners may not know who I am, but I read their posts every day from my Bloglines account, and if you’re interested in sustainable living then you should too!

Freezing vegetables is easier than canning them, and in many cases can lead to a fresher taste. The only downside is that canned foods will keep even if the power goes out. If you want to give freezing a try before you start to learn the finer art of canning, green beans are a good place to start.

It seems to me that our population is too great for our food to be produced here in the United States, especially when farmers are subsidized in a way that encourages large-scale monocropping of corn and soy bean at the expense of the diversification of our national food supply. While homesteading to grow your own food is a great solution if you have the time, land and resources, I don’t think it’s a viable option for the hundreds of millions of people who live in apartments and urban centers in North America.

I was reading one of my favorite homesteading blogs today and was inspired by their post about our relationship with food. The post had an incredible image of a stocked pantry shelf which just struck me as one of the most beautiful, comforting things in the world.

One of our readers has sent us his account of what has become an annual family tradition of vacationing at a friend’s off-grid property in Montana. See what Clay has to say about the lessons he has learned over the years, including how the off-grid living lifestyle has spilled over into his normal grid-tied life in the city of Portland, OR.

Homesteading is difficult but don’t be discouraged. With a bit of help from people who know how to live off the land, you can avoid many of the pitfalls and greatly improve your chances of success.

If you own rural accommodation, such as cabin rentals, head over to Back to The Earth, an online directory of farm vacations, Bed and Breakfasts, Ranches, Cabins and other rural accommodation rental businesses throughout the United States.

Let’s let corporate America know how much we value environmental stewardship from the companies that provide our products and services. Be sure to vote on the Co-op America People’s Choice Award for the Greenest Business of the Year!