Off Grid Living

Off-the-grid living is a system and lifestyle whereby people function without the support of public utilities. While being off-the-grid is most commonly thought of in terms of electricity (not on the “grid” that delivers power to the masses) other utilities like natural gas, water, telephone and cable fall in this category too. When a major disaster strikes, any or all of those utilities could be offline for unknown and extended periods of time. Even if it’s not practical for you to go 100% off-the-grid, just doing so partially can increase your self-reliance, security and peace-of-mind in times when public utilities may fail. Not to mention you can often save money in the long run and decrease your environmental footprint. What’s not to like about that?

There are a lot of considerations to make before you go off-the-grid. If you are accustomed to living on public utilities and don’t give much thought to how much you consume, this could come as quite a shock, as lowering your consumption typically goes hand-in-hand with going off-the-grid. Are you willing to make the changes necessary to your lifestyle? Are you a do-it-yourself type of person, or do you rely on someone else when there is something to be done in your home? Costs can add up quickly if you have to hire someone to make the modifications necessary. There’s nothing wrong with easing your way into the lifestyle if you are concerned about making the jump all at once. I discuss many of these topics in other sections on this site, but I wanted to briefly touch on them here because they all tie into a common thread.  Here are a few tips to start out with:

• Reduce your consumption of utilities: This one is obvious, but it can’t be stressed enough how important it is. Go around you home and make a list of every way that you use electricity, water, and gas (if you have it). Then look at the list and see where the obvious waste is, and cut it out immediately. Look at what remains on the list and see if there are ways you can be more efficient or cut back. Some suggestions:
  1. Turn off lights when they aren’t needed.
  2. Use more efficient bulbs, like LED.
  3. Unplug electronics when they aren’t in use (yes, many electronic devices will still use power when turned off if they are still plugged in).
  4. Check, and if necessary repair/replace, the seal on your doors and windows so your home doesn’t leak heat or air conditioning.
  5. Wear heavier clothes around the house when it’s cold and set the thermostat a little lower, an extra couple degrees makes a difference.
  6. If you can, replace outdated appliances with more energy efficient ones.
  7. Try to do without using appliances, use a broom on hard floors instead of a vacuum cleaner.
  8. Take shorter showers or switch to showers if you take baths.
  9. Before you start, take a good look at your utility bills and note how much you consume. Then track your progress each month. You should see a notable reduction in usage and a cheaper bill. Keep trying to find new ways to conserve and see how it impacts your consumption.

• • Learn how to fix things around your home: The more self-reliant you are, the better. You will be amazed at what you can do if you give yourself a chance. Learning will take some effort, but there are resources out there to help you. You can find a how-to video on just about everything in your home on YouTube. The folks at your local hardware store can be a great resource if you need to talk to someone and ask questions….don’t be shy! Home Depot and Lowe’s have in-store classes you can attend and are free. Plus, by doing things yourself you will save money on labor. But you know what feels even better than saving money? It’s that feeling of pride and accomplishment you get when you look at the great job you did on your own!

• Plant a garden: And I don’t just mean one of two vegetables. I’m talking about a garden that will provide you with a variety of foods. This might not directly impact your utility use, but it does increase your self-reliance and saves you money at the grocery store. If that disaster hits you will have the comfort of knowing you won’t starve when the grocery shelves are empty. But if you really want to increase your food security, you really need to do one other thing…

• Learn to preserve foods: Once you grow some of your own food, you’ll want to learn how to preserve it to eat later….perhaps much later. Preserving food can help it last longer so that you can store it somewhere. It will last much longer than sitting in your refrigerator or your kitchen counter.

Long story short, it is never to late to start preparing for a winter storm, job loss, emergency or disasters.

Get Prepared, Stay Prepared!