Living off the grid means that you have no access to the shared public electricity grid, public water provisions, and sewage or waste disposal services. When off-grid living first made its way into modern cultures, it wasn’t quite as easy or comfortable as it can be now.
Thanks to advancements in technology, living off the grid is easier to achieve than ever before in history. Off-grid doesn’t have to mean isolation anymore. Take a few moments to check out some cool tips for living off the grid, and consider how your lifestyle would fare in such a setting.
Read everything you can about the topic
Read everything you can about living off grid before ever making the first step towards bringing your plans to fruition. It’s best to go into the situation knowledgeable about what is ahead, so you don’t find yourself incapable of handling a challenge thrown your way.
Living off grid means living in the wilderness, and you will likely be far away from any help. You need to know how to protect yourself from any dangers that may arise and how to keep yourself well hydrated, fed, and warm.
Location location location
Choosing where to start your off-grid life is one of the most important decisions you have to make. You should consider the weather in the area. Does the area tend to get really hot or cold? Are you choosing a place that has ample rainfall throughout the year?
The weather and climate of the area are going to be huge deciding factors on your manner of survival. Make sure you have a good grasp on what nature holds before you place yourself in a challenging position.
You need to consider the natural resources in the area. You need to make sure the soil is good enough to grow food. Make sure the spot you choose has enough natural provisions to sustain your future.
Have more than one power source
Living off grid means sourcing your energy from somewhere other than the power grid. Wind, water, and sunlight are all great resources when you’re working to keep the lights on, and you need to know how to harness these resources for your survival. It is safer to maintain a last resort power backup, it’s good to purchase a quality power generator like this one from GeneratorPower.com.au. When the sun hides behind the clouds for days, you might need to resort to using fuel, and you want a machine that is reliable.
Heating and cooling can also be rethought. Pumping cool air from underground is one alternative to traditional HVAC cooling. If you are living near a cave, you could use a simple vacuum system to pull air from the cave to your home for cooling.
You need a reliable water source
You need access to clean, potable water to create a sustainable living situation. Your body can last quite some time without adequate food intake, but you won’t last long without water.
If you don’t want to spend half your time collecting water from a nearby river or spring, you will have to come up with a more creative solution. Collecting rainwater is an excellent way to assure you have access to water at all times.
Sourcing your water from a nearby creek is also useful, but it is not as easily managed as a rainwater catchment system. Setting up the system isn’t the easiest process, but the finished product will bring you a renewable, refillable source of clean water.
Use a satellite for communication
Off-grid typically means a pretty extensive level of isolation, but it doesn’t have to mean that you can’t communicate with the outside world.
Isolation itself can be one of the grand challenges you face in living off the grid, but technology has made isolation a more manageable situation for those who choose to live away from developed society.
For reasons of provisions, safety, and simple human connection, it’s wise to invest in a satellite wifi hotspot. With internet access, you can talk to whomever you please almost instantly. A satellite phone is also a reliable manner of communicating with the outside world.
Grow a garden and raise animals
You probably won’t want to take the long journey back into civilization every time you need a meal, so it’s best to take the initiative on your future food provisions. Train yourself to have a “green thumb”. Understand the needs of your crops, and you’ll have a plentiful harvest.
Get to work in the dirt, and set up your own veggie garden. The soil can provide everything you need for a well-balanced diet. Grow legumes for protein, tomatoes for vitamin C, and leafy greens to make strides to keep your heart healthy. You don’t even have to hunt, if you would rather live a more environmentally friendly existence.
Growing your own food is the most reliable and delicious way to get food off grid. If you want a little meat in your diet, raise chickens for their eggs. If you are an avid meat eater, you could still skip the hunt by raising your own group of rabbits.
Successful off-grid living is about preparation
Living a successful existence away from the rest of humanity is all about constant preparation. You need to prepare before you ever begin your journey off grid, but the preparation doesn’t end when the living begins.
You will quickly learn that living successfully means that you always have to be one step ahead of circumstance. The weather, the animals, the bugs; everything in your new world makes an impact on your survival. You have to be thinking about preparation every step of the way.
Equip yourself with a range of survival skills, and it’s best not to go at it alone. Make sure your partner is also equipped with the propeller knowledge to maintain a life off grid, as living off grid makes for more work around the homestead.
