All you need to go off-grid

OFG-HowToFreeYourself.svg
Search
Sign in / Sign up

Communities
Communities

Make a wish, believe in it

DSC00923

As the end of summer slides past us, the days are getting shorter and cooler. Our rainy season has all but ended,  the last few days has been almost dreamy, with low hanging clouds and ground fog rolling through, cool and damp, the smell of wood smoke in the air from the first warming fires of the season tickle my nose, we settle into the end of our 7th year living off-grid, this December will start our 8th year, time has flown by so quickly, sometimes I have a hard time remembering my life before moving off-grid, and that is just fine with me.…

Read More »
September 14, 2014 2 Comments

Fermented foods

Earlier today, after church, I was getting ready to lay down to take a nap, the radio was playing softly in the background, I typically don’t care for what is played on the only local radio station we can get, it’s a bit too liberal for my tastes, but they were playing a show that I enjoy, it was America’s Test Kitchen, a show I used to watch on TV and am still getting used to listening to it on the radio.

Today’s show was all about fermented foods, something that I am getting more and more interested in, fermenting takes ordinary foods and turns them into super foods as well as helping them store for longer periods of time-preserving food. Fermentation has been something that has done for generations, from creating wine, spirits and beer, to pickles, sauerkraut, yogurt, kimchi, and many other foods & drink.…

Read More »
September 7, 2014 1 Comment
Communities

Now I’m a working gal – blog post

We have been living 100% off-grid since December ’07, before leaving our old life, we both worked jobs, he had his restaurant equipment repair business, I was employed by Best Buy as a merchandiser and worked at Curves (a gym for women) on a very part time basis. Now I’m sitting here in my off-grid sky castle, getting ready to go to bed, sipping on sweet hot caramel flavored coffee. I look forward to going to work early in the morning, something I haven’t done in 7 years.…

Read More »
September 4, 2014 No Comments
Communities

Building up

PreFabStackHome

This young family lives in Portland Oregon on a half lot, their home is very small by most standards, preferring to build UP instead of spreading around. They took a 407 square foot-print, made it 3 levels, they combine some living areas and omitted others.…

Read More »
August 31, 2014 No Comments
Edisto river canoe and tree house experience
Communities

Tree house vacation

Edisto river canoe and tree house experienceBook a tree house on the Edisto River.

These tree houses have no electricity or running water, but are considered one of the South Carolina Lowcountry’s most unique getaways. Canoe down a dozen miles to the secluded site, then canoe farther down to check out the river the next day.

Each treehouse is tucked in the woods out of view of any other, nestled in the trees on the river’s edge and privately accessed by canoe.…

Read More »
August 31, 2014 2 Comments
Communities

Yes, Texas has mountains…

DSC00982small

…and other random thoughts. :) One of the questions I get asked when I tell people where I live (on a mountain side, in the high desert, of far western Texas), they ask “Texas has mountains?” or “I didn’t know there were mountains in Texas…”. Well I’m here to tell you that Texas DOES have mountains, I live a mile high, in the Davis Mountains, which used to be called the Apache Mountains, fitting for me because I am part Apache (as well as Comanche), not enough to claim any benefits, but enough to give me some physical features and a wonderful heritage.

I can say that I feel so much at home here, like I have come home, I always wanted to live in the mountains and in the desert, I get to do both.…

Read More »
August 30, 2014 No Comments
Communities

Get to know your property before you build

wind and rock

OK, you have purchased your land, you are all excited about getting your off-grid homestead going, but before you set your first post, before you lay your first board, there are some things you should do first, taking these steps will help to insure your place will be the best place it can be.

The first thing you should do is walk your land, especially if there is acreage concerned, you need to get to know your land as best you can, pick out more than one potential spot, then camp out on your land, as often as you can, for as many seasons as you can. Try to be there during rain, wind and such. The reason this is important is you NEED to know where the winds blow, the direction, you need to know how the drainage works, you don’t want to build where it’s going to flood.…

Read More »
August 23, 2014 2 Comments
Communities

Living and building off-grid on the cheap

Going off-grid on the cheap, it’s possible to do, but you should be creative and flexible, the property was the biggest expense, buying a property with “issues” made that expense much less than it could have been.

Our property’s issue was the access, it has a seasonal creek that runs across the front/bottom of the property, so driving up on the property is tricky if not impossible. We didn’t mind, the rest of the property was great.

One of the things we do to build cheap (sometimes free) is to constantly be on the lookout for free materials to recycle or re-purpose. It’s not the same as going to the lumber store and buying what we need, we often are gifted with material that would normally go to the dump at odd times, this material has its issues, the lumber is rough, has nails, screws and other hardware, sometimes ends of lumber are rotten, damaged or cut off, as I said, you need to be creative.…

Read More »
August 16, 2014 4 Comments
Communities

How to start a farm with *no money – video

02

This video is titled, “How to start a farm with no money”, well I’m here to tell you that you need SOME money, but if you are creative, you will not need near the bundle you would need otherwise.

I watched this video with a jaundiced eye, I have seen many claims that often fall under the “too good to be true…” well I am more impressed with John Suscovich than I have been with many other people making these sorts of claims. …

Read More »
August 13, 2014 1 Comment

Legal tiny home

I love these tiny homes, this one is particularly interesting because it’s completely legal, not saying all the other tiny homes are illegal, in some places people have to build them on the down low. Check it out!

This one shows quite a bit of detail, and he even tells us what he would do differently if he had to do it again, I love the cabinets!…

Read More »
August 10, 2014 1 Comment
Communities

Permaculture in Moretown, Vermont

pc

Ben Falk is a permaculture designer based in Moretown, Vermont. In this video, he speaks about different aspects of homesteading and cold weather, notably his wood cook-stove which also heats water, and his compost-powered greenhouse heating system. He also talks about the importance of being engaged with the land around us, and how gardening is just basically awesome!…

Read More »
July 30, 2014 No Comments

A new doc in town

I think I am in love, and it’s with another man, but it’s not what you might think :) About a month ago, I took my friend to a nearby town to see a new doctor, there is a very long story that goes with why she wanted a new doctor, one I’ll not bore you with… the first time I saw/met this doctor, my first impression was I like him. He is about as unpretentious as you can get, he wears jeans with the cuffs rolled up, cowboy boots, t-shirts with vintage cars on them, he drives an old beater pickup truck, yes my first impression was he wasn’t like most other doctors I have met.…

Read More »
July 26, 2014 No Comments