What is it? Look to find out…
Kind of cabin, kind of small house, kind of cave-underground home, this house has it all. I love the color concepts and the design of
Hobbit house vs high tech underground homes
These two videos demonstrate the vast differences you can get in an underground home, personally I prefer the more rustic home, I don’t think I
Small is the new large
Since moving off-grid, many of my day to day things have had to be downsized, my fridge for one, I went from having a full
Blog update and family visit
This week has been a really good one, work is picking up after our slow down that happens during the holidays, I got my original
Humor, off-grid
Living off-grid, much of our entertainment is self generated, in other words, we crack ourselves up :) A couple of days ago, this conversation could
Three things this week
First thing, as I sit here tonight, sipping herbal tea that tastes like a sugar cookie, it’s quite a different night from last night, for
Living in a greenhouse
I’m sure I’m not the only person who ever wondered how it would be to build a greenhouse around your house, these folk in Stockholm
He was my inspiration
I grew up in a family that did things together, we didn’t have the money to spend on vacations or trips, but we always ate
Iron age reality show
The original reality show, filmed in 1978, 12 adults and 3 children were chosen from around 1000 volunteers to live in the “iron age”, they
No debt
As I watched this video, listening to Karen and Bob describing their life in the home they built themselves, the one phrase that really jumped
School teacher’s tiny home build
When I was a little girl, my dad had converted our single car wide garage in our home into a dining room on one end
Freezing week
A great deal of the USA went through a major deep freeze, we were not spared here in far west Texas. We got dumped on
Chopping and stacking wood
Chopping and stacking wood is a pastime where the world makes sense once more. Because our relationship to fire is so ancient, so universal, in
Do you see what I see?
There are many things we can live without and still do pretty well, but eyesight isn’t one of them. I know there are many folk
Free energy
A few years before we moved off-grid, I had discovered an energy drink that I liked and worked, it was 5 Hour Energy, I didn’t
Brad Pitt’s latest role: a smart off-gridder
Brad Pitt is the smartest man in Hollywood, says the Toronto Globe and Mail. You may scoff, but it’s true. Not many actor-producers could have
Blustery December
Winter is officially here, we have had a few hard freezes, it even snowed a bit the other day, fortunately the snow and other weather
Learn to love what you already have
Going off-grid also means living in a simpler manner, learning to be free. In this article we’ll give you tips on how to love what
History all around me
Going off-grid for us meant moving some 500 miles west of the place where I grew up, but I am fortunate to still have a
Veterans forge a wild kind of peace
Relationships begun on rope courses, rock climbs and backpacking treks translate into an ease around the campfire where many US Army veterans start to talk about themselves,
Reminiscing and a blog update
Each autumn as the weather turns cool and the days get shorter, I think back on our first year living off-grid, eight years ago this
Homesteading with a family
Winter is just around the corner, I’m sitting here tonight, with drops of rain falling on the roof, it’s a chilly 55 degrees F outside,
Living off-grid deemed illegal?
You would think that being independent, being more self sufficient, being able to take care of yourself, especially in this day and age, would be
How the Do It Yourself World came to be
Several years back, I found a YouTube channel featuring Troy and his Do It Yourself World, he posted videos about going off-grid on the smallest
Updates in western Texas
Lately I have been working like a mad woman, and I’m not complaining, much ;), I would like to have a little more time around
Underground housing guru
How many of you remember Mike Oehler and his “$50 & Up Underground House Book“? I have a copy of this book and if I
Here I am
My dream, it’s something I have had more or less since I was a very little girl, I’ve always loved nature, wild places, as
What are you doing?
Where do you see yourself next week, next month, next year, in a decade? Are you actively planning your life or are you merely floating
Going tiny with a family
You take one ratty camper, tear it down to the frame, then rebuild it, now it’s transformed into a home, and not just for one
What is “off-grid”?
“How can you be off-grid and be on the internet?” “You use propane, that’s not off-grid…” “You go to the grocery store to buy food,
Happy Fathers Day
Today is a bittersweet day for me, it’s Fathers Day AND it’s my mother’s birthday, both of my parents are deceased, my mother many years
Join our Crowdfunding campaign
*Documentary in Production featuring Noam Chomsky *Looking for volunteers to help us spread the word on social media *80% already filmed but professional editors need
Summer is (almost) officially here
I say almost because it doesn’t officially begin until the 21st of this month, and the fact that I am sitting here with thermal pants
Shade in the desert, priceless
Our rainy season is about to start, but before it does, it gets warm, some might call it hot, I call it mildly uncomfortable. It
Living in small camper vans
I am learning more and more about people who live nomadic lives, driving and living in smaller camper vans rather than buying into the larger
Why be debt free?
Why is it so important to be debt free when you go off-grid? I can answer that because I’m living it and reaping the benefits
Tiny home, big amenities
This tiny home on wheels packs real stairs, not a ladder, 2 lofts and a tub bath, things you don’t normally find in a tiny
Friends in small places
Welcome To “Bestie Row”: Lifelong Friends Build Row Of Tiny Houses In The Middle Of Nowhere. Some friendships last forever. You hear of lifelong friends
Do what you love, love what you do…
I love my life, it wasn’t always that way though, I used to live like most people in the middle-lower echelons of working and living,
Snowboarder plus tiny home equals cool!
Each time I see a new tiny home, I think it’s the coolest one I’ve seen yet, and this is no exception, pro-snowboarder, Mike Basich,
Fantasy castle on wheels
When I first saw this, I wondered how interesting this might be, then I watched the video, I’m blown away, so is PB, he was
Deep winter for the Sky Castle
This is our 8th year living out here, we have fallen into a comfortable routine, the summers have its advantages, longer days, warm weather (cool
Should homeowners with solar panels pay to maintain electrical grid?
The costs of solar energy are plummeting, and now are about on par with the electricity generated at big power plants. This new reality intensifies
Homesteading, the good, the bad and the ugly
Or, what could possibly go wrong? I found this posted on a homesteading FaceBook page, this is probably one of the most honest assessments of
In the beginning, the first night
Winter 2007 The wind was blowing a gale, harder than any wind I have even been in before. The walls were shaking and rattling, threatening
Make a wish, believe in it
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
Yes, Texas has mountains…
…and other random thoughts. :) One of the questions I get asked when I tell people where I live (on a mountain side, in the
Permaculture in Moretown, Vermont
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
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
Happy Father’s Day
My Dad is much of the reason why I am getting to live my dream, he gave me a sense of adventure from a young
Choices, we all have them….
For those of you who have followed my writing for a while, you will notice I am frequently trying to get people to go beyond
Pioneer couple
I grew up watching Texas Country Reporter, back in the day it was called 4 Country Reporter, that’s when there were only a few TV
Spring renewal
Spring is on its way, we have had some warm days, t-shirt and shorts kind of warm, living in far west Texas, we are pretty
Mountain retreat from 100 Euros a night
The North-West of Majorca is one of the most beautiful spots on earth, and that is why I bought a shepherds hut there almost 15
BBC- British Bullying Corporation
The BBC recently announced the sacking of one of its radio presenters and of channel boss Janice Hadlow. But her husband Martin Davidson remained in
A tiny house for Macy
This Is What Happens When A Woman Gets Sick Of Divorce And Mortgages. And It’s Brilliant. Macy Miller is an architect from Idaho that had
Recycling for fun and profit
The circular economy is being talked up at the moment. The safeguarding of valuable resources by keeping them in use for as long as possible
The Yearling
Its “The Year of The Yearling,” the seventy-fifth-anniversary celebration of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’s 1938 novel about a young boy whose pet deer unwittingly threatens the
Pools of light and off-grid comfort
This site is dedicated to showing how you can live off the grid in comfort and style without costing the earth. Lighting is fairly crucial
Winter wonderland
We had a very pretty day yesterday, it was one of those rare days that was cold but not so bitter that you didn’t want
Have yourself a thrifty little Christmas
There are a lot of reasons that sensible people want to step off of the materialistic rocket ride that is the standard North American Christmas.
High-tech gifts for the Holiday season
Yes, I know, we should eschew consumerism, ignore Thanksgiving and go for a Chinese meal on Christmas day, Easily said, but sons, parents, aunties and
Step Away from the Phone, Sir
U-Wire University of Colorado at Boulder; Boulder, CO – Every few weeks, a group of people — typically a dozen or so professionals, from Silicon
Tiny homes, cheap!
I am starting to see more and more of these shed style homes, they remind me of Morgan buildings. They are a glorified shed that
Sky castle in early fall
It’s Sept 1, summer is all but over, the days are still warm but the nights are cooling off quite a bit, I notice the
New Prepper Comic Book
Graphic artist Plaid Klaus launched the Off-Grid comic book series in April 2013. The illustrator and writer is focusing on life after a societal collapse
Buy real estate with Earth Energy advice
Roy Riggs grimaces his lips to emit his favourite sound: ssshhhhh…. its the sound of white noise. That is what he wants to hear when
Kissing bugs
Triatominae, also known as kissing bugs, conenose bugs, assassin bugs, whatever you call them, these are nasty creatures, they are about the size of the
Kings of Summer
Marketed as the next Superbad, this movie is more simply the next summer classic. Three 15-year-old boys in suburban Ohio stumble on a wooded area
Pictures of the neighborhood
A few weeks ago, I grabbed the camera on my way over to a friend’s house, I get to live in and drive through some
Scorpion season
In a recent article, I talked about all the critters that poke, stick, sting and bite, one of those critters we deal with out here
Life in the sky castle
I sit looking out the window, my view is magnificent, I am looking down across a high desert mountain valley, words cannot describe the beauty
Gleaning information from the older generation
Look around you, how many grey and white heads are nearby? If you are lucky, you will have at least one, if you are very
Relationship (Part 2)
Today is traditionally the day when men are supposed to show their love and affection for their women by buying flowers, chocolates and cards, then
Dogs and kids…
…know how to have fun when it snows! When I was a kid, I loved snow days, I lived in central Texas so we didn’t
It’s December, again!
I can’t believe it’s already December! Where did the year go? As I posted previously about being thankful, I can’t say it enough, I am
Black Friday, preview of what’s to come? No thank you!
Black Friday, it’s something that some of us look forward to, for the rest of us it’s something to avoid like the plague, the consumerism,
Freezer to fridge conversion
Living off-grid, I get questions from time to time, mainly about how we live, some even think we must live in a cave and eat
Govt happy index supports off-grid development
Says more remote you are the happier you are
UK couple abandon money
Damian Smyth is giving up everything. He and his wife Victoria Groom are giving up their rented six-bedroom house in the British countryside, their tennis
Health tips for the heatwave
To keep safe the Health Department recommends that people: • Slow down and reduce outdoor activities, especially during the hottest part of the day, from
Now marketers want a piece of off-grid
Alleluyah – The London Sunday Times has discovered unplugging. ‘Welcome to our “always on” society,’ journalist Laura Atkinson informed readers yesterday. ‘Whether we like it
Conservative press goes potty over toilets
Lot of stuff about off-grid toilets in the right wing media at the moment. At the top of the tree, Fox News has been contemplating
Unplug yourself movement
From New York to Silicon valley the digital refuseniks are gaining traction
Holistic parenting
California March 2nd — Redlands mom Lara Carlos is part of a parenting movement that bucks the mainstream. Her three children, ages 7, 6 and
Christian Survivalists Losing Faith in the Future
Like biblical character Joseph, who spent seven years preparing for a famine in Egypt, they are stocking up to serve the Lord
An overview of the last 4 years living off-grid
This December will be 4 years for us living 100% off-grid, I can tell you it’s been quite the adventure, my only regret is that
Homesteading-book review
Homesteading, it’s a buzzword that means different things to different people, back in the day, it meant getting land for free as long as you
Chassidy gets a Headcold
Chassidy Fitkin is learning to be a herbalist. She continues her diary of discovery as she dumps the MD and conquers, you guessed it, a headcold
Back to my Roots
Native American’s are off the grid by design, and I’ve always felt connected to that; its where I come from. My great grandmother lived in a hut, with dirt floors and we wore moccasins as to not disturb her floor
Diary of a Trainee Herbalist
We could take care of ourselves! Feed ourselves and be our own doctor
Now is the Winter of our Disconnect
New book by Susan Maushart describes how she unplugged her teenagers and gave them back their lives
Notes from Off the Grid – a poem
…..There are cabins here,built from driftwood and salvaged glass……
Relationship (Part 1)
In a post TEOTWAWKI or SHTF world, having a loving partner will make live much more enjoyable as well as safer. You know the old
Flee the City – join the Field Lab
John Wells lives in a shack he has grandly titled the Southwest Texas Alternative Energy And Sustainable Living Field Laboratory. When I visited he told