In our modern day, with cable TV shows banking off of the “weirdness” of living off the grid, the very phrase “Off-Grid” images of end-of-the-world preppers stocking up MREs and ammo, wild-haired hermits digging in the dirt for acorns and mushrooms, or maybe criminals attempting to elude capture.
但如果你去过我们的离网家园,你就会看到我们没有躲在地堡里,也没有肮脏的犯罪前科。虽然我有一个相当普通的郊区背景,但我现在正在尽我所能独立生活,不受电网带来的便利。Stick around for a minute, have a cup of tea, and let me tell you what it’s like and why I’m doing it.
What Is Off-Grid Living?
As we open the refrigerator, turn on the lights, flush the toilet, or turn up the thermostat, we hardly ever think about how that electricity or water moves in and out of our homes. But this modern life, as we now know it, is actually a relatively new concept.
Think about it: At one point in our recent past, no matter what country or lifestyle you lived, 100% of the people around the world were living off-grid, as everyone had lived for centuries before them. Even kings and emperors lived in a world where light and heat came from fires, and water came directly from rivers and wells.
As technological advances made life easier, offering us the public utilities that are the familiar scaffolding of modern life,“the grid” fell into place. It swiftly transitioned from a convenience of the rich to a way of life for the general public.
But there are some who choose to shirk the comfort of the grid entirely. Imagine how an island is separated from the continent. Likewise, an off-grid life is fueled by a desire to live autonomously from the life-support of electricity, water, and natural gas that typically keep modern houses running. Whatever they look like—and their forms are as diverse as they come—off-grid homes are equipped to generate their own power, supply their own water, and handle their own sewage.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Off-grid living is intensely personal. Both dependent on the seasons and the characteristics of the region and spiced by the individual’s personal philosophies and convictions, the off-grid life is not a singular entity. Under the umbrella of Off-Grid, you can find homesteaders and preppers, hippies and hermits, peasants and farmers, homeschoolers and environmentalists.
一些人希望为了大自然而减少能源的使用,在家里安装太阳能电池板和风力涡轮机,收集雨水供日常使用。
Others long for self-sufficiency, growing their own food, caring for livestock, and composting their own waste. Some document their lives online so that others can learn likewise, others just want to be left alone and are so off the grid, neither you nor I will ever know who or where they are.
Challenges and Rewards of Off-Grid Living
I’m not going to lie to you—living off-grid does not make you normal by any stretch of the imagination. Instead of posting photos to Instagram, catching up on our Netflix queue to wind down for the evening, or grabbing a latte before driving to work, we spend our days chopping firewood, growing and foraging food, chasing our crazy chickens, and working on building our home.
There are as many challenges as there are rewards, but rather than listing them separately, I prefer to see them as two sides of the same coin. Here are some examples:
1. Your Food Is A Huge Responsibility
For many off-grid people, food security is priority number one. Establishing reliable sources of safe, pesticide-free produce and antibiotic-free, humanely raised meat requires a huge amount of work to set up, maintain, harvest, and butcher. And once the raw materials have been picked and plucked, there is the monumental task of putting it all up so that nothing goes to waste. Not a job for the faint of heart!
All that hard work does pay off, though. You may find that your dinner menus unintentionally start reading like a foodie’s wildest fever dream. Locally-foraged grape leaves (they grow in the ravine!), stuffed with organic rice and grass-finished beef (bought from your friends at the farmers market), mixed with organic, free-range, pasture-fed eggs (laid by that bossy Sussex hen), seasoned with homegrown mint and wood sorrel (growing alongside the path!),cooked without electricity in a solar oven. Delicious.
2. You Might Need To Build Your Own House
Modern houses are not designed with off-grid in mind. Leave them without power for even a week, and the basement is moldy and damp, the refrigerator is a hazmat zone, and the attic could probably roast a turkey.
Many people who move off-grid construct their own home—often with their own hands. This is one of the many reasons why off-grid homes are often found in rural areas—city building codes are far too restrictive.
This ultimate DIY project is a huge, intimidating endeavor, but one that is simultaneously exhilirating as it gives you the freedom to finally do what you want to do. If you so desire, you get to choose to make your home out of non-toxic materials, renewable resources, and don’t have to retrofit anything to suit your needs. Build it the way you want it in the first place! TheEarthship designis a fascinating place to start thinking about self-sufficient buildings, but the design possibilities are endless to the creative.
3. If You Don’t Do It, It Doesn’t Get Done
Procrastination and passivity are not an option in the off-grid life. Heating with wood means that much of the spring and summer is spent splitting and stacking firewood. Growing your own food means lugging mulch, plucking endless weeds, composting animal manure, and caring for chickens and goats.
No service is going to come in and empty your composting toilet, your clothesline isn’t going to sound a buzzer when the clothes are dry, and the only way you’re going to enjoy that homemade aged cheese is by getting your butt out the door to milk the cow in the first place.
但这些是最丰厚的回报。我们中的一些人可能不得不辞掉在城市里的工作,以过上离网的生活,但你可能会发现,如果你完全改变了你的生活方式,以及你的位置,你实际上不需要找一份新工作!只要有一点节俭的聪明才智,你就可以通过不同的小副业来赚钱,这足以满足简单的生活,特别是如果你的许多需求现在都由我们自己来管理的话。
You don’t have to report to a boss, punch a time card, or go to staff meetings. You may find, like I do, that it’s wonderful knowing that all of the (immense) efforts you spend throughout the day goes directly into feeding, clothing, warming, and building your family and your life.
4. You Can Weather The Storm
We’ve all experienced power outages and breakdowns. It’s unsettling when the lights don’t turn on, there’s no water, or the roof is leaking. The exchange for the comforts of the grid is that you live at its mercy. If something goes out … all you can really do is grab the flashlights and hope it comes on again before your ice cream melts.
必须承认,离网是一项繁重的工作,但它的回报是稳定、一致,以及不怕风暴的总体抗灾能力。它已经准备好了。当城市里的人们涌入杂货店抢购最后一分钟的供应品时,你可以看着乌云滚滚而来,身后的壁炉里有温暖的炉火。
5. A Lot Of People Won’t Understand You
Your life is going to be alotdifferent than most of the people you meet. They may view your lifestyle with quaint curiosity, apprehensive confusion, I-could-never-do-that admiration, oroutright disdain. You may find that the room falls awkwardly quiet after you share your ideas for a composting toilet design or a rotational grazing system for your chickens and goats.
And when the conversation picks back up, discussing juicy details from the last episode of “Game Of Thrones” (which you may have never seen), you may find yourself feeling like that island—adrift from the lifestyle of the mainland. It’s okay.
At home, there are blackberries ripening in the glade. Your favorite chicken islaying blue eggstoday that will be tomorrow’s frittata. The house is almost done, the final layer of limestone plaster just needs to be applied.
And once you get the woodstove crackling again, a cup of homemade chai in hand, I hope that you remember that you’re not the only one who doesn’t feel like you don’t belong in that “normal” life. There’s a lot of us out here, swimming against the current, finding a life that is so much more challenging, rewarding, and meaningful-feeling than the one they show in those evening sitcoms.
How Do You Get Started in Off-Grid Living?
我知道并不是所有读了这篇文章的人都会突然跑到一个乡下的小地方,开始用水桶洗澡(尽管他们很清爽)。但是,如果你渴望开始更加自给自足,或者梦想着离网生活,我只有一个建议给你。START NOW.
The best way to get started is to begin making changes today. Before we found our land, even when we lived in a tiny house on a tiny lot in the middle of a not-so-good city neighborhood, my husband and I practiced off-grid living.
We wanted to be ready when the time came, and I’m convinced that the preparation made our transition to living in the country far smoother and more joyful than it would have been otherwise.
Here are five things we did before making the switch. Maybe it can give you some inspiration.
1. Install A Wood Stove
These are a great gateway for practicing off-grid life—you can heat water for bathing, heat up food, line-dry clothes when it’s rainy, and you now have a good reason to startchoppingandstacking your own firewood. Saves a ton on your energy bill, too!
2. Learn From Others Who Are Already Doing It
People like“Off-Grid with Doug and Stacy,” “An American Homestead,” and “Rain Country Homestead” were (and are) huge sources of inspiration and encouragement for us. Additionally, older sources are chock-full of wisdom-soaked experience. Even if you don’t agree wholly with their personal philosophies, check outThe Good Lifeby Scott and Helen Nearing, the first 80ish issues ofTheMother Earth News(written during the Back-To-The-Land movement of the 60’s and 70’s), orThe Complete Book of Self-Sufficiencyby John Seymour.
3. If It Can Be Done By Hand, Learn How
Convenience devices all require loads of power to function, and many of them only teach you to be dependent. Find manual methods for some of your daily activities. Kneading the dough by hand, grinding coffee manually, using a hand saw, or hanging laundry to dry on a clothesline in the sun doesn’t really take much more time and can be far more satisfying.
Related Post:20 Energy Saving, Eco-Friendly DIY Clothesline Ideas
4. Rethink Your Evenings
把坐在电视机前的时间用来练习编织、削木、缝纫、烹饪和使用手工工具等技能。利用这段宝贵的时间开始阅读关于宅基地和建筑的书籍,或者在线研究离网生活。2022世界杯四强亚盘赔率Not only will you start building up a valuable knowledge base, you’ll also start learning the discipline of entertaining yourself in the evenings, rather than depending on your phone or computer.
5. Start Searching For Your Land
真正远离电网生活在城市几乎是不可能的。规章制度、建筑规范和缺乏土2022世界杯四强亚盘赔率地都是你进入这个国家后将摆脱的障碍。我们花了一段时间才找到我们能负担得起的土地,但一旦新的地平线出现在我们的眼前,肥沃的红色土地就在我们的脚下,我们感觉自己获得了自由。
你可能会注意到,我100%支持离开城市,过一种离网的生活,所以这篇文章可能会给人留下偏见的印象。这是好的。对我们来说,这是我们生活过的最美、最自由、最有意义、最有回报、最充实的生活。我们比以往任何时候都更努力地工作,我们感觉比“正常”生活时更健康、更强壮、更快乐。
这是一种很好的生活方式。对我们来说,这是我们认为唯一正确的选择。So, if you feel the conviction to get off the grid, stop talking about it and do somethingnow. Start learning about what it takestoday. Start looking for your landtoday. No one is going to do it for you … but isn’t that exactly what freedom is all about?
Ivaylo Durmonskisays
More people need to start living like this: in the physical word and less in the online world. I think there is a trend. In the future, more people will return to the village and seek happiness in owning less.
Wren Everettsays
Oh, how I wish that folks would! When I was living a “normal,” life, online all the time, working a normal job, bleakly checking my Facebook at 2am, I cannot say I was content. Moving to our homestead and getting off grid is a lot…a LOT of work, but would never go back to how I used to live. I may not make a ton of money, but getting an eyefull of real sky, the smell of morning air, and hands dirty from building our house is a whole lot better than sitting in traffic to get to work, that’s for sure.
Thanks so much for your comment!
Cycling Off-Gridsays
“A Lot Of People Won’t Understand You”
Ain’t dat da truth.
这篇文章写得很好。谢谢!
Paul
Wren Everettsays
Haha, Paul, written like someone who knows what I’m talking about. Solidarity is not something one often finds when you decide to shirk all of modern society’s “conveniences,” but it is nice when a bit of it floats by. Thanks for your comment!
sam vandewoudesays
Hey Wren,
It’s nice to read about your experience. I’m not happier than when I can go out camping, unfortunately I live in Belgium, so camping options are scarce.
I’m only now starting to look for different courses and possibilities to eventually be able to transfer to a self sufficient life.
I’m afraid this lifestyle we will not be able to have this lifestyle in Belgium (because of all the building regulations), so for now that is the big question, where on earth is this at all possible…
Kind regards
Sam
Wren Everettsays
Thanks so much for your comment, Sam. Before my husband and I started this journey, we found much solace in hiking and camping as well! And before we found our homestead, the question we asked every day while we lived in the city was, “Where are we going to be??”
Finding a place with few building regulations is hard, but possible. Getting as far as you can from a city is a good start! And a search term that might help you is the term “pockets of freedom” (https://www.google.com/search?q=pockets+of+freedom+map&client=firefox-b-1-ab&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwja0JTRtOHfAhVh9YMKHVU6Bt0Q_AUIDigB&biw=1366&bih=632#imgrc=u8PVo1zypcKWUMI only know of such a map being made for the USA, but it’s a way to start finding areas where you may be allowed to live–and build!– outside of the status quo.
Roberta McLaughlinsays
Not a new concept. Lived off the grid for years in Shirley Mills, Maine back in the 60’s and 70’s. It definitely has it’s pros and cons. Eventually your children are going to realize there is a world out there. In truth sometimes you just can’t get warm in the harsh Maine winter. Our well ran dry and we had to get our water from the conservation department in barrels, chain hoisting them up to gravity feed. Our closest neighbor ran sled dogs which occasionally caused havoc when they got loose including killing our chickens and goat. He drove for Scott Paper Company and left the dogs for days at a time. So you see, there are always challenges to overcome. Oh, did I mention our neighbor lived more than 1/2 mile down the old logging road? What an experience!
Wren Everettsays
哈哈,这绝对不是一个新概念——当你在60年代做这件事的时候,它已经有几千年的历史了——那时候它只是一个时髦的术语。只要有城市,就有厌倦城市的人,他们想回到土地上,过更简单的生活,即使这是非常艰苦的工作。
I’m sure you must be full of fascinating stories from your experiences–sorry to hear about your neighbor’s roaming dogs, though. Stray dogs have been one of our biggest problems when it comes to our livestock out here, too. I must admit, I don’t think I’d manage very well in cold Maine–you must be made half out of antifreeze by this point! I’m happy to be homesteading in the Ozarks–I’d take sweltering, 100% humidity and 100 degree weather over frigid, forever-long winters any day!
Miskwa Yellowknifesays
Am in the process of moving from the very expensive and consumptive mountains of Colorado to a 90-100 yo farm in upper Michigan. The front house does have the capacity for power but I am choosing not to use it. There, wind, solar, hydro, are not good options whereas no power is. To build a new place would require up to code power and septic and all manner of inspections but an old place is grandfathered in.
一些人表示担心,一个没有家人的60岁的女孩正在这样做,将会非常孤立。坦率地说,现代社会的特点几乎已经保证了大多数老年女性无论住在哪里都会是孤独的,尤其是如果她受过高等教育,活跃,博览群书,而且直言不讳。Better to be thus in an intact ecosystem.
城市居民;有很多事情你可以做准备,让生活更轻松。是的,你可能被困在电网和城市用水中了。你被迫拥有这些东西,但很少有人被迫使用它们。没人能强迫你有冰箱,买新衣服,有电视/有线电视,吃加工的,购买的食物。你可以步行去很多地方,而不是开车。如果你有一个台阶或露台/阳台,你可以种植许多种适合容器的食物。你省下的钱可以用来更快地离开。与此同时;准备。 I changed out my bikes as the old ones were going to be hard to repair, started amassing tools, worked with a handyman to learn home improvement skills, taught myself some artisanal skills, and offloaded everything that wasn’t useful at the farm. Turned off the fridge, honed my woodcutting, gardening, and chicken raising skills. Some of these would be hard for a city dweller to do but for building skills, volunteer with habitat for humanity or similar organizations. Read everything you can get your hands on about homesteading. You’ll have lots of time because you’re not watching TV. Start the bailout process now.
Wren Everettsays
It’s never too late to get out of the prescribed, dependent way of living and live a better way. Good for you for getting it going, and having practiced so many good skills along the way! Our nights in the city, while we were still searching for our land, were spent much the same way–we had no TV, nor any desire for one–and used that valuable time to start learning the skills that we now use every day. Excellent tips in that last paragraph that I hope all prospective city-escapers read!
在上密歇根和北部有很多非常有趣的土地。在欧扎克人称我们为家之前,我们差点就在那里安家了。享受冒险吧,祝你一切顺利!谢谢你的评论,Miskwa。
Barbara Crouchsays
你把很多事实都表达得很好。我也住在欧扎克。在我5岁的时候,我家的小农场里通上了电。直到1967年结婚,我才有室内浴室。我们吃的大部分东西都是我父母种的,做成罐头,妈妈为我们做衣服和家用亚麻制品。我读了几百篇关于宅基地和小房子生活的文章,然后想,这有什么新鲜的吗?但是我的孙子们不想去任何没有网络服务的地方,更别说没有电了!即使是露营。三十年来我一直住在远离电网的小木屋里。几年来,我和我丈夫一直在那里建一座小宅基地。2022世界杯四强亚盘赔率 We recently placed a tiny house there and are preparing to semi-retire there. Our family thinks we are have lost our minds. We are gradually installing solar and will have internet. But we will save thousands of dollars living off grid so we can save some money to do some fun things before we die. IF we survive the huge downsizing process. We own two homes and way too much stuff. I know from experience how much work is involved but it will be less than I have now! Hang in there and best to you.
Wren Everettsays
Thank you for such a thoughtful comment, Barbara! I feel a huge wave of solidarity with you, with folks thinking that you’re nuts for wanting to shirk the dependence of the grid for some independence and self-reliance! Getting rid of ALL THE STUFF is such a hard task, but good on you for seeing that you can get out of it. My heart breaks to see so many folks in debt, and the cycle of mental bondage that holds them to their possessions. The freedom that follows the downsizing process is exhilarating!
希望你的旅途顺利,要知道不是每个人都认为你疯了!从欧扎克的一个地方到另一个地方。
Marsays
Great article – so much resonates. Thanks for the inspiration.
Wren Everettsays
Thanks for your comment, Mar! Hope you can find the place where that inspiration can take root and thrive.
William Cruthirdssays
你好,真的很喜欢你的文章,我看了很多节目,人们说要建造一个脱离电网的小屋,我最后看到有人用水泥卡车开车到工地,卡车运送大量木材和工作人员设计和建造房屋。2022世界杯四强亚盘赔率我和我的妻子有一个900平方英尺的小屋,她在笔记本上画了一辆小货车和一辆由船拖车自制的拖车,一辆商用卡车无法到达我们的房子,除非他们建了一条车道来这里。我们用家得宝的发电机和多年来积累的工具建造了我们的小屋。在家人的帮助下,我们第一次尝试了太阳能,幸好只有电池,并从中吸取了教训。我们现在有1500瓦的太阳能准备连接另一个1400瓦到我们系统的备用柴油发电机当我们有阴天的老柴加热器将我乞求妻子打开窗户来冷却在冬天我们需要更多的经验与我们的园艺技能但你说其他的事情要做,比如确保我保持水箱满有时2人很难坚持下去。But with the world and all the craziness going on in it we are out in our little place away from it all. Fortunately we are 10 miles from a Wal Mart and are able to get things there, we have grown a garden and did pretty good with it, we’ve both had recently bad health with family members that we have had to care for but I wouldn’t give up the sounds of the creek and owls for anything, I do hunt and have plenty of deer in the area as we’re on 40acres, she has learned to can jelly from our many blackberries growing out here and I have to say I may be a little bit partial but it was great! Enough rambling just ran across the site thought I’d just say we did everything on our own including installation of our solar system and it’s not that difficult thank God for YouTube! And there are some people who will help although some when you ask them they all of a sudden decide that they want to charge you in my opinion I thought we were trying to help one another. Thanks for the article I’ve enjoyed it and good luck with your homestead.
Off Grid Living Mansays
Due to the past 18 to 24 months, living off the grid has become a huge priority for myself and my family. We understand it takes the right mindset and lifestyle to do this, and we are all for it. Thank you for sharing this and we look to put it to good use.
Gretasays
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My husband and I left the grid almost 2 years ago and so much of what you write resonates. Even before we made the move, we had small gardens, I baked from scratch, and I learned to preserve all types of food. Even now, with 2 feet of snow on the ground, we’re growing peppers, spinach and basil in the kitchen window. I’d encourage anyone – no matter your circumstance – to start with what you have. I believe when we move toward our goal, God moves toward us and meets us halfway. This blog is awesome. Thanks!