How to Be Self Sufficient and Live Off-Grid

"Off-Grid.” It's a term you might have heard in some less-than-inspiring contexts — like that time your uncle Tom's looming credit card debt had mounted so high that he decided to cut himself loose and live on the lamb. 

But it's not that bleak. It's quite the opposite. There'll be no lamb living where we're going unless, of course, you choose to raise sheep. 

Self-reliance is what we're aiming for here — the freedom to enjoy a life disconnected from excessive technology and the traditional delivery of fuels and electricity. Let's take a look at a few first steps to consider when gearing up for off-grid living.

Start With Your State of Mind

First off, it's essential to realize that living self-sustainably is not for the faint of heart. It takes considerable determination and sacrifice to live a comfortable life while disconnected from things like water and power. 

This starts by preparing to put in the necessary effort to achieve your desired level of independence. We can all get very comfortable with the ease it takes to live modern life. You twist a dial attached to the living room wall and, minutes later, feel heat flowing through the house. You turn a nob and immediately get warm, clean, fresh flowing water.

Off-grid living requires continual hard work on your part to keep these basic necessities active. 

At first, it won't feel as safe as when you were hooked up to public utilities. If you stop maintaining your property, so will your utilities because, ultimately, the buck stops with you. 

But that's why you're here. To learn as much as possible before making an informed decision on whether this is the lifestyle for you.

Find The Space 

Land is a major component of living self-sufficiently. The plot of land you choose to work with can make or break your experience. 

Ideally, you want to settle into an area with access to running water, lots of trees, and flat, clear land. If you acquire a plot of land cut off by other private or government property, it will be difficult or impossible to access your own property, so direct access to a public road is also a must. 

The main focus of the land you choose is on identifying useful resources. For example, woods and forests can offer a home for huntable wildlife. Flat land is the perfect stage for agriculture. Bodies of running water can provide energy, food, and especially drinking water.

Channel Unlimited Power

Having a reliable power source (and a backup power source for that, too) is significant in your off-grid plan. Of course, part of the benefits of living off-grid stems from the desire to disconnect from grid systems such as public gas and electric lines. But those things can still have practical utility in minimalistic living.

For heating solutions, wood gasification — more simply known as wood burning — is a timeless method of converting an organic compound into energy. The basic application of wood burning is to heat a structure. It can also be the primary means of cooking food. You can even boil water to produce steam to power an electric generator.

It's often tempting to default to gasoline-powered generators as a backup power supply. But the problem with gasoline is that it doesn't hold up forever. The older gasoline gets, the less usable it becomes. 

Propane, although more expensive, virtually lasts forever and is far more dependable than ordinary gasoline. You can’t go wrong investing in a propane generator.

Various other natural methods can be employed to harness energy from your surroundings, such as wind, solar, hydro, and crank methods. You’ll need to assess which type is best for your situation since it's usually dictated by the resources available. 

Organize Your Waste

Proper waste disposal may strike you as a more mundane detail of an off-grid lifestyle. But it should be addressed. Like power sources, sewer lines are a detail that should be replicated to some extent. 

Thankfully, although initially expensive to install, septic tanks connected to a leach field can run continuously and are a good long-term method for dealing with human waste. 

For non-human organic waste, composting is an immensely efficient way of repurposing organic matter for later use in soil. There are plenty of methods that utilize composted soil, including lasagna gardening. This can conveniently complete the circle of managing part of your waste.

Set Up A Food Source

Riding the coattails of composting is — you guessed it — food. So how the heck are you going eat out there? And just as importantly, what are you going to eat?

We're glad you asked. 

Proximity to a forest or woods can offer abundant opportunities, such as hunting wildlife for food or providing lumber for projects. However, clear, flat land is also hugely important for planting vegetable gardens. 

Conveniently you won't need much space, as a single person can comfortably live off produce yielded in a garden space of around 150 to 200 square feet per year. For a single family of four, that would come to approximately 800 square feet.

As for livestock, chickens are an excellent first choice if you're operating with limited space. They can be used to provide eggs and meat and should only need about 10 square feet of outdoor space per bird. 

We mentioned sheep earlier. If you have the acreage available, you might consider investing in larger animals like cows, sheep, and goats. They can provide meat, wool, and milk. Be thoughtful about the area you have to work with, though, as these sizes of animals often require a lot more space, typically in the range of an acre per animal.

Adjust Your Lifestyle

You can prepare yourself by minimalizing your lifestyle now. Begin by substituting that hour you spend watching Netflix with an hour of exercise each day. Living off-grid will be demanding on your body, and you'll want to be in tip-top shape to face it. 

Life apart from public utilities can be expensive to jump into at first, so it’s wise to start putting aside some cash that can be used to purchase the equipment and tools needed to adapt.

If you’re like us, the allure of living off-grid is to disconnect from the drudgery of modern tropes. You’ll need to be ready to let go of some of the common things you might take for granted each day.

Get Out There

Alright, we've come to a jumping-off point. You’ve seen a glimpse into the life you've been pondering about. In a lot of ways, adapting your lifestyle to being more self-reliant is akin to being prepared for disaster scenarios, i.e., prepping.  

However, the object of going off-grid can clearly serve multiple purposes. It doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. There's a wealth of satisfaction and fulfillment that comes with self-sufficient living, and it doesn't stop here.

It can be a tough lifestyle at times, but it’s very manageable, and can become comfortable with some adjustments. Remember that the freedom and independence you can reap from it is immeasurable!