Today is a session on
basic off the grid living considerations; a very general and basic
presentation. 

So what does it take to
be an off the grid-er?

Well, it’s you know,
you’ve heard about the three essentials and those are the three
essentials for off the grid living: water, food and shelter, right? 

When you move off the
grid, water is going to be a serious consideration as soon as you
leave that city water source, or the county water source. You have
various options as we’ve done a complete presentation on water that
you may find interesting, and you’ll get as part of these daily
motivational, technical trainings and there would be additional links
to more resources or you could just dive into today’s links and
find resources on water, but we do have an entire presentation
devoted to water.

But, water, you know ,
you’re going to be using a well or are you going to be using some
sort of fresh water source that you extract the water from? Right?
Or you’re going to bring it in and store it. So there are various
options for water. You can store rainwater also. And so, water is
going to be one of your biggest considerations when you start
considering living off the grid and two: food.

I mean, as soon as you
decide to be an off the grid-er, you become a bit of a
hunter-gatherer, you throwback to the old days of early humans where
we were hunter-gatherers and actually having studied a bit about
hunter-gatherers; those are some happy people and they actually
worked to last than modern day civilized people do have interest and
they’re very healthy. Their diets were very nutritious, but as an
off the grid-er, you’re going to become a bit of a hunter gatherer
fishing, gardening, farming, composting, land management; all that is
going to become second nature to you. You’re going to need those
skills and in order to survive.

And then third: Shelter.
Staying safe from the elements: the cold, the rain, the wind, the
snow and the extreme heat. Ordinarily important when living off the
grid, right? You’re going to need more than just a reliable
roof over your head. You’re going to need protection from animals.
You’re also going to need a quick and reliable way to start a fire
always in the shelter, and you’ll need some rugged cold weather
gear and the shelter roll. So, it’s more than just shelter, it’s
a shelter that provides you protection from the elements and the
environment including wildlife and it can be heated, and that you can
leave with gear on and take care of your chores. Shelter is extremely
important.

Couple other
considerations when considering living off the grid: you probably
will want some power. I mean, you can go a couple of weeks on
batteries but you’re going to want a reliable source of electricity
and eventually, most off the grid-ers eventually want a reliable
source of electricity; solar is great for that; people use backup
generators also windmills but some source of electricity, you
probably end up going solar in most areas of the country.

Throw away goods;
completely out of the picture when you start living off the grid.
Nothing that you throw away will, you know, be purchased, you’re
going to be buying things that last for a long time and have multiple
purposes and they can be repurposed. So, the whole idea of throw away
containers, etcetera will just disappear. 

Everything is going to be
permanent for are you going to be looking for things that would last.
And, you have to worry about your safety and survival; a
consideration should be first aid. I mean, you should become an
expert at first aid. There’ll be times where you’ll have to leave
your off the grid lifestyle and go into modern day civilization to
seek medical attention. It usually happens; most off the grid-ers
have an experience where they need modern day medicine, we’re in
this modern world with all the tools and all the knowledge and so
periodically we can’t take care of ourselves off the grid with just
a small first aid kit. We need to go into the city and seek medical
attention. 

So, be open to that
always, but also train yourself on first aid and have a complete
first aid kit. Be ready to take care of yourself and be able to move
swiftly on your injuries to prevent them from getting worse.

And one last
consideration: you might get lonely. I mean, a lot of off the
grid-ers move off the grid with their family, and so they’ll have
some company, but a lot of off the grid-ers live on their own. Right?
And even if you enter this lifestyle with your spouse, or your
family, you will most likely have bouts of loneliness since you’re
interacting with fewer people. This is going to be you and your
family. 

Make sure you are
prepared, make sure you know how to deal with it. There are various
ways you can deal with it; people study, they read, they become more
social, whatever it takes, be prepared for those bouts of loneliness
you may experience as an off the grid-er.