Preparing to start living off the grid is not as simple as most people think. They think that all they need to do is move to some land in a secluded place, build a shelter, get some source of power maybe through the use of solar panels, and get a source of water.
They can then start life with domestic animals such as cows, goats, and pigs and life goes on. However, this is far from the truth.
Living off the grid requires a lot of preparation, planning, and work to make life easier. Once you begin to live off-grid, the work does not stop there. You will need to ensure that your preparations are good and your homestead will need continual maintenance.
If you are thinking of living off-grid, you need to start planning first. You need to set a checklist of everything that you will need, what you will need to do, and how much money you will need to get everything started.
Here are a number of things that you need to keep tabs on when preparing to start living off-grid;
Land
The first thing that you will need to think about is land. You need to evaluate different locations and get the one that best suits your off-grid living since it forms the foundation of your life when living off the grid.
When preparing, get a piece of land that matches the needs of your new lifestyle. This means that you will need to evaluate different parcels of land in remote places that do not have strict permit regulations and building codes.
You will find that land in remote areas usually means lower taxes, is not expensive, and you can get large parcels of land with less money. Make sure that you get a parcel of land that meets your requirements.
Food
You will need food to survive. Living off the grid means that you are living in areas that do not have easy access to grocery stores and food markets. There are several ways you can make sure that you have enough food supply.
One of the easiest ones is getting long-lasting foods from the best survival food companies. There are different varieties of foods that you can get and that can last for a long period of time. These foods are packaged to withstand different climatic conditions and to last long.
You can also choose to grow your own food if you have enough land and water – another important consideration. You can set up a garden to grow vegetables and some fruits or maybe set up a greenhouse if the area has poor climatic conditions.
Finally, if you have kept livestock, you can have enough supply of meat and eggs. This ensures that you have a balanced diet at all times.
Water
Water is a very important commodity if you want to live successfully off the grid. This is because chances are that living in a remote place means that you will not have a water supply as you have in the city.
When choosing a parcel of land, you need to think about the source of water. You would be better placed if you got a parcel of land with a natural source of water or one that is near a place with a constant supply of water.
If not, then make sure that the land is at a place with favorable climatic conditions where there is constant rainfall. This would require you to set up a water collection system to collect rainwater from your gutter or a system to collect rainwater from the roof of your house.
Shelter
Shelter is one of the basic commodities that you will need to survive when living off the grid. It is actually a basic need for every human being, whether living off-grid or not. There are different ways you can design your shelter depending on your requirements and align it with the other requirements of living off-grid.
You can decide to build a small house, a cabin, a yurt, an Earthship, or even a wooden home depending on what you need.
When deciding on the kind of shelter to get, it is important to look at the climatic conditions of the location you will be moving to. For instance, you do not need a shelter that makes it uncomfortable for you to sleep at night.
Power
Living off-grid in a remote location means that you will not be connected to power like you are in the city. You will need to find other sources of power for your survival.
When preparing to live off-grid, you need to think about the different systems of generating power and choose one that best works for you.
The first thing to consider is the number of appliances that will need power. You might also have things like a cooker, washing machine, refrigerator, computer, television, and mobile phone among others. All these devices will need a constant supply of power.
You will also need a power backup plan to store enough power for your consumption in case there is a problem with your power supply.
You can think about getting a good wind turbine or affordable off-grid solar electric panels that can complement each other and ensure that there is enough power supply.
Power Storage
Now that you are generating your own electricity, you need to think about power storage. Since you might have a lot of wind turning your turbines during the day and enough sun powering your solar panels, you do not need to worry about the power in the daytime.
However, what happens at night when you most need the power? Maybe you need to make a meal using your electric cooker, watch a movie, or even charge your mobile phone. This is what makes power storage important.
The best option for you is to look at different batteries that can store power and pick the one that meets your needs.
You will need to look at their capacity, durability, and availability. You also need to make sure that you are not spending a lot of money on a battery that will not meet your requirements.
Septic System and Waste Disposal
Even though people do not like talking about septic systems and waste disposal, this is an important requirement when preparing to live off the grid. We all need to conserve the environment and make the world a better place to live for our future generations.
When living off-grid, you will need to find a solution for waste disposal. One of the best ways of handling this is getting a system that decomposes your waste or digging a septic tank to handle it.
That notwithstanding, you will need to look at the local rules and regulations governing waste disposal.
Different areas have different regulations and you need to abide by them. In addition, you need to ensure that your waste disposal system is not near the source of your water or that of your domestic animals if you have kept any.
Money Making Options
Some people might live off their pension or investment money when living off the grid. However, there are those that will still want to keep making money to support their life when living off the grid.
When choosing where to live, it is important to look at the possibility of investing in something and all the money-making options that might be available.
You can study the lifestyle of the surrounding communities, find out what they do, what they like, and what they might need but do not have.
In addition, look at the local laws governing the establishment of businesses and understand what will be required of you if you were to start a business. Either way, you will need a business plan, a strategy, and enough money to get you started.
Getting Fit
Living off-grid is not something that every person can easily pull off. When preparing to live off-grid, you need to visit a physician for a check-up to ensure that your body is fit. You will also need to exercise and remain healthy at all times.
Living in a remote area means that you will be doing all the work by yourself. You will often have to fix things when they break, you will be in charge of your garden if you have any, as well as your livestock.
This means that you need to eat healthy meals, exercise at all times, and ensure that you do not have any health issues. In addition, you might need to consider proximity to health care centers when choosing where to live when going off-grid.
Conclusion
Finally, living off-grid is not something that everyone can do. Everyone can, at some point in their lives, want to live in a secluded area free from the daily hustle of city life. What they do not know is that this is not as easy as they might think.
You need to have the will and the right mindset if you are to successfully live off-grid. This is going to be very important in making your life easy.