off-grid Archives - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

Cooling Your Home Off-Grid

Rather than rely on fossil fuels or nuclear energy to cool off your home this summer, why not go off-grid? These systems are just as effective, yet they use natural sources of power – not “standard” electricity in order to cool your home down. A geothermal system is just one example. You can also utilize green energy, like solar or wind power, in order to run the systems that will keep you cool all summer long. No matter what, you’ll save money and do your part to save the environment – while staying comfortable at the same time. There’s nothing […]

Living Simply in a Tiny Off-Grid Cabin (Video)

Would you be happy living with less? This family certainly is. Living in a tiny cabin on a piece of land in New Zealand, instead of paying rent, they do work-trade for the opportunity to live off the land. You’d be amazed at the simplicity of their dwelling, and yet, they’re clearly very fulfilled. I found this to be such an inspiring look at just how fulfilling a more reduced life can be. I lived in a similar way for some time and relate so much to their experiences. It really is amazing just how much easier life can be […]

Survivalist or Homesteader? (Video)

This is a great video from a popular homesteading and survivalism vlogger I really enjoy. He poses the questions: which will survive longer, a homesteader or a survivalist? Are they the same thing? Does one come before the other? I think this is a really great topic since, while homesteading and survivalism are not necessarily synonymous, there’s a lot of overlap. The ultimate goal of homesteading is self-reliance and independence, and survivalism is all about preparing for any number of scenarios in which you will not be able to rely on others to save or help you. If you’ve ever […]

Building a Tiny Home

We recently posted an article on the tiny house movement, and I wanted to elaborate a bit more on what it takes to actually build yourself a tiny house. This is one of the biggest appeals of tiny houses, of course, that the initial building materials can be cheap, the construction easy. Many people are able to do it themselves, even if they don’t have a whole lot of construction experience. You can use foraged, repurposed, or discounted materials, and make it your own. All these factors contribute significantly to reducing the overall cost of a tiny home, so it’s […]

The Tiny House Movement: Is It For You?

The tiny house movement, which has gained a lot of traction among those wishing to live more simply, self-sufficiently, or simply economically. It is essentially exactly what it sounds like. More and more people are opting to live in small, or rather, tiny houses, often off-grid or on a homestead as well. The idea is simple. Less stuff means less energy cost, a more minimalist lifestyle, and a simpler life. Sometimes, owners are motivated by the incredibly cheap building costs, often constructing them by hand, other times, it’s the cheap energy costs of powering, heating, and cooling a significantly smaller space. They […]

Essential Elements Your Homestead Property Needs

Those who are considering buying a homestead property are often very excited about starting this new lifestyle. They are looking for the “perfect” piece of property, and this is not always easy to find, as they do not know exactly what it is they should seek in a homestead. This is especially a problem for those who are just getting started with homesteading. The following tips will help you to remember some of the essentials. First, you need to have a good source of water on the property. This will typically mean a well and pump. You will want to […]

Simple Steps to Greater Self-Sufficiency

The goal of everyone who is interested in homesteading is to become more independent and less reliant on the “machine” that seems to run the lives of most people. Many today have no real idea of where their food comes from or what would happen if they no longer had easy access to electricity. They need the modern conveniences of the world to live. You do not want to be like those people, and you do not have to. The following are some easy things that you can start doing now, and expanding upon later, to help increase your level […]

How to Be Prepared for a Power Outage

What happens when you suffer a power outage? A couple of things could happen. You need to wait until the repairs are made and the electric company takes care of things to get the power restored, or you could get the generator going if you have one. Whether you are out in the middle of nowhere on your homestead and are dealing with generator issues, or you are homesteading in the suburbs, you should have some ideas of how to make the power outage as easy to handle as possible. A Light Source When the sun goes down, you need […]

3 DIY Solar Projects for Your Homestead

The sun is an amazing source of energy, and it is entirely renewable and free. Unfortunately, most people think of solar energy as costly and complicated. You don’t need to break the bank and spend a fortune on fancy, on-grid solar panels to harness the power of the sun! First of all, we use the sun’s energy daily. Our garden thrives on it, our grazing animals live on solar-powered food (grass!), even our chickens harness the sun’s amazing power to produce eggs! Pastured meat, dairy, and eggs are actually one of the best ways to harness the power of the sun, […]

Off-Grid Cabin Security (Video)

When you live out in the country, it might seem safer than an urban environment, and in many ways, it definitely is. Those low crime rates aren’t misleading; way less people means way less crime. That being said, there’s still a risk of your property being vandalized or stolen if you aren’t at home, especially if you live far away from other houses. They say locks are to keep honest people out, and if you don’t feel safe simply locking your gate and front door, you probably want to take additional measures to secure your homestead when you’re not there. […]

Beer Keg Portable Hot Shower (Video)

When I lived completely off-grid, with no running water or electricity, one of the biggest challenges was a hot shower. Paloma hot water heaters were coveted in the community I lived in, but most off-grid tent-dwelling hippies like myself couldn’t afford them. We tried everything. Sun showers, leaving long black hoses out in the sun, boiling water and pouring it with just the right mix of cold water into a water container with a spigot. But a lot of these options had us often feeling like Goldilocks-nothing was every quite right. I saw this video on YouTube recently from the […]

Common Mistakes When Going Off-Grid

Getting off-grid and energy independent is really appealing, but can also be pretty intimidating. It’s hard to know where to start when you’ve lived your whole life reliant upon a municipal grid, and as I wrote recently about homesteading in general, it’s OK to make mistakes. But, you can always learn from the mistakes of others! There are common mistakes a lot of people make when first getting off the grid, and here are some of those mistakes and how to avoid them. 1. Aiming too high Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have goals and aim for […]

The Off-Grid Winter Pantry (Video)

When most people think of living off-grid, there are usually two major challenges that come to mind: winter, and food storage. Well, this video shows us that with the right amount of supplies and planning, you don’t have to worry much about either! It is seriously one of my life goals to have a pantry like this one day. YouTubers and off-grid homesteaders An American Homestead shares their well-stocked winter pantry, with preserves made from their harvest for the year. Their viewers kept asking to see what they had, so they give us a tour of their impressive pantry, ready for […]

DIY $5 Funnel Solar Oven (Video)

I love off-grid cooking of all kind, and a solar oven is something I’ve been wanting to make for a long time. I always thought that it was fairly expensive to make, but this guy made one for only $5. It’s amazing how much you can cook in one, and it is the most bare-bones type of off-grid, renewable energy out there. The design is super simple and dirt cheap. Using two reflective windshield sun visors, he creates a funnel to concentrate the heat onto the oven. Check it out! I might try this when the days get warmer. If […]

Tips for Living Without a Fridge

Refrigerators are one of the great wonders of modern science, and can greatly improve your quality of life. However, we’ve also grown so dependent on them, we don’t even know how to live without them anymore. Many people in the world still live without modern refrigeration, and it’s certainly not impossible. There are many reasons you might find yourself living without a refrigerator. If you are a new homesteader, just getting set up, you might be completely off-grid or not have the infrastructure yet on your homestead to power a full-sized refrigerator. You also might find yourself stuck in a […]

How to Build An Off-Grid Winter Cabin for $300 (Video)

YouTubers and homesteaders Pure Living for Life shared this video last year on how they built an off-grid winter cabin for a few hundred dollars. They had been living in their RV on their property, but as temperatures started to drop they felt they needed something warmer and more secure, and a structure to put their wood stove in. What’s really cool about this structure is that they built it using reclaimed materials. They bartered for the materials in their local community, and as the leftover materials came in, they figured out how to build with what they had, which […]

No Septic for an Off-Grid Homestead (Video)

Nature happens, and off-grid homesteaders need to deal with it! If you do not have a septic for your off-grid homestead, this is a very cool, low-tech solution. Putting in a septic system can be incredibly pricey, and sanitary waste removal is an important aspect of healthy living. This homesteader has a great alternative if you’d like to save your money and actually reuse your “humanure” to fertilize your plants. Don’t worry, it’s not gross at all! The system is very simple and uses some buckets, pallets, and lots of sawdust. One nice benefit to this system is you can […]

Woodstove Accessories

Having a wood stove is great, not only for heating your house but also for an alternative cooking method when utilities are down. Woodstoves can save a lot of money on heating bills, even compared to fireplaces. But having a woodstove alone won’t offer you the same benefits that you could have if you also have the right accessories to go along with your woodstove. Here are a few examples that could really help you out. Flu Damper Having a flu damper will allow you to control the flow of the heated gasses coming out of your woodstove. This […]

Simple Steps to Getting Your Homestead Off-Grid

Living on an off-grid homestead is no small matter. It might take years of planning, research and hard work. Hopefully if you do own property you’ve already considered how possible it might be to live off-grid, or if you are shopping around, this is what you’re thinking about long term. “Off-grid” is a catch-all term that largely refers to being off the municipal and/or county energy grids. Having water on your property, either from catchment, a well, or purchased and transported to your property from another private citizen, generating your own electricity, and relying on energy sources such as gas […]

Battery Reconditioning: Limitless Homestead Energy

One of the biggest concerns for long-term self-reliance as a homesteader is energy. Most energy sources that we rely on seem to be finite. Especially if you are focused on survival when the grid goes down or being completely off-grid. Gasoline, propane, coal, even wood, all will run out at some point and are difficult to regenerate. Batteries in particular run out quickly, and rechargeable batteries can be costly and unreliable. But what if you could have nearly unlimited battery power … Gasoline, propane, coal, even wood, all will run out at some point and are difficult to regenerate without […]