There is a lot of confusion as to what it really means to live Off The Grid. So many people I spoke to in the beginning of our journey would apologize to me when I said that I lived off-grid.
Honestly, that really surprised me and it took me a little to figure out how they were thinking. In their eyes, I was living a lesser life with NO power or modern conveniences. I believe many think that if you live off grid, you live in a shack, are dirty and unable to take regular baths and are deprived in some way, but they could not have been more wrong.
Living off the grid means that you are choosing to severe your connection and ties to the modern grid and either live with no power at all or power your home with either batteries, a generator or a form of alternative energy. It could also be a combination of the above. It also means in ways seeking a freedom from today's modern society and being able to create your own lifestyle of sorts. It also means a much lesser dependency on society and government as a result of or that may actually be the initial intention, but either way I believe it slowly occurs regardless!
We aspire to eventually live a life with no power, but for right now we are utilizing a 48-volt solar system with 16 panels and 16 batteries along with a generator backup.
We embarked on this journey in 2010 and to date, we have NEVER been without power. The local power grid has been down so much over those years that we lost count and often times didn’t even know the rest of the world was without. One time we had a breaker blow on the system which kept us from pulling power from the sun, but our batteries were full and our generator kept us powered up while we waited three days for our new breakerS to arrive.
On our off-grid homestead, we make it a practice to have 3 backups of our most important necessities and that breaker has been added to our list.
Living an off-grid lifestyle is something I could never turn my back on. I passionately love living this life of freedom not to mention the health benefits of not having power lines even remotely near our home.
Our lifestyle creates a simplistic mindset that just keeps digging its roots deeper and deeper into our souls.
We really haven’t had to give up anything that was of any value to us and living in a conservative fashion helps keep us from feeling like the rest of the world that is trying desperately to keep up with the Joneses only to continue going deeper and deeper into debt and unhappiness.
Joy is found in the still quiet moments, in contentment and joy produces happiness. I have found my joy in this lifestyle and will never turn back.
For more on our lifestyle and an in-depth at off-grid living, check out my book How To Embrace An Off-Grid Lifestyle.
How bazaar that people would apologize to you for your choice of electrical supply. I feel like apologizing to people when they tell me they ate at this or that restaurant, knowing the food is subpar to home cooking, or when they say they are going shopping like it’s a fun thing, or when… 🙂
LOL yes EXACTLY!! It was funny – they just had no idea how solar power worked and felt we were deficient in some way. Yes seeing where people eat and what they put in their grocery cart scares me! Knowing first hand how it affects the body, I would love to take them by the hand and direct them to healthier choices. 🙂 <3 Of course, that is why we do what we do, in hopes of educating the masses with our knowledge and help them to lead healthier lives. Hope you and yours are doing well sweet friend! Always good to hear from you! God bless!
I have encountered the same thing when running in to tourists that visited a nearby tourist attraction, they almost all think my lifestyle of 14 years meant I was some dirty, crazy person for not having any electricity, running water or phone service.
When after all I considered myself blessed to be living in Alaska’s Norther wilderness without the forced connection to civilization and government.
I need only open my cabin door and I was witness to the handiwork of God.
AWESOME Pete! YES YES if only people understood what they are missing out on. SO many people today are missing the daily blessings because they are caught up in consumerism, are racing the clock to keep up with everyone and missing the benefits of the still quiet that we truly need in our lives! I could not live any other way other than simpler – going back to the grid is just not an option. Thank you so much for your comment. We greatly desire to live in Alaska. God bless you and yours!