Off Grid Home

Have you ever stopped to consider the wondrous miracle you have of turning on your faucet and water coming out?  While I used to take it for granted, I look at it now as a luxury.  Not only is plumbing a pretty recent invention in mankind’s history, but if you …

We are almost in October and are very busy getting ready for winter around the homestead. All the longterm forecasts are calling for a cold and snowy winter, even here in the Ozarks. So we want to make sure we have plenty of wood stocked up and wood stoves in …

What do you think of when you hear the word carpet?  Plush, soft, warm?  Two things come to my mind when I think about carpet: impractical and vacuum cleaner.  I believe that wall-to-wall carpeting is a product of an electronic modern age that cares more about the comfort under their …

Last week we lit our first fire of the season to take the chill out of the air after a cold rainy day.  I’m so grateful for our wood stove and the heat it provides.  When I think about off grid necessities, a wood stove is at the top of …

This is a picture of my mom when she was my age.  She’s washing clothes with a village woman in Papua New Guinea.  We lived in this village for a short time when I was seven years old.  Laundry seems to be a huge off grid obstacle for women.  It …

Could you make a healthy meal for your family using nothing out of the refrigerator?  Could you fix your hair without your hair dryer?  Have you ever looked around your house and wondered what things you have or do because electricity exists?  How would your life change if you didn’t …

Since Adam and Eve left the garden, mankind has been faced with the problem of what to do with waste. Early civilizations would toss their dishwater outside the camp or perhaps use it to put out the cooking fire. As men gathered in larger groups more care had to be …

Recently, a friend and her family camped on our homestead and spent a long weekend with us.  They got to see first hand how we live without electricity and running water.  She sent me a message recently with a recipe she thought that I might want to try: Smoothie Popsicles.  …

This is the perfect time of year to hang clothes on a clothesline!  You can save on your electric bill, disinfect your laundry with the sun, and there’s no ironing necessary.  I think that I have hung everything imaginable under the sun (pun intended)!  I hang year round.  Yes, even …