One does not need to head into the woods and disappear to be off the grid. As much as we may want to, we may not be able to (some have daily medical needs, some may not be mobile enough, age is a factor etc) to leave the cesspool that is the city/town/village.
However we can REDUCE the amount that we depend on the grid.
How?
- backyard gardens, patio gardens, indoor gardens all reduce the need to BUY or DEPEND ON the local markets, where food is imported from god knows where, and grown under god knows what conditions. Seeds are cheap. 50 bucks of a variety of seeds will see you thru the year in veggies. A lot can be canned or dehyrated
- harvesting & storing rain water for watering gardens, plants. If you live in an area like the West Coast of BC, one can harvest and store thousands of liters of rainwater for flushing toilets if you are handy with rigging up a pump system and cistern.
- being self employed. (in Canada at least) one can write off a large percentage of fuel, space in the home (office), tools and supplies when they do their yearly taxes. I have not paid income tax in 9 years, and I have filed a tax return every year. Why? i made less than the Provincial and Federal income limits before they start charging taxes. I also kept all my work related receipts and had an accountant (my Uncle, so it was free) crunch the numbers. In some years i even got a return of 200 - 700 bucks.
one can also use a Exchange of Labour for Barter system. I do this more and more and rely less and less on needing "money". I did house demolitions this year, in exchange for canned goods, dry goods, and fresh meat/dairy/veggies. I needed truck work done (that i could not do myself) , i found a mechanic that needed firewood. Equal trade, both parties happy.
I also advertised scrap metal removal. copper pipes, aluminum only. I saved all the scrap electrical wire, copper pipes, brass bits, aluminum and took them into the scrap metal yard to be weighed. $2000 in my pocket for less than two weeks easy work. On top of that i charged a pickup fee for coming and getting that scrap. That added up to be enough fuel for the truck 2 months.
- conserving electricity: I added a inverter into the truck, so i can charge flashlight batts while driving. I traded a knife for a deep cycle marine battery, and run the computer off that with an inverter. I get several weeks of runtime before needing a charge, and the truck works just fine for charging it while driving. The freezer is full of 2liter pop bottles filled with water. This allows me to lower the temp of the fridge by a few degrees to save electricity. All lights are compact flourecsent or LED, and the place is small enough that one light lights it up nicely. Turned down the water heater, I wash clothes with cold water, and i dont use the dryer unless absolutely needed. A clothesline or drying rack is fine. Average electrical bill every month is about $10 - 12 < easily paid by returning empty cans i find everywhere.
- reducing eating out, movies, fast food, name brand items etc: I eat out maybe twice a year, why eat out and pay all that money, wheni can spend very little money or labour/barter and make my meals at home. They are healthier, very inexpensive, and i can freeze some for lean times. Movies are free on the internet or i can borrow from the library or friends, or trade DVD movies at the flea market. Shopping wise, i buy basics, not name brand, and i buy in bulk from suppliers, chinatown grocers, and family shops. Yearly grocery bill is less than $500, and i eat VERY well. Basics include barley, rice, oats, potato's, onions, carrots, flour etc etc. All in bulk. I can buy 30lbs of onions from chinatown for $6 compared to almost $40 at the grocery store.
Clothing wise, i buy heavy duty well made clothing once. I have not shopped for clothes in over 8 years, except for a pair 5.11 pants, as i had a gift certificate for those. Same with boots, i bought a pair of CDN forces boots 10 years ago and i still have them. Resoling them was easy and fun, and cheap.
reducing ones bills: I got rid of the internet, cable tv along time ago. The library has free net, I can use my wireless sniffer on my home computer, for free, or i can trade cooking/housesitting for internet use at my friends places. I have no phone, no cell. A pay phone is 25 cents, and its on the corner. I make maybe 10 calls a month, if that. Those that need to reach me, use the email. I reduced the coverage on my truck insurance,and i drive less and bike more.
medical needs: I'm quite healthy and very fit, I have not needed a doctor or the ER for many years, except for the odd shoulder injury. In any case, I have a great doctor that accepts patients on a pay per visit basis, and she is very reasonable with the fees. For example she Xrayed and relocated my dislocated shoulder for $100. That included OTC pain meds and a followup. Any prescriptions i have needed have been name brand, but samples. This = free. Your medical region may be different, but its worth talking to doctors to see if you can do this.
So it can be very easy to REDUCE ones need of the grid. You can save thousands of dollars this way, and work less and be happier.
Although I still want to get get back to my mountain roots and go back to living in a cabin. I miss it.
post up your tips here
However we can REDUCE the amount that we depend on the grid.
How?
- backyard gardens, patio gardens, indoor gardens all reduce the need to BUY or DEPEND ON the local markets, where food is imported from god knows where, and grown under god knows what conditions. Seeds are cheap. 50 bucks of a variety of seeds will see you thru the year in veggies. A lot can be canned or dehyrated
- harvesting & storing rain water for watering gardens, plants. If you live in an area like the West Coast of BC, one can harvest and store thousands of liters of rainwater for flushing toilets if you are handy with rigging up a pump system and cistern.
- being self employed. (in Canada at least) one can write off a large percentage of fuel, space in the home (office), tools and supplies when they do their yearly taxes. I have not paid income tax in 9 years, and I have filed a tax return every year. Why? i made less than the Provincial and Federal income limits before they start charging taxes. I also kept all my work related receipts and had an accountant (my Uncle, so it was free) crunch the numbers. In some years i even got a return of 200 - 700 bucks.
one can also use a Exchange of Labour for Barter system. I do this more and more and rely less and less on needing "money". I did house demolitions this year, in exchange for canned goods, dry goods, and fresh meat/dairy/veggies. I needed truck work done (that i could not do myself) , i found a mechanic that needed firewood. Equal trade, both parties happy.
I also advertised scrap metal removal. copper pipes, aluminum only. I saved all the scrap electrical wire, copper pipes, brass bits, aluminum and took them into the scrap metal yard to be weighed. $2000 in my pocket for less than two weeks easy work. On top of that i charged a pickup fee for coming and getting that scrap. That added up to be enough fuel for the truck 2 months.
- conserving electricity: I added a inverter into the truck, so i can charge flashlight batts while driving. I traded a knife for a deep cycle marine battery, and run the computer off that with an inverter. I get several weeks of runtime before needing a charge, and the truck works just fine for charging it while driving. The freezer is full of 2liter pop bottles filled with water. This allows me to lower the temp of the fridge by a few degrees to save electricity. All lights are compact flourecsent or LED, and the place is small enough that one light lights it up nicely. Turned down the water heater, I wash clothes with cold water, and i dont use the dryer unless absolutely needed. A clothesline or drying rack is fine. Average electrical bill every month is about $10 - 12 < easily paid by returning empty cans i find everywhere.
- reducing eating out, movies, fast food, name brand items etc: I eat out maybe twice a year, why eat out and pay all that money, wheni can spend very little money or labour/barter and make my meals at home. They are healthier, very inexpensive, and i can freeze some for lean times. Movies are free on the internet or i can borrow from the library or friends, or trade DVD movies at the flea market. Shopping wise, i buy basics, not name brand, and i buy in bulk from suppliers, chinatown grocers, and family shops. Yearly grocery bill is less than $500, and i eat VERY well. Basics include barley, rice, oats, potato's, onions, carrots, flour etc etc. All in bulk. I can buy 30lbs of onions from chinatown for $6 compared to almost $40 at the grocery store.
Clothing wise, i buy heavy duty well made clothing once. I have not shopped for clothes in over 8 years, except for a pair 5.11 pants, as i had a gift certificate for those. Same with boots, i bought a pair of CDN forces boots 10 years ago and i still have them. Resoling them was easy and fun, and cheap.
reducing ones bills: I got rid of the internet, cable tv along time ago. The library has free net, I can use my wireless sniffer on my home computer, for free, or i can trade cooking/housesitting for internet use at my friends places. I have no phone, no cell. A pay phone is 25 cents, and its on the corner. I make maybe 10 calls a month, if that. Those that need to reach me, use the email. I reduced the coverage on my truck insurance,and i drive less and bike more.
medical needs: I'm quite healthy and very fit, I have not needed a doctor or the ER for many years, except for the odd shoulder injury. In any case, I have a great doctor that accepts patients on a pay per visit basis, and she is very reasonable with the fees. For example she Xrayed and relocated my dislocated shoulder for $100. That included OTC pain meds and a followup. Any prescriptions i have needed have been name brand, but samples. This = free. Your medical region may be different, but its worth talking to doctors to see if you can do this.
So it can be very easy to REDUCE ones need of the grid. You can save thousands of dollars this way, and work less and be happier.
Although I still want to get get back to my mountain roots and go back to living in a cabin. I miss it.
post up your tips here
Last edited:
:foot:
... Shotgun!!
