Maybe it’s the ever-increasing cost of living. Or maybe it’s the growing sense and need of many to be generally more self reliant.
It’s probably not just a single cause but one thing is for sure.
More and more people are first considering, and then tackling the challenging, but rewarding practice of living off the grid.
In order to live off the grid successfully, as well as prosper in what can be a very tough environment, there are basic self reliance skills that when mastered will allow you to accomplish so much more without the need for controlling institutions.
For many, the idea seems simple, maybe even ideal. But then again, most who first consider it, vicariously live through images, videos, and articles found online and few factor in the actual skills that life off grid will require. Even fewer take action to learn those skills before cutting off ties with the power grid.
Unfortunately, those who choose to pursue a life off grid without certain knowledge will find themselves at a significant disadvantage to the individual who did a little bit of extra effort to familiarize themselves with these critical homesteading skills.
A life off grid, is exactly what it sounds like – a life where every choice and every unique skill the individual possesses will be tested with either a positive or negative outcome.
Below are a few basic but highly necessary self reliance skills that every person choosing to live off grid should hone before taking the next step and ‘unplugging’ from the comforts of modern society.
Water Collection, Water Storage, & Water Purification
One of the very first skills that anyone living off the grid should thoroughly study and master is water collection and purification. Water is absolutely essential for survival and something that you’ll use a good amount of every day of your life.
Learn the best methods for water collection such as rain water collection with barrels or ideally piping directly to a freshwater spring.
Learn To Reuse Water As Much As You Can.
Utilize Gray Water. Gray water is the runoff water remaining in the final collection unit after general hygiene, the cleaning of dishes, clothes washing machines, or any other uses of water aside from flushing the toilet.
As long as you’ve used a very mild or biodegradable/ natural soap, this water can be used again to water food plots, herb gardens, or other yard plants. Generally Gray water is considered non-potable, ie it is not safe to drink. But just because you can’t drink it doesn’t mean it can’t be used for plenty of other useful things. At a minimum this non-potable water is great for filling up the toilet bowl to use for flushing.
Regrettably, living off grid, you’re more likely to find non-potable water sources much more often than you are to find fresh springs or open wells. Meaning that learning multiple ways of collecting, storing and purifying a steady supply of clean, fresh water for drinking and food preparation should always be a high priority task.
Solar Energy Collection, Storage and Use
One of the very first things to consider, for most people, when living off grid is going to be basic human comforts – most commonly, those things that we’ve grown accustomed to and, in turn, now take for granted.
Learning about solar energy, the collection, storage and use of that solar energy will prove to be an asset to anyone on or off grid. Solar energy offers many advantages compared to the use of generators, one of the first and largest being the general cost factor.
Second, you don’t want to be taking tons of trips to the local gas station because, in reality – that’s one of the sole reasons many people chose to live off grid in the first place – to escape their dependence on the modern world and enjoy a more peaceful, environmentally friendly and self sufficient lifestyle.
Utilizing solar panels and a basic collection and storage system (batteries) along with an inverter will allow you to maintain a fundamental sense of connection to the world at large, by providing a power source for modern devices like your computer, cell phone, and other everyday comfort devices.
Additionally, it also allows you to utilize certain other conveniences like maybe an electric cooler for short term food storage or low amperage LED lighting.
Mastering the basics of solar energy, collection and storage will not only provide you with a basic comfort, but provide you with a clean, relatively cost effective, renewable resource.
Food Production, Gardening, & Food Plots
You must consider one of the most basic of all human needs – food.
Life off the grid means less or no trips to the grocery store for fresh foods, and while modern canned goods and other sundry may seem like the way to go, they take up a lot of space and will likely generate considerable additional waste that, in turn, leads to the additional need for more expended efforts, more trips to the dump.
One of the simplest ways to avoid this inconvenience will be to learn at least the basics of seasonal gardening. Ideally as one food plot or garden is reaching the end of its production, you’ll be able to cycle into a secondary crop of some type.
It’s best to learn what types of fruits and vegetables you will be able to grow in your area and what seasons will allow for the best or highest yields.
Mastering general and seasonal gardening and food plot management might sound daunting, but it will allow you to not only sustain a fundamental survival need, but if utilized appropriately can produce a general surplus. A surplus of food is a great way to provide a small income by selling at local open air or farmers markets.
Food Storage
At this point, you will need a way to make sure that your food supply lasts you through the season and beyond. That’s where food preservation and storage will come into play.
While most of the food you would buy in a store comes processed, prepackaged, and ready for storage, those items you’ve raised on your own in your garden or food plot won’t. Therefore, you’ll need to learn about methods such as drying, dehydration, and canning your own food.
Mastering various food preservation techniques will not only allow you to extend your overall food supply, but also enjoy many foods throughout the year that you would otherwise be forced to use and enjoy only during their respective growing or harvest seasons.
Once again you should also consider the fact that surplus preserved foods can also be converted into a nice revenue stream or easily traded for other goods and services that you may not yet be ready to provide for yourself.
Composting – What is Composting?
If you’ve ever grown a home garden or known anyone who was serious about theirs, then you’ve likely seen or heard, at some point, about composting.
Composting is the mixing of various organic waste products such as food scraps, mulched leaves, grass, etc in a drum or similar container or even in a large pile near your garden area (depending on the season). After decomposition this dirt mixture would be added to the soil from time to time to improve the quality of the ground.
Compost is great for replacing various nutrients which the crops ultimately deplete as time goes on.
Understanding how this process works and knowing when and how to employ it when preparing and maintaining your own food plots and garden spaces will reduce the frequency you will need to rotate your growing areas. Additionally, it is great to potentially increase the yield of your garden as the soil quality improves. One of the best parts of composting is it will allow you to make use of the organic waste you generate in the growing, harvesting, processing, and preserving of your crops.
Basic Survival Skills
Oftentimes Overlooked are the most basic of survival skills such as shelter making and fire building. There are some who’d argue that because their plan for living off the grid includes some sort of prefabricated shelter, modern devices such as propane stoves, and other luxuries, that they don’t see the need to learn such things.
Unfortunately, there is a certain reality that many still refuse to accept – the fact that unforeseen circumstances will, at some point arise. Machines and modern devices, no matter how well maintained, will at some point in their life fail; one should also factor in that there will be times when these convenience items may not be readily available.
Then, of course there are the more dire instances where an emergency may occur. Beyond making life in general a bit more comfortable, mastering basic survival skills could easily mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation.
Basic and Advanced First-Aid
While it goes unsaid that most people understand the basics of general first-aid, life off the grid is likely to present you with new challenges at every turn; that’s why it becomes important to learn as much as you can about about both basic and even advanced first-aid practices.
Life off the grid equates back to self-sufficiency and as such, you’re going to have more general risks for injuries, burns, blisters, abrasions and cuts are simply a part of performing routine physical labor and daily chores.
Knowing how to properly treat these common injuries along with those more severe in nature such as minor fractures or even debris in your eye can alleviate certain risks such as infection and even prevent depleting your financial resources. Even if you never live off the grid, knowing basic first aid is one of the most important self reliance skills that anyone can learn. You never know when the situation will arise where you could save someones life.
Plant Identification & Uses
Going hand in hand with your basic survival skills, first-aid and food preservation/storage, it will prove undoubtedly beneficial to study and master not only flora and plant identification, but also the uses of various wild plants as medicine.
While it’s true that there are some that are toxic, there are just as many with amazing potential use cases and offer amazing medicinal benefits. From slowing or stopping the spread of infection, easing the pain of fever or headaches to relieving insomnia, mother nature is the original apothecary.
Many can be utilized by adding flavor to certain foods or even replacing processed, commercially produced herbs and spices.
Regrettably, these wonders which are usually hiding in plain site to a skilled and knowledgeable eye, rarely stand out to the untrained eye nor do they come with a ready printed label explaining their purpose and dosages. Meaning that using certain plants or herbs, like yellowroot – a strong natural antibiotic, in the improper manner may have an undesired, negative affect.
Foraging and Trapping/ Hunting/ Fishing
You’ve mastered the basics of harnessing and storing solar power, traditional and seasonal gardening, food preservation and storage, first-aid and know more about the local flora than the local garden club; you’re all set and ready to unplug and take your place in the growing world of life off grid, right?
Wrong! Now, comes a skill that will likely be less appealing to some than it is to others – foraging, tapping, hunting and fishing.
While there are conflicting views on the latter three, foraging will be one of the most invaluable skills you will ever learn. Knowing what a plant looks like and how to use it is fantastic, but useless if you don’t know how to find it. Add to that, the fact that mastering foraging skills will aid you by improving certain observational skills which will drastically benefit your tracking skills.
With the thought of trapping, hunting or fishing, there is no doubt that there are some readers who may find themselves either hesitant or even feeling a bit squeamish, you must consider the possible rewards that come part and parcel with the practices.
First, the most obvious – a high protein source, meaning meat. However, the resources don’t stop there. There’s the scraps or meat trimmings which can be later used to bait additional traps, the hides which can be processed with relative ease into rawhide and finished pelts and leather – these processed hides can then be utilized in many different ways, blankets, clothing, footwear/ wraps, wall hangings which will add insulation to you shelter or lodging, trade goods, and even revenue depending on your local laws and hunting regulations.
From there, you also have tallow (fat) which can be processed into a wide variety of products, including candles.
Bones, antlers from deer and other related animals can be crafted into buttons, needles, knife handles and assorted primitive, yet highly useful tools.
Sinew (dried tendons and longer bits of ligament) can be used in place of cotton or other plant fibers to make highly durable threads, twine and even thin ropes with a bit of patience and effort.
Fishing is another terrific and highly useful skill to master that will provide you with a fairly low effort/ reward source of protein that can easily be preserved for longer periods with few tools and basic ingredients such as salt or vinegar/ brine or even by smoking or drying.
Use Of Basic Hand Tools
From crafting assorted convenience items, to building everything from shelters, storage areas/ shelving and simply routine maintenance around your homestead, knowing how to properly use basic hand tools will prove invaluable during day to day life off the grid.
While you may feel compelled to argue that a simple hand tool is just that – simple – you should consider that improper use of any tool not only risks damaging the tool but potentially injuring you, those around you or even costing you valuable time and energy that could be more wisely used elsewhere.
Many tools are very common in their application, but take for instance the handsaw; do you know he difference between a cross-cut, ripping or combination saw?
Do you know the uses of a ball peen hammer as compared to a framing hammer?
Maybe you know the difference between a felling ax and a hewing ax?
If you couldn’t readily answer those brief questions, you now have the proof that you should, at least, consider studying and mastering the use of these basic hand tools.
Crafting Basic Tools
Now that you’ve invested some time in learning about the various hand tools you’ll need to make use of from the very beginning of your life off the grid. It would be wise to study how they are made and what materials you could use to craft your own makeshift tools in the event that those you already have become damaged or you find yourself in need of a particular tool that you do not currently own.
You would be wise to accept that form and function are far more important than aesthetic appeal especially when you first mastering this skill, as your skills improve, so shall the end results of your labors.
General Carpentry, Plumbing & Electrical Wiring
The good new is, you’re steadily gaining ground towards your goal of living off the grid; the bad news is you still have a great deal to learn.
Knowing how to use and make tools will serve you well, however, that will only prove to a true statement if you have taken the time to study and master the fundamentals of carpentry.
Carpentry is a skill which you will use to craft shelters, storage areas and shelves/ bins. Not to mention having the ability to repair existing structures and items as time, use and nature take their tolls.
Alongside carpentry, you’ll also want to learn as much as you can about general plumbing as this skill will allow you to not only potentially build a viable solution for water collection, storage and purification, but also possible irrigation systems and if you are skilled enough a gravity fed water system within your off-grid home complete with a solar, propane or wood-fired hot water source.
Whether you use solar, a generator or some other source of electricity, it’s also a good idea to have at least a basic mastery of how electrical systems function. You will need to learn what tools are required and how to preform general maintenance. Do some research on basic repairs in order to keep your homestead and whatever other areas you have feeding off of your electrical sources in proper running order.
Small Engine Mechanics
If you’re planning on using any type of machines – generators, an ATV, a tiller for your food plots or anything similar. You will want to know how to keep them running properly and, if needed, diagnose and repair them when they aren’t.
Not everyone will consider this skill to be as valuable as others, but knowing how to repair your own machine for nothing more than the time it takes combined with the cost of the needed parts is incredibly important skill to have when no one else is around to help you. It’s either that or paying someone to drive all the way out to where you live. Someone who has the skills you lack for not only their time and labor, but also the customary mark-up over retail for the components they repair or replace will quickly add up.
Mastering the skill for yourself, will not only allow you to remain self-reliant, but also like many of these skills can be used from time to time to generate additional revenue or for barter.
Alternative Power Generation
While solar energy is one of the most common and, in some respects, best ways to get power while living off the grid, some areas are less viable than others; and practical logic dictates that you should always develop either a contingency or supplemental means to generate electricity.
Though they may seem a bit more complex, and thus potentially intimidating to a beginner, it is a good idea to explore mastering the building, use, and maintenance of a hydroelectric generator or portable wind turbine generator (windmill).
Though they are often less convenient for those individuals living off the grid who want to remain nomadic, they are highly recommended for off-grid homesteading.
With a little bit of ingenuity, basic tools and employing the earlier mentioned mechanical skills, these systems can be built at a relatively moderate out of pocket cost.
When debating whether or not you would feel that this is useful skill to have, consider this fact – solar arrays require high to moderate exposure for optimal production, a long storm or overcast day risks impeding your electrical production and will place a higher drain on your power-banks. Hydroelectric, on the other hand, simply needs a steadily flowing source of water such as a small stream; and a wind turbine only needs a steady breeze of between six and nine miles per hour.
And, where a solar array will have to be adjusted manually to achieve peak generation normally multiple times per day; a hydroelectric generator will more often only need to be raised or lowered to accommodate the water levels periodically and a wind turbine is usually either equipped with a tail fin which corrects its positioning as the wind directions change or with basic manual controls which make the corrections simplistic.
Land Navigation & Map Reading
Another highly beneficial survival skill that many bypass with today’s modern technology is general land navigation and map reading. It may sound rather archaic to suggest such a thing, but, when venturing into new territories while foraging, hunting, trapping, etc, there may come a point where your modern devices fail.
By studying land navigation and map reading, you will find yourself readily equipped to overcome this challenge should you ever be faced with it. Knowing how to determine your location on a printed map, and combining that information with your general land navigation skills will not only boost your confidence and simplify many routine tasks as you progress on your journey towards living off the grid, it may prove to be a life saving skill at some point for you or someone else.
Conclusion
This is only a short list of essential homesteading skills. Essential self reliance skills that everyone should at least be familiar with before attempting to live the off grid life. But mastering these essential skills prior to living off the grid will provide you with a solid foundation for success. While utilizing them will allow you to adapt, overcome and thrive in a comfortable, self-sufficient manner with relative ease in almost any situation or environment.
I hope that this page gave you some helpful insights into some areas that you may need to work on before making the leap to live independently from the grid.
Good luck on your journey to live a self sustained off grid life!
-SuccessOffGrid.com
