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Off-Grid.net

Off-grid brings you news, knowledge, discussion, and classifieds from the off-grid world. What seems like a tiny niche is growing in popularity as people seek a life outside of the city. Off-gridders must find ways to produce their own energy, food, water, shelter, and other necessities. Connect with people who live off the beaten path or begin the search for your own property on this site.

Build It Solar

Dedicated to do-it-yourself renewable energy projects, Build It Solar provides hundreds of ideas and plans for any kind of home energy endeavor. New to renewable energy? Start with the "Half Plan" that uses a variety of energy saving projects to cut your energy usage in half. New to solar? Look for the do-it-yourself site survey to understand your property's solar potential. Not limited to solar, Build It Solar also includes tons of projects for wind power and biofuels.

Earth2Tech

Energy self reliance is a big topic for environmental, political, and individual reasons. Earth2Tech posts news about technological developments that can affect us on personal and societal levels. Stay on top of the news about electric cars, the smart grid, the bloom box fuel cell, solar power applications, and LED lightbulbs.

Wisebread

Wisebread is well-known for its advice on real personal finance. It's a community of bloggers who write about frugal living, lifehacks, careers, and other financial wisdom. Being smart with your money isn't supposed to inhibit you: rather, Wisebread's advice helps people worry less about money, allowing you to focus on the really important things in life. They also feature an active forum where you can ask questions and interact with other people who are trying to live within their means.

Instructables

Do you want to know how to build a vertical garden? How about your own solar panel array? Maybe you're looking for ways to reuse a linen closet full of old pillowcases. Instructables is a community based site that allows anyone to post a how-to project complete with photos and instructions. The result: a lifetime's supply of projects that can help you save money, recycle, or simply satisfy your appetite for making stuff.

Survival Spot

Disasters are a reality that shouldn't be ignored. That's the reason Survival Spot was created - to share information about a variety of survival and preparedness topics. Topics cover many aspects of survival, including gardening, food storage, health, and self defense. Also read about getting by in the wilderness and reviews of essential gadgets and gear. Like any other type of self reliance, preparedness is something to get into gradually and this blog can give you ideas on where to start.

Self-Reliance-Exchange

Written by a group of self reliant people, Self Reliance Exchange is quickly building an enormous database that covers a huge range of categories on self reliant practices and philosophies. Anyone interested in self reliance will find something useful to take away from this blog - recipes from scratch, emergency preparedness, and personal finance are great categories to start looking into here.

Simple Self Reliance

This writer explores the concept of self reliance and how self reliance fits in this modern society. How far can you realistically go down the path of self reliance? How can you stay on track with your priorities? He also writes on the grandaddy of self reliance, Henry David Thoreau. We can't wait to see how this blog unfolds!

American Preppers Network

For information and news from the world of emergency preparation, American Preppers Network is a great resource. Learn about food storage, what to expect during a natural disaster, and about other survival techniques. You can also connect with other preppers in your region and all over the world in the forum and through the numerous links to other prepping blogs on the web.

Discussions

Taxes are going up in 2011! - Jul 23, 2010
Think times are tough now?  Wait till you see this article on tax rate increases of all types beginning in January of next year. Investors Business Daily has done a good job of touching on some of the main tax increases scheduled for January 1, 2011. They include tax increases due to the expiration of some Bush tax cuts, as well as new ones passed through legislation in the last few years. They affect individuals with respect to earned income, dividends, capital gains, and other tax return items. They are on....
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On Hurricanes and Oil Disasters - Jul 22, 2010
The Weather Channel has a very good article today on the effects a hurricane might have for the Gulf Coast given the current BP oil tragedy. It comments on many issues, including a possible oil/water spray for those on the coast but states that no oil will fall on those living people living further inland. It does say that the oil in the Gulf will move inland with the storm surge. How much oil is moved around depends of course on the strength of the storm and how large it is. This all becomes relevant very soon to all....
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The BP disaster's effect on human health - Jul 21, 2010
The Gulf of Mexico oil disaster continues to unfold. BP has said they have capped the well and this was supposed to be good news for all involved. But the reality is that it now seems oil and gases are seeping through the sea floor in places other than the one well. No one knows, or more likely no one is saying, how serious this issue is, and how much additional oil and methane are moving into the Gulf of Mexico. We all know how devastating this disaster has been to the people and environment all along the Gulf coast.....
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Federal government limiting access to GOM blowout - Jul 02, 2010
Success at self reliance comes in no small part from having access to solid information. Here in the US we have believed that for the most part we have a free press. While the main stream media has always been more beholden to big business than the average US citizen, there are enough other resources available to the curious mind that we can find the truth when it comes to most issues. That is why this video of Anderson Cooper on CNN is so disconcerting: It seems that not only is BP putting great limits on the media as....
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Radical Self Reliance Comes from Within - Jun 17, 2010
Skills and practices that have been with mankind for centuries – gardening, keeping small livestock, preserving food, and so on, sort of disappeared for the past few decades when conveniences made them unnecessary. As we became a society of consumers, homemaking became a dirty word. Consumption caused homemakers (both men and women) to lose their place and forget their skills. It makes sense then that homemaking was considered useless. You could accomplish more outside of the home. But now we are on the cusp of....
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Keeping Chickens an Act of Civil Disobedience - Jun 16, 2010
Keeping backyard chickens is illegal in many cities. In Richmond, VA, people are keeping chickens anyway. Is this an act of justified civil disobedience, or are people wrong to think they are above the law? Residents in the Richmond, VA region are joining the nationwide movement to increase food security by keeping backyard chickens . Zoning laws in Richmond require chickens to be kept 200 feet from the property line. In greater Henrico County, chickens must be kept 400 feet from the property line. The article....
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Windowsill Gardening: Free Green Onions Forever! - Jun 15, 2010
Some people call them onions. Others call them scallions. On my path to eating more healthy foods, I discovered that green onions add something to a dish that really needs to be there. They taste fresh and slightly spicy. They remind me of summer. The other good thing is that they’re not very expensive. Fifty cents a bunch is probably average. I read somewhere that you can plant the root of a green onion in some dirt and it will sprout, and that you can cut what you need and the onions will perpetuate themselves....
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BPA Lurks in Virtually All Canned Foods - Jun 11, 2010
A few years ago people became aware that BPA – bisphenol A – a carcinogenic substance – was leaching into their drinks from plastic bottles. Now it is becoming known that BPA is also found in the lining of canned food: Soups, baby formula, canned vegetables, milk, everything. BPA is an endocrine disruptor connected to obesity, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems. This Reuters article explains that BPA is found in the epoxy resin lining of virtually all canned foods and that unlike plastic bottles,....
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Did Spain Do the Right Thing by Cutting Wages? - Jun 10, 2010
To avoid becoming another Greece, Spain announced an austerity program that would save 15 billion Euros from its budget. Part of the package included a wage cut for public sector workers. The figure for the pay cut appears to be between 5% - 15%, although other figures say that 5% is the average. . It’s just enough to provoke a mixed reaction from Spaniards but the consensus seems to be that the austerity program is too little, too late. Spain has suffered a 2 year long recession and has one of the highest unemployment....
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College Grads Must Let Go of Dreams & Face Reality - Jun 10, 2010
Countdown to reality in 5... 4... 3... 2... Times are tough for college graduates. Not only are they graduating with a ton of debt, they can’t find jobs to begin paying it off. Their ideals and dreams are being dismantled. Let’s examine the higher truths embedded within this debacle which seem to call upon the real need for personal self reliance among our young people. This CBS report in a series called “Children of the Recession” revisits 2009 graduates and their experiences looking for work after graduating . Most....
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Lifting Chicken Bans a National Work in Progress - Jun 10, 2010
You're creating quite a stir, little chick. One great thing about living in America is that many of us have huge houses with pretty big yards. A little piece of land we can call our own. You can put a pool back there, or keep the grass perfectly green and trimmed. You can build a shed, let the dog run free, and install a swingset for the kids. It’s so neat to be the caretaker of a little postage-stamp sized plot of earth. With urban homesteading becoming a more prevalent idea, people are now dreaming about transforming....
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A Glimpse of Europe's Austerity Programs - Jun 09, 2010
We keep our eye on Greece and Europe because many of the things happening there could be the model for our own financial, economic, and perhaps political future. As New Hampshire governor Judd Gregg put it, “If we continue to spend much more than we take in ... we'll double our debt in five years and triple it in 10 years and essentially be where Greece is in about seven years .” It’s not just Greece, but Hungary, Spain, Italy, and more that are struggling to find ways to cut back on their “unsustainable policies.” The....
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Self Reliant Health: Learning to Enjoy Exercise - Jun 09, 2010
In addition to adopting a healthy diet , exercise is the other obvious thing to do for good health. However, if you’re exercising on your own it’s necessary to avoid jumping into something that can injure you. Americans love to exercise hard. We think that if we’re not breaking a sweat we’re not working hard enough. When I lived in Korea, I noticed that most Korean people saw exercise as a form of leisure and it was supposed to be therapeutic, not punishing. After a long day of work, people would go walking with their....
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Latest news and resources in preparation
for coming changes

'Off The Grid': 9 Amazing Attempts To Live Without The Electricity Grid (PHOTOS) 1 months ago
Category: Alternative Energy
As I crisscrossed America researching for Off The Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America, I encountered an unsatisfied, pent-up demand to live offgrid......
Call For Action: Families Forming Partnerships with Farmers 1 months ago
Category: Food
The CSA concept is a trend growing more popular among farmers and consumers who want organic or chemical-free, fresh produce. Greenleaf Farms now has 50 families subscribed to its program, which is only a couple of years old.
Community-supported agriculture delivers direct sales 1 months ago
Category: Gardening
Growers are finding partners in offices, where workers revel in having produce delivered and bypassing the need to shop at a grocery.....
What is an urban homestead? 1 months ago
Category: Gardening
An urban homestead is based on the very old idea of homesteading in the country. The difference is that it is done in the city, or the suburbs.
What is Reiki and how it heals 1 months ago
Category: Health/Medical
The Japanese method for relaxation and stress reduction which also helps in healing is called Reiki.......
The once-popular kitchen garden is making a comeback 1 months ago
Category: Gardening
Fresh is the food mantra of the day. And it doesn’t get any fresher than digging up dewy lettuce and pearly onions from a plot outside your back door or plucking sprigs of aromatic basil and thyme from pots on a sun-drenched patio.......
10 Tips To Reduce Your Food Waste 1 months ago
Category: Cooking
A few weeks ago, after serving up some sobering statistics about food waste in America, the Lantern put out a call for your best tips on how to avoid refrigerator rot. Nearly 200 of you responded, with some big suggestions (move to a place within walking distance of a grocery store) and small ones (grow your own herbs). Here are 10 key lessons that emerged from your letters and comments.......
Americans do better to hold onto their power 1 months ago
Category: Education
Like Obamacare, the financial reform law (2,300 pages) contains provisions we won't find out about until they happen........
Prairie Crossing in Illinois: The ‘urban’ farm of the future? 1 months ago
Category: Gardening
It takes almost an hour to drive from downtown Chicago north on I-94 to the town of Grayslake, Ill., home of the Prairie Crossing residential development -- "A Conservation Community" -- and its core farm, Sandhill Organics........
Growing your own food in an easy fashion 1 months ago
Category: Gardening
This author does a great job of pointing out that even a little bit of food grown in the home or in the yard is a good thing. It doesn't have to be a major project, and you can start small. Chives and parsley are two examples.
High unemployment here to stay 1 months ago
Category: Work/Business
Here is an article on the Federal Reserve Board coming out and saying that job growth will not be a great force for quite some time. Most of the time the Federal Reserve paints an optimistic picture. Here they really are not, which gives more reason for all us to analyze how we live and what we can look for in the future.
Good primer on urban chicken farming 2 months ago
Category: Animals/Livestock
This is a very good article on urban chicken farming. As times change I am sure we will all be looking at certain ideas and concepts in quite a different light.
Solar power struggles in the US 2 months ago
Category: Solar
This is a good article on the current state of affairs for solar power in the US. The comments from readers shown at the bottom of the article are very interesting to read.
Small town strives for energy independence 2 months ago
Category: Solar
New technology and inventive financing has allowed this town to move toward energy independence. Innovative thought is still the key when it comes to successful use of solar power.
Tax credit for solar power off the table due to budgetary issues 2 months ago
Category: Solar
In Pennsylvania the state has dropped a tax credit for solar power installation due to budgetary issues. This might be happening more for homeowners as budgets are continually squeezed.
Gulf oil blowout used as reason to push energy reform 2 months ago
Category: Solar
A lot of people are using the gulf oil blow out as a reason to push for alternative energy choices. We are all for that, but our focus really should be first and foremost on fixing the immediate issue of oil spewing out into the Gulf of Mexico.
How the American Family is Reshaped by the Recession: CS Monitor 2 months ago
Category: Family
It used to be that dad went to work. Then mom and dad both went to work. Now, we've arrived at the opposite end of the spectrum: mom goes to work and dad stays home. Families do what they have to do to get by and it's not easy for anyone: moms miss out on nurturing their children, and families don't earn enough money to get by.
Working Relationships are Complex: Yes! Magazine 2 months ago
Category: Community and Networking
It may seem like no one sees your point of view and that it's impossible to think about "self reliance" beyond individual terms. But as long as we agree on the practical things, such as the importance of growing food, staying prepared, saving money, and living well, then the more abstract things that normally divide us (religion, politics, ideals) become secondary. This article describes the writer's relationship with a business partner with whom she rarely agreed, but with whom she had a solid relationship with nonetheless.
Yes! Magazine: Powerful Ideas, Practical Actions 2 months ago
Category: Community and Networking
Yes! Magazine is a non-profit publication that tackles ideals, social problems, and environmental issues through practical action. It explores ways we can live in a world promoting harmony in nature, business, politics, and social action in our everyday lives.
A Guide to Everything Chicken: Raising-Chickens.org 2 months ago
Category: Animals/Livestock
Raising Chickens is a fast-growing website dedicated to ... raising chickens! If you're thinking about getting some chickens, find out which chicken breeds are the best egg-layers or which are best for meat. Also a great resource for learning more about chicken diseases, coops, tractors, breeding chickens, and almost any other topic for your flock.
Make Your Own Off-Grid Laundry Machine - Makezine 3 months ago
Category: Clothing
These plans from Make Magazine show how to make an off-grid washing machine that doesn't use running water or electricity. It's portable and the leftover greywater can be used to water plants if biodegradable soap is used.
The Most Energy Efficient House in the U.S. - AZ Daily Star 3 months ago
Category: Solar
Net-zero homes are few and far between, especially in Arizona where air conditioning is needed in the summer. Read about one Tuscon house that uses solar panels, solar water heaters, and energy efficient building materials. This house not only achieves net-zero status: it's also an energy producer: "In 2009 the house consumed 7,566 kilowatt hours of electricity and produced 12,154 kilowatt hours." Could this become the home of the future?
Solar Power Works in the Cloudy Northwest - Fox13 3 months ago
Category: Solar
Even in a cloudy place like Washington state, solar power can work. Matt Moreno installed a $40,000 array on his roof (with the help of a loan and rebates, the cost decreased to $5,000 up front). This system collects and stores enough energy to power his entire house as well as sell some back to the grid.
Walden Pond Goes Solar - Backwoods Home 3 months ago
Category: Solar
Solar expert Jeffrey Yago answers the question: how can I run a small cabin on solar power? This first article in a three-part series suggests evaluating your electricity use and alternatives to energy-hogging appliances like washing machines. While this advice focuses on a running a cabin on solar as a summer getaway, it's also a way to live a simple, off-grid life year round.
Delicious Spinach Feta Omelette - Homestead Letters 3 months ago
Category: Cooking
I love simple, wholesome, healthy things to eat. This spinach feta omelette covers all of those bases. Plus, if you have chickens and grow spinach, the main ingredients are already covered.
Gardening for Geeks: Plans for Domestic Terraforming - WIRED 3 months ago
Category: Urban Homesteading
We're always saying that you can be more self reliant even with a tiny amount of space. This excellent guide from Wired shows exactly how this can be done whether you have a 3'X5' balcony or a full size 40'X60' suburban backyard through Domestic Terraforming. Not only does this guide include plans for gardening, but also for placing chicken coops, apiaries, rainwater catchment systems, compost tumblers, and mini greenhouses to create a self-sustaining system in a small amount of space. This is a must-see.
Zero-Mile Diet: A Year Round Guide to Growing Organic Food - City Farmer News 3 months ago
Category: Books
This book review by City Farmer News profiles Zero-Mile Diet: A Year Round Guide to Growing Organic Food by Carolyn Herriot. Ten years ago, the author decided to grow as much food as possible. The fruits of her labors have included more than vegetables: Herriot writes gardening columns, opened a nursery, and now runs an organic seed company. And now, she fills this book with her 10 years of knowledge. The good news is that Herriot discovered that it only takes five years to become self-sufficient in produce.
How to Cure and Smoke Your Own Bacon! - Planter Tomato 3 months ago
Category: Preserving
Hungry for a BLT? If not, you will be after reading Planter Tomato's instructions for curing and smoking bacon. While the curing recipe requires a few specialty ingredients, the smoking process only requires a few hours on the barbecue over low heat. Making bacon would be a great way to utilize a big hunk of meat, especially if you'll one day raise and butcher your own pig.
How to Make an Earthbox for Growing Vegetables 3 months ago
Category: Gardening
An Earthbox is a self contained gardening system with many advantages: it has a built in reservoir so it waters itself, it's easy to make, and it's perfect for gardening in small spaces. The Earthbox is made from inexpensive, easy-to-find materials. One design calls for plastic totes/bins, and another makes use of 5-gallon plastic buckets. This PDF file features several Earthbox designs that you can make yourself.
Public Payouts Rise While Private Paychecks Peter Out - USAToday 3 months ago
Category: Frugal Living
The recession and the stimulus package are reasons why we are receiving less money from business-sector jobs, and more money from the government. Private paychecks account for 41.9% of our income (down from 44.6%), while income from government assistance rose to 17.9% (up from 14.9%). While some economists predict that the economy will rebound and this problem will right itself, others have noted that this trend is unsustainable, as the source for government funding - private wages - shrinks.
Solar Shingles Make Solar Power Better for Homeowners - USAToday 3 months ago
Category: Solar
Solar manufacturers got the memo that many homeowners would prefer sleeker, less expensive solar panels. Many companies are developing "solar shingles," thin PV laminates that can be integrated into asphalt and metal roofing. At least three companies are working on these low profile solar panels as we speak, and some will be available in 2010.
Smart Urban Farming - Use the Space Wisely: Switchboard 3 months ago
Category: Community and Networking
Urban farming is great, but it needs to be done right. This article argues for a sensible use of urban spaces that doesn't displace normal city activities. Urban farms should promote commerce and community participation.
Ways to Garden Upside-Down Successfully - NYTimes 3 months ago
Category: Gardening
While some people question the viability of upside down gardening, enough people have grown tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers upside down to show that yes, it works! This article profiles the different ways people garden upside-down. There are ready-made products such as the ubiquitous Topsy-Turvy, but you can also make upside-down gardens from plastic buckets, 2-liter soda bottles, and milk jugs. Check out the photos in this article for ideas!
Can You Live Without Oil? - CNN 3 months ago
Category: Solar
A man with a mission: Patrick Vanderwyden's goal was to switch to alternative energy. Three years later, his major appliances run on solar power, and he gets around on electric bikes. He also owns a truck with an electric motor. Mr. Vanderwyden is of interest because the Gulf oil disaster is causing people to question how we should get our energy. Check out this article and its video to catch a glimpse on how a person can live using a lot less energy coming from alternative sources.
How to Make a Worm Bin for Kitchen Compost - NYCCompost.org 3 months ago
You can make compost in your kitchen! This is good if you don't have a yard and/or if you have a few plants that could benefit from some high-nutrient stuff. Most websites recommend using worms - red wigglers - to speed up the breakdown of materials. NYC Composters shows exactly what you need to do to build your own worm composting bin from simple materials.
 
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