Our Summer Manifesto: Learn to Live Without Grid Electricity

When our big adventure begins it is not as though we are just city folk moving to the country. We are moving off-grid and sans running well water.

I think we’ll have some adjusting to do.

Our initial plan was that I was going to spend the summer writing a book and the papa would take some time off a few days a week so I could head to the coffee shop, laptop in hand, and write like a mad woman. After much consideration we knew that this book deal wasn’t for us at this time, so we thought… what if papa still took that time off and used it for our transition instead.

We’re going to take the few months we have left to prepare for our move and do some adjusting before we leave our current home. One of the bigger adjustments will be to learn to live without grid electricity.

The thing is… we can all lower our dependence on nonrenewable fuels no matter where we live. We can drive less, grow and buy food locally, use less electricity, and keep everything (school, food, warming/cooling, healing, clothing, etc.) in the home or our neighborhood.

So we are going to take the plunge and quit our dependence on grid electricity… one outlet at a time. I have added planned dates so that we have something to shoot for, but all is Lord willing, and we will take things as they come.

This is how we’re going to break the habit:

  • Turn off the lights and use alternatives only as necessary. This is the most basic and right now should be the easiest. The sun comes up around five and goes down around nine. I usually go to bed by 10 anyways, so putting alternatives throughout the house and using only as necessary makes sense. Start Date: June 5th.
  • Start washing laundry by hand and continue to hang laundry to dry. I am already hanging 85% of our laundry on the line, but I need to start learning to wash laundry by hand. I have a feeling this will also help with the next phase of our summer manifesto… get rid of everything. Start Date: June 13th.
  • Cook outside over the grill or an open fire as much as possible.  Start Date: June 20th.
  • Make/buy a solar oven and begin to use it for at least one meal per day.  Start Date: June 27th.
  • Unplug the refrigerator and use it, instead, as an icebox. We are so brain-washed that we don’t realize that a lot of things don’t even need to be refrigerated. A lot of produce, condiments, and fermented vegetables don’t really need to be in the refrigerator. By unplugging this beast and keeping ice in the freezer we can store a few things like dairy, meat, and delicate vegetables like lettuce. Start Date: July 4th (independence day!).
  • Make a solar hot water heater and begin to use it for bathing, washing dishes, and laundry. Start Date: July 11th.

Eventually we hope to, Lord willing, transition to a small off-grid power system for things like the laptop and perhaps solar freezer ice-making. The above steps are to wean us of our dependence on grid electricity.

We hope to share these steps with you… what works and what does not… and hopefully not losing sight of why we’re doing this in the first place.

What do you think about cutting back on your electricity dependence?

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32 Comments

  1. I can’t wait to hear how this goes. We are gradually moving off ourselves (www.sweatpeaspodcast.com) bit by bit. Have you checked out a James washing machine? Maybe try Lehmans.com, too. You’ll need something to agitate them. By hand usually isn’t good enough. Even a rock will do. : )

    1. Lisa Marie – I was planning to head to lehmans.com today! Love that site.

  2. I look forward to reading more about how this works for you. I didn’t want to turn the air conditioning on yet. but with temps in the 90’s I gave in (with pressure from the family). Our electric bills go sky high in the summer. I’ve been wanting to look into solar power also.

    One of my goals is to be able to water our garden from rain barrels through the summer. Well, it’s only June 1 and they are already about empty. We need rain! Looks like two are not enough. Good luck with your new life. I admire you and am trying to take some steps myself.

    1. Linda – That’s a great idea. Catching rain water is such a great way to use what we’re given.

  3. My hubs & I did this 15 years ago. It was the most awesome time of my life and miss it terribly. We aren’t there due to a change of jobs for him 2 years ago. We are now in the process of doing it again only not where we had to deal with 5 feet of snow at once. I will tell you it is not easy, but it is OH SO satisfying.

    Here is a link to one womans solution to washing using a plunger her hubby modified. http://offgridonthecheap.blogspot.com/2010/04/redneck-washing-machine-and-diy-laundry.html I know of someone who used the James washer from Lehmans and was very happy with it. I think she is still using it and that has been 25 years ago when she got it.

    1. Carolyn – Thanks for sharing that link! I am thinking of using about the same system with the bucket, agitator, etc. I haven’t found a wringer solution yet, but we’ll see…

  4. Shannon,

    Lehman’s sells a wringer that can be hooked up on a couple of galvanized tubs. I bought the ‘best’ wringer when hurricane Ike came through 3 years ago and we were without electricity for a week. It was in September and the weather was nice, so it wasn’t bad at all. We did run a generator so we wouldn’t lose everything in our freezer!
    I bought the wringer, the plunger, and squar tub at Lehman’s (I live about 1 1/2 hours from Lehman’s).
    With the generator we were able to run the washer (unpluggd the freezer while running washer), but the generator was not quite strong enough to run the spin cycle very good and so our clothes were very wet when done. That is why I decided I needed a wringer.
    We are back with electric (and have been since the power came on after Ike), but I am prepared for the worst. You can also buy a gas powered wringer washer from Lehman’s (or used to be able to).
    My grandma’s well was running dry in 1967 so grandpa put in a horse trough (hug!) to capture rain water off the roof. Grandma was able to strain this water into 2 gallon galvanized buckets to heat on the stove for washing dishes, hair, and for bathing. She also kept a bucket of water near the toilet for manual flushing. Worked great!
    We did the same thing back in 1988 when we were waiting to have a well dug on the property we lived on at the time. I hauled water and heated it for everything, including keeping a bucket near the toilet for manual flushing.
    Don’t try to wash clothes by hand as it will just ruin your hands! Use a plunger! And boil you whites to help get them clean.
    Have fun at Lehman’s! I could go broke shopping there! 🙂

    1. Thanks, Lori! I probably should clarify that “by hand” I mean without an electric washing machine. I definitely plan to use a plunger-wringer type set up eventually, but definitely a plunger at first. Thanks again!

  5. Great goals, Shannon. We’re semi-off-grid in the spring and autumn – it hits 115 here in the summer, and freezing in winter, and our house is not built to withstand that kind of heat/cold effectively, so we use artificial heating/cooling. We also have no access to water without an electric pump, so that’s also used. But we make do pretty well without much else. 🙂

    I’ll second the vote for the James washer… I used one for a summer (borrowed from a friend) and it was fantastic. My favorite part about doing laundry by hand was the quickness with which we cut down on how “dirty” was “dirty” 😉 Suddenly, everything could be spot cleaned or worn at least 2 more times. 😀

    The other thing I missed the most wasn’t something “convenient”… it was music! When I was growing up we had a piano in our home, so I could just go and play and work thru my music issues, but now we don’t have one – and I love my music! I caught myself sitting in the car one day with the radio turned on… it was kinda sad. 😉

    Also, my experience has been that putting the ice on the top shelf of the fridge, rather than in the freezer compartment, had better holding. Some friends of ours insulated a small garden shed (with spray foam, but I think straw bales + plaster would be just as, if not more, effective) and use it as their cold storage. Even in our 115 degree heat, it stays at least 20-25 degrees cooler.

    Finally, I laughed out loud at your cook over an open fire/grill goal. Your boys are going to LOVE that. 😉 Ours have gotten really good at burning sticks down and sharpening into points to poke potatoes, apples, … you name it, for roasting over the pit fire. It appeals to the primitive in all the men. 🙂 (My biggest challenge is getting the taste of “smoked” out of every. single. dish. 😉 )

    Heh. I should’ve just sent you an email. Anyway… blessings to you and yours.

  6. These are skills we should all know. We never know when a natural disaster may occur. We lived close to off grid when I was a kid but my knowledge is nill. I’ll be watching to learn.

  7. Very cool, Shannon! We’ll be forced to try this ourselves as our new rental runs on just a little bit of solar, nothing else. On the farm here we’ve adapted to using a mini-refrigerator since we don’t have much space. It has been much harder than I thought. And when the garden really starts coming in I think I’ll miss having all that space to chill veggies until I can get around to preserving them. We’ll definitely have to be creative. I look forward to hearing more about your plans!

  8. Hi Shannon, I am awed by your undertaking. I have no idea how I would ever pull something like that off myself! One question .. how will you blog with no electricity? Do you have a laptop that runs on solar power or something like that?

  9. Wow! Great goals! I know for sure that I am not ready to tackle a goal like this. I’m working on reducing the garbage & recycling that my family creates- reduce, reuse, reduce, compost. Sunset Magazine had a great article a couple of months ago about a family that produces a handful of garbage per year. This will be my goal for now. 🙂

  10. Shannon I’m loving what you are sharing. If I could only right all that’s on my mind about this subject, especially in relationship to Christ. I am just finishing reading Surviving Off Off The Grid and really enjoyed it. I can’t say that I necessarily agree with all of his perspectives for Christians and living entirely separated from others (ie those of the world), nor his views of cities, but one things is for sure is that things are NOT working the way the are set up now. As Christians we needs to start learning to think outside of the box and also be prepared. Things are not going to get better and the less reliant we are on society/government to provide for us, I believe the better we will be. It simply makes sense to me. My husband and I are having a garage sale in a week to start selling the things we aren’t currently using and even selling my wedding ring (hopefully we can find a buyer for it) so we can try and pay off the last large chunk on our credit card and car. We are hoping and praying that a move will also be in our near future (we currently rent a town house with very tight restrictions on what you can/can’t do, like no hanging laundry outside). I am trusting the Lord and until we have a more clear idea where we are to move and how we can structure my husbands income (hoping he can start working freelance so we aren’t tied to living by a large city (he’s an art director/graphic designer and we can’t find jobs for him except in the larger cities.) We are trying to look at every angle and make sure we are keeping our eyes open to where the Lord may lead us and also preparing by doing research so we are ready when the doors open. That’s all I know to do right now, that and being in the Bible and taking time for prayer to my Father in Heaven each and every day.

  11. I am so excited to follow along on your adventure! I think cutting back on electricity is wonderful – we spend much too much on it each month & it’s only going to get more expensive ($370 / mnth at the moment). We are looking into other options such as wind or solar which would work for us.
    Hope you have a wonderful summer & enjoy all the upcoming changes
    Blessings
    Renata:)

  12. Shannon, an added thought. I am not sure where you are going to be moving to start this great adventure, but if you will be hanging laundry or having to wash outside in freezing weather, a pair of neoprene gloves that fishermen & hunters use will be a SUPER blessing. My hubs got a pair for christmas eons ago and being the purist that I am I snubbed his offer to let me use them. When my fingertips were bright red & I couldn’t feel them, I decided to give it a try. Oh my goodness, I never gave them back to him. One does have to be careful not to catch them in the wringer though. Also if you have any antique shops or old junk shops you might even find a wringer there. We aquired a lot of our items that way. I love Lehmans, but I can’t always afford their prices. I will tell you their Pioneer Maid cookstoves are too cool. My son & his wife bought one, but not from them, a few years ago. I have an old zomeworks solar cooker and an old cast iron cookstove that is not nearly as efficient as the Pioneer. But the first casting date is my Grandfather’s birth year and the last casting date on the stove is my Grandmother’s, so it has a lot of sentimental value. The oven also toasts clothes and blankets wonderfully on subzero days. Well, I have rattled way too much and gotten off topic, please forgive me.

    Blessings to you and your family on this wonderful new adventure!!

  13. As my wife and I are attempting to make a similar transition in the next year or so, it is inspirational to see people succeding at this trend!

  14. I do have some experience with this. Let me suggest a couple of alternatives. There are some wonderful 12 volt flourescent light bulbs out there. They last for years and can run for over a month off a single charge on a car battery. I’d also recommend satellite radio, again something that can be run off DC and doesn’t put a heavy load on that battery. We loved having it at our last place. My husband could listen to baseball games and we had access to the news as well. You can run a laptop off a car battery too. You might want to consider cell phone data cards for the internet (if you live in an area with cell coverage-we didn’t).

    If you can run things off car batteries, you can charge them up using solar or even by putting them in the car for a trip into town. Flourescent lights will give you better quality light than just about anything else you’ll find. Expect that it will take you longer to do things living without electricity.

    You might want to consider one of those pot in pot refrigerators link I’ve never used one. I did have pretty good success using lard to seal jars full of partially cooked meat. (I reheated all of it about once a week and resealed it.) The plunger/wringer solution is probably the best bet. You might get some inspiration here link

    It’s good to know how to live without electricity. I’m glad though that I seem to be done with that. It gets harder to do, the older you get.

  15. I’m SO excited to follow your transition! Will you still be near Austin? I may have to hunt you down next time I’m in ATX visiting my parents!!

    We are on a similar journey, although not quite as dedicated. I admire you. You will be our motivation to follow similar steps!

    We are almost finished building a home that was designed for cross winds instead of A/C (we are NW of Houston on acreage!), covered porches, clothes lines in and out of the elements, fire pit with a cooking grill. My hubs is outside right now watering our 30+ fruit trees! Our next large project is to install a rain water collection system and gravity fed watering system for our trees.

    You inspired me last summer to garden and preserve. I can’t wait to follow your new adventures!

  16. Hello~ I popped over from Amy’s @ Daily Pleasures blog.

    What a great way to journal your transition. So much to learn/try out and the excitement you have must bubble over at times.

    It is peaceful to live simply and without. We do not live without electricity or any other convenience now. At one time in our lives we were off grid. The weather got real bad. Storms knocked out power. Funny thing was we didn’t notice until about 4 days later when we went into town. We all had a good laugh over that.

    I love hanging out our laundry. Although my husband requests that his socks and underwear get thrown into our dryer as they feel so scratchy 🙂

    I am going to spend some time looking back into your blog. I think I will find much inspiration.

    ~Cinnamon

  17. Wow, very extreme. I am just trying to learn the basics, like grow some of my own food. Being independent to a point is awesome and trying something like this will be great experience. I do love Electricity, TV’s, Cell phones, Internet, Computers, ect. I think mass communications and information help us understand our envoronment, educate and keep us close to others. We are safer to. Good technology has brought us medicine to extend our lives and keep more of our children healthier and alive. There will be always be people to use it in a negative way. We must be the positive influence to create a positive reaction in any situation.

  18. You are to be commended for taking such a huge step; different seasons of life mean we make different decisions. At this season of my/our lives, our dependence upon electricity grows, not lessons. Husband has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and requires oxygen and other medical supplies. We’ll never go off grid although, at some point, I can, probably, see me decreasing my usage.

  19. WTG!!! Im not sure I could handle washing all the laundry by hand. There is a ringer style that washing machine that can use gasoline but that gets expensive. I got a global solar oven this week and it is wonderful. I have cook bread and chicken & rice & corn in it so far. It is wonderful having a hot meal cooked for free with out fire wood or propane.

    GL & I hope you have a wonderful summer.

  20. One of the things I feared the most about our off-grid move was moving into a smaller space. We had a good-size home before, and I wasn’t sure how I would cope in our our 31′ camper with three kids. So we adjusted ourselves by “cutting off” half our house. We moved the rooms around so we were using half as much space as we had before. Still more than we are using now, post-move, but it was a big enough change that the move into our camper wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. And now the great thing is that we have SO MUCH more open space for the kids to run. They spend much of the day outdoors and couldn’t care less that they don’t have as much room indoors!

  21. Oh my goodness.

    I did this (we live in an off-grid home as of 2 months ago), not exactly by choice (see my blog…) which perhaps made it a bit more difficult. But I will say that it’s much, much harder than I thought it would be. We do have a solar system set up now, which is powerful enough for a lot of things, but it’s stuff like not being able to use a toaster or a blow dryer anymore that just kind of get to you.

    And I will also say that DIYing your laundry by hand/plunger is pretty fun for a couple days, for the novelty effect I guess, but pretty soon the blisters on your hands, the dry, rough skin, and the crunchy, uninviting bath towels start to wear on you.

    Actually, one more thing — relying on an ice box is ROUGH. (sorry!) I just wanted to point out that if you buy a fridge brand new, so many of them are so efficient now that it’s not much of an energy burden at all. We bought a basic fridge on a huge discount for being bumped and bruised a little (less than $300) and it only takes up as much wattage as a lightbulb.

    I think it’s great that you’re diving into this though, for all the right reasons. There’s a definite learning curve, and sometimes a very rough adjustment period, but there are some great benefits that come out of it. Bless you and your family for following your heart with this challenge!

  22. I was just looking at this older entry again, wondering how your summer goals fared. Were you able to meet all your dates? How did it go?

    We’ve got most of our cookware and other processes in our home to a point where we could do them without electricity if we had to. We’re buying a wood-burning stove next, so we don’t have to rely on electric heat.

    It’s funny, I would love to shut all my lights off and use our kerosene lamps and candles. I plan on doing it more during the fall and winter, when the children are doing school before the sun rises. (How cozy!) But I catch myself wondering, “What if we need those candles or this kerosene later, and I’ve used it now when I *didn’t* need it.” Did you have those kinds of thoughts?

    Anyway, just wondering how your summer went.

  23. I don’t know if you have time to respond, but how did you make a solar hot water heater? We want to become more sustainable but are in a different stage. That would be greatly helpful.

    Thanks,
    Kari

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