The Sunday Read

How to go off-grid, what tools you may need, and more

Author and photographer Foster Huntington’s tree house. His new book is Off Grid Life: Your Ideal Home in the Middle of Nowhere.

Want to go off-grid? Start here

A new story in the Smithsonian Magazine offers a crash course in living off the grid. It offers pointers in the following categories: energy, water, toilet, communication, and organization.

Article author Scott Yorko spoke to Foster Huntington, among others, and wrote that the latter told him: “We live in a world where we’re so disconnected from our bathroom experience that we often don’t know how to handle it. People often don’t know how a septic system works, what you can and can’t flush, and what the alternatives are.”

This, of course, along with a lot of other stuff is the kind of shit - sorry - you need to sort out when you move off-grid. Speaking from experience I can say you’ll figure much of it out on the fly as you can’t begin to anticipate everything involved.

There’s a lot of good advice packed into this small story, such as: “Modern lithium ion polymer batteries have advanced in their ability to hold a charge, but once the ambient temperature exceeds 70 degrees or drops below 40, they lose efficiency, so consider storing them in a dry cooler.”

Consider this a jumping off point for your off-grid experience, and take the leap into further research.

The Goat Goat Boxco 70 Hub System “was made for trouble”

This off-grid gear might just get you out of a fix

I used to loathe the phrase “news you can use,” but, hey, here’s some…well, news you can use.

Field and Stream presents this…um, useful story on The Best Off-Grid Survival Gear for Staying at Home in an Emergency.

Not just gear-heads will like this though.

Writes article author Matthew Every: “If there’s anything the past few months have taught us, it’s to be prepared. Whether it be for a lockdown or a grid-down situation, the possibility of having to stay home for a week or more has touched all of us—everywhere from rural farmhouses to apartment complexes.”

The story offers everything from freeze-dried meals to headlamps, and walkie talkies to multitools. They’re all smart things to stock.

Personally, I really liked the Goat Cooler. “The Goat Cooler was made for trouble. Sure, you can fill it with beer and ice just like any other cooler, but it really shines in an emergency. First, it keeps things cold for a long time, so if you’ve stocked up on extra food, or can’t run your fridge, you’ll be able to keep groceries for a few extra days.”

You had me at “made for trouble” and “beer.”

Those off-gridders did what?! U.K. tabloids find news fodder in off-grid lifestyles

The British tabloids, or at least the Daily Mail, seem to find the off-grid lifestyle bizarre, to say the least.

Witness two of the paper’s recent headlines: “Oxford graduate, 66, who lives off-grid in rural Wales in a hut built out of mud and manure tells Ben Fogle she doesn’t care if people think she's 'crazy' on New Lives in the Wild;” and “British woman, 26, quits her job as a caterer to live off-grid in a converted mini van with a French man she met on holiday after knowing him for just THREE DAYS.”

Why, those wacky off-gridders!

Personally, I fail to see how this constitutes news, and it just reinforces the stereotype that people who live off-grid are consummate weirdos when, in fact, I’ve met a lot of extremely intelligent individuals who are concerned about sustainability and the state of our planet, and whom live off the grid.

Much of the news media still views off-grid living as unconventional, which to some degree it is, but since the onset of the pandemic, and the news from our neighbours in the U.S., more and more people are actively investigating how to become self-sufficient.

I’d say the Daily Mail is out-of-step, not those leaving the grid.

Portland, Oregon man turns over new Leaf, recycling Nissan batteries

Ryan Pohl is a one-man operation recycling lithium ion batteries from electric vehicles for use with solar panels, according to the Washington Post

The Post reports that Pohl is breaking down used batteries from Nissan Leafs, and then repackaging them to provide RVs or converted vans with enough juice to keep everything powered up.

“We need to stop consuming new things and re-use the old,” he told the Post. “Turn something that’s trash into something that’s gold - that’s the idea.”

The photo-journalism alongside the story is fantastic. Make a point to check it out.

As always, thanks for reading. If you liked this post, please: