Have you ever wanted to live off grid but you’re not sure if you’d be able to cope? If you’re intrigued by the idea but you’re not quite ready to make that leap, you can give it a trial run. No, it doesn’t mean that you have to shut down your electricity, but you can get the taste of living a simpler and less energy dependent life.
Even if you choose not to go fully off grid, living like this can only be better for the environment, right? If you want to practice the lifestyle, but you don’t want to disconnect your septic services just yet, we’ve got a few ideas so that you can get a feel for living without those utilities that you are allowed so much.
You may not be all the way there yet, but you’ll benefit from minimizing your waste and reducing your energy dependency. You’ll also be able to simplify so many of your daily activities that it will feel like you are living off grid even if you’re not. Here are some of the ways you can do it.
- Minimize your household waste. Most people who live very rurally or off grid don’t actually have a garbage pickup service. They take their own garbage to the dump, so that means they have to think very carefully about generating waste if they’re going to not have any way of disposing of it. Instead of wanting to lug everything to a landfill site, you can reduce how much waste you have by making a point of stopping buying food in non reusable packaging. For you, this could mean shopping at the grocers or the butchers.
- Maximize natural light. This may mean rearranging your furniture at home, but if so you will find that maximizing your natural light means you are using a lot less electricity and you are being more aware of how much off grid electricity you are using. Even though electric lights don’t pull too much energy, maximizing the natural light sources in your home will minimize your dependence on the electric lights that you have. You will also warm your home easier because you are bringing in natural light through the windows which will help with heating.
- Consider the way you groom. Hair dryers, straighteners, curling irons and electric shavers are not actually things you will find when you are trying to minimize life off the grid. You need to start thinking about growing a beard or using wax for your legs. If you don’t want to grow a beard, using scissors to learn how to trim the beard is going to help you. When you’re in the washroom, think about how often you even flush the toilet. You won’t be on the city sewers when you are off grid, so while you are still using your septic tank right now, you won’t be able to when you move.
- Get rid of the coffee maker. Just like having those electric grooming appliances, you won’t have a coffee maker when you are off grid. You’ll also have to get rid of the blender, bread maker and A food processor. Instead, you’ll have to get used to using a little elbow grease to make your food from scratch. It can help to use a smart meter to find out exactly how much electricity all of those appliances use and then you can minimize your use of them as you get used to transitioning to off grid.
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