At A Stand Still - Getting Off The Grid
August 28,2016
Owning a large section of land and trying to maintain it and work out in the world is not an easy task, especially for one woman, Even when I do hire help. Learning is a part of life and learning to balance one with the other is the biggest learning process of my life.
I am now going to declare that the month of August HAS to be the rest month for me here in Alabama this year. I have a row of yellow squash and its battle the bugs time, they are winning. I have a couple cucumber planted in flower pots, another battle of the bugs. Its either to dry or to wet to till the garden to sow the fall greens, since August is about over, I will see how kind September will be for me.
Another learning process is "learning to do without items that require power."
As I have mentioned before I put up the clothesline to bypass using the electric dryer and for the most part I have done really good with this process and I have even seen a large nose dive in my power bill.
I also unplug the office stuff, the printer, computer and even the lamp.
Unplugging the kitchen too! No microwave unless I really have to and this one is the hardest to stop. I had already made it a habit to unplug the coffee maker years ago, and since I do not have my appliances on th counter tops, none are plugged in. One thing I have been doing again is using the hand can opener and the hand mixer, I don`t use either often but when I do I want to go with no power.
Another hurdle to overcome is how will I heat the hot water for baths during the winter? I have an electric water heater and I am fortunate to have an off and on switch ( like a light switch) to flip when I am not using it in this place, but what about when I go off the grid completely? How will I manage the hot water.
The process continues as I will be off the grid one day soon.
By Andria Perry
Photo By Andria Perry
This timw of year the bugs are crazy around here.
ReplyDeleteAround here they are not starving!
DeleteIt's great to have an on/off switch for the hot water, but I've generally found that our electric heaters were not efficient enough to switch on & off unless we really scheduled ourselves for washing dishes, taking baths, etc.
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about finding ways to generate your own energy instead of going without? I think a lot of the "off-grid" folks these days are not actually off the grid but rather independent of it. In fact, some can actually sell electricity back to the power company. That would be my dream come true!
Solar only. I have researched the feeding back into the grid already, not for me.
DeleteYou are right, so many small electrical appliances we really can adjust to not having.
ReplyDeleteI want to learn the old fashion way but have my electric just in case :)
DeleteI'd like to be able to feed back into the grid! It actually came up in our state legislature recently, and of course the company fought it and the bill died in committee. But if you just set up a standard gas or electric heater where it catches full sunlight from a west-facing window, you get enough solar heat for *one* person to take *one* long shower or deep bath, or wash *one* load of clothes, on a sunny day. It's possible to reduce the electric bill by disconnecting current while that free tank of water heats up, especially if some or all family members like cold showers.
ReplyDelete