Off-Grid

9 Things You Need To Live Off The Grid

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Feature | Tent in the middle trail top view of sunrise and mountain | Things You Need to Live Off the Grid

Living off the grid requires you to shift to a whole new lifestyle. Here are things to prepare so you can live remotely in an efficient way.

Few Things You Need When Living Off the Grid

 

Off Grid Living Preparations

This mental shift is one of the most important preparations you can make. You never know when you need to live off the grid.

It's either things are taking a bad turn or you're choosing to live away from urban chaos.

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1. Truck and Cargo Trailer

Get a decent truck and a cargo trailer. In times of emergencies, you only need to dump your things in the cargo trailer.

Hook your things up at the back of your truck, hit the road, and go wherever your heart desires. Plus, if you decide to settle somewhere off the grid, you can convert it as a tiny house or an extension to your log cabin.

2. Large Tent

While you're living off the grid, you need a tent. This can serve as your home for many months to come.

It's light and easy to pack — a simple, collapsible shelter that protects you from heat and cold. If you take good care of your tent, it can last a long time.

3. Sleeping Bags

Person looking outside of a tent | Things You Need to Live Off the Grid

You must also have a sleeping bag or a hammock. Sure, it's not as decent as an actual bed, but you can't be picky when you're living off-grid.

Take note there are more options for outdoor sleeping systems these days. You can find a hammock that is also a sleeping bag and a tent at the same time.

4. Containers

Bring large water containers with you. So they won't take too much space, opt for collapsible water containers instead.

You need these to have an ample supply of water, of course. But you can also use them to store fuel, too.

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Aside from water containers, you need food containers as well. An icebox keeps fresh ingredients longer, so be sure to have this. Sacks, wooden crates, and boxes are good options for off grid storage, too.

5. Generator

Homes must have an extra power generator for off grid power systems. It comes handy when other sources of energy run out or get broken for some reason.

Generators may run on natural gas, propane, and even human power. It also helps to have an ample battery bank. With an inverter, you can use a car battery, for example to power a few basic house appliances.

RELATED: Sustainable Survival – Making ‘Off-The-Grid’ as Green as Possible

6. Renewable Energy Source

Having a renewable energy source is more convenient when you're living off-grid. The thing with non-renewable energy sources is they are not sustainable.

Once coal or oil runs out, you have to replace them, which is inconvenient. Opt for solar power or wind power instead.

By securing a renewable energy source, you can ensure you have a steady supply of electricity to power the things you need for comfort. You can install solar panels and off-grid inverter on your cargo trailer.

This way you can optimize the solar energy while traveling across the country. Or, you can install wind turbines in the area of your off-grid living cabin.

What is a wind turbine? It is a power generating structure that has 2-3 blades that moves like a propeller. A wind turbine converts wind energy to electrical energy.

7. Composting Toilet

When you're just getting settled in an off-grid cabin, one of the issues you may encounter is hygiene. You simply can't run off into the woods every time you need to use the bathroom.

It's unhygienic if you keep doing this. Plus there is the risk of contaminating your area, affecting your food and water sources.

Address this by building a composting toilet. It basically composts and treats human dirt with organic matter. When done properly, the composted material can even be reused as fertilizers and soil conditioner.

8. Hunting and Farming Equipment

Man fishing to survive | Things You Need to Live Off the Grid

Always have the equipment you need to feed yourself. Storing a lot of food is the easiest option to go for, obviously.

If you're truly living off-grid, especially in dire times, you would have to hunt, raise farm animals, or grow your own crops. In this case, you need a hunting gear and farming tools.

9. First Aid Kit

Always keep a supply of medicine and first aid tools. If you're living off the grid, you can't simply rely on doctors and 911.

You would have to be self-sufficient. This said, your knowledge of applying first aid is as important as having a first aid kit.

Expand what you know about herbal plants and old-school survival skills. Make sure you do this before you even think about living off-grid.

 

Watch this video by Living Big In A Tiny House and see how off the grid living works on a permaculture farm:

Aside from being prepared for a world without order, going off the grid can do wonders for your mental health. Cutting down to the bare essentials is shocking at first. However, once you get used to it, you realize how fulfilling living off-grid is.

When you live this way, you don't have to think about living a highly structured urban life anymore. This is might be the greatest thing that off the grid living can offer. You go back to basics, get in touch with your natural self, and enjoy the freedom of nature around you.

What do you think about our list of off the grid necessities? Let us know in the comments section!

Up Next: The Ultimate Story Of Off Grid Living

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 26, 2015, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

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35 Comments

35 Comments

  1. Pingback: Things You Need to Live Off the Grid | Patriot Powered News

  2. Pingback: Things You Need to Live Off the Grid » Survival Gear & Food Storage

  3. TheSouthernNationalist

    May 30, 2015 at 4:08 PM

    Still got to pay property taxes even if you are off grid, unless you are so deep in the forest no one would ever see you.

    • Ron

      November 12, 2017 at 10:45 AM

      Property taxes are an elite installed control vector that says the common man owns nothing while royalty owns everything. It stems from the admiralty law. Ever notice that flags in court rooms and standing behind the president have gold tassels? That is the code for the overlords who have put themselves in control. If the the Queen of England owns millions of acres of land, where do you think she gets the money to pay taxes on those acres. She doesn’t.

      Hopefully when the SHTF there is a reset on the way things are and the narcocracy is dislodged from sticking their teeth into everything for their own needs.

      Property taxes is their way of saying you don’t own anything! How can you if you pay a tax? Where does the money go? To infrastructure? NO it goes to the overlords who passed that stupid law.

      • Rich W

        November 12, 2017 at 8:00 PM

        There’s some truth there , but we still owe taxes whether it’s right or not it’s still the law of the land , overlords or not.

        • Anonymous

          November 13, 2017 at 1:59 AM

          Taxes start off with a contract. When you fill out an IRS form you are entering into a contract to allow them to collect taxes from you. Once you enter into that contract, it is like any contract and becomes binding. Had you not entered into such a contract, then you owe them nothing. It’s like making a deal with the devil. The IRS is not a government agency the same way the FEDERAL RESERVE is not anymore ‘federal’ than Fedex. It’s a system that was sneaked into our lives and made to look “legal” when in fact it’s an autocratic leech on humanity. Figure the scam of printing money which is then loaned at interest. Must be nice to be the only game in town to print paper money and become trillionaires from the ponzie scheme.

          During the Shaw of Iran days, rather than ship him pallets of money, they gave him his own printing press to print dollars. So figure out what’s what with that.

          Hence taxation is being abused to no end. Government gets too large which the founding fathers warned about, then a smaller government could operate off of sales taxes if need be, not INCOME TAXES which is an external condition waged on humanity. There was no income tax in the early 20th. Over time they abused their position to make people think it is the right of the government to collect taxes and that being an “upright” citizen mandates you pay taxes.

          Just wait till they ban cash and your whole networth is 1’s and 0’s on a computer where they will b able to control your every move. No more off grid business deals, your garage sales will be monitored, everything you buy and sell will be recorded. Mark of the beast!

        • Andrew

          April 14, 2018 at 9:09 PM

          If you bring the land patent forward in your name and file it with with the state no tax or leans on your land you own it outright just like if you where born here you are a resident and not a citizen you have to file the paper work to be a citizen and that’s state citizenship not US citizenship

          • Anonymous

            January 20, 2019 at 8:35 AM

            More info on this please Andrew. Thanks!

      • Jinn

        May 25, 2018 at 7:50 AM

        Some states have homestead exemptions for property not desighned to glitzy and sprawling, check them.

    • Sarah

      April 7, 2018 at 4:27 PM

      HAY I live here in SEATTLE,WA. and I am 73 years old and the” property taxes” is high I dont get no brakes HOMESTEADING my tax well be so much less !

  4. Richard Fischer

    June 2, 2015 at 11:23 AM

    Actually one statement here is wrong. It’s the one about “essential” government employees getting paid while working during a government shutdown. “Essential” government employees are REQUIRED to work in the event of a shutdown yet as long as there is a shutdown they receive NO PAY and cannot take any sick time or vacation time. They only begin receiving their pay AFTER the shutdown ends and the government can take up to ONE YEAR to give those “essential” government employees the back pay which they earned during the shutdown.

    How do I know this? Because my wife was one of those “essential” government employees while working for USDA during the last shutdown.

    • Geary Formby

      November 12, 2017 at 10:07 AM

      Two points here regarding your comment.
      1. If the Government employee is not “Essential” why are they employed by the government (read taxpayer) at all?; and
      2. If a government employee doesn’t like their jobs, benefits, management of the terms of employment with the government, they are, of course free to retire or leave that employment and seek employment in the private sector where they are not insulated from the realities of the REAL economy and where bad decisions by the employees, management, and the state of the economy can result in devastating economic hardships to that employee and their families.

      I constantly hear government “employees” complaining and moaning about their “jobs”. My response is if you are so unhappy …. quit! Very few ever do until they finally retire from government “service” and start collecting unbelievably generous benefits compared to what is generally available and affordable in the REAL economy.

      • DonB

        April 2, 2018 at 12:07 PM

        Actually most government employees don’t have any of the generous benefits that you whine about. Most government employees pay their own retirements by contributing as much as 20% of their pay in addition to Social Security. They aslo pay some of the highest medical insurance premiums in the country. Sure there are some very senior government appointees and managers who make out, but the average government employee doesn’t live or work in DC and many work their butts off.

        I am a retired Border Patrol Agent. I was under the older Civil Service Retirement (CSRS) program. I began in 1979 and I worked 55-60 hour weeks for almost 31 years, with 17 years with no overtime, as we were only paid up to 50 hours per week. I paid in over 15% of everything I made into my retirement fund. I cannot collect Social Security despite having paid into it for 21 years. I did this until my career was ended when I was struck down by a drunken smuggler driving a pickup truck. I paid in over 15% of everything I made into my retirement fund. I cannot collect Social Security despite having paid into it for 21 years.

        I make about $37,000 per year and I am barred by federal law from collecting Social Security. My neighbor worked long hours as a secretary at a federal detention center for 26 years. She collects almost $19,000 per year.

        So if you think that this is great retirement and you don’t mind long, long hours working alone and getting assaulted regularly, then apply to the Border Patrol. They are hiring right now!

        • desertsnake

          April 3, 2018 at 10:51 AM

          Thank you for your service/hard work, in keeping the USA safe.

        • Jim Staudenmeier

          May 13, 2018 at 10:50 AM

          Thank you for your service.

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  6. Larry m Wilson

    April 3, 2018 at 4:18 AM

    I’ve lived off the grid for 14 years now.,a regular home in The mountains here. I’m on my third set of batteries. Replacing them,is my honest expense. I love it though.

  7. tax tips for university students canada

    April 24, 2018 at 12:21 PM

    Lodging a tax return can seem daunting for
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    April 29, 2018 at 9:59 PM

    Go to for extra tax ideas for college students and others.

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  24. Deb

    January 16, 2023 at 8:47 AM

    So,… my husband and I lived off the grid for 18 years in Wis. Too long 🙂
    But the biggest thing is about gas refrig, gas lights and range in the house/ cabin. It’s the Low levels of carbon Monoxide that’s giving off every single day! Almost killed us many times and will mess you up like you wouldn’t believe. Tired, crabby, and can’t think. Those Things always had to be cleaned. Bugs or spiders would plug the flow and create Carbon Monoxide! If you have a porch, gas refig and lights even the range should be on porch. When it comes to carbon monoxide detectors, Do Not Get Kidde!!!
    Buy a low level detector .Kidde other brands only work once and it’s at high level when it goes off and you and your partner are already really messed up from it. Not kidding. FYI, after 18 years finally have power:) Cost about $9000 but so happy and We missed it.

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