Submitted by Hardscrabble Farmer
Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,
You don’t have to be a cog in the system. For most of us, the only option that was presented while we were growing up was to get on the hamster wheel and run as fast as we could. You know what I mean – go to school, get a job, pay a mortgage, prepare for retirement, etc. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you truly want to unplug from the system and live your life off the grid, you can. Of course it isn’t easy, but nothing in life really worth doing ever is.
Sadly, the lives of most people are defined by the matrix that the vast majority of us are connected to on a daily basis. In most cases, your income and status in society are defined by whatever “job” has been given to you by whichever corporation you are currently working for. We like to call ourselves “employees”, but in essence we are basically corporate servants.
Of course most people feel like they can’t quit their corporate jobs because each month they have to make payments on mortgages, auto loans and credit card debts that they owe to giant corporate financial institutions.
And most people also feel the need to constantly “prepare for retirement” by pouring money into corporate securities in the rigged game that we call “the stock market”.
But what is going to happen to all of them when our economic and financial systems completely implode?
During this current economic downturn, millions upon millions of Americans have already lost their jobs, and it is being reported that millions of Americans could potentially be evicted from their homes in 2021.
When things go bad, it is the little guy that gets crushed first.
But you don’t have to wait around for that to happen.
An increasing number of Americans have decided that living off the grid is the way to go. For example, 65-year-old Bob Wells will never have to make a mortgage payment or pay rent ever again. He lives on public lands in his GMC Savana, and he uses solar power to run his 12-volt refrigerator. In recent years he has become internationally known for his YouTube channel named “Cheap RV Living”, but it wasn’t always this way.
In fact, his decision to adopt a nomad lifestyle was originally sparked by deep dissatisfaction with the corporate job that he was working…
Before becoming a nomad in 1995, Bob lived in Anchorage, Alaska, with his wife and two boys. He worked as a union clerk at the same Safeway where his father had worked until retirement, only to die two years later.
Bob didn’t want his father’s fate, but there he was. As days became decades, he went to a job he hated, worked with people he didn’t like, to buy things he didn’t want. By his own telling, he was the living embodiment of Thoreau’s “quiet desperation”. He knew he wasn’t happy, but it never occurred to him to live differently.
When he suddenly found himself divorced, Bob made a dramatic choice that changed his life forever…
Then, when he was 40 years old, the divorce happened. After paying alimony and child support, he was taking home $1,200 a month, $800 of which went towards rent.
One day, fretting about impossible finances, he saw a green box van for sale and thought: “Why don’t I buy that van and move into it?” The idea struck him as crazy, but with the prospect of homelessness closing in, he drained the last $1,500 in his savings account and bought the van that was just “too ratty-looking” for its previous owner. He gave his landlord notice that night, threw a sleeping pad in the back of his new home, and cried himself to sleep.
Today, he has hundreds of thousands of online followers, and he is even featured in a new film called “Nomadland”.
But despite all of that success, he will continue to live in his GMC Savana.
For others, living in a van is not a palatable option, but they have still chosen to live off the grid.
Over in the UK, a British couple named Matthew and Charis Watkinson have fully embraced a philosophy known as “collapsology”…
NO bills, no mortgage, an endless supply of homegrown grub and even a hot tub to relax in – welcome to the world of two Brits prepared for the end.
Essex vets Matthew and Charis Watkinson gave up the rat race for the good life in the Welsh countryside after reading about ‘collapsology’, a movement based around the theory that society as we know it could fall apart.
Wouldn’t it be great to have no bills every single month?
Matthew and Charis gave up their £30,000-a-year jobs, and now they produce their own food on three acres of land in Pembrokeshire…
Matthew and Charis, 35, bought three acres of land in Pembrokeshire for £35,000 and spent a further £25,000 on building a house, chicken coops, greenhouses, a horse poo-powered gas cooker and even a hot tub.
They are entirely self-sufficient, installing solar panels, growing their own fruit and veg, building beehives, rearing up to 140 chickens and converting lorries and flatbed hay trailers into zero-carbon living quarters.
If the collapse of our society greatly accelerates, they are ready.
Meanwhile, they don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn every morning and drag themselves to corporate jobs that they absolutely hate.
As I was preparing this article, I was reminded of a Reddit post that I saw earlier today…
I don’t understand how people would rather have a job than be dead. I genuinely don’t understand the motive. I picked a field I love, I became educated, I have had multiple jobs that are vastly different from each other and every one gives me the same overwhelming feeling of “I’d literally rather die than do this”. It’s been every job I’ve ever had, even before graduating college. I simply don’t feel rewarded when I put in effort to complete a task, I never get fulfillment out of a job well done. I don’t understand how people do this their whole lives
Have you ever felt that way?
I think that most of us have.
Matthew and Charis may have simple lives, but they are absolutely thrilled to be free of the system…
“We’ve built a farm for a lot less than £100,000 and it’s all ours.
“We don’t owe anybody any money and we don’t have any bills – why aren’t more people doing this?”
I think that is a perfect question.
Why aren’t more people doing this?
If you hate what your life has become, maybe it is time for a big change.
Countless others have gotten free from the system, and you can do it too.
* * *
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Hello Hardscrabble Farmer. Loved your article. Funny thing about living of the grid I’ve learned from a totally leftist magazine (I think they have a webpage as well) Mother Earth News
The article was written by Michael Snyder, — the prophet of Doom Porn, predicting the End Of All This Shit for over a decade, whose motto is “one of these days I’ll actually make an accurate prediction”, who once predicted the Lord’s Return was inevitable once avocados are priced at $1.50 each.
Never heard of the guy but then I don’t read any prophecy type article. $1.50 each avocado? Shouldn’t we reach that extremely soon, once truckers decide they can’t afford to pay for fuel?
He started a series of clickbait sites that all run the same “10 Facts That Prove The End Is Here!” type articles. They all probably take 10 minutes to write and he posted and reposted the same info over and over. In typical good prediction style, he generally asks you what you think, hints at what he thinks, and keeps saying the end is just around the corner. The links aren’t all bad, but Stucky is right- He’s all doom porn all the time. It must be a great business for him, because he’s been doing it since at least 2008 and parlayed it into books, more sites, writing on other sites, and I think a run for state govt in Idaho.
But you have to admit he’s right. As Peter Schiff says, it’s going to happen, you just can say when.
What good is a broken clock?
Other than the links, which can be good, it’s essentially just a site for feeding your confirmation bias.
So what? Good article and links, better than most.
He is the king of doom Porn just as you are the king of the shit stirring Stuck.
We’ve been on the cover twice and won the Homesteader of the Year appellation back in 2012. Great magazine, but you’re correct, they do seem awfully progressive considering their target audience.
Congratulation on being on the cover twice, so I may have seen your face without knowing someday I would chat online with you. It’s odd when on thinks of it.
I was raised a city boy. In retirement we moved to a small town(1 red light defines the center of town) not knowing a soul. I wanted to be 12 miles from any interstate, in a farming community so when the SHTF we’ll be OK. We started to learn gardening and grow our our own.
Working the garden is physically tiring but also very calming. Seeing the growth and fruits of those efforts rewarding.
An unanticipated benefit was realizing the wonder of nature. Many of my friends are the cardinals who visit me every morning, the doves bathing in the evening and the various critters who randomly come my way to tell me their incredible stories and show me their way of life. Yesterday, we had heavy rain and a snapping turtle ambled up to the house. It’s like that every day. Somebody new comes to visit and share their life with me.
With the self sufficient community around us I think we can weather almost any storm that comes along. And I’m sure we’re in for a dandy.
All told we couldn’t be much happier.
For all you out there contemplating such a change, I certainly recommend it. Even if I wasn’t retired the opportunities to make a living are plentiful. Any tradesman will find a lot of work and even the office types can fill numerous niches working from home or moonlighting in another capacity.
Come on in, the waters fine…
We did the same. 60 miles to the nearest interstate. One of our favorite times of the day is watching about two dozen turkey fly into the trees tops for their nightly roosting.
I was very fortunate when a younger man. I stumbled, literally, into my career and I loved it then as I love it now. And sadly, so very many I have worked for, worked with or worked for me have been just miserable. I have never figured out how anyone can work a job they hate, or even not happy in. I could not.
Now that I am deciding whether or not to retire, it is not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. While not “off the grid” we have always lived fairly simple lives.
While a cabin in the woods is a worthy choice, so is the motorhome.
Decisions, desisions!
Pro’s and cons to both, as you know. Downside to a motorhome, imo, is fuel and groceries. No fuel means you stay where you find yourself. Tough to defend and you are reliant on the stores for all your food. Cabin… easier to defend, grow some of your own food but you see the same scenery each day.
Throughout my career, I found that the people I worked with either made for a great job or a miserable one. I spent 22 years with the last company and enjoyed most of my days there because of the wonderful, caring people who worked together to provide a living for each other. We did not work for the boss or for the owner, but for each other.
Great article.
I have been binge watching DIY’s “building off the grid” show for a couple of years, as well as various others, just to pick up some basics.
While we are not quite ready for goats milk and no internet, we are going for raised bed veggies this year and maybe some egg layers in the not to distant future.
When the grand kids graduate HS in a few, the pool will be converted into an underground cistern and gravity feed the house, if needed.
Keep us up on your working farm for inspiration.
“Building Off the Grid” is a great show. Another one to watch and learn from is “Homestead Rescue”. It can be a little dramatic at times, but there are some wonderful ideas on how to be self sufficient.
There’s an Internet service that covers rural areas that I’ve been looking at. (I live in a town with Internet but am thinking of using them for a cheaper bill than Comcast is giving me.) It’s called Nomad. They even have an option to use when traveling in an RV.
https://nomadinternet.com/
Our local (Very rural) ISP has about 2,000 subscribers. We avoid the corporate anything where we can.
Ahh the self sufficient lifestyle , an American Dream . Rid yourself of all those societal pressures , grow your own food , hunt and fish etc … Sounds Great !
Don’t forget the cash you will need to pay property taxes oh and for God Sake do not get injured or sick , I’m talking critically ill and without thousands of dollars in modern medical care and treatment you are going to die in your own shit !
Many will do fine but most after 50 require some modern medication or they don’t make it to 60 !
Yes our modern society is pretty screwed up regarding priorities however one drink of bad water or a bite of infected or spoiled food off grid and you are done 🤮
Because you think doctors and pharmaceutical companies are there to make you healthy? Think again bub, they here to keep you sick but alive for the longest time so they can cash in. Do you know that most medicine can be found in natural sources? Aspirin can be found in willow trees, quinine in Artemisia annua, you can grow your own ginger garlic and turmeric which are all three natural anti-inflammatory products. I could go on and on but I think I would be wasting my time (BTW will be 70 in a month and half, haven’t been waxed since 1982 (tetanus) haven’t had the flu.
Attaboy George.
Agree with all but the waxing!
Kidding aside, I haven’t been flu jabbed in close to 25 years and don’t plan on it anytime soon.
That typo did remind me of a line in the movie “Better off dead” where the lead young woman, a French exchange student, confuses “tentacles” and “testicles”, as in “…Francis had his Testicles all over me!”
And Anon, or winnie?, supplementing and preparing isn’t the same as completely disconnecting.
I like modern conveniences but fresh veggies sound-and taste-pretty damn good.
Auntie recommends actual legitimate prophylaxis for the coming SHTF , especially for older folks 65+:
– Pneumonia (the condition that most influenza including the Beer variant causes people to croak from.)
– Hepatitis (one can even get it from a salad!)
There are other safe and effective medicines that prevent problems e.g. Tetanus booster and are readily available now. Get them before the trucks stop running or the Middle Kingdom bans the export. Talk to your trusted local personal physician first before doing anything.
85% of people are naturally immune to tetanus. You’re taking that shot only because of multi generational city dwellers never developed immunity.
Go make and eat a mud pie and you’ll be self inoculated…not really but odds are you’ll be ok.
I agree with you, Georges S. I use natural medicine and don’t trust doctors at all. Modern medicine is there to treat your symptoms only but they never address the underlying causes. I suggest everyone start looking into natural medicine.
There are so many sources of information, at first I read Natural Health News but then it became like a bid advertisement for their own product. Being multi-lingual I discover ancient treatments in Polish or in French. Did you know that walking barefoot grass covered with dew or even snow can modify your blood circulation? Fascinating
Read this if you have the time, share it you like it:
https://www.kneipp.com/us_en/kneipp-magazine/kneipp-philosophy/about-sebastian-kneipp/
Dr. Mercola talks about “grounding,” walking barefoot on the ground, which recharges the body.
I’ve practicing that since my youth , didn’t know why at first, was nearly 60 when I found out why it was good for the health
Stucky doesn’t like Mercola. Lol
Stucky doesn’t like anybody… I bet he doesn’t even like himself 😛
You’re wrong there. Stucky is a very loving person. He just doesn’t like Morans.
We are all morons to one person or another, for various reasons. This morning I told a guy that global warming was myth. For him I was a moron, for me he was one of those uneducated person like so many other and didn’t make him a moron for me, just someone who was never told the truth
Hope your appendix holds up or you don’t get a blood clot etc … nowhere did I indicate that big Pharma or corporate health care had anyone’s best interests , burnt toast can help with the screaming shits but you get a really bad injury or your small child gets injured your going to want a Medical ASAP
You don’t die in your own fluids in da big city? Hmmmmmm
A 12×16 shed, some insulation and a pot belly wood stove make very comfortable accommodations.
Buy land with a shallow dug well, dig a root cellar and an ice house and use propane utilities and appliances.
Quite simple and inexpensive.
Henry David Thoreau did it.
I’ve read the beginning and realized that it was written by the most woke morons who couldn’t comprehend the meaning of “Civil Disobedience” if they get hit on head with the book
Thoreau had some woman in town doing his laundry for him…just saying…
Nobody’s perfect. My future-ex-wife lawyer had a guy to do her laundry and her cooking 😛
Thoreau didn’t live full time in his cabin abode.
Ah, but whence comes the propane? There’s the rub with all of the ‘off grid’ and self sufficient living, it requires access to items like propane and power tools and a vehicle and so on and that means proximity to some kind of hub of civilization. Was talking with a friend of mine, discussing the sorry state of the economy and the country in general. He mention my little cows and how I could make a living raising cattle. He was joking.
They still make woodfired stoves complete with ovens. No need for propane. What did people do before power tools… Power tools just allow you to make mistakes faster.
Need to build a wok stove off the grid.
After watching this George S said “Hubba Hubba”.
Handy to have around but I’m not too much of a tats guy. Furthermore, they are in an area where there are big bears and they do not have a Henry 44-40 handy
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A simple solar system can provide plenty of light and can recharge your batteries so you can stay up to date on TBP
Um, when the sun don’t shine the solar don’t work too good….My grandparents were almost 100% self sufficient, no electric, plowed with horses, hauled water etc. but they still bought sugar and coffee and kerosene for the lamps.
No matter, the real issue here is to opt out of as much of the system as is humanly possible. I refuse to support an illegitimate and illegal government, but, I have to drive a car and I need a roof over my head and I really don’t want to live in a tent. So, my compromise no television, no smart phone, no shopping except groceries and thrift stores, garage sales, etc. I try to leave as small a footprint as I can and avoid as much as is humanly possible any contact with the big box stores and corporate media and social media.
If you want to see how the folks truly lived without go watch the Townsend videos….
I was just saying that for $500 you can set up a solar system with 2 or 4 deep cycle batteries and an inverter. This will be enough to power a couple LED lights, a fan and allow you to recharge batteries for your power tools, radio, etc. we do not have many days without sun here in W TN, so would not be without power for very long.
For $10k, you can have a decent sized whole house system and keep the modern lifestyle.
We recently bought enough solar to run a few lights, but running a water heater, heat pump and well pump is likely problematic for 10k. You could however switch between circuits powering one at a time.
Do you remember the old Green Acres series where Lisa had to plug and unplug different appliances or she would blow a fuse? Each appliance had a number associated with it and there was a total she could not exceed.
Da!
My house (which is for sale) has 2300 square feet. My meter allows me only 3KWH by choice. I never had any problems. (I use heating oil for the water heater and heating in the winter)
TN- Guess who cornered the market on solar power in the area around my doomstead?
That was a serious question for TN, how do you down a damn question? Moran……
Just so you know, and just in case TN doesn’t revisit this thread again, the answer is the local Amish hardware/solar store. One would hardly guess the Amish were big in solar electric, now would you Mr. Downer?
Actually if you switch from solar to photovoltaic, add a small wind turbine, and if there is fast running water have a hydro-electric system, you can easily make it
I love that guy. His dug out canoe video was hysterical, but his food videos are really informative.
We did it in stages. Bought land, cleared land, built tractor shed, barn, etc. When we had to build the house, I took the son who was interested in doing so under my wing, and we built the house together. My son-in-law helped and the other kids (urbanites) gave support and came to see. It was great in many respects, especially teaching my son to build a house with his two hands.
Now my son lives in the house, I go up every time I get a chance and we are building another small house to be mostly a food prep joint, and planting peach grove, olive trees, blueberry fields and much more. It seems that the fam always has an extra head or two up on the weekends at the farm. Starbucks reently remodeled their store near us, and they threw every piece of stainless steel into a dumpster – so we have our 7 required food prep sinks waiting to go in, along with several countertops – all GRATIS.
I just re-fied my house in the suburbs, and used the equity to clear the loan for the land I bought a decade ago, so the deed should drop into my hands soon. Having built in one of the poorest counties in my state, there is not much in the way of taxes to lose sleep over compared to my suburban house, where the property taxes are now more than my mortgage payment.
For now, we have a refurbed RV under a tin roofed barn for people to visit overnight in. We just built out a big shower/tub setup outside the RV, and we can still just hook up and take the RV. But the shower setup in a huge bathroom makes the RV really nice, since the tiny bathroom is now redundant.
You can do as I did, and build the place you think is best for you. It just takes persistence and not trying to build a “Home-of-the-Month” out in the hinterlands. Since the state says the county can tax you on any “livable space” you build, we may simply build a few more additions to the RV barn to make the RV itself into somewhere to simply sleep and relax. As long as we keep the RV registered and road legal, then the barn part isn’t taxable and property taxes are unaffected.
There is a huge amount of happiness to doing this if you enjoy working with your hands. You just eat the monster a weekend at a time – and it can happen.
Another blogger inspired me to do this – John Michael Greer – who coined the phrase “Collapse Now and Avoid the Rush”. We been downhill since 9/11 people – and being in the oil biz, there will be collapse aplenty ahead of us now that we are past Peak Oil production. And funny thing – that Peak happened, and it doesn’t matter to the Peak one wit whether you believe it or not. I choose to believe what my own eyes tell me working in the oil patch, and it isn’t us being some kind of leader in oil production. That was 100% pure hype from the bad orange man and his banker buddies.
Anyway, I am going to build some barn doors and buy a new tractor this week. Just wanted to let folks know that this shift is entirely possible.
For those who have jettisoned mortgages and utilities, property taxes are the next barrier to a sustainable homestead. Mindfulness of the rules for taxed structures versus untaxed structures can bear substantial dividends. Oilman2’s strategy is sound.
Totally off grid is great however there are many who would not be able to physically accomplish. To alleviate that issue many a charming small town in the American hinterlands that Yuppydom passed by, Globalism half destroyed, and rail service stopped 30-40 years ago. They beckon to those still bound to the tether of Corporate life.
Places where infrastructure – water and power – remain in excellent condition, are locally owned and managed. Real estate taxes are inexpensive yet municipal services are most satisfactory and permits are easy to acquire. Homes abound that need some TLC and can be had for less than 50K and the people are God-fearing, friendly but legitimately wary of outsiders. Not many “good-paying” jobs but that can be said for everywhere today. An area probably has a weekend farmer’s market and trade days (flea markets) are the norm – almost ready convertible to a barter system.
Where no one cares about your garden or the junk vehicles parked on the property. The people do not care – just respect them and their property and for the love of Pete, leave them alone especially if it’s posted or they have a standing committee of pit bulls or other such canines inside the fence hating on you.
Auntie lives in such a place after living in a megalopolis. Relaxing. And as a bonus vibrancy is at a minimum making the environment quite stress free: what a relief.
There is an appeal for sure with going “off-grid” However there are practicalities that will always get in the way. Even if one could de-clutter their lives, ridding themselves of bills and mortgages, there will always be a certain amount of money required to keep the wolves at bay. Like others have mentioned here, a fella needs money for propane, for gas, for food and for all sorts of things. Even if one is living as a Nomad like fellow mentioned in this piece there will always be repairs required for the RV. And if one lives off the land, like those folks in the UK, one can count on the inevitable confrontation with taxes every year that must be payed.
A good starting point for sure but wouldn’t it be better for people to realize that their Social Network doesn’t live online but instead exists in the real world?
RiNS- Worrying about money for gas, food etc. is so 20th century. UBI is the new game in town. If you want to go off grid in the woods like a hermit, Uncle Sugar will fund the project. Start scoping out that little piece of heaven today RiNS. 🙂
I lived for a decade as a nomad; a car, two pieces of luggage, camping and fishing gear and all I had to do was get to the next gig on time. Sometimes it was lonely, but then I got a dog , and not long after that a serious girlfriend who eventually agreed to be my wife. So yeah, it’s doable if you’re the kind of person who is self reliant and has some skills.
Ditto with the homestead thing- just over 10 years now and if you believe in what you’re doing and have confidence in your abilities, the money to pay for what you need is always there when you need it and when you don’t have very much, you learn to live with less.
Here’s the thing- we come into this world, we live for a while and then we leave it in the same mysterious way we entered it. No matter what course you choose you will face challenges, losses, disappointments, sickness and injuries and eventually death. No one gets a pass, no one is safe or secure in any path they choose. The more you incline towards the safe and secure end of the spectrum, the fewer your options. The more you lean towards real liberty, the more you risk. Everyone must make the kind of decisions that bring them the greatest opportunity for fulfilling their destiny, whether to be a free man or a slave is not a matter of fate, but of the series of conscious choices you decide to make along the way.
I present these pieces and share my stories because I want as many people who incline towards freedom to know what is possible, not guaranteed, but possible. As far as I know we only get this single life to live and for me there’s never been a moment when I haven’t been completely content in the way I have chosen to live it no matter the circumstances. Financial success never brought me happiness and in the most extreme poverty I was never defeated. I am a man, not a consumer and I firmly believe that my Creator would be pleased with the course I have taken with the life He has given to me.
And in the end we all leave with exactly what we came into the world with- nothing.
indeed. can rightly say ah’ve nevah seen me a Brinks truck followin’ close behind a hearse carryin’
the stiff remains of a man who piled up a ton of baubles.
“Never seen a Hearse with a luggage rack “ – George Strait
I get what you are saying Scrabble. Here is the problem being a Nomad. It works for a while but eventually a fella needs to plant himself somewhere..
As far as the homestead thing and the path you have chosen methinks your creator would be pleased with what you have done. You are Sir, living the American Dream. I am just not sure which road that leads there I want to travel.
Reading what you wrote above I do sense that you might have taken some offense. Rest assured that it was never my intent. What you saw was an abbreviated version of what I had written. The original was quite a bit longer, and once done, most of it was deleted. Why? Well because my writing lacks a nuance that you deliver and because of that can be taken outta context. Suffice it to say that I aspire live as you do, just maybe not by being a farmer.
Lately I have been considering other ways.
I have been spending my spare time in my shop learning new skills. I had to do that because sitting in front of a computer and raging against the world is getting old. So by hook and crook, I continue to be an expert of many things and a master of none. It is still up in the air as to whether being in a trade is a good way to go but methinks there are other skills that will be handy in the coming years.
Some weeks ago I posted a video to Rumble. At the time I was thinking that putting content up like that might have some value. Admin has asked me to submit an article or two about current project. Would it be worthwhile? I am not sure….
Still, there may come a day when being handy with a saw and a can of paint might translate into a meal or two for my wife, my family and my friends. Like you I am a man and not a consumer. It is still middle innings in this enterprise. The doors from the old farmhouse are now stripped. Original to the house, and well past one hundred years old, they’re likely many stories to be found in those cracks and imperfections. The cracks are gone now..
Maybe this weekend I’ll post my findings. We’ll see…
As I get closer to cashing in, buying land, and leaving Pennsyltucky something nags at me more & more. I will be leaving my support network that has naturally built around me.
The guy that loans me tools when I don’t have them, another friend who offers me his reloads when I can’t find ammo, my farmer friend who was my 1st beeyard host, another that I trade honey & eggs for beef, and the list goes on. That list also ignores the contributions I make in their lives.
I will be going it alone at 1st, maybe longer depending on my new neighbors, and I am not just a little unsettled by that prospect.
You ain’t growing if ya ain’t unsettled.
I have learned recently as last year that you can not prep 1./2 way for teotwawki. Here is a true and mostly sad story of a prepper who thought he had his shit together but will die with the rest.
So my little corner of Ohio gets ice storms. Nice little knock a wire off a pole ice storms and being rural with maybe 12 people on our run from the transport side to delivery side we are low on the list of fix when these storms hit. I have taken care of the water situation into the house as I have a deep water well and it is piped to a cistern next to the house. The power situation was going top be expensive as a generator for a heat pump house and range requires like 25k for a generator and I never liked a power source like a genny for eotwawki situations as gas will not be available. So I decided to go with wood heat and wood cooking.
I put a small pellet cook stove in the basement for cooking and a small amount of heat. For the main heat and hot water I have a stand alone outside furnace with 12 volt blower and a heat exchanger. I also have a water heat exchanger for making hot water but until I work out some engineering details it is slow and has to be monitored. I have a bank of 4 deep cycle batteries on a 4 bay solar panel on the roof. These panels can charge up one battery in 1 day and keeps them topped off with no problems. All i do is start a fire and when the heat builds up enough the vents close on the exchanger and the blower kicks on until the exchanger temp drops below threshold and it starts again. On a 20 degree day the vents pop open and closed about every 45 seconds and can keep up with the temp no problem.
So I get home at 5 pm and we have no power. I load the pellet stove and go outside to get the furnace turned on. I open the door to my little furnace house and I find that a family of possums has taking up light housekeeping in my furnace. it is full of possum family stuff and smells like a bathroom. Apparently a possum can open and close doors so I never know the bastages was in my furnace. ARRGGGSSSShit.
So 2 hours later the possums are history and my furnace is lit. Now I have to get the blowers set. I go in the basement and go to unplug the charging bank on the batteries.
It is already unplugged.
Plugged into the solar bay is the secondary router my kid uses for his gaming. My batteries are disconnected and are of course flat.
fuck.
I have a feeling that a lot of people like me who make what I have started calling eotw lite plans are going to find out that you can not plan 1/2 way in your preps. You either plan properly or you might wanna go with plan b which is what most city dwellers will do, have guns and take what you need.
And since some will ask no I have not fixed the situation other than the batteries. They are hard wired.
Cold for 3 days then we went to a motel…………
A short time later I stumbled on a web site that would give you a death date depending on your preps. I checked off what I considered a lot of high value preps such as a on site well, A pond with fish. 2 acres of crops. 1 year store able foods and firearms and munitions for a while. based on my input I will die before I run out of fuel and food as my preps are lacking in medical backup. I will get sick or a infection and die within 6 months.
Meh.
Even TEOTWAWKI lite is a decided big step forward psychologically and maybe more importantly, telling the Stasi-State and their confederates that we see you and are not going to sit idly by. Do we strive to survive for many years without basic staples and electricity? We are in our 60’s. No.
Possums don’t take well to 2x4s either.
Just ask the raccoon’s family.
I’d do this in a red minute if I had the money.
Why? Cause there’s not a Starbucks close by. You know just giving up the corporate media/entertainment offerings would significantly turn people’s worldview, and probably open their minds to Going Gault.
Galt
Yes, just didn’t bother to edit. Anything else?
FF- EC was usually the TBP spell checker. He recently passed away and went to live with Jeebus. As the position has not been filled to date, I filled in . Nothing personal, it’s part of the service here.
Value added…it’s gratis. ;0
FF- What’s really funny is that I can’t spell wurff a sh*t. 🙂
Dats the zombie truff ;0