Forth to Basics: A Guide to Goin' Off-Grid (and living more with less)
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About this ebook
Forth to Basics: A Guide to Goin' Off-Grid (and living more with less) is filled with beautiful color photos and helpful information from David R. Welder. It's all about living comfortably and sustainably without the electric power grid and other monthly services. By tapping both old-school and new-school technologies, Dave and his wife Veronica
David R. Welder
David R. Welder is an American author, environmental engineer, artist and naturalist. His book, Forth to Basics, is a unique exploration of off-grid living, starting with the big picture and narrowing the focus to an alternative path. Dave writes like he speaks, giving you the impression that you're sitting right there with him in his hand-built home. These pages offer all the basics and many of the details you need to know before packing up and moving off-grid. Learn to pick a plot, build a structure, tap the sun, and move toward a simpler existence. Forth to Basics is essential for anyone with an adventurous spirit and the urge to reconnect with nature. Living this way is within reach, and it's possible to do so while saving resources, money, comfort and sanity? Living more with less? Yes, please!
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Book preview
Forth to Basics - David R. Welder
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
— Chapter 1 —
Are You Ready?
Take Stock
Resources and Skills
Pull Together
Plan Like Ben
Do the Math
— Chapter 2 —
What Do You Really Need?
Air
Water
Bottled Water
Rainwater and Snow
Well Water
Food
Gardening
Foraging
Universal Edibility Test
Lambsquarter (Wild Spinach)
Ramps
Seasonal Foraging
Shopping
Basic Kitchenware Kit
Preparation and Preservation
Refrigeration
Clothing (Portable Shelter)
Layering
Natural Materials
Synthetic Materials
Socks, Boots and Shoes
Shelter
Start Small, Add-On Later
Tap the Sun and Earth’s Energy
Thinking Outside the Box
Lay a Firm Foundation
Focus on Roof
Seal, Insulate, Ventilate
Fire Safety
Fuel
Wood
Firewood Basics
Cutting, Prepping and Chopping Wood
Tire Pie (Log Splitting)
Building a Fire (like a Norwegian)
How Much Wood?
What’s a Cord?
Propane
Gasoline
Seasonal Fuel
Sanitation
Septic System
Flush with Ash!
Loo Build
Food Waste and Trash Control
Bathing
Sauna
Laundering
Doin’ Dishes
Natural Cleaning Products
Finding Balance
Sleep and Rest
Built with Balance
— Chapter 3 —
Wants or Needs? You Decide
Beyond the Basics
Tools
Basic Hand Tools
Electric Tools
Snow Removal
Labor Saving Devices
Off-Grid Electric Power
Solar Power (Slow and Clean)
Simple Solar Lighting
Know Your Load
Cup-O-Sun
Generator Power (Quick and Dirty)
Transportation
Communications
Phone (Smart or Dumb)
Personal Computer
Wi-Fi
Medical Care
Income
Domesticated Animals
Dogs and Cats
Guns.
Everything Else
— Chapter 4 —
Why Go Off?
Plan
Financial Freedom and Security
Health Benefits
Solitude v. Isolation
Shinrin Yoku (Japanese For Forest Bathing)
Environmental Benefits
Will You Save the World?
— Chapter 5 —
Brain Basics
Streamline and Simplify
Limit Your Sh*t
Limit Your Stuff Too
Limit Air Space
Organize Your Tools
Determine to be Determined
Don’t Waste Your Time
Start and Finish
Perfect v. Good Enough
Second Opinions
Avoid the Con
Think Like a (Good) Juror
Matter v. Don’t Matter
Rolling with Punches
Releasing Negative Emotions
Talking Back to Negative Self-Talk
Basics of Contentment
Take the Contentment Quiz
Spokes Make the Wheel
— Chapter 6 —
More Off Grid Tips
Research Everything
Become a Search Engineer
YouTube It
Wikipedia for Primer
Keep an Eye on Fred
Become a Scrounge-Master
Free Building Materials
Cheap Building Materials
Online - Used Stuff
Online - New Stuff
Searching For Land
Where to Search
Look at Lots (of Lots)
Look From Space
Look at GIS
Look Above and Below Ground
Look for Clean Title
Balance Price with Everything
Pay in Cash
Meet Your Wild Neighbors
Say Hello to Our Little Friends
The Pollinators
Give Bees a Chance
Nurture the Natives
Pesky Pests
Bug Repellents
Tick Checks
Being Neighborly
References and Recommended Reading
References
Acknowledgments
My A-Team
My Mighty Proofers
Appendix
A. Checklist for Goin’ Off-Grid
B. Looking for Land in Wisconsin
Notes
Outroduction
Author’s Bio
INTRODUCTION
If you love to camp, hike, explore and do-it-yourself (DIY), then you’re a fellow Outsider.
A simpler, off-grid lifestyle could be just the thing you’re dreaming of. The lower cost of living and added health benefits far outweigh the occasional discomfort and inconvenience of living off-grid. Well, at least some of us think so!
I first got the off-grid bug while watching Dick Proenneke build his small cabin in remote Alaska. I’m referring to the documentary TV program Alone in The Wilderness which has been aired on PBS television for years. Dick single-handedly built his cabin in the late 1960s and filmed the whole process with a hand-held movie camera. As a young fort-builder living in the rural Midwest, I thought to myself Whoah, Coool… I wonder if I could do that?
I wonder no more. Thanks Dick!
I admit, at the outset, not everyone can seamlessly transition to off-grid living without some loss of comfort and convenience. After all, many of us grew up in climatically-controlled environments with only brief excursions outside of our homes, cars, workplaces, etc. Modern heating and cooling systems have made life much more comfortable, but at what cost? More about that later.
Of course, if everyone left the cities and moved to nature, there would be consequences. If you prefer city life, there are other ways to reduce your individual environmental footprint and cost of living. At the same time, if a few more people could live within nature as stewards of the natural world, then we’d all be better off.
Despite significant reductions in air and water pollution over 50 years and the return of many wild species, it still feels like we’re more of an invasive species than stewards of nature. Reduced biodiversity and fossil fuel use are major contributors to our global strife. Whether we like it or not, these problems are not going away anytime soon. My goal is to show others how to reduce their impacts on nature by thinking globally and acting locally.
Let me briefly mention the term "off-grid," which has caught on in recent years. Technically, it means disconnecting from the North American electrical supply grid. For us, it also involves disconnecting from most paid services provided by others. This means:
• No natural gas lines
• No indoor plumbing
• No public water supply system
• No public sewage disposal system
• No waste collection service
Yes this lifestyle involves a bit more daily labor but with a little modern technology, you don’t have to sacrifice much of your comfort, convenience and income earning potential. This ain’t your Little House on the Prairie lifestyle.
You may also need or want to keep connected with others and access useful information on the internet. Therefore, cell phones, a computer and satellite internet connection may be necessary, even key to your success. You can certainly transition all the way back to a 19th-century lifestyle and skip the phone and internet altogether (our Amish neighbors do), but these tools make it easier to maintain an income, pay bills and stay connected.
In the following pages, I will demonstrate how going off-grid can reduce your overall cost of living in monetary terms. The electric grid and its many conveniences have been around for less than a hundred years. Yeah, it’s been nice but it ain’t been free. Some of us find that the old ways
offer practical and inexpensive options.
The off-grid concept might seem daunting at first, but realize that the vast majority of all humans who have ever lived, did so without instantly-accessible electric power. You too, can rough it in style with this tried-n-true way of life.
By showing how we did it (HWDI), my goal is to provide you with some basics concepts and important details so you can do it yourself (DIY).
By combining old-school knowledge with modern technology, I hope to demonstrate that you can live and work in relative comfort while using (and wasting) less of the planet’s finite natural resources, including fossil fuels. My hope is to inspire others to go forth and live simply, sustainably and peacefully… living OF the land rather than OFF the land.
No matter whether you’re ready to go off-grid tomorrow or never intend to, I hope to provide some golden nuggets o’ knowledge to shed some warm light on your path forward.
CHAPTER 1
ARE YOU READY?
Do we continue with our current paycheck to paycheck situation?
— or —
Do we pull up roots and make a big change to a simpler existence?
This is the quandary Veronica and I faced a few years ago. We persevered a long time with the first option but never seemed to save much for retirement. Bills, fees, cons and emergency expenditures ate it all up. Sound familiar? Well, we made the jump, built a new life together and never looked back. Wasn’t easy but ahh the rewards!
The following are some things to consider before making that big decision.