How to Live without Electricity
Invest in alternative energy., Plan out your lighting system., Winterize your house., Consider central heating., Figure out how you’re going to cook., Plant a garden., Raise livestock., Learn how to preserve food., Create a compost pile., Make your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Invest in alternative energy.
If you are planning on living without electricity, then you are going to have to find other ways to power your home without the help of electricity companies.
Renewable energy sources are an excellent way to do this.
Install solar panels to harness the power of the sun, build wind turbines, or power your home through a hydropower system.
You may also consider installing a generator so you can power your own electric items.Make a bicycle generator.
Bike generators are both a great way to get exercise and a great way to charge your electronics.
You can order the plans for bike generators online, or you can order pre made bike generators.
You should also consider using alternative fuels like biodiesel, biomass, and Ethanol. -
Step 2: Plan out your lighting system.
There are several viable options for how to best light your house.
One of the best is the kerosene lantern.
You could also use kerosene wick lamps, candles, and battery-charged camping lanterns.
It’s also important to have flashlights on hand for when you need to get up in the middle of the night but don’t have any lights to turn on.If you decide to get a bicycle generator, you will be able to light your the lamps in your house. , This means adding extra insulation to your house’s walls, particularly in the attic and around doorways.
Heat escapes under doorways, around windows and through the upper regions of the house.
Create an insulation system that will let as little heat escape as possible.
Buy door sweeps to block up the undersides of doors.
You should also consider using a window insulator kit to block air leaking through your windows.
You can either purchase a ready made window insulation kit, or make your own. , If you do not have a fireplace or wood-burning stove, you should seriously consider building one, especially if you live in a cold climate.
To heat other rooms in the house, you can consider building vents onto your fireplace that lead to the other rooms., One of the best ways to cook without using any electricity is to install a wood stove.
When it gets too hot to cook over the wood stove, use propane or butane camping stoves (which act exactly like any other gas stove.) If you have a gas stove, you can still use it without using electricity.
You will just have to light the burners with matches or a lighter. , Rather than purchasing fruits and vegetables from a store, why not grow your own? With just a few seeds, you can turn your yard into a cornucopia of produce.
Growing your crops on your own land will also mean that you have control over what sort of contaminants your food is exposed to.
Plant crops that will produce fruits and vegetables at different times of the year, that way you have delicious food to eat all year round.
If you are really serious about growing a lot of crops, you will need to learn about crop rotation.
To read more about farming crops in large quantities and crop rotation, click here.
Plant an herb garden so that you can have fresh and delicious herbs.
Dry some of the herbs so that you can use them year round. , If you have the space to do so, you should consider raising livestock.
Cows, goats, and sheep are all excellent dairy sources, chickens provide eggs and meat, and pigs can help you compost as well as provide you with food.
You can sell, trade, or keep what your livestock produces.Build a chicken coop to house your chickens.
Your chicken coop should have room for your chickens to wander around in, as well as some cubby holes where they can lay their eggs. , A large part of living without electricity is being able to preserve food, even when you don’t have a refrigerator to store it in.
Nearly everything can be canned--from fruits and vegetables, to meat and eggs, canning is an excellent way to preserve your fresh produce.
If you plan on doing a lot of canning, you should consider purchasing a pressure canner.
Pressure canners make the canning process a lot more efficient.
Pickle other foods that you want to preserve.
Pickled food can be great during the winter when fresh food is less available.
Dry fruits, vegetables and meat.
Drying food is also an excellent way to store food without using electricity. , Compost is incredibly handy, particularly when you do not want to pay for city trash services.
Not only will a compost pile help you achieve nutrient rich fertilizer, it is also relatively easy to build. , It is particularly easy to do this if you raise livestock.
Your garden will be particularly grateful to you if you feed it with your own homemade organic fertilizer. , Consider your skills--are you good at sewing, cooking, carving, building, etc.? Determine what supplies you might need to make things in bulk.
Also consider what products you can make from what you already have.
Are you raising sheep? Then learn how to knit or make cheese out of your sheep's milk. , While this may seem like a daunting task, it becomes easy with practice.
Scrub your clothes against a washboard, rinse them, and then hang them out to dry.
The secret to soft clothing is to rinse your clothes with one or two cups of vinegar before hanging them to dry.
The vinegar will keep your clothes from getting too stiff while they air dry. -
Step 3: Winterize your house.
-
Step 4: Consider central heating.
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Step 5: Figure out how you’re going to cook.
-
Step 6: Plant a garden.
-
Step 7: Raise livestock.
-
Step 8: Learn how to preserve food.
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Step 9: Create a compost pile.
-
Step 10: Make your own fertilizer.
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Step 11: Focus on a product that you can create to sell or trade.
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Step 12: Hand wash your clothes.
Detailed Guide
If you are planning on living without electricity, then you are going to have to find other ways to power your home without the help of electricity companies.
Renewable energy sources are an excellent way to do this.
Install solar panels to harness the power of the sun, build wind turbines, or power your home through a hydropower system.
You may also consider installing a generator so you can power your own electric items.Make a bicycle generator.
Bike generators are both a great way to get exercise and a great way to charge your electronics.
You can order the plans for bike generators online, or you can order pre made bike generators.
You should also consider using alternative fuels like biodiesel, biomass, and Ethanol.
There are several viable options for how to best light your house.
One of the best is the kerosene lantern.
You could also use kerosene wick lamps, candles, and battery-charged camping lanterns.
It’s also important to have flashlights on hand for when you need to get up in the middle of the night but don’t have any lights to turn on.If you decide to get a bicycle generator, you will be able to light your the lamps in your house. , This means adding extra insulation to your house’s walls, particularly in the attic and around doorways.
Heat escapes under doorways, around windows and through the upper regions of the house.
Create an insulation system that will let as little heat escape as possible.
Buy door sweeps to block up the undersides of doors.
You should also consider using a window insulator kit to block air leaking through your windows.
You can either purchase a ready made window insulation kit, or make your own. , If you do not have a fireplace or wood-burning stove, you should seriously consider building one, especially if you live in a cold climate.
To heat other rooms in the house, you can consider building vents onto your fireplace that lead to the other rooms., One of the best ways to cook without using any electricity is to install a wood stove.
When it gets too hot to cook over the wood stove, use propane or butane camping stoves (which act exactly like any other gas stove.) If you have a gas stove, you can still use it without using electricity.
You will just have to light the burners with matches or a lighter. , Rather than purchasing fruits and vegetables from a store, why not grow your own? With just a few seeds, you can turn your yard into a cornucopia of produce.
Growing your crops on your own land will also mean that you have control over what sort of contaminants your food is exposed to.
Plant crops that will produce fruits and vegetables at different times of the year, that way you have delicious food to eat all year round.
If you are really serious about growing a lot of crops, you will need to learn about crop rotation.
To read more about farming crops in large quantities and crop rotation, click here.
Plant an herb garden so that you can have fresh and delicious herbs.
Dry some of the herbs so that you can use them year round. , If you have the space to do so, you should consider raising livestock.
Cows, goats, and sheep are all excellent dairy sources, chickens provide eggs and meat, and pigs can help you compost as well as provide you with food.
You can sell, trade, or keep what your livestock produces.Build a chicken coop to house your chickens.
Your chicken coop should have room for your chickens to wander around in, as well as some cubby holes where they can lay their eggs. , A large part of living without electricity is being able to preserve food, even when you don’t have a refrigerator to store it in.
Nearly everything can be canned--from fruits and vegetables, to meat and eggs, canning is an excellent way to preserve your fresh produce.
If you plan on doing a lot of canning, you should consider purchasing a pressure canner.
Pressure canners make the canning process a lot more efficient.
Pickle other foods that you want to preserve.
Pickled food can be great during the winter when fresh food is less available.
Dry fruits, vegetables and meat.
Drying food is also an excellent way to store food without using electricity. , Compost is incredibly handy, particularly when you do not want to pay for city trash services.
Not only will a compost pile help you achieve nutrient rich fertilizer, it is also relatively easy to build. , It is particularly easy to do this if you raise livestock.
Your garden will be particularly grateful to you if you feed it with your own homemade organic fertilizer. , Consider your skills--are you good at sewing, cooking, carving, building, etc.? Determine what supplies you might need to make things in bulk.
Also consider what products you can make from what you already have.
Are you raising sheep? Then learn how to knit or make cheese out of your sheep's milk. , While this may seem like a daunting task, it becomes easy with practice.
Scrub your clothes against a washboard, rinse them, and then hang them out to dry.
The secret to soft clothing is to rinse your clothes with one or two cups of vinegar before hanging them to dry.
The vinegar will keep your clothes from getting too stiff while they air dry.
About the Author
Brian Freeman
Experienced content creator specializing in creative arts guides and tutorials.
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