Update Spring 2020: Wow I wasn’t expecting this post to be so relevant in light of a global crisis. We’re all overwhelmed on some level right now. That’s true for beginning and veteran homesteaders alike. This is the story of what happened to us LAST year in our own family crisis and the advice I…
How We Get Inexpensive Internet Off the Grid
Going off the grid is a dream for many folks, but “off-grid” doesn’t have to mean “primitive”. The internet is more than a luxury. For us, it is a means of making money for our family as much as it is a source of education and entertainment. Our property is pretty far removed from grid…
17 Real Life Tips for Buying Land Without Getting Burned
Buying land is a huge dream for many people. While you might want to buy your perfect spot on this earth and build your forever home, actually doing it is anything but easy. How can you anticipate problems before they happen? What do you need to know to avoid huge headaches down the road? Our…
7 Things We Should Have Done Building Our House
Over the past few weeks, we’ve gotten serious about looking at how we’re going to expand and improve on our off-grid homestead. You see, we’ve been living in it for just over a year at the time of this writing. But this time three years ago, we were preparing to break ground on our cordwood…
What Is An Accidental Hippy: Sustainability for “Normal” People
Sitting down to write lately has been an exercise in focus. There are so many ideas I have swirling in my head at the moment ranging from unconventional homebuilding to our off-grid systems, but none of them have really come to the fore. Why? Partly because there are more ideas in my head than hours…
Ultimate Guide to Radiant Heat in Our Off-Grid Cordwood Home
Radiant heating systems can be a comfortable and efficient way to heat a home. We’ll walk you through the basics and show you how our radiant heating system works in our cordwood home.
5 Ways to Build a House on a Tight Budget
I remember the days when we were sitting in our little suburban ranch home dreaming of building a house. There were many nights where I’d stay up late looking at passive solar home plans and ways to build on the cheap. I had Pinterest boards full of homestead and cabin ideas! And then we actually…
Running Electrical Wiring In or On Cordwood Walls
There are many options to consider when running electrical wiring in your cordwood house. Here, we’re going to examine your common options, as well as what WE chose to do, and why. For those who haven’t followed us yet, we built our own off-grid home out of cordwood masonry. We did the majority of the…
3 Hard Truths About Buying Homestead Land (and how to deal with it)
Shopping for rural land can be tough. You’re dreaming about building your perfect homestead from scratch. You’ve been saving house plans, garden layouts, and homestead info on Pinterest. You have big visions and big dreams for what you want your life to look like. But as you search and search for your perfect property you…
How to Get the Best Recycled and Reclaimed Building Materials
Building an ecologically friendly home of your own is a great opportunity to use recycled and reclaimed building materials. Not only can you often get these materials for cheap or free, you’re saving a lot of materials from being tossed in a landfill. But before you go out and grab a bunch of free pallets…