Electricity is a necessity. It powers most home appliances. It offers you lots of things, including energy, communication, transportation, and entertainment. That’s why living without electricity is not easy for many.
If you will live off the grid, what are the preparations you need to do? What are the things you need to pack? This post will answer all your questions about living without electricity.
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Practical ways of living without electricity
Could you survive at least a day of living without electrical power?
Of course, most of you can survive a day without power. But, what if it lasts for more than a week or even a month?
Living without electricity is like camping in the middle of the forest. This means as if you are stuck in a room full of darkness.
For many, the absence of electric energy could be a nightmare. But, there’s nothing to freak out about. But, if you plan to live your life without complete access to electricity, this post may help you.
The following are the tips to keep in mind to survive living without electric power.
Store your essentials
There’s nothing more important than becoming prepared to live without electricity. What are the preparations you need to do? First is to store all your essentials in one place BEFORE you go off the grid.
Listing down the necessary items for living off the grid is not easy. It involves critical thinking. After all, you don’t want to carry a bag full of unnecessary items.
If the power outage lasts for at least a week, storing canned foods is a wise move. But, if you will go completely off the grid, food fermentation may be beneficial for you. It is the process of fermenting any form of food to lengthen its shelf life.
If you don’t know what essentials to bring when living off the grid, may consider packing the following:
- Dried beans
- Oats
- Pasta
- Flour
- Sugar
Store enough water
You don’t want to dehydrate yourself while waiting for the power to return. Storing water and knowing how to do so is essential to one’s health. One simple way is to store water in a large container or jug. Make sure to place it in an area that is accessible to you and your family members.
Consider Rainwater Collection
No one wants to constantly purchase purified water when living off the grid. You can do a lot of things with rainwater. You can use it in watering your garden. What’s more, you can purify it before drinking.
You can collect rainwater by putting barrels alongside your chicken coop or home.
Do your tasks during the daytime
Doing your household chores during nighttime is not an easy task. Preparing foods using candlelight is quite tricky.
With that, it would be better to adjust your working schedule during the day. This means you need to work in the daytime and take a rest at night time.
Entertain yourself with non-electrical gadgets
Entertainment is also an integral part of your life, especially for the kids. Doing something that makes you happy could be a perfect thing to make during a power outage.
During the daytime, you and your kids can play outside. But, how about during the night? Well, there are other entertainments you can do during these hours, such as:
- Reading your favorite books
- Making paper dolls for your children
- Whittling
- Sewing
- Playing board and card games
- Arts and crafts
Use Hydro Powered Generator
Indeed, it’s not easy to live without electricity. You can’t see any light at night, except the stars above. If you are not used to living in the dark, spending your days and nights without power could be unnerving.
So, using a hydro-powered generator could be great. You don’t need to buy gas to power it. Water would be enough to get some light and charge your devices.
Find all natural ways to keep your cool
Soaking in sweat is the hardest thing you may experience when living off the grid. You don’t have the electricity to power up your AC system or fans.
Spending a night during a warm summer could be frustrating. So, make sure to do something to have a cool night during this season. One way is to open your windows and let the fresh air come in. This will make your nighttime rest more relaxing.
Think of ways to keep you warm during winter
You can’t use your heating system without electricity. This means spending your day and night during the summer months might be frustrating.
One alternative heat source is a propane heater or kerosene. Either of the two could heat up at least 1,000 sq. ft. of your house.
Make use of a bucket system or camping toilet
The toilet system could not be a big problem if the power interruption comes back after a few hours. But, if you will live off the grid for the rest of your life, you will need a bucket system toilet.
Learn how to cook foods without electricity
Cooking is not easy, especially with a power outage. In that case, preparing foods using a gas grill could be your option. But, if you don’t have the money to buy a gas supply, use a wood stove.
A wood stove is easy to do. You only need to make a flat base and use cast iron pans to start cooking.
Make and use a compost pile
When you decided to live off the grid, making a compost pile to throw your trash is a good option.
Living off the grid is equivalent to living away from the town. This means you can’t avail of the services offered by the city trash company. So, better make a compost pile and save your money.
Try gardening
Making your garden is a simple way to make your food and save money. You can start your garden in different ways. You can use eggshells or empty bottles for your seedlings.
Raise livestock and other animals
Most municipalities permit their residents to raise livestock and animals. You can make money by growing and selling livestock meat. There are two types of livestock animals; high maintenance and low maintenance animals. Both of them are great for food consumption and farm maintenance.
Hand washing your garments
Hand washing your clothes could be tiring. A hydro generator could not power up a washing machine. So, if you will live off the grid, you need to hand wash your clothes. Although this task is quite hard, you will get used to it as time goes on.
Use your skills
Do you have skills, such as woodcarving? You can trade it in exchange for money or other goods. Remember, when living off the grid, you need to be resourceful. You need to do something to sustain your livelihood.
Trade what you have
Living life without electricity could somehow mean living without money. Trading your produce and livestock is an easy way to earn any amount. You can use the money to buy batteries for your flashlight and other essentials.
Consider bartering
Many consider off-the-grid living to save a huge amount of money. One way to survive living without electricity is through bartering. Bartering is a process where each member of a community exchanges services and products they have. This is also a great step to build a good relationship with other off-the-gridders.
Tips for camping without electricity
Most families love camping. Spending some time outdoors is fun. It also provides the parents and their kids to have a great time together.
Camping also means living with no access to a power source. So, the following are some tips for camping without electricity.
- Bring your batteries
- Charge your flashlights, mobiles, and other devices
- Know how to make a fire
- Bring a gas generator
- Charge your flashlights through your car batteries
How to power something without electricity
At this hour, you might be asking yourself how to charge mobile without electricity at home?
Mobile phones are the most used devices by most people. Currently, many consider cell phones as a necessity. It helps you to keep in touch with your loved ones. Also, charging your devices is a simple preparation for emergencies.
But, what will you do if there is a sudden power outage? How are you going to charge your devices?
The following are some quick tips you may use to charge your phones when electric power is not available.
Charge your phones on your computer or laptop
The laptop comes with high-quality batteries. In most cases, they can last for a day when charged. Your computer or laptop features an available USB port where you can plug your device. Lifehack: Set your mobile to ‘airplane mode’ to charge it way quicker.
Invest in a solar-powered charger
A solar-powered charger allows you to charge any of your devices. You can use it to power up your tablet, laptop, and phone. If you are using this alternative power source, charge them during a sunny day.
Invest in a portable charger
If you don’t have a car charger, you may use a portable charger. This is a dependable and convenient solution to power up your devices. It has a compact size. This means that you can use and take it anytime and anywhere.
Charge your devices on your car
If you are driving your car and a power interruption happens, you can use your car battery to charge your phone. Make sure that you are using a charger that works with your handset.
What would the world be like without electricity?
You were generally limited in what you could achieve before the invention of the light bulb. Electricity is of importance because it allows you to function not only in the daytime.
Imagine a world without electricity? There will be no internet and technology. There would be no cinemas, malls, modern facilities, and medical equipment. Transportation networks, computers, laboratories, and hospitals will not exist. Your homes would be far more primitive.
Life what you had right now is far different, and things would be a lot more boring. That is why electricity is a valuable resource that you need to manage.
What will happen if there is no electricity?
It may not be as easy as you think to live without power. And you may not realize how many products in your home rely on it to function. Heat, food, water, transportation, energy, entertainment, and communication are all provided through electricity. These appliances only function through electric-controlled technologies.
Electricity is essential to power the electronics you use every day. You won’t be able to turn on the central heating in your home. You can’t preserve food in a refrigerator or have clean water if you are in a place without electricity.
You have learned to rely on electricity to do your daily chores. Despite having survived thousands of years without electricity, life is uneasy without it. You are so dependent on electricity that many can’t stand a power outage.
Some people want to live off the grid. They rely on alternative sources to power their homes instead of electricity. For many years, they were the eco-warriors.
Living off the grid is now becoming a mainstream choice for many. This is because of the benefits it offers, including money savings.
Imagine life without electricity
Electricity is a necessity for individuals living in the industrialized world. It’s tough to picture life without electricity. It becomes ingrained in your daily routines.
This article examines what a typical day in a regular person’s life would be without power.
Getting out of bed in the morning is hard to do when you rely on the alarm clock. Only if you have the good fortune of waking up when the sun rises or have a rooster in your backyard. You would have to rely on your internal body clock to wake you up if you don’t have smartphones or alarm clocks.
You cannot cook your food since most of the appliances at home are using electricity. So from boiling water and getting your bread toast, you rely on the electricity.
Then when the heat strikes your room, you have to grab your fan. You cannot power on your air conditioning unit or electric fan.
You grab a book in an attempt to relax while eating dinner, feeling a little disoriented. Unfortunately, the sun has set, and you cannot turn on the lights due to a lack of electricity.
Electricity has been a part of your daily life to make your life easy and comfortable.
Can you imagine life without electricity?
Going back to the old days, you can picture out what your ancestors do without electricity. Even now, some remote areas have no electricity.
Considering the advancements in technology, your way of living is way different. Living without electricity is troublesome. Although some of you experience sudden blackouts, living without power is unimaginable.
A place with no electricity is dark and quiet. You will not hear the sounds of music coming from the stereo. Newspaper is the only source of news and information. It will be hard for you to cope up in a place with no electricity if you are used to living in a civilized city.
Can you imagine a life without electricity? Most of you will answer no. One reason is that boredom will creep people’s lives, even during a short power outage.
Admit it or not, you love browsing our social media accounts. You tend to listen to music and watch videos to avoid boredom. The internet makes your life livelier. Without electricity, there is no internet.
Only a few of you could imagine your lives without access to the internet and electricity. Most establishments use energy to run. With the power outage, problems will start to occur in the stock market.
But, take a look at the bright side. Without electricity and the internet, you can have time for yourself. It allows you to make new fun memories with your family.
Although a life without electricity is quite hard, we can’t deny the time it offers to connect with your loved ones. But, do not forget the benefits it offers to society and the economy.
Lively power outage
During a lively power outage, one must be ready. But, first, you have to ensure that you have a generator set or a solar panel system to make your appliances working.
If your life depends on electricity, a good power bank is what you need. Make sure that you also have a rechargeable light and fan when a power outage occurs.
If you do not want to stress your life with a power outage, it is much better to provide a new source of electricity. A generator or a solar panel is a good alternative source of electricity.
Conclusion: Living your life without electricity
Living in the dark is quite hard. A lot of unforeseen situations may happen. So, it is always better to prepare yourself for these instances.
Whether a power outage lasts for a few hours or more than a week, knowing what to do during this time is essential.
Each year, thousands of households around the world experience power interruption. To continue your life in the dark, consider the tips mentioned above. Even though most of them are quite new to you, you will get used to them as time goes by.