Mountain News - Great Discoveries - Life Hacks for Low Power Situations

Because we live off grid and depend on a generator and the sun for our electricity, we don't have as much power as the average city bear, especially in the winter. We have way less sun in the winter and often it's overcast and snowing and the solar panels are covered in snow so I have to use the generator a lot more in the winter. But running the generator uses costly gas, is smelly and loud and we just can't run it all the time. So I have to conserve electricity. We don't have some modern conveniences that use too much electricity. We don't have:

A microwave

A toaster

A coffee maker

A dish washer (that would be moi)

And I can't use things that use electricity like Plug-Ins or those wax melting things that make your house smell so good. I can't do laundry all the time and don't want to use the oven a lot because it uses electricity and propane. I don't have hot water to my kitchen or to my laundry room - yet. (I WILL one day by Golly!) Nor do we have a big refrigerator or an extra freezer to store stuff in (which would be SO nice!).  I have to run the vacuum cleaner, the washer and dryer, etc... when the generator is already going, can flush the toilet only when we're not already low on power or it will go off, etc....etc..... 

So. I have to be creative and/or had to go back to the old ways to do things. The wood stove has come to my rescue on a LOT of things, like:

-- making toast in a cast iron pan on the stove (toasted in butter in that pan, YUM), 

---heating rolls or biscuits or any food really in a cast iron pot with the lid on makes it like a mini oven 

--heating water up for washing the dishes

-- melting butter or heating water for recipes

-- cooking on it making soups and stews and roasts

-- helping bread to rise

-- making coffee with one of those old-fashioned percolaters.

-- putting cheap, Walmart liquid potpourri in a double boiler on the stove all day to keep my house smelling lovely (and with 7 dogs, one cat and a husband who smokes that's saying something). 

In the summer when the wood stove is not being used, I have to be even  more creative or just use the oven more. We have more sun in the summer hence more free electricity so it's ok.  

Thawing meat here in the winter is a challenge. Sometimes it's as cold in my house as it is in the refrigerator. I just have to think ahead and make sure I thaw it the night before. If I forget, then it's canned chili for supper. One thing a good friend of mine told me though that does work amazingly is to put the frozen meat on metal - a metal baking sheet or dish - and it will thaw the meat quicker. I don't know how it works but it does in fact speed up the process. Thanks Shirley! 

Not having hot water in my laundry (YET) is something I just have to live with. Heating up that much water on the stove is a pain and not something I'm willing to do. My clothes seem clean to me even with using only cold water. My whites may not be as white but soaking them in vinegar does seem to help.  

So, those are some life hacks I've learned while living off grid. It may seem like I've given up a lot or it's a big headache but it's really all very much worth it. What I have given up in ease and convenience I have gained in peace and quiet and beauty. Amen to that. ;)