If you are lucky enough to have your own homestead out in the middle of nowhere, or are with a community of self-sufficient neighbors sharing resources but still Not Connected to any power grid or resource supply grid, treat yourself to a nice shindig and know you are on your way to having less worries about everything city dwellers fret over—from utility bills, the rat race, keeping up with the Jones' and other headaches you don't need.
In fact the only worries you solve include keeping your independent power supply station running (solar, wind or micro-hydro mechanical rig) efficiently and safely. And harvesting your own water into your cistern and filtering systems. Recycling your refuse and growing your own food shouldn't even be a problem if you've committed to an independent and self-sufficient lifestyle with a low carbon footprint. All of that is still a lot of hard work, sometimes a grind, but a good kind of tired-at-the-end of-the-day kind of effort as you well know it.
Going back to that shindig.
Off course, if this is all that Living Off-the-Grid is all about, it would be a letdown too if you can't let your hair down and kickback. Even while doing chores, there are plenty of things that can help lift your mood, make your home companions as happy as they can get, and just keeping that upbeat Harrison Ford crazy 'we're in Paradise' mode from the Mosquito Coast. Except that no bandits will spoil your party ever.
Here's what can make Living Off-the-Grid as
You can spruce up your Off the Grid dwelling, and enjoy life in the middle of nowhere!
LED lights and coloured LED lighting can turn a lonely, stretch of your acreage or woodland into a space where you can hold gatherings and even a hootenanny.. Going back to nature doesn't mean Little House on the Prairie or a Puritan lifestyle if that isn't your preference anyway.
Put a flag on your place! Like your homestead were a separate nation because it is. At least as your own personal paradise. Choose bold colors or a striking design, get patchwork made up or use an actual sail from a boat.. Sail tents or canopies are also an interesting way for marking temporary shelters or gathering areas in your off-the-grid place.You can be as cheesy as you like, depending on the occasion, and even put up colorful banderitas like town fiestas in the country.
Have ice-cold drinks 24-7! Even with scarce power, you can keep a cooling storage system that does not require electricity nor powered refrigeration. Using earthenware as cool storage containers and sand as insulators are one DIY off-the-grid method. Freezer gel bags are one way of extending the cold of your beverage icebox. Wherever you are, you can have a nice cold brewski anytime you want.
Props on your homestead like upturned old boats, and even junk like farm machinery can be used as décor, stuff that looks at home where you're at. Makeshift scarecrows put together as sculptures can mark areas or paths in your farm. Even cooky hen houses like strange small doll houses are fun to put together and your chickens won't forget where they live.
Candles make for a very atmospheric and romantic setting, if you can manage a safe set up around your farm. Spread some of those kitschy wrought iron candelabras or candle holders you picked up from some junk shop or some old church replacing their candle racks with new ones. Place tea lights in old jam jars and hang them from trees like lanterns. Hang them from different branches to create interesting features around your gathering place.
For tables, get creative and find some old door, fixed up and treated for withstanding the elements and throw some tarp sheet over it as extra protection. You can even have any fun image printed on the tarp sheet, from Hello Kitty if you're a girl to Godzilla if you like a monster keeping watch on your hangout place.
Food for gatherings or a personal feast need not be your everyday chow. Prepare something special, and if you have company ask them to bring the same. Fresh hot bread baked off your stone oven, served on rustic wooden boards for that authentic throwback atmosphere. Cook chili on a kettle in the middle of the field under the stars like a cowboy.
