Self Sufficiency
45 Off The Grid Hacks | Homesteading Tips, Tricks, And Ideas
Get a hold of these off the grid hacks to help you survive and thrive on your own. Off-the-grid living will render you without any easy and ready help both from man and machine. Make this unconventional lifestyle more fun and effective. These off the grid living ideas and homesteading tips and tricks will help!
Off The Grid Hacks You Need To Know
1. Use DIY Natural Cleaning Solutions
Cupboard essentials like lemon, baking soda, vinegar, salt, olive oil, and castile soap make effective natural cleaning solutions. Use them to remove stains, eliminate odors, scrub your sink, and countertops. Stock up on these ingredients for DIY household hacks when living off-grid. Cleanliness is all the more important when off-grid living.
2. Give Your Goat A Pedicure
Learn basic livestock and animal care when living far from vets. You can learn simple tasks like trimming the hooves of your goats. With time, you can learn more from animal birthing to health care.
3. Use Mason Jars For Beekeeping
Beekeeping in a small homestead has its challenges but it isn’t impossible! It isn’t expensive too when you use everyday household items like mason jars. Take this DIY mason jar beekeeping hack and enjoy the perks of beekeeping.
4. Build Your Own Chicken Coop
Raising chickens is an important off-the-grid food source. You only need to ensure your chickens have a safe and comfy place. Build your own chicken coop with any of these awesome chicken coop designs to choose from.
5. Deal With Skunks In 3 Simple Steps
Skunks are cute and harmless, but they’re darn stinky. Expect them in your homestead once in a while. Learn how to deal with them with these 3 simple steps on how to deter them.
6. Use Apple Cider To Boost Immunity
Apple cider vinegar has more uses around the household besides for cleaning and as a condiment. From personal to animal care, these apple cider vinegar hacks are essential when living off the grid. You can even use an apple cider vinegar tonic syrup as natural cold and flu remedy.
7. Grow Potatoes Vertically
The more food source you have off-grid, the better. Potatoes are a valuable food source in an off-grid homestead. Limited space is no problem with this convenient potato growing hack.
8. Freeze Eggs To Keep Them Longer
When you’re raising chickens, chances are you’ll have eggs more than you can handle in a day. Learn how to freeze with these freezing tricks to keep them longer. Remember to thaw frozen eggs at room temperature an hour or two before using them.
9. Bake Without An Oven Hack
No oven? No problem. Dutch ovens are a great alternative to baking your goodies. A Dutch oven does not need an open fire. You can use wood or charcoal briquettes to keep your fire low and regulated.
For your off-grid cooking needs check The Biolite–an outdoor stove fueled by twigs. Here’s the kicker: It generates enough power to cook a meal while charging your phone at the same time!
10. Rock Knife Survival Hacks
You never knew when you’ll need a knife out in the wilderness. A knife is very important for all sorts of survival needs. If you find yourself without it, learn to make one from a rock.
11. Test Your Soil The Pioneer Way
Gardening is one of the most important off the grid hacks. Successful gardening requires basic knowledge in testing the soil for acidity or alkalinity. You can learn how to test your soil the good old pioneer way.
12. Get Free Containers To Start Your Seedlings
Recycling is one of the most important off the grid hacks. When it comes to gardening off-grid, its a must. It saves you lots of cash and helps clean up and organize your homestead. Did you know eggshells make great seed-starting containers? There are more surprising containers here for seed-starting.
13. Calculate The Weight Of The Pig
No need to drag your pig-headed porker to the nearest scale to weigh it. Learn how to calculate its weight instead and avoid the hassle of manhandling your pig.
14. Milk Cows Benefit From Udder Balm
Milking cows play an important role around the homestead. Looking after them and helping them have easier and healthy lives is the least you can do. Make them this homemade udder salve for its comforting and nourishing benefits.
15. Proper Handling Of Milk Cows
Domesticated or not, animals can get cranky sometimes. Know your way with them, especially milking cows. Learn how to prevent yourself from getting kicked in the face with these hacks.
16. Duct Tape Bug Repellent
Get rid of squash bugs without ruining the leaves of your plants. You can prune some of the leaves but you can’t prune all of them. Use duct tape to collect both the bugs and eggs. Duct tape is powerful, they won’t escape it!
17. Freeze Root Vegetables So They Don’t Get Wasted
Growing potatoes, carrots, and other root crops will arrest you with tons of harvest. Learn to keep them longer by freezing. Wash your root vegetables, peel, slice, and blanch. Keep them in vacuum-packed freezer bags for up to 14 months.
18. Black Plastic Sheeting Gardening Hack
A homesteader living off the grid must work to extend the planting season for his own good. Warm your plot faster in spring or keep it warm longer in autumn with black plastic sheeting. A plastic sheeting is not only good for temperature control but for keeping pests and weeds at bay, too.
19. Make DIY Watering Cans
Water-saving is an important skill to learn when living off the grid. Make a DIY watering can with plastic gallons. It’s cheap and effective in controlling the amount of water when watering your plants.
20. Container Gardening Hacks
The more food you grow, the better when living off-grid. But, make sure you can handle it without overworking yourself. Growing them in containers will help you manage. Use old whiskey barrels for this.
21. Read This Self Sufficiency Guide
Most homesteaders living off the grid will tell you, it is not easy, but very rewarding. Most of them are also ready to help. Read this off-grid living guide for beginners.
22. Duct Tape Jar-Opening Hack
Chances are, you’ll ooften find yourself wrestling with jars sitting on your cupboard. Stick a piece of duct tape tight over the lid. Hold the other end of the duct tape like a handle. Hold the jar tight and yank the tape to open the jar.
23. Use Crayons As Emergency Survival Candles
Crayons won’t light up a room much, but it’s better than nothing, right? In a pinch you can light these up as an emergency light source. A crayon will burn for 30 minutes, enough for you to find better light sources.
24. Duct Tape And Toilet Paper First Aid
Setting a broken bone using duct tape and toilet paper may save your life, but this should be temporary. It’s best to always keep your first-aid kit complete but if you’re far from it, this trick will do. Seek medical attention as soon as possible for these kinds of medical emergency.
25. Stave Off Frost Bite With Baby Oil
Baby oil has plenty of uses. It can also do wonders for your skin under extreme weather conditions. Lather it on and keep the frost at bay. This is one of the off the grid hacks you should know for winter.
26. Carry All Your Water Gallons In One Trip With A Sturdy Stick
Place the jugs on each end and practice your dead lifts to keep in shape. This will save you some time since you avoid the return trip. Make sure to carry only what you can and don’t overwork yourself.
27. Make A DIY Tick Lasso
To remove a tick, loop a lasso around the tick where it’s attached close to the skin. Pull the ends of the string tight and firmly pull the tick out. It’s an simple yet effective animal grooming hack.
28. Use An Old Bike To Make A Crossbow
If you have an old bike hanging around your garage, give it a new lease of life as a crossbow. You never know when you might need one.
29. Mason Jar Measuring Cups
Mason jars are more commonly used for storage and canning. But they also make great measuring cups. Most mason jars have sides marked for your measuring convenience.
30. Coffee Ground Hacks
Most homesteaders love brewed coffee in the morning–it is almost a ritual. A homesteader also know, it’s a shame to throw coffee grounds away. They have more uses other than the compost bin. Ingredient for homemade soap and candles, and for personal care are only some of it.
31. Utilize YouTube
Have you met Doug & Stacy? My favorite Off The Gridders. They’re on the grid enough to share their experience with you. Their homestead is 100% self-sufficient, and their channel is brimming with great tips for your own journey.
32. DIY Grooming
This is a fun skill to learn and use! Every off-gridder will love and enjoy cutting their kids’ hair. This is only fitting when you can’t bring a hairstylist along. Imagine the money you can save with this skill.
33. Soda Bottle Hacks
Soda bottles are made of thick material and provide air-tight seal for your food. Add an oxygen assimilator to every bottle to ensure a much longer shelf-life. You can store lots of items, especially food, in them.
34. Replace AA Batteries With AAA Batteries
Don’t have AA batteries when SHTF happens, only AAA batteries? Well, you can replace AA with AAA batteries . Ball aluminum foil and stick it into the space inside a battery compartment. AAA and AA batteries both have an output of 1.5 volts. They only differ in amperage and in a gadget like a flashlight or weather radio, this isn’t a thing you need to be concerned about.
Or check out my favorite product that gives you battery power for life! Buy it here.
35. DIY Survival Lantern
An empty soda or beer can joined with candles makes an excellent lantern in a survival situation. Don’t trash your soda or beer cans again. They are very helpful!
36. Use A Tarp And A Pile Of Lightweight Branches For A Makeshift Raft
Need to navigate a lake or river without drowning, freezing, or getting eaten by alligators? Spread a tarp and stack lightweight branches in the middle. Then, cover the ends and fasten the whole raft with string or para-cord.
37. Improvised Spear Head Or Arrow
Use your old circuit board to create an effective makeshift spearhead or arrow. It is something you can pair with your makeshift bow.
38. Crisco Can Improvised Candle
Create an improvised candle out of a Crisco can by adding a wick and voila! A candle. It can even last longer than your typical wax candle.
39. Snack Chip Fire Starter
In addition to being highly addictive and delicious, Doritos and other snack chips are highly flammable. If you are outdoors and got some snacks, don’t savor it to the last chip. You’ll never know when you’ll need a fire.
40. Instant Rain Jacket From Garbage Bag
Cut a few holes in your garbage bag to make a rain jacket in a jiffy. Well, you won’t win any fashion awards with this, but at least it can keep you dry.
41. Eyeglasses As Tinder
Sunglasses are an effective fire-starting tool and homesteaders should know that. Direct the sunlight through the glass lens into dry materials or fuel. The intense heat will kindle the fuel. You can boost the power of the lens by adding drops of water to the surface of the lens.
42. Off Grid Living Water System
There isn’t always a guaranteed water source when living off the grid. And you never want to have to do without water sources when off-grid living. You can always collect rainwater and this gravity-fed water system is also a great idea.
43. Make A DIY Solar Panels
Living off-grid will find you far from any electrical power source. But it’s not so bad to have a few electrical machines and lighting. Make your own DIY solar power and learn how to recharge a lead-acid battery through it.
44. Make A DIY Wind Turbine
Much like solar power, a DIY wind turbine is another fantastic off-grid living power source. You can build this $30 DIY wind turbine for off-grid household uses.
45. PVC Pipes Survival Hacks
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PVC pipes are cheap and sturdy materials for use around the homestead. Find out more about the survival uses of PVC pipes and you’ll see them in a different light.
Check out this video from Blake Weber for more smart off the grid hacks:
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned homesteader, you’ll find these off the grid hacks handy. Give these off the grid hacks a shot and learn more tricks and other essentials for off grid living!
Did I miss any off the grid hacks you know? Let me know in the comments.
Can’t get of enough of life hacks? Check out Home Depot Hacks and Homesteading Tips & Tricks and be amazed at how much you can save!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2017 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
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Self Sufficiency
How To Make Lacto-Fermented Sauerkraut In A Mason Jar
The thing about homesteading is you get to create your own ingredient right from scratch! Cheese, yogurt, butter and now sauerkraut, a delightfully sour and crunchy ingredient you can use on your meals — or consume by itself — while on a homestead, or while facing this health crisis!
This homemade sauerkraut is a great meal because it has a long shelf life. You can either make plain sauerkraut or mix it with herbs and spices. In this tutorial let us make Lacto-fermented sauerkraut that preserves all the good probiotics in a jar, good for your guts.
So how to make sauerkraut in a mason jar?
RELATED: How To Make Buttermilk On Your Homestead
Delicious Sauerkraut Recipe Every Homesteader Should Know
Why Make Sauerkraut?
Not only does sauerkraut spoil a long time, but it is also a meal in itself, and it is also easy to make! You don’t need to be an expert cook, all you need to do is follow these simple steps.
So let us get started. Here are the steps in making sauerkraut in a mason jar.
Ingredients:
- 1 head of cabbage or 2 1/2 lbs cabbage
- 1 tablespoon of salt
Tools Needed:
- knife
- bowl
- mason jar
- smaller jar
- rubber band
Step 1: Wash & Clean the Tools & Ingredients
Wash all the equipment and utensils you need. Wash your hands too.
You don’t want to mix your sauerkraut with bad bacteria, anything that is going to make you sick.
Next, remove the faded leaves from your cabbage. Cut off the roots and the parts that don’t seem fresh.
Step 2: Cut the Cabbage Into Quarters & Slice Into Strips
Cut your cabbage into quarters and remove the core. Then, slice it into strips.
Step 3: Place in a Bowl & Sprinkle With Salt
Put the stripped cabbage into a bowl. Sprinkle the cabbage with 1 tablespoon of salt.
TIP: Use canning salt or sea salt. Iodized salt will make it taste different and may not ferment the cabbage.
RELATED: Homemade Yogurt Recipe
Step 4: Massage the Cabbage
Massage the cabbage for five minutes or more to get the juice out.
TIP: You’ll know it’s ready when you see a bit of juice at the bottom of the bowl and will look similar to coleslaw.
Step 5: Press Cabbage Into the Mason Jar
Add the cabbage to the mason jar gradually. Press it in hard to allow the juice to come out. Do this every time you add about a handful of cabbage.
IMPORTANT: Food should be covered by the liquid to promote fermentation. Add any excess liquid from the bowl to the jar.
Step 6: Press a Smaller Jar Into the Mason Jar
You want to squeeze every ounce of that juice from the cabbage. To do this place the mason jar in a bowl and get a smaller jar.
Fill it with water or marble to make it heavy. Press it into the bigger mason jar. Allow any juices to rise to the surface.
Step 7: Cover the Jars With Cloth & Tie With Rubber Band
Leave the small jar on. To keep your jars clean from annoying insects and irritating debris, cover your jars with a clean cloth. Then, use a rubber band to tie the cloth and the jars together, putting them in place.
Step 8: Set Aside & Check Daily
Set it aside in a cool dry place, away from direct sunlight. Check the water level daily. It should always be above the cabbage.
Step 9: Taste Your Sauerkraut & Keep at Cool Temperatures
After about five days, you can taste your sauerkraut. If the taste is to your liking, tightly cover it with the lid and store in the fridge or cellar.
NOTE: If after five days it’s still not your desired taste, leave it for a few more days. This will allow the fermentation process to continue.
You can now enjoy your sauerkraut in a mason jar. Enjoy its goodness! You can use it as a side dish or mix it with your favorite sandwich.
Things to Remember in Making Sauerkraut
- Store away from direct sunlight and drafts.
- Colder weather will make the process longer. Spring is the best time to make them since the warmth helps activate the fermentation.
- Always make sure that the cabbage is below the water level during the entire fermentation process.
- If the water level decreases during the fermentation process, you can make a brine and add it.
Let us watch this video from Kristina Seleshanko on how to make delicious Lacto-fermented sauerkraut in a mason jar!
So there you have it! Making Lacto-fermented sauerkraut in a mason jar is as easy as slicing the cabbage into strips. Remember that as long it remains unopened, your sauerkraut can last for months. Best of all, you can partner this sauerkraut in many recipes.
What do you think of this homemade recipe? Share your best sauerkraut recipe in the comments section below!
Fellow homesteaders, do you want to help others learn from your journey by becoming one of our original contributors? Write for us!
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Self Sufficiency
9 SPRING VEGETABLES FOR YOUR GARDEN
Having plants in the house will bring peace to people. Having a little garden with vegetables is even better! You can grow these vegetables in your backyard garden easily as well!
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In this article:
Growing veggies in your garden will give you an opportunity to understand what you eat and value it more. Early spring is when most vegetables are being planted. Keep reading to learn about 9 spring vegetables that anyone can grow in their garden!
Tomato
Tomato is the most popular garden vegetable in the States! There are different varieties to choose from. Tomatoes need to be planted in early spring because they won’t survive a frost.
Because tomatoes are consumed daily, try adding them to your garden! They’re not difficult to grow either.
Eggplant
Eggplants are known to have low-calorie, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Plus, they are delicious! So why not plant them in your garden?
Eggplants shouldn’t be planted too early because they won’t be able to survive a frost. So you could consult an expert in your area before you plant your eggplants.
Beets
Beets are known to be a superfood for its various health benefits. They’re easier to grow in the garden, usually around late March or early April.
If the weather is always cool, beets will keep getting bigger and bigger. Once the weather starts to warm up, you’ll need to harvest them, or they’ll go to waste.
Spinach
Spinach is a delicious early spring veggie, and it’s also very beneficial for health. And it’s not difficult to grow spinach in your garden!
Spinach needs cold weather to grow. Getting spinach to grow is easy, but keeping it growing will require some extra care.
Pea
Peas are usually planted in late April. Peas will die in freezing temperatures, but they also won’t survive the heat either. So make sure you plant your peas in early spring.
Peas are widely used in many different ways, and there are different types of peas. The soil you’ll be planting your peas should be suitable for them, so make sure you ask while buying seeds.
Carrot
There are different types of carrots, but regardless of their size and color, it’s a fact that carrots are both delicious and rich in vitamins.
They’re root vegetables, so with proper sun and watering, they can be picked up as baby carrots as well.
Radish
A radish is an excellent option for beginners because it doesn’t require too much care. Radish is easy to harvest.
Radish grows fast, so it’s better to keep an eye on it after a few weeks. Radish usually is grown pest-free, but there’s always the chance of unwanted guests, so watch out for worms. Radish can be eaten raw or can be added to garnish recipes.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower isn’t the easiest vegetable to grow at home, but it is very popular.
Cauliflower grows better in colder weather, so before you plant it, consider the climate of your garden. Cauliflower can be eaten raw or cooked, and it is known to be very beneficial for health.
Asparagus
Freshly picked, tender asparagus is very delicious!
Asparagus plants get more productive with each harvest, and mature asparagus harvest can last for months! Make sure you plant them at the correct time, or else they might go to waste.
All the vegetables listed above are great for your healthy diet, and it’s fun to watch them grow. So don’t miss out on the opportunity to grow your own veggies and eat healthy this spring!
So tell us which veggies will you be growing this spring? Tell us in the comments section!
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