We knew we were in for an adventure when we moved onto a remote Colorado mountain property. Now with a couple years living off-grid under our belt here’s what I’d do differently.
Our Off-Grid Homestead
Off-grid can mean a lot of things. It means living without connection to the “grid” of water, sewer, and electricity. But the living conditions under that banner vary wildly, from a tent in the Alaska bush to a 7,000 square-foot mansion on the edge of town.
To set the groundwork for this article, I’ll tell you a bit about our unique property.
We have a 35 acre parcel located in the mountains of southern Colorado. We live at 8,000 feet and have been slowly turning the original quirky hunting cabin into our family home.
We’re the last parcel at the end of a very rough 4×4 road. We’re blessed to be surrounded by a massive cattle property and public lands. This means we have a lot of quiet and plenty of wildlife.
When we moved in, the property didn’t have water. It was a risk to buy without a well, but luckily the gamble paid off and we hit water the first time drilling.
Off-Grid Power
Besides a water well, the next biggest hurdle for us was power. We started small, with a couple old solar panels and a few small solar generators. We’ve built up our supply and now have eight solar generators with a combined 4200 watts.
We decided to go this route for a few reasons. First off, we already had a few solar generators from a background in camping and over landing.
Second, we wanted to keep things modular and easily adjustable. Every year we learn new things and we want to be able to switch the layout of our power plan accordingly.
Third, as an avid gear tester, I wanted to really compare, test, and find the best solar generators for off grid living.
The Benefits of Living Off Grid
Living off-grid the way we do certainly isn’t the easiest path, but we think the benefits outweigh the challenges. Here are a few of my favorite things:
- No worries about utility bills. We can live quite cheaply out here and it’s what had helped us build a homestead, raise a family, and enjoy ourselves without a big budget.
- No rules. Of course, there are still county and state regulations, but living in a remote, off-grid location feels like freedom. We create things how we want and there is no need to check with neighbors or appease an hoa.
- Nature, quiet, and solitude. As an introvert with hermit tendencies, there’s nothing I enjoy more than the ability to walk out my front door and hike for hours without hearing or seeing anyone.
What I’d Do Differently after Living Off-Grid for Three Years
- Set up a real kitchen immediately. For more than a year we cooked outside on a camp stove. Our first focus was getting the farm going, but not being able to easily cook with two (now three) small children underfoot was super challenging. The ease and joy of being able to quickly make a grilled cheese, without running outside, had been life changing.
- Add homey touches. When you’re carrying water cans to keep trees alive and planting a quarter acre while 8 months pregnant, interior decorating is at the low end of the list. But every time we’ve hung a picture or added a comfy chair I’ve wondered why we didn’t do that sooner.
- Minimize and organize. Along that same vein, organization has been a huge help to our mental state. From the garden shed to the art supplies adding shelves, cabinets, and specific organization is always time well spent. Living in a small space with five people requires constantly reevaluating what should stay or go.
- Delay permanent fencing and pens when possible. In the beginning we were facing a lot of pressure from bears and mountain lions (before we got out Colorado Mountain Dogs) and we built a permanent animal pen pretty close to the house. We’ve since decided it would be nicer to have a bit more distance from the pigs and will be building a different animal barn this summer (hooray for LGDs!).
And that’s about all I would change as we’ve set up our off grid homestead in Colorado. I’m glad we focused so heavily on getting our farm infrastructure up and running initially.
And now that we have a 9-month-old, 2.5-year-old, and 4.5-year-old, I’m really thankful we’ve made the interior of the house as functional as we have. Especially during the long winter weeks.
Building an Off Grid Homestead takes Time
And I have to continually remind myself that it takes time to build a brand new farm from scratch. Especially when it takes an hour drive to reach any sort of civilization, we have three young children underfoot, and our season is short at 8,000 feet elevation.
And at the end of the day, I think it’s good to welcome some discomfort into life. It was an important lesson I learned motorcycle camping across the country. The goal is to have an adventure, to create a memorable experience and life. An over dependence on comfort gets in the way of that.
As Richard Proenneke wrote,
Needs? I guess that is what bothers so many folks. They keep expanding their needs until they are dependent on too many things and too many other people… I wonder how many things in the average American home could be eliminated if the question were asked, “Must I really have this?” I guess most of the extras are chalked up to comfort or saving time.
Richard Proenneke
Funny thing about comfort – one man’s comfort is another man’s misery. Most people do’t work hard enough physically anymore, and comfort is not easy to find. It is surprising how comfortable a hard bunk can be after you come down off a mountain.
