We have been cooking using our camping stove that runs off of gasoline or coleman fuel. We've been wanting to upgrade for awhile now and add another form of cooking that would create multiple options for us.
We searched on craigslist and found us traditional barbecue grill that was $40. It had some rough spots on it, but was at least a $300 grill when it was new. It has 3 burners and a side burner and is stainless steel.
We brought it home and set it up excited to have another way to cook. Sol was equally excited and happily cooked the hamburger for us (under our careful supervision of course) on the sideburner. We made soup and kale chips.
It is a great improvement over our previous situation. It just made it even better that Sol loved cooking on it and it made a great memory for our family.
Showing posts with label off grid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label off grid. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Our Dream of Liberty
Most would agree that it is sad and even tragic that our dream (mentioned in a previous post) of living off grid is almost impossible due to the "illegal" and taboo nature surrounding our lifestyle.
I long for the freedom to be able to do whatever it is that I decide I would like to do, but more importantly I long for liberty to return to our nation. Liberty that would bring about the freedom to be able to do what is best for my family. Liberty is freedom in all areas, complete freedom.
I believe that our country needs liberty and needs it now, but most of the country (including people I know) may say they want "freedom and liberty", but really they just want to do what they want to do. When they hear what "freedom and liberty" would bring most would run from it. With liberty (which is true freedom) comes great responsibility. (sounds like a comic book character line)
Liberty and responsibility are not separate and cannot be separate. Without responsibility liberty turns to anarchy and despair. True liberty would look like this
1. I live my dream lifestyle of living off grid having a compost toilet and all the other non-traditional methods of living mentioned previously.
2. The young man up the street sits out in his porch smoking weed. It would be legal along with every other kind of substance including raw milk.
3. No one would get tax breaks for being married. Straight, gay, boyfriend girlfriend, everyone would be treated equally under a fair tax or flat tax system (no more income tax or IRS to get tax breaks from)
4. There would be no government run medicare, medicaid, food stamps, health insurance, social security, FDIC mortgage loans, public education, environmental protection agency, USDA, etc.
5. All those social welfare programs would be run independently by the people of their own free will. Churches and soup kitchens would feed the hungry, neighbors would help those who lost their job, families would live together in a close knit circle to help each other survive. Our children would be home schooled or taught at a school each parent helped pay for the teacher.
6. There would be no Homeland Security, TSA (Transportation Security Administration airplane people), and no "protection" from the Patriot Act.
7. There would be no subsidies or government intervention on corn, oil, cars (GM and Chrysler), sugar, wheat, or any type of food.
8. Business would rise and fall based on their product and customer service, not based on the governments "need" for them. Banks would fail and default if they made bad decisions.
9. Stock Market investors would make millions and lose millions based on their willingness to take risk and assume the responsibility.
10. There would be no suing each other without consequences. You try and sue me for $50,000 and lose, you pay me $50,000 and vice versa.
If one of these things listed didn't make you cringe and want to say "Never mind I don't want liberty" you are either already a liberty loving Libertarian at heart or you didn't read the list right.
Responsibility is scary. There is no blaming anyone else. If you got sick from ecol i then you had chosen to buy your meat from someone who probably didn't let their cow eat any grass. That is your fault. No one to blame, but ourselves.
Yet that is what we need. That is what we must have to succeed in changing not only our culture, but more importantly ourselves. It starts with you and it starts with me. We can't change our culture or our laws instantly, but we can change on how we think about things and change the way we deal with situations. We need to start taking responsibility for our own actions and then through our actions we will start to infect the culture with liberty and responsibility.
One of the most obvious actions we can take (but not always the most productive or important in comparison) is voting for our elected officials. I have until recently been very naive and uninvolved in this area. I have done lots of research and I care very much about my country and who we elect as President all the way down to our local officials.
I wanted to let you know the why prior to telling you who I endorse as president. You may not care who I endorse and I would never want you to vote for someone prior to doing your own research (just know I've done a lot!)
I strongly and emphatically endorse Ron Paul for president. I endorse him even to the point that I will write him in as a third party candidate if the Republicans do not give me a solid option. (and I don't see it happening unless it is Ron Paul) Ron Paul has a message of "liberty and personal responsibility," He wants to cut 1 trillion dollars from the budget the first year. He wants the government smaller and personal responsibility and liberty bigger. Even if he gets elected he won't be able to get us to the point of the list above, but I believe we will start heading in the right direction.
I do not like any other GOP (Republican candidate) and will not vote for any of them even when it comes to going up against President Barack Obama. I know I am to vote for who is the best candidate not who an organization (GOP) tells me to vote for.
Take it for what it is worth to you. If you have any questions feel free to comment or email me, or check out my blog at bantamvoice.blogspot.com but I won't go on any further with politics (unless it directly relates to self sufficiency) because I have a whole blog for that.
I became passionate about politics because I wanted to take responsibility for my own actions and I met resistance everywhere I turned from the government and our culture. My lifestyle dictates that I care about politics and I hope that we can find common ground with Liberty.
The Bantam Voice
"Free People Free People"
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Security Off Grid
As we go and start setting up our property one of the main issues we are thinking about is security. We want to make sure we feel safe at our new property and anywhere we travel too.
Dog - We have a dog that we specifically got for being a guard dog. She is a 1/2 newfoundland and 1/2 rotweiller. (She looks like a black lab)
At our property we plan to start with a cattle fence around our camper and expand out as we can afford it. This serves a two fold purpose, one to keep the dog near the camper and second to give an obstacle to anyone wanting to get close to our trailer.
We also have purposefully kept some wild blackberries going at the back of our camper to serve as an additional deterrent to people walking up behind our camper.
Handgun - I now carry a handgun with me anywhere it is legal. This help my wife feel secure and she also plans to get a gun after she receives some training. This is important to keep you safe from people, snakes, and any other wildlife animals.
Knives - I also try and carry a knife (At least one) all the time. This serves as the same purpose as the gun. We also have mace on our key ring and have a shotgun for home.
There are multiple other things you can do to help keep you safe that we plan to do such as, beware signs and others of the like, to taller fencing etc. Be creative and more importantly be safe.
The Bantam Voice
"Freed People, Free People"
Monday, January 30, 2012
Dealing with Clothes Off Grid
We have been practicing not using any power inside the house for over a month with much success! We may haven't been writing much on the blog, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy pursuing the self sufficient life.
Going without electricity ("unlimited modern electricity" present many challenges that you would guess, but others that you may never have thought of.
I thought this would be a good opportunity to share the biggest hurdles, the suprising victories, and the solutions to some of the issues you encounter when "unplugging" from the grid.
By far the biggest obstacle we had to climb in regards to power was the issue of washing and drying clothes.
Obstacle - washing and drying clothes
Solution - hand washing machine and clothes line
We found the washing machine used for $35.00 and the clothes line from Lowes for $14.00.
It takes patience and more time than ever before to wash the clothes, but it really gives us a sense of accomplishment that we never had before when it came to such a mundane chore.
We also are about to make our own washing detergent powder. We will post that recipe once it is complete. It is near $.02 a load vs. the cheapest store bought at $.15 to $.30 a load.
The Bantam Voice
"Freed People, Free People"
Labels:
clothes,
drying,
off grid,
washing,
washing detergent
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