Am I the only one who wants to live like this?

chewie · #21 09/30/10, 12:46 PM

all a matter of choices. for me, i do want elec. erin made lots of sense to me! i could easily live in a smaller, much mroe simple home. i would like to simply cut back alot of our use of the elec. DH insisted on dish tv, i so wish it gone. sometimes the noise of all that stuff we have going is so overwelming! those nights like erin described still happen when i make all the 'stuff' go off. its so lovely. so real, so peaceful. that part i could go for alot more of!

but handwashing laudry, no, i have better things to do. i could do dishes by hand, no problem. but not having a fridge, nah, i want my fridge. and ditto on the internet, gosh i love it!! but that's me, another may feel different.

mostly, get what you want! if going totally off grid makes you happy, go for it! you can usually go back on later if you decide to.

we used to live further out and altho for my own personal happiness, i loved that!! but, my kids now have friends to go bike riding with, i have neighbors who stop by and my art business does better since i'm not so far away. my job is also only a mile away. that part is really good. its a compromise.

CherieOH · #22 09/30/10, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolf mom

Nope. The older I get, the nicer conveniences are and, living alone, the easier they make life for me. Live without electricity and my tractor? Have to go to town to use someone elses clothes washer powered by their electricity? Live without my computer? No phone to talk to my friends and family far away? I don't think so. TV - just turn it off.

I live simply with conveniences. I think there's a balance each must find for him/herself.

Ditto, with special emphasis on that last sentence.

NeHomesteader · #23 09/30/10, 01:05 PM

Thanks for all the great replies. I'd love to have solar and maybe that is what we will end up doing. I am not into the modern conveniences,my husband and I do everything the hard way,by choice. I have always loved this way of life and even growing up and staying summers with friends who did without everything was the best vacation I could have ever had. I loved it. To me it was fun. It is just something within that wants to live simpler. We have a wood stove but i'd love to have a cookstove so that I could cook even more. Just simple things like that i'd change. Tv just bores me to death but I can sit down and read and learn and never tire of it. I'm not saying that wanting to live even simpler is a good choice for everyone at all but i'd like to try it. I don't have to have people around to be happy ,I can always find something to do. But i'm not unsocial either. If you'd see me in town you'd never know I live like this. I just think that todays society is such a throwaway/wasteful one and I don't want to be like that. I am pretty content with what we have and will just keep living even simpler here on this place i'm sure. Land around here is hard to find and pretty pricey. Our place is old and peaceful and I should just feel blessed to be here and doing what i'm doing. Dawn

ET1 SS · #24 09/30/10, 03:24 PM

Sounds good to me

MoonRiver · #25 09/30/10, 03:28 PM

I want electricity and all the advantages it provides. I just don't want to pay for it!

cbcansurvive · #26 09/30/10, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawn

Live without electricity? Without conveniences and out in the middle of nowhere? The homesteading life is not new to me. We have been living it for close to our 29 years of marriage,yet now I feel I want to do more. We have always ranched,which is what we still do. We have 50+ cows,bottle calves,chickens and used to have sheep which I dearly miss. My husband custom fences and we have very little debt on our 40 acres due to mostly renting pasture for all our cows. We have been frugal all our lives,drive older vehicles which we don't owe on. I have 3 gardens,can ,freeze and dry about enough to get us through minus a milk cow or goat for our milk and buy from a food co-op. We cut wood for heat. Raise broilers and butcher them along with venison and beef. I do the farmers market,make my own laundry soap and bath soap. I'm sure i'm missing something but you get the point,i'm not new to this. I want MORE

It sounds like you actually want less

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawn

Land I know that sounds selfish because there is alot of you who would love what I have and for that,I feel bad and about hated to even post this. I have always found the Amish so fascinating and anyone who lives without electricity and in a remote location ,I just love it. I am at a point in my life where this is what I want. I don't want the conveniences of electricity or technology( I know,here I am typing on the computer...)

I could never give up the computer. I have learned so much from forums like these and continue to get ideas. Just recently I found plans for a $1000 solar hot water system that can be built with parts from Home Depot. For the small price of an internet connection you are afforded an endless source of information as well as the opportunity to share that information with others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawn

We lived without a phone for a year when the kids were little and I didn't miss it at all. We worked on a ranch where it was too expensive for them to get so it took that long. I loved it.

I can't say that I would share that view. The telephone may be an annoyance most of the time with telemarketers, etc...but it can also be a basic lifesaving tool. I understand that it simply wasn't available to you, but so long as it is, I can't understand why anyone would chose not to have it. Why die of something treatable because you couldn't call for help?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawn

I know it must seem really odd to some of you that anyone could want this but I do. I feel like I need to do this at this point in my life. Right now we live 1/4 mile off the road,3/4 mile from neighbors but I want to be further out. I have rambled on enough but I hope you understand where i'm coming from. Dawn

I certainly understand that feeling because I can't wait to have no neighbors, but I'll take the computer, the phone, and something besides candles for light once the sun goes down.

jwal10 · #27 09/30/10, 10:16 PM

I guess not any more. I have 45 watts of 12 volt power at the little cabin, a couple lights and an outlet to charge this cell phone, Also have a 12v crockpot out here. Wood heat and a tea kettle. It is 8:15 and I am still rocking on the front porch by kerosene lantern, beautiful night. Sweetie is inside knitting. All is well....James

**Shrek** · #28 10/01/10, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawn

Live without electricity? Without conveniences and out in the middle of nowhere? The homesteading life is not new to me. We have been living it for close to our 29 years of marriage,yet now I feel I want to do more. We have always ranched,which is what we still do. We have 50+ cows,bottle calves,chickens and used to have sheep which I dearly miss. My husband custom fences and we have very little debt on our 40 acres due to mostly renting pasture for all our cows. We have been frugal all our lives,drive older vehicles which we don't owe on. I have 3 gardens,can ,freeze and dry about enough to get us through minus a milk cow or goat for our milk and buy from a food co-op. We cut wood for heat. Raise broilers and butcher them along with venison and beef. I do the farmers market,make my own laundry soap and bath soap. I'm sure i'm missing something but you get the point,i'm not new to this. I want MORE and I know that sounds selfish because there is alot of you who would love what I have and for that,I feel bad and about hated to even post this. I have always found the Amish so fascinating and anyone who lives without electricity and in a remote location ,I just love it. I am at a point in my life where this is what I want. I don't want the conveniences of electricity or technology( I know,here I am typing on the computer...)We lived without a phone for a year when the kids were little and I didn't miss it at all. We worked on a ranch where it was too expensive for them to get so it took that long. I loved it. I know it must seem really odd to some of you that anyone could want this but I do. I feel like I need to do this at this point in my life. Right now we live 1/4 mile off the road,3/4 mile from neighbors but I want to be further out. I have rambled on enough but I hope you understand where i'm coming from. Dawn

Git off the internet and go live your dream since internet and wifi are modern conviences don't worry about telling us about your experiences

I enjoy the current level of hermitdom that I have now that includes utilities, indoor plumbing media entertainment and 5 cars a day down my road.