🤗READ Before you comment: We only rented this cabin for the summer in Alaska. We wanted to learn about off grid systems and get a feel for how "normal on-grid people" would adjust to off-grid living. Many of your questions will be answered by Watching the Entire video. We're getting ready to release the next video, so we won't be able to moderate any more comments. If you have any questions, feel free to email!

I'd say you heard what you wanted to hear... more than you were lied to.

Why didn’t you just try off grid at home? Off grid doesn’t have to be in remote Alaska.

This is what happens when hipsters try to live in the woods.

My wife and I live off-grid in Arizona. Closest utilities are 22 miles down a dirt (sand) from our house. We have solar for electricity, well for water, and propane for cooking, dryer, hot water heater, etc. This to me is what off-grid is. Honestly having lived there for 2 years now, I can't imagine moving back into a town.

It's really interesting that people idealize the little house books so much. I'm reading them to my young son right now and it's struggle after struggle. Just in the last book The grasshoppers ate everything, there was blizzard after blizzard and they couldn't go anywhere because a blizzard might start and they couldn't see. Pa gets stuck in a blizzard and only survived by falling into an area where he was protected by an overhang on the prairie and eating all the Christmas candy. The little girls get bullied, the family struggles to pay for their house, pa has to travel to another farm and work away from the family for months. Their coats are too small and their dresses are too small and pa has boots that are so worn out his feet show through. They have to live in a tiny dugout. They have to build their own house, ma is cooking and cleaning all the time. When they can't go to school in the blizzard she teaches the kids herself. They have to take care of a cow and cook with fires. The little girls do play outside and the family loves each other, but they're living a really difficult life. I think Pa in the books actually had some of the same things going on as in this video, he kept thinking they next place would be better, that the new land would make them happy, but the struggles of life continue. Our family is always talking about how nice it is we don't have to have it so hard! I guess it's like living in an older house. We live in a house that's more than 100 years old. People say they want to live in an old house, but I think they actually want to have the fun parts, without the work it takes for upkeep. They don't really know what is involved.

I mean, you set yourselves up for failure right from the get-go. A family as large as yours in a tiny cabin like that was only ever going to end up in tears.

Why do people think that their ancestors, in the old, black and white photos, looked so miserable? They WERE miserable; life without, is HARD WORK. Back in the day, they didn’t do it because it was “novel”, they did it because they had no choice.

This is why you have to get all the facts prior to making such a move. It is possible to live entirely off grid without being completely uncomfortable. You can have a washing machine off grid, you just need the infrastructure to be able to have it. You also need to embrace the realities, realize it is going to be rough, sometimes for years, before you get into the groove. It's also a reality that if you have kids, those kids have to join in on the responsibilities, such as laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. Most of all, take the rose colored glasses off.

People have asked me about living off grid. I've heard people saying they want to leave the "on grid" to live similar to what I do. My advice is to just stay where you are and turn off something. Like the TV. Or the washing machine or the refrigerator. Some convenience that they think they could live without. Once they figure out how to deal with that, then pick the next convenience and establish how they would deal without it. It would be easier to get "stuff" like canning equipment and the knowledge to begin that, refrigeration or how will you take care of food, or washing clothes, or heating and cooking. It would make the "culture shock" much easier if one could ease into it, rather than just cold turkey the change. Especially with children. Wasn't but a few years ago that 2women and a teenager died from not knowing how to live off grid. They just packed up and went.

Husband: went fishing, made smores, made a bad cup of coffee, strummed a guitar, had a visit with the neighbor, took a walk. Wife: all the chores. Yay! Sounds like a lot of fun.

I’m really enjoying this series! I lived off grid for 5 years, with three children under the age of 10. One thing I learned - don’t go into it with the same mindset you had when on grid. No matter what you’ve been used to, you don’t HAVE to do laundry every day, you can actually let the kids put the same clothes on for a week and it won’t kill them…they don’t need a bath every day, etc. the standards we are used to, are actually a luxury. Not everyone is ok with this, I get it. But if you want to make your life a little easier, maybe let those standards ease a bit, in whatever ways you feel comfortable 😊

What did you expect having an 8 person family in a cabin built for two? I’ve been living off grid in Tennessee in a small camper for a year and a half it gets difficult but doable. Of course I’m only 8 miles from a small city and I bought a solar system for my electric. You shouldn’t try being off grid with such a large family in Alaska so far away from civilization.

I grew up off grid without running water or electricity in the mountains of Oregon. While it may be romantic to do it for a week or two, when it's the middle of winter and you really want a hot shower after falling when chopping ice to get to the water source, It stops being fun. Having chickens is great normally. But when an animal gets in and kills all of your fresh proteins for the year, you get sick of canned food fast.

I own a home inspection company. The amount of people that are disillusioned by TV and the internet scares me. Thats what happens, its people just watching the internet and getting confused about reality.

For outhouses: We used to use one sometimes when I was a child. It's best to not attach the toilet seat to the wood and store it in the house next to the fireplace. Just take it with you and wipe it off with a baby wipe when you get back in the house. Then you'll always have a nice warm and toasty clean seat (free of bugs and hiding spiders) when it's time to go.

"We didn't expect life in the TINY cabin to be so hard." Really? All of you, in a tiny cabin, you didn't think that would be hard? "We didn't expect the weather to be so bad." It's Alaska, not Cali or Florida. What did you expect?

If you look at the PBS series’ where families lived according to standards of living that existed at that far-off time, you learn that it was truly brutal and exhausting.

It seems the entire problem was a lack of due-diligence. It seems like they bought a "shed sized" "Tiny Home" sight unseen that was way too small, and failed to verify it was a s advertised, meaning the kitchen, wood stove and toilet was good to go. Living in an area like that means you need interior living space!

The absolute biggest off grid lie is that somehow your life is going to be easier. DO NOT believe anyone telling you otherwise. Off grid costs money. Lots and lots of money. You're still going to have to work, you will still have bills. There is nothing simple about the simple life and nothing nostalgic about getting back to basics. 😅

Even bigfoot would say you're setup was crap.

When we moved from the South to Wyoming (which is like Alaska, only in the lower 48--to us, at least), we promised ourselves we would take the advice of people who had lived here instead of saying, "Well, in Florida, we did it like this." This philosophy has served us well. Nine years and counting.

ADAPT. Bring the toilet seat inside to keep it warm, take it with you when you go to outhouse. Make an indoor chamber pot out of bucket and plastic trash bag, use a shower curtain for privacy, have a separate pee bottle, put dried leaves or sawdust over each poop to compost it, never mix pee & poop because that ferments and stinks. I have an induction stovetop cooker & microwave that runs on 1200W sine wave power inverter. Indoor stove ain't that hard, solve it. Get some lumber and make a real porch cover with screens for mosquitos. Learn to make food that only needs heating (canned soups/meats) or add boiling water Dehydrated(Ramen, Mash Potatoes, Rice, Pasta, Refried Beans). You need to spend your time WORKING, put a project list together, set priorities. That many people you have to do laundry everyday. You have a lot going for you at that homestead, handle it. When you go to town bring 2000 pounds of supplies back with you.

We lived in Alaska when I was a kid, and the mosquitoes are ginormous! I loved, loved, loved Alaska, but I would NEVER choose to learn off grid living in Alaska. The bugs alone would keep me from doing it-it’s not just mosquitoes. But, mercy, the winter weather and lack of sunlight -sheesh! Hats off to y’all for taking on that challenge!!

Even the dog is like, "I didn't sign up for this."

You need to give each of your children chores so its not all on you. To live off grid EVERYONE HAS TO PITCH IN. From a 2 yrold to 100 yr old everyone needs tk have a job and to make this work for your family. Have been off grid for 8 years with me my spouse and 1 child. Teamwork and everyone has a jobs tk do.

lived in Botswana for 4 years - 1 "off grid" running water will always be my favorite modern convenience.

I lived the first part of my life in Cuba doing all of the off grid chores and then some. The second part of my life I’ve lived in the USA enjoying basic commodities. To say I feel rich because I have a machine that washes my dishes is an understatement! And I love it. I do not want to live off grid on purpose. It is so hard! Having said that I am glad to have that knowledge because we never know what is waiting down the line. Our homestead has all the systems needed to thrive off grid if the lights get turned off like they do most days in Cuba. And I am teaching my kids so they don’t get overwhelmed if they ever need to wash their clothes by hand. Until then I’ll let my Roomba vacuum my floors while I enjoy some time loving on my babies.

I loved the conversation where the neighbor advises you to learn from those who have been successful at surviving in a certain area for decades-or centuries. As a young mom (many moons ago) I lived in southern MX in a small desert pueblo that would now be called "off grid". Palm huts-no running water etc...I had to learn EVERYTHING from the locals. The first piece of advice I was given, was to never wear pants. I scoffed at that-until the day that I was squatting in the pig pen to do my business and some neighbors walked by and waved to say hello. Light bulb. SKIRTS--got it. They are like a wearable privacy tent. After that-I may have renumerated on how things were done--but i did not question their wisdom!

We lived off grid on a sailboat much smaller than that house for 5.5 years and went two an a half of those years without touching a dock and living with just 420 watts of solar panels. Of course, we had no air conditioning. We didn't even have a water maker. It was head and shoulders the best time of our lives. We sold the boat and moved back only because our parents were in their last few years and one needed someone to move in with. We were in the tropics in the Pacific but that meant we had often too much heat instead of cold and we still had very irritating flying insects of all sorts that caused us to modify how we lived. We had to fix everything on the boat almost continuously. Our parents are gone now but we are still stuck on the edge of a small town wanting to get back away from civilization. We do know that we have to be able to get to a town at least every other week for it to be comfortable though. Our next off grid place is at 8,200', on the wooded north side of a mountain and out of sight of the nearest neighbor but it is only 5 miles by road to a town of 770. We also will start will 1,600 watts of solar panels this time and imagine that we will double it sooner rather than later. We will us a composting toilet just like we switched to on the boat. Unlike the boat we will also have a lot more water stored and we will be putting in a well. Off grid is fine for us. Of course, we didn't and don't have kids.

The term Living Off Grid is a modern way of saying, living like our great (great) grandparents lived. Truly living without modern amenities you become the electric company and the electrician, the water and waste water plants and the plumber, the bakery providing a loaf of bread and the baker… Kudos to you for giving it a go. I had never heard of your channel prior to this so you have brought in a whole new set of viewers to your content with this experiment. I think we can all use a reminder of the abundance God has provided for us whatever living style we choose.

Its possible to live entirely off grid without being to uncomfortable one of the things I found out quick was you need areas of dry warm workable spaces such as a barn, large wood shed, so when it rains or snows your under cover I even have an out roof covered outdoor kitchen

Just left Alaska after 7 years. Not off grid. In a native village on an island off of Kodiak. We had 5 days of sunshine last summer. Continually overcast and rainy. Beautiful country and people but I need the the sunshine. Just bought a house in Arkansas. It’s November 14 and it was 65. Ahhhh.

Things you should understand before going off grid: Basic carpentry - You don't have to know a lot but the basics of how to cut and fit wood together effectively and safely Basic understanding of thermodynamics - learn how to keep heat in and what could sap heat from the environment. Food storage - in cold environments like Alaska you can very easily dig a hold in the ground about 1-2 feet and place food wrapped in a tarp or in an ice chest and this will work just as well as a fridge. Also salting/smoking meats will extend the life by months and you can build smokers out of stones you find around. First aid - you should all have an understanding of first aid, the closest Hospital can be hours away. Lastly you should install solar panels and get a large enough solar battery to last a couple days in the event of large storms. Gas is expensive and you cant rely on a generator holding out for days on end of continuous use, they require much more maintenance and you have to change the oil every couple days to keep the efficiency at 100%.

You haven’t seen hard yet. How many cords of wood do you have? Winter is coming. Without more cabin space, your essentials are going to make you feel like you are being strangulated (food storage, extra clothing and the ability to make/fix them, medical, etc). Oh look, here comes a grizzly bear or wolf. I lived in Alaska. I presently live in northern Missouri.

If you read the Little House books carefully, you realize that the people having fun were Pa and the girls. NOT Ma, or the other women who went crazy from the isolation and hard work.

Its not just going off-grid, its escaping your reality and romanticizing something you don't have. Sometimes what you have is better than you think, warts and all. Its something that I struggle with.

I can agree with you! Starting unprepared is so very hard!! Even thinking your prepared with bad advice, the romance people think living off grid ? Yeah it’s not! It’s hard , rough, take anything you know and multiply it by 20! And that’s if you have a solid roof, heat, water, food. Just to get you through first 2 years so garden can get started, chickens raised , security ! And that’s in the lower 48, I couldn’t emagine doing it in Alaska… my hat is off to you guys trying

I've lived off grid in Michigan for 9 years now. 99.9 % of my friends say they couldn't survive a week living my life. And you know what? I can spot the ones that might make it for a 3 day weekend, a two week vacation. But I haven't found any one that could make it thru a year, let alone a decade. Hauling all my water in, and hauling all my garbage& waste out. No fridge/freezer, washing machine, no furnace, no running water, no sewer/septic system, no tv, no computer, no electric system. I have a tiny 100 watt solar stem that charges my cell phone, my 2 rechargeable kitchen & bedroom area USB lights, my power pack for a back up for my cell phone, and my old tablet. And I have one dirct wired 12 volt light. I also have a direct wired 12 volt charging block that has 1 coigarette lighter port and 3 USB ports. My porch light on my 1988 motorhome is direct solar charged, motion activated wall light. And I have a 3 ft long USB rechargeable tube light for working under my pickup trucks hood. I have no systems that work in the old motorhome. I have a small heater that runs off propane tanks I carry to get refilled. And I water bath or pressure can all pf my veggies, fruits, and meats right after going to the store. Even if it takes all night, bcuz of no fridge. I enjoy my life most of the time. But tired of the deep snow & blizzards, with bitter cold high winds in the winter. I want to move more south to grow my food most of the year and have very little snow or bitter cold temps.

A few things I have noticed that make off grid living in a cold climate easier: -Enough indoor space for drying wer clothes and shoes and for kids to play indoors. -finnish sauna, you just need it, a very effective and comfortable way to wash both people and clothes, brings warmth and hot water ❤️ -a good woodstove and masonry oven, if possible, the latter would keep the cabin warm for a long time, so no shivering in the morning, also super handy for cooking while doing other chores. Like an off grid slow cooker and bread oven. I honestly don't know how people handle off grid Alaska without these. 🙈

I feel like a cabin even a little larger and a little newer would have made a much better experience!

My husband and I moved “off-grid” with our five children. We converted a shed to a cabin. Had we had more time we would have built our own cabin so the shed is temporary but it is beautiful despite the ideas one may have seeing that in writing. We are entering year three and have just finished the sunroom, bathroom, laundry room. We shower and poop in a protected space with a greenhouse roof showing us the sky surrounded by windows showing the forest. My washing machine is much appreciated in that warm protected space. I do still hang my laundry summer through winter but I also sometimes take several loads to the laundromat in town (14 miles away) to dry while I go get groceries at the local Aldi or co-op market. There are plenty of things that we have, done at least for a bit, the hard way. One we have absolutely not taken the “off grid” route on and found as soon as possible is water. Our county has water for all residents and we absolutely installed systems to utilize as soon as possible. With five children and animals it was not something I wanted to travel for. It would be miserable. We do still poop in a bucket and we compost it. A bit of a pain at times but one that I have learned to embrace and appreciate. Using the soil to grow my sunflowers this summer was what it took for me to get to that place, we are talking a year of doing the dump poop, wash bucket, add leaves repeat so many times. One thing with off-grid is learning to do the necessary and lean in to the good you know it is supposed to be until you can find a way to make it easier or find beauty and peace with it. Two full years in we have built us and it is a combination of off-grid and modern convenience in a way that allows us to enjoy what we came here for - more time together as a family, more time in nature, more time to learn and grow. We have to be flexible and willing to learn and grow as we go and find joy in that learning and growing.

Off grid in Alaska is totally different than off grid in Alabama! The environment is extremely hostile to life in Alaska. Unless prepared for extreme conditions you are putting yourself at the risk of death.

I’d take that place and just chill myself! I hate people, I hate being around people.. Just me being by myself, my library of books and nobody near me, that is literal heaven! I envy folks who have that life.

A lot of your older videos are very informative and educational. This new batch though is very "Reality TV" and its SUPER weird yall.

"Just enough knowledge to be dangerous." When I was a young child we lived in the Alaskan bush in a one room cabin without electricity or plumbing. We used Cutters for the mosquitoes. ("But it's not natural." Malaria is natural. I'll go with the bug spray.) Laundry and bath day came once a month - and we needed it. My dad kept beaver caster glands in his coat pockets for the traps. I was too young (left when I was seven) to know that this was an unusual lifestyle at the time. It was just how we lived. But in retrospect, it did color my view of male/female relationships (everybody is killing themselves and we're all oppressed by the struggle to survive and the pain of life, not by each other) and an eternal gratitude for modern conveniences. I DEEPLY APPRECIATE MY WASHING MACHINE. And microwave, blender, AC, heater, etc.

I'm really liking this series! I was an Arizona off grid nomad for 10 yrs. I saw lots of wanna-bees fail miserably and a few close friends who looked to me for guidance succeed. Many good memories.

There’s off-grid and there’s remote. Don’t confuse them!

There's a great documentary out there about the Little House books. Laura's daughter likely wrote a substantial amount of it with a libertarian bent that supported her political movement at the time. Charles Ingalls was essentially a rolling stone who never did learn to support his family and eventually had to sign some kind of pauper's agreement with the government to survive. After having that curtain pulled back, I really had to think about how those books impacted my entire view of European settlement at an extremely impressionable age. I think what most of us are picking at with these self-imposed challenges is trying to step outside of the consumer narrative that was pre-determined for most of us and breaking habits we were born into. Those are hard to shake and we feel the need to go to extremes to try and make new values and habits stick.

So many kids makes a difference- Mother of 10- 9 at home at one time- Big families keep U hopping in every aspic of daily living- Remember soup with meat and vegetables is satisfying and healthy

Wow can't imagine doing it with 5 young kids and a baby. The first 8 months I was cooking outdoors we had umbrellas for shade and all the dishes got dirty with the wind and rain. Building a shelter next to the caravan was a game changer, which is now the outdoor kitchen we share with the critters and cheeky birds looking for crumbs. EVERYTHING takes longer to do. We had a solar array up within 2 months so that helped feel a bit more normal (the internet is such a great source of information), water tanks within 6 months and we plumbed it to the caravan and around the property, that was also a game changer not having to refill constantly. The composting loo was a big surprise and not as icky as one would expect, and now we have our first years pile transformed into rich compost for the garden. Now we are 2 years and 2 months in, fruit trees and garden are flourishing and got our first harvest of berries. We have a small cabin built and still need to line and wire it up. We have 3 shipping containers for storing our tools, bulk dry foods, washing machine etc. The main container house build starts this year and we have multiple projects on the go: laundry/shower, chicken coop, organic pond, wood shed, greenhouse and a couple of other cabins for our adult kids when they come to stay. Looking back the 1st year was really hard but we are now into our groove and absolutely would not go back to the city to be a mortgage slave. In a couple of years we would have finished building most of the necessary infrastructure and be self sufficient and start producing things to earn some $$. It is so beautiful here with the forest, mushrooms and birds that I loath to leave the place to even go into town to pick up supplies. The thought of spending a 3rd winter in the caravan does fill me with mild dread so better get cracking and finish the cabin. This life is certainly not for the faint hearted but ever so rewarding and liberating. The kids love coming here from the city and one day will build their own places as they probably won't be able to afford a house

I grew up in Virginia in the 1950's and 60's with 5 sisters and 3 brothers , our dad worked in the coal mines and $20.00 was a good payday so most of the time we didn't have electric . Our mom washed clothes in wash tubs most of the time on a scrub board . We had an outhouse and when we needed a new one someone built it or when one got full we dug a new hole and moved it . Most of the food we ate came from the woods or we grew it and mom cooked it . Our school was 2 rooms and yes they had outhouses as well . I was the oldest boy so I chopped the wood for the stoves and carried coal from nearby train tracks that had fallen off the coal cars . It sounds hard but I wouldn't trade my childhood with anyone .

I loved the Wilderness Family movies as a kid. They did actually get deliveries by plane. I read all the Little House books as an adult and life definitely looked hard. There were bad crop seasons where starving to death was a real worry, winter storms where people got lost in the snow and froze to death. The Ingalls even moved to town in the winter to keep from freezing in the winter.

Been off grid for nearly 3 years. It’s the hardest work ever. I couldn’t imagine doing it with 3 kids. My husband and I have been building our farm from scratch on raw land. Some days we wonder if it’s worth it but at the same time we know there’s know turning back for us. We have way too much time and energy invested. We are little bit different cause we raise a large herd of alpacas (that’s how we make it as homesteaders) so we’ve built pens and barns and all kinds of infrastructure already. But we went 3 years without running water! But as if two weeks ago we finally have a nice indoor shower and a kitchen sink! Total game changer!

Off grid is very hard. That’s how we started for 5 years and we finally got power last year. We started out in tents. We still get water by rain. Took us 5 years to get where we are but it was hard and many times wanted to give up. We are all thankful we didn’t because we love it here.

Completely off grid is very hard. It takes up a lot of time and energy. I think what a lot of people really desire is just something a little more simple. Not spending so much time at jobs and commuting, and buying questionable produce at th grocery store. Something in the middle. Like a partially off grid community. Maybe youre hooked up to city sanitation system but you use solar for all your energy and use a hand cranked washing machine. You have your own garden or a community permaculture garden/forest for food. Well atleast thats what id want. Off grid is so appealing because people just want their time back and no to spend so much money for basic necessities. Somewhere in the middle is probably best for most people if youre accustomed to certain ammenities and don't have th skills to be completely off grid. But know whatever you decide you always have a choice. You dont have to stay at that job you hate but you also dont have to do everything alone to have a fulfilled life. Also where you go off grid is a big factor. Being off grid in the desert is gonna be different from the mountains in alaska or in the carribean.

I am off grid as well.. I knew what I was getting into.. it's nice but, very difficult some days.. many everyday things take four times as long to accomplish when roughing it. It saves money in some ways & is more expensive to get set-up & maintain then, normal ""in-the-matrix"" living.. it can be lonesome & glad my dog was my companion.. I did still work in the market but, nearest town for my job was one hour away & that's two hours a day driving.. with deer jumping out in front of my truck every day & increases my chances of a wreck & therefore, I had to increase auto insurance coverage & that's just one example of extra expenses I ain't been poisoned by t.v. in months cuz, I don't get t.v. reception.. a radio is all I got.. & I felt in my cellphone & Wi-Fi data on phone cuz, there is no Wi-Fi where I reside in the sticks. It's a journey that's for sure & I made it (3) months so far & got one more to go.. then, my new rental (mobile home not far from my cabin where I can drive less than an hour on days off work to continue improving my off grid cabin & property.. I am currently even in cold temps. digging out & chopping out bull rush weeds & cat fails that took over my small pond.. most people just hire a end loader & CAT to dig it out . & I cannot go as deep as machinery but, I can do it by hand in spite what sobe folks think.. it's just A LOT of hard work.. but, I will be so proud one day a decade from now when I'm older & I worked the land (even tho I'm 50/yrs old I can work any teen age kid or, young men off today into the ground. If you have work ethic, a vision & goal orientated, staying motivated.. then, any one can do it. I'm happy I had this chance at a "test run" on daily living.. it's a challenge. Yet, I got used to it & became tougher & more resilient just in case the contemporary grid crashes & economy collapses.. I know now, that I CAN DO IT!! .. & So, can YOU!😊

I have lived off grid, once in Hawaii. That time I was twenty years old and the off grid part wasn’t the worst thing, it was the isolation and loneliness that forced me back to town. Then I moved back to the mainland. I learned construction and mechanical skills, I learned how to live with wildlife/bears, I learned to cut, split hundreds of cords of wood I learned to live in and love very deep snow at high elevation and that made all the difference, now I’m okay with it.

ultimately, the wife is by extension the washing machine and the dishwasher and the cook. The husband fails when he fails his wife. You may not have a saw mill, do your best to make one. Need a small building for some reason? even to be storage or for the adults to sleep in? build it. By all means, use a tarp, but create a more permanent or "temporary" enclosure for that area. This is not rocket science and your measurements do not need to be perfect. it sucks that the stove, and most everything in the cabin was broken. Fix them.

Love the honesty here. Off-grid life requires foresight, skill, and know-how. The “lie” might have been that these things aren’t necessary, or the lack of awareness. It’s refreshing to see a more authentic and not falsely polished video.

This experience brought about exactly what you wanted . You wanted to be a better person, you wanted to know more about yourself and your resiliency, capability. It did just that, simply in short order. You were expecting years but it didn't take that long. Now you realize you're just a little too bougie for this life.

Really enjoyed listening to your perspectives. Our four years of off grid experience in Michigan’s upper peninsula is quite different because we don’t have young children. Couple of things stuck out to me: why not a composting toilet? Ours has worked perfectly (urine diverted to the outside under the cabin). We have 300 square feet (not a lot of room) but it would be unsustainable to have an outdoor kitchen due to extremes in weather and the bugs. For laundry, a large washtub, plunger, a mop bucket for wringing out water, and a clothesline works well. When I say off grid, I’m talking about no cell coverage (we use satellite), and nearest power/gas lines are 20 miles away. We go into town once every 2 weeks so the trip has to be worthwhile. Solar has been a challenge in certain seasons due to short days, so we ended up with more panels than we originally planned for. I guess the difference is we had reasonable expectations and therefore it wasn’t overwhelming. Best wishes to your family in each chapter of your lives!

We came out here off grid and everything was harder. Well DUH!!!! Sorry that one just blew my mind!

This is fascinating. My sister and her family moved to rural northern Ontario, my parents followed and my husband loved it, wanted to follow and build a house. The land he wanted to buy was ridiculously expensive to hook up to electricity and after a lot of discussion, I agreed if we got a good price on our Toronto house, and he had enough money from the sale to build a system at the same reliable level of power as we had at the time in Toronto, we would build off the grid. 2 years later we have the first draft from the architect for our 5 bedroom house (really 3 bedrooms with 2 bunkies attached by breezeway) and solar power plan with propane back-up. Technically off-grid but I have zero interest in a hard life. We've already moved up into the area renting a 3 bedroom house and it will be a year in January. I'm relieved we'll be very close by family. We'll have ample land if we want to grow food or keep animals (undecided). I dabble looking at others off-grid but they're roughing it and I don't believe for a minute that we're alone going the other way. I look forward to never paying another water bill or electricity bill again. I have never wanted to live without modern conveniences. When we lived near my grandparents farm in middle Devonshire, I used to go with my Nan doing meals on wheels in the 1980s. Some of the rural elderly were stubborn Victorian era women who had refused to go on the power grid until they became too frail to argueanymore. I had two great-grandmother's still alive around the same age and they looked in better shape. That sort of life will age you faster. It's not the farming work necessarily. One of my great-grandmother was a farmers wife and one of my grandmother too. But they had washing machines and AGA's and telephones etc... They worked hard but not semi-homeless level difficulty. Which is what these off-gridders full on roughing it look like they're doing. It just can't be good for you living that hard.

Fantastic video guys. You were detailed and production was fantastic. I noticed the change of not over talking K. You two feel much stronger and like a united front which makes for a much more pleasurable and smoother flow. Much love you two. ❤❤❤

Heh. As a veteran outdoorsman and mountaineer who has spent two years of his life living in his vehicle and STILL sleeps outdoors every night (as I have for the past 20+ years), all I have to add is right now I'm sitting in front of a 42 inch monitor and I'll gladly pay my electric bill. I do, however, have a nice toasty woodstove here in my office, so while it's hovering around freezing outside, I have it up to about 75 in here. There is a good reason we built the grid. Living off it sucks. Hot showers FTW.

I bet if you had working systems in place, a place to bathe and cook,it'd be different, so im excited to see where y'all stay at next. I'm counting down the minutes until your next video, I'm SO freaking excited for you!

Don't give up. When you make changes there are challenges and learning curves. If I was young again and had a life long mate that could agree with me I would do this. I moved in a small to double wide I bought that needed work but so many things were hidden when I bought it fighting health issues I am contemplating renting it out. Where would I go??? Life is not easy for anyone anymore. Blessings to you all❤😊

It is so different starting with a family with young kids. Much different than if it was just the two of you to start. Good luck guys!

I love how honest and transparent you are. Instead of coming up with excuses you just went for it all with full honesty and vulnerability.

18:20 Gave me chills. A profound question i too am sorting out still after 4 years as a new "off grid" homesteader.

Gonna put this one here to explain something... The work loads were all shared in the off grid homestead. K even mentions this during our Coffee discussion. Everyone except the very youngest children did chores, cleaning, cooking, etc. The problem wasn't that the work load wasn't being shared, rather that the work wasn't a fun family experience like we imagined off grid work to be, (as crazy as that may sound to some)...

The problem is not the off grid living itself. There is easy and there is a hard way to do it. You need specific skills and mindset for this lifestyle. You can build a very comfortable life off grid if you have a clear vision of what are you doing. And imho it takes some experience too. You don't need to live like in the 17th century. Do your research first and plan and prepare carefully before you begin this endeavor. It's not about rainbows and unicorns. If you are a beginner stop dreaming and imagining, better find someone with real experience and learn from them.

Winston Churchill said: “He who fails to plan is planning to fail”. First time watching your channel. First Observation is that your A-Frame is too small for your family. That alone would be a beatdown fast especially without an indoor kitchen. Don't give up, Find a bigger home with more land and outbuildings.

Thanks for sharing your story. I live in the city, grow a lot of our own food. I often wondered about going off-grid, but at the ages me and my hubby are, I don't know how long we could maintain such a lifestyle. Even with just growing the garden, I get overwhelmed when harvest-time rolls around. And there's just the two of us. Our kids are grown and gone. Lots of great things about living in nature, like clean air, neighbors who don't spray poisons on the land, having your own well. But, like you say, it's not the whole story.

It's entirely possible to live off-grid, but you have to thoroughly research it, and ideally either transition to being fully off-grid gradually or try it out somehow first. Diving in head first is like taking a backpack and windbreaker on a wilderness hike and finding out how unprepared you are in the worst ways. It takes time to adapt, so it's impossible to have a true sense of what it entails or how you'll like it in just a few weeks.

Alaska is not about off grid. It's about outdoors, wildlife, and love of raw nature and wild places.

You were just in my suggested videos, so here I am. Yall are lovely people. I wish yall the very best ! You can do it !!! All the best !❤ 🙏

I really relate to this - my first off grid move was incredibly hard. I had to cook over a stove in the middle of a field, shower with a bucket - no running water, no countertops. Eventually a real shower and countertop were put in and I cried. It’s hard not to get caught up in the dream.

Alaska is the last place I would try to start off grid living! Give yourselves a huge pat on the back for doing it and solving so many problems off the cuff. 👏 👏 👏

This is all applies to homesteading in general. We often idealize and lie to ourselves about all that can go wrong.

Anyone who is even considering it. I would say go camping first,off grid is only a few levels up.

one doesn't have add complications by going to Alaska off grid in Alaska is a whole another learning curve on top of the remote location only adds more strain to already stressful situations

Fascinating!!! You never claimed to be experts but you sure are an amazing family!!!

just think about how our ancestors did it! kids went to work quite. young! Kaye. read the little house books again Laura works with Ma and does chores a lot of them the hole time she was growing up. Ma had the kids helping with laundry and cooking and sewing and washing she wasnt doing things by herself. Ma was teaching the girls how to do for them selfs and in the prosess taught them how to take care of there own homes.

AWESOME VIDEO AUST. You never know how hard something will be until you are in it. I think moving around and learning was a great choice.

I think the most important thing is to have the right patner with the same mindset.

Building an off-grid homestead in the Yukon Territory for the 2nd year now. Curious about your future videos. You put your family into the almost worst possible situation with that old broken cabin - everything can only get better. Smart move. 😉 With the proper investment in infrastructure, preparedness and thought about how things have to roll, it's definitely enjoyable and could even be convenient to live off-grid.

Part of going off grid is being able to build enough to have a well, food, electrical (wind, water and or solar) and sceptic tank. If you are doing less that would be considered survival camp. There's a lot of work involved in setting up off grid to make it livable -- It's not easy getting there but once u do --- it's amazing.

Good for you guys, can’t wait to see your journey. I did hand washing for a year (loathed it) so happy to get solar system to run a soft start pump and twin tub!!! 😂

This was very good to watch and gull of good information, and questions to ask your self and others your doing it with . Thankuou .

Well, one of the things you did that I don't think very many people would do is load up all of your children and pets and go all the way across the country to go off grid. That was pretty drastic and I would expect most to go in phases before the big leap. Love the series and the topic.

I apologize for my previous comment. As I continued to watch your video you said you lied to yourself about the experience. I totally respect that and I believe this truth y’all are sharing will help many of people lying to themselves.

It always looked like fun 2 week adventure but misery as daily life

CRAMING 7 PEOPLE IN A ONE ROOM IS POOR PLANNING: WHEN WE PLANNED IT, WE TOOK 6 MONTHS TO BUILD, FIX AND MAKE EXTRA ROOM FOR PANTRY, KITCHEN, 2 BEDROOM , 2 BATHROOMS: WE SPENT VERY LITTLE ON SUPPLIES BECAUSE WE GOT MOST OF IT AT GARAGE SALES, AND YARD SALES AND SOME AUCTIONS: THE POINT IS PLANNING: SOLAR AND BATTERY POWER AND EVEN A NICE HUGE WOOD AND COAL STOVE THAT HEATS THE ENTIRE HOUSE: ITS TO LATE NOW YOUR GONNA HAVE TO BUILD AS U GO. GOOD LUCK... GOD BLESS

enjoyment of off grid is hugely dependent on climate I'm from Alaska it is way way more work than somewhere more temperate

This video was worth the wait! I’m so glad you guys show all aspects of things instead of hiding the outhouse ☺️. Some people are just rude and totally missed the point of what you guys were making. I made so many connections to my own life with what you were talking about. I romanticized my career and thought it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Reality set in. You adjust and change to find what works for you. I love that you guys tried off grid before building your house. What invaluable lessons you learned! Can’t wait for the rest of the series! Thank you for being open and transparent!

I did laundry by hand every other day for 1 year. It was hard. Something I. Never did. Was so glad to get a free washer and dryer. But I have zote bar laundry soap and know I can do it if I had to

Oh my gosh!!! This was inspiring, eye-opening, emotional, informative, funny, and VERY funny and unexpected. The wait was well worth it! Thanks for sharing!!

That's why most pioneers were dead by the age of 50.