Life Off the Grid for Bob and Me

After living on the grid in Minnesota for 65 years, we said goodbye to all electric appliances, Minnesota,  friends and relatives and said hello to life off of the grid in South Dakota. My husband, Bob Lee, prefers to leave a "small footprint" and chose a few small solar panels to collect the sun's energy and large southern exposure windows for passive energy. Because he chose the simple, inexpensive way of life, we rid ourselves of electric appliances and opted for propane and wood for heat and refrigeration. Our only "utility" was our telephone. Later Bob added wind power to supplement our needs during lengthy, sunless days in the winter. That gave us sufficient power to watch a movie on occasion and for me to use a computer for my writing.

We collected rain water off of our roof which ran from the gutters into our 1000 gallon cistern. Bob purified the water with an ultraviolet light and also a filter. During seven years of drought we never ran out of water for cooking, washing and drinking for us, our two cats or our seven llamas.

One of the most difficult things for both of us after the fire was living back on the grid with electricity, water, sewer and garbage utilities to pay each month. Bob grumbles each time he writes those checks. We do recycle and compost in town but it is necessary to pay the total bill to the city. We experience an easier life in town with more conveniences but we often long for the simpler life we said goodbye to on July of 2007.

For more information on our life off of the grid, see the chapter "Sun Power" in A (not so) Simple Life: Our Return to Rustic Roots or "Surrounded by Flames: Our Story" in Cascade of Flames.