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Off-Grid Lifestyle
Page 2
Living without a Refrigerator?!
As it turns out there hasn't been any real need for conventional refrigeration.
2803 Troy Road, Springfield Ohio
Page 2
As it turns out there hasn't been any real need for conventional refrigeration.
Three Four Five Six years and going strong, without the need for refrigerators.
In fact, there is never a moment in which I feel a loss for not using refrigerators. A freezer on the other hand is a must-have. Most anything can be frozen.
Upon first starting out in the world of supporting my own needs for energy, there was a limited source of power. Laundry was done during the daytime. Lights were on a need-to-know basis (was that a spider?). Pleasantries such as fans and a server that remains on 24/7, or even being able to use a computerat night was dictated by whether or not the energy source was full or depleted.
Initially, there were weeks when I did not have enough power for common proper lighting due to lack of sun causing the batteries to diminish in available power. Candles and rechargeable lanterns were the staple need when I first embarked on the quest to come closer to my hobby (mostly solar stuff that required my contstant observance).
Having refrigerators proved to be a not-so-necessary investment, in fact it was crippling to the available power-bank.
When I first moved out here in the lab (okay, it's a garage), I had three Refrigerators and one Freezer. One-by-one the refrigerators dwindled off the must-have list.
I think what helped shape the erradication of Refrigerators was the fact that I do not drive.
I am not close to a store.
So, with that pricey "privilege" to travel kicked to the curb, I no longer have manufactured condiments to keep alive.
Refrigerators were all-too discovered as frigid museums of stuff I'll never eat, or condiments I'll never use, or the sad burial of food that should have been disposed of months ago, or the repercussions of good looking bad food...that's all refrigerators were doing for me.
Operation Delete was underway.
Problem Energy-Consumer, Deleted.
There were far easier means of natural preservation of foods.
Here's a not-so advised method:
Some of the methods of winter-refrigeration are old-school, such as:
If it's winter time, put your food outside.
This method would work...if nothing else on the planet were also hungry.
About the only thing I might offer:
Use a SECURE cooler.
Raccoons are ingenious!
If it were not for the myriad of security cameras here to later allow for the playback of the 4-legged bandits, I'd swear there were bad young adults in the neighborhood!
It seemed only right to kill the refrigerators, and I don't miss them, but do I have to kill raccoons now?
The Refrigerators serve a far more noble purpose now (as storage closets).
So the raccoons lucked-out, but there are better methods to preserve foods anyway.
It was cleaner when it was new
The freezer arrived from Home Depot in Springfield Ohio, and has been well-appreciated. Since I don't drive, Home Depot even delivered the freezer to me free of charge!
I can store cucumber slices for a year or more using a freezer, but just you try that in a common refrigerator and see what happens!
Most anything from the garden can be frozen.
Recently a man whom I fixed a computerfor, repayed me by filling the freezer to capacity. He brought so much food that I had to decline some of it. (There's just no room in here for another freezer)
Since there's so many canned cucumbers that were pickled a few years ago, the cucumbers this year were simply sliced and then flash-frozen.
Later the frozen cucumbers can be thrown into a blender with some honey and water and voila~, the most perfect drink.
Kale and Strawberries are other great things to freeze and also make great smoothies.
If you feel adventurous, blend in a pepper and see where that gets you.
Food
Another thing you may need to adapt to when off-grid, is making your own food.
Seen here is something I made in January 2018. It's bread with dried pineapples and apple spice.
Oddly enough, this flour was about 2 years beyond its expiration date. Yes, every bit of it was eaten anyway, but who knew powders and flours had expiration dates?
If you're heading off-grid, chances are you are too far from a store in which to shop.
Keep your flours and powders in very secure canisters.
I was clueless about these little creatures that lay larvae and then turn into moths.
It was later found that closing the bag tighter and tighter did nothing because the critters were already snug as a bug inside the bag!
Now I'm not certain how long I had been eating that larvae and those moths because whenever flour was needed, I simply dipped a measuring cup into the 25pound bag and scooped the flour out. During that learning time, lights were scarce here.
At times I would notice webs, other times I noticed whole moths who seemed confused, and still other times I simply knew that there must have been more moths and larvae that I missed because the bread was funny.
Nowadays I use a bread-maker!
The Bread Maker makes perfect bread every time, with very little waste, loss of time, and effort.
The bread-maker even makes all sorts of doughs for alternative cook methods (top-of-the-stove, fryer, oven cooking, etc.).
The bread-maker creating a dough consisting of green olives (with pimento) and onion (and maybe something else).
Helping with the preparation of the soil for the Spring Sowing.
The man on the tractor in the photos is a fine neighbor to the north of me. He and his wife have been a great inspiration toward my persistence to head off-grid whole-heartedly.
I don't know where to put this picture. Why is it here?
Life in an off-grid venture would be somewhat non-committal if one did not provide a stock of edibles from a garden!
2014-2024 Kenny Hendrick and the Public Diary (of sorts). All Rights Reserved.