Well, we have come to the end of this journey. By now, you should have some great ideas and creativity rolling around in your mind. As I've stated since the very first post in this series, I am no expert. I am simply one person who wants to go off grid. I want a simple and rewarding life for myself and my son; a life that is healthy both for us and for our planet. Hard work? Definitely. Worth it? Unquestionably. These posts over the last several months have been my way of sharing some research that I have done. I started out knowing absolutely nothing about going off grid. So I decided to write this series for other people who also want that life, but, like me, don't know where to start. I hope that, even with my lack of expertise and experience, I may have been able to give you some basic ideas for where to start on your search for knowledge, and to guide you in the right direction.
So we started out by looking at different options for temporary housing. Some were rather inexpensive, while others cost a bit more. Most of them would also work well for for a permanent home, especially if you are looking for a small home. At that point, honestly, most of your work is done. I included these posts as temporary because of my personal situation, and the thought that there might be others out there like me. I will be relocating from central Florida to the heart of the Colorado Rockies. So I will need a place for us to live while we are building our ultimate off grid homestead. If you are going some distance away from where you currently are, you will more than likely need some place to stay temporarily while you build. Of course, there is always the option to rent. This just isn't very likely for me due to my fur babies. Many places are reluctant to rent to people with animals.
After temporary housing, we looked into different ideas for alternative energy. From solar and wind, to plants and passive solar, the options are as varied as you can imagine. There are many other options out there, and new technology always coming out. What I listed throughout those posts were only a starting place. Keep your eyes open for more alternatives. They are inevitably coming.
From there, we moved on to natural ideas for permanent housing. From using the dirt of the earth herself, to using a variety of natural materials, there are absolutely beautiful ways to live in and with nature. It can be as natural as you want it to be. Roofing, foundations, insulation, and interiors followed, also with options to be as natural as you'd like. The tendency here is that the more natural the building, the less expensive it will be to build. This is not always the case. But it is quite common. And the more hard work you are willing to put into your homestead yourself, the more rewarding the final outcome will be. At least, that's my personal opinion.
For some final thoughts, all I'm going to say is to do your due diligence when it comes to scoping out potential properties. Now, this goes for everything from the makeup of the land, itself, to the codes and laws in the area. For example, the area where I am looking to obtain property, I have two main things that I must definitely keep in mind. First of all, the Rocky Mountains, specifically in Colorado, are known to be rich in granite. I need to make sure that it's not going to be impossible for me to dig and build without the extreme expense of some major drilling equipment. Also, within the county that I'm focused on, there are some pretty strict rules and codes for building. They want to ensure that the natural beauty of the mountains is not going to be disrupted by some kind of monstrosity. In my case, that also means detailed plans, including an environmental impact report on any home built within the county. I don't foresee a problem there, as I am planning on being as all natural and off grid as possible. But I tell you this because you never know what you are going to run into when you go to build your homestead. Also, remember that there are some areas where the codes have not caught up to the idea of natural building (which is odd considering that natural building has been around for much much longer than any building codes). Know what you are talking about. From experts I've read, in many areas which may or may not have specific codes for this type of building, the more you know, and the more you are patient and willing to have an open dialog with code enforcement and other officials, the more likely you are to come out with everybody happy in the end.
Above all, no matter what you do, stay positive, hopeful, optimistic, flexible, and creative. No matter what comes your way, stay focused on the final result. Through all the struggles, all the sore and aching muscles, through whatever else you may encounter along the way, you are working for your dream. That's what matters. Make it you. From the ground up, in all the little details, make it you. So I wrap up this series and leave you with some links to things from all aspects that have popped up throughout the course of this series. There are crazy home ideas and all sorts of information here. I truly hope that you are able to build your dream and enjoy it. Maybe I'll see you out there some where.
http://laughingsquid.com/magic-mushroom-house-built-under-the-influence-of-hallucinogenic-drugs/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513154/Farmer-builds-house-just-150-using-materials-skips--current-tenant-pays-rent-MILK.html
http://www.viralforest.com/pallet-house/
http://homestead-and-survival.com/how-to-build-a-cabin-in-a-weekend-for-under-5000/
http://thesurvivalmom.com/wildfire-season-harden-home-survive-firestorm/
http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-homes/how-not-to-build-your-own-house-zbcz1312
http://www.offgridquest.com/homes-dwellings/home-stylings/15-ancient-house-designs
http://howtoexitthematrix.com/2015/05/19/first-3d-printing-model-of-vossahedron-home-designed-to-regenerate-your-body/
http://www.mommypage.com/2015/07/after-her-divorce-single-mom-decides-to-build-a-house-from-scratch-wait-until-you-see-what-it-looks-like-now/
https://tacticalwalls.com/
http://www.offgridquest.com/index.php?/homes-dwellings/how-to-build-a-home-essentially-for-free
http://www.goodshomedesign.com/how-to-construct-houses-with-plastic-bottles/
http://www.offgridquest.com/index.php?/homes-dwellings/home-stylings/how-to-build-a-14x14-solar-cabin
http://inhabitat.com/swedens-house-in-a-greenhouse-grows-food-sustainably-with-recycled-wastewater/
http://www.treehugger.com/interior-design/artists-create-house-windows-500.html
http://naturalhomes.org/natural-building-women.htm
http://www.goodshomedesign.com/rangely-log-home-plan/
http://www.offgridquest.com/index.php?/homes-dwellings/how-to-build-a-1000-indestructible-off-g
http://www.offgridquest.com/index.php?/green/dome-house
http://www.naturalbuildingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Solar-Pit-House-PDF.pdf
https://faircompanies.com/articles/dugout-shelters-pit-houses-benefits-of-thermal-inertia/
http://www.biodomes.eu/
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