I speak from experience from having my electricity disconnected a lot times when I was kid. Coming from a very poor family, mom couldn't afford to pay all the bills. So during the summer it was common for us to be without electricity.
Now lets fast forword to the last 15 years of my life as an adult. We would call up the power company and have our electric disconnected for the summer and in the winter the power company wouldn't disconnected us (some law says they can't for some stupid reason). But we would hit the main circuit breaker in the winter and live the weekend and some times a whole week without power in the winter. (We are set-up for wood/coal heat. I made my own wood stoves from scrap metal.
But now it's a lot harder to now since my wife developed a disabling disability, but we still practice with no electric a few days a month.
Could you live the rest of your life without electricity?
For most people, it is nearly impossible to imagine a life without electricity.
How are you supposed to cook your food?
How do you entertain yourself without TV?
And what about those basic needs which we constantly overlook – like lighting and our washing machines?
The thought of living without electricity is so scary that most won’t even consider going a day or two without it.
But there is also a revolution happening.
An off-grid revolution.
Thousands of people are saying goodbye to modern conveniences and disconnecting themselves from the power companies. Here are just some of the main lessons that people who’ve lived without electricity will know.
1. Living without electricity isn’t as hard as you’d think
Before Benjamin Franklin figured out electricity, we all lived without it. Nearly 250 thousand Amish people still live without electricity today, not to mention the thousands of people in developing countries.
Yes, some things are more difficult without electricity. But not having electricity also simplifies a lot of things too.
After an initial adjustment period, you probably won’t even miss electricity that much.
2. No TV means you have time to relax
Most of us use TV as a way of relaxing. Funny how I never really feel relaxed after sitting on the couch for hours watching TV!
It was a bit strange at first not to have TV (or radio, internet, etc.) to occupy my time when I first went without electricity, but I soon started enjoying the downtime.
It’s quite nice to just sit around doing nothing but listening to the crickets and watching the stars.
3. When summer hits, you’ll wish you were nomadic
No electricity meant no fans or air conditioning. This surprisingly is one of the hardest things for most people during summer who choose to live without electricity. I personally have trouble sleeping during really hot summer nights.
I later figured out that taking a cold shower before going to bed helped. During the day, I would soak my feet in a bucket of water to help cool down if I wasn’t doing chores.
Even with these solutions, I still found myself wishing I could go somewhere cooler in the summer months and warmer in the winter.
No wonder why so many of our ancestors were nomadic!
4. Chores need to be done on time
Cooking dinner with candlelight isn’t much fun. After doing this a few times, you learn to adjust your schedule to make use of daylight.
Other things fall into place as well. It is nice to have nature keeping your schedule for you instead of the “man” and its pre-decided 9-5 schedule.
5. There is absolutely no need for a gym membership (I never went to the gym anyways)
One of the oddities of modern life is that people have to go to the gym to exercise. Our great-parents didn’t have to make a point to exercise.
They got exercise in their everyday life instead!
Without electricity, you’ll find that you’ve got to do a lot of tasks manually. And I’m not going to lie: some of these tasks are really strenuous.
After washing clothes by hand (I use the bucket washing machine method), my biceps got really awesome.
Carrying wood beats any deadlifts or squats.
My body got leaner from walking to see friends instead of calling them…
The cool thing is that they stop feeling so strenuous after a while. Soon, you just get in shape and “exercise” is just everyday life.
6. Slow cooked food tastes better
It takes a while to stoke a wood stove for cooking. Baking in a solar oven is also an exercise in patience.
Not to mention all the prep that goes into getting the meals ready when you don’t have an electric food processor to do the work for you.
For those of us in what I like to call the “microwave generation,” waiting for things is annoying and frustrating. But good things come to those who wait!
You’ll find that you enjoy food better because you didn’t get it instantly.
7. You’ll learn the value of a COLD beer
Sure, there are ways to refrigerate things without electricity – but they don’t do as good of a job as a refrigerator.
I enjoy a good beer and found myself wishing for a cold one instead of the lukewarm ones I was drinking.
8. Challenges bring forth intelligence
You can’t come up with a solution until you have a problem. Well, living without electricity presents a lot of problems at first.
How are you supposed to mount those candles you got?
How do you make a wringer for your washed clothes?
How do you haul a huge load of wood in the most efficient way?
People who live without electricity will agree that you find yourself using your brain a lot more than you would in everyday life to find creative solutions to daily challenges. Here is another bonus, it helps fight dementia. Now isn't that a good thing.
9. Your family members are actually nice, interesting people!
Without the distraction of TV, the internet, and dozens of gadgets, you’ll suddenly find yourself TALKING to your family members!
Yes, yes. I know that this is unheard of in today’s modern world.
It is amazing what even a few hours in the darkness every evening can do for family bonding.
10.You don’t waste anything.
Take away one luxury and you start cherishing the others too. I was surprised at how much I became a conservation nut after i go without electricity for a while.
I even install a good old fashion well pumps thoughout the house. I have one in tge kitchen, one in the bathroom, one in the basement and one outside.
But with all that work to get water. Suddenly I didn’t want to waste a drop and rigged up a greywater recycling system.
Like good chunk of grey water goes for toilet solids (you know Poop) and that water goes into the garden as natural fertilizers.
Take about a having a booming vegetable garden
Oh and wood ashes don't get waated either. We make soap, works great in the garden to. Plus wood ashes can be use to make mortar and tons of other stuff you would never realized what is made from it in the modern world..
The same went for food and random supplies we’d normally toss.
It all has to do with the off-grid lifestyle which is one of frugality, self-sufficiency, and learning to appreciate what you have.
Would I personally choose to live without electricity forever?
No, but almost did.
There're some things that kept from going all the way.
Like my wife developing a disabling disability (that's the biggest reason)
Plus I like my cold beer too much, and obviously, enjoy communicating with people online (Yeah I'm talking about you guys on GAG) and getting new info and ideas.
But I’d definitely say that living without electricity even for a little while can be a life-altering experience that you won’t regret.
So go ahead and try it for a few days and you’ll probably want to do it again throughout the year.
You don't have to go extreme like I did like going a whole summer or parts of winter.
But let's say the power grid goes down. At least you'll be ready and prepared for it.
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