30 Hour Off-Grid Challenge Reflections

So, honestly, not as many people accepted the challenge as we had hoped, but that’s okay if folks are willing to at least think about it and begin to put some ideas together. We did it and experienced quite the learning curve. For me personally, the biggest takeaway was at least a minimal understanding of the necessary intentionality involved with performing life’s mundane tasks without modern conveniences. I can better understand why life’s pace was “slower” in “the good old days” and why people had more opportunity to talk with neighbors as they went about daily tasks (without the distraction of hand-held electronics). We were forced to take our time and appreciate what goes into more basic processes of running a household than today. My parents’ and grandparents’ stories now have a context and richness I’d forgotten since childhood, when some of their methods still lingered in the home where I grew up.

Some things we expected and some were surprises. Camping comes natural to us, so things like cooking outdoors on a grill, heating up water for washing dishes over a flame, and using alternate forms of lighting were no big deal. The unexpected included “using the bathroom” inconveniently, keeping the fridges running, and learning how to do without light switches. It wasn’t too difficult to keep the house warm, since we usually do so with a wood-burning stove, but we’re wondering how well we will be able to handle the heat down here in Southwestern Utah if there’s ever a shut-down in Summer. We also speculate on how fast we could process food from the refrigerator if there is an extended power-outage that makes keeping it running impossible.  

As far as “Spiritual Preparedness” and “Emotional Resiliency” are concerned, we found that our camping experiences made it more of an adventure, and that learning occurred without a sense of panic. We thus had faith in our ability to figure things out with inspiration and the resources we have been gathering, bit by bit, over the years. As always, we continued to pray, study God’s word, and acknowledge our reliance on him and express thankfulness for His involvement in our lives. That makes all the difference because it keeps His Guiding Spirit with us as we figure things out.

Some things we listed that we want to have on hand or learn better to use are:

-          wind-up clocks

-          handheld radios (GMRS) to communicate with nearby family members

-          disinfectant spray for hands (or mix some in a spray bottle) for after chores, before meals, etc.

-          consolidating more perishable items in one refrigerator and keeping that running as long as possible while putting less perishable items in the other one (garage) with some bottles of ice

-          installing clasp hinge latches with padlocks on freezer doors out of children’s reach

-          keeping bottles or buckets of ice in a freezer’s unused space for putting in a refrigerator

-          hiding a stash of reading glasses, pens, notepads, etc.

-          more “poop-powder” and pine shavings for off-grid toilet arrangements

-          “emergency bulb” charging panel (see pictures)

-          make SURE there’s an adjustable wrench attached to the natural gas valve

We hope you will at least seriously entertain an off-grid scenario in a family discussion and brainstorm a list of things that would increase the chances of making it through without undue stress. When the time is right for you, we hope you will practice and enjoy the learning curve. We plan on it.