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Gone are the days of hiding things in cookies jars and under doormats. People know where to look, and you’ll need to get creative to keep your treasures tucked away. When you start looking for a safe or lockbox, keep in mind what it is that you’re trying to hide. Do you need something that fits in your bag for work so you can keep a little extra cash on hand without having it in your wallet, or do you need to lock up your guns and ammo when you come home from a hunting trip? Do you need a fireproof safe, a waterproof lockbox, or just a hidey-hole in the house because it’s fun to have secret hiding places? Whether you’re looking for an ultra-strong fireproof safe or just somewhere to stash a few dollar bills, this list of 10 ideas has something for everyone. This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. Diversion safe: A diversion safe looks like a common household object. The idea is to hide something in plain sight by making it look like something it isn’t. A diversion safe may look like a hairbrush, a lipstick tube, a lightbulb, or a classic book on your bookshelf. Even something as simple as a mason jar filled with beans or rice can hide a small bundle of rolled-up bills inside. Rhino safes: Rhino safes are built to withstand fire and force. From small gun safes to the Longhorn Nightstand to vault doors, Rhino Metals has sturdy metal safes of every size. Fake rock key safe: Fake rocks are a type of diversion safe with just enough room to hide a spare key in case you get locked out of the house. Many of these are cheaply made—you’ll want to buy one that looks as realistic as possible so it can blend in with your landscaping. Rub a little dirt on it and tuck it in some mulch under a bush to complete the effect. Tactical Traps: Tactical Traps designs home furnishing with locking, hidden compartments to keep your guns out of sight. Buy a floating shelf or check out their end tables in a variety of colors and patterns. Portable safes and lockboxes: The drawback to a portable safe is that someone can pick it up and carry it away. The benefit is that you can take it with you when you travel. If you need a small, lockable safe to store jewelry, your checkbook, or small documents and you aren’t worried about someone stealing your safe, you may like a Master Lock portable safe. Small enough to travel with, you can listen to your music by utilizing the earbud port and secure the safe to an object in your hotel room with the attached cable. Wall clock: Do you need a place to stash something small, but you don’t need to lock it up? Clocks are another type of diversion safe. Hung on a wall and high out of reach, a wall clock diversion safe can protect a few small items and keep them out of reach of children. (A picture frame with a secret compartment is another alternative you can hang on a wall.) False electric outlet: You’ve probably seen this one in movies, and if you place it in an obvious location, someone else may figure out what it is. But behind a piece of furniture, a false electrical outlet diversion safe is one more place to hide small valuables in any room. Locking desk: Locking file cabinets are an obvious place to store important documents. But have you thought about using a desk with locking drawers or even a desk will a rolltop that locks once you close it? If you want to double the protection, store a small, fireproof document safe inside the drawer. Armoire: Originally designed to hold clothing, armoires have found a new life in today’s world by providing attractive storage for televisions, entertainment systems, and computers. Add a lock to any armoire door to make it more challenging for thieves to run off with your TV or computer. Hidden room: The ultimate in secrecy and what every good mystery lover dreams of is a hidden room. Rotating bookcase, anyone? Disguise a door with paneling to make it blend in with the rest of the room, or place a perfectly sized false bookcase in the opening to hide access to your secret hideaway. You’ll need Murphy hidden door hardware to complete the job. Whatever kind of secret storage you’re looking for, whether to deter thieves or keep valuables out of the reach of children or guests, having a secure hiding place for money, jewelry, important papers, and other precious stuff will give you an added sense of security. Looking for more secret stash ideas? Check out my post on Secret Spaces to Stash Your Stuff!

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you!). However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. Hey, friends! I recently purchased a GoSun Sport solar oven (I’ve wanted a sun oven for ages!), so today I’d like to do a quick product review so you can decide if you’d like to get one, too. Cooking with solar energy (power from the sun) saves electricity and fuel because, well, you don’t need anything more than a partly sunny day to get the job done! Food is less likely to burn in a solar cooker, and natural moisture from the food gets trapped inside the GoSun’s cooking tube, lending itself to the creation of delightfully moist baked goods. You’d have to put a pan of water in your gas or electric range to get the same effect. I looked at a variety of ovens for solar cooking, including DIY varieties and portable vs. stationary models, but I wanted something easy to pack, lightweight, and that didn't require heavy pans (like Dutch ovens or casserole dishes). I also wanted the cooker to rely strictly on solar power – no preheating pans or prebaking anything ahead of time. I decided to get the GoSun Sport Pro solar oven kit. It comes with a sturdy carrying case and all kinds of fun things to use in the cooker. It even has little silicone cupcake liners I can use to bake snack-sized chocolate cakes. Two food trays were included in the pro pack; each tray holds 5 or 6 cupcake liners, a whole package of hot dogs, or enough food to feed three people. Everything arrived nicely bubble wrapped and securely packaged for safe shipping. You’ll want to line the food trays with parchment or aluminum foil to reduce the amount of cleaning the trays require. Make sure you don’t overfill the trays, either – you don’t want excess spillage in the glass cooking tube. But if you do need to scrub out the tube, you can use this little green scratchy cleaning brush that fits perfectly inside the oven’s tube. Just screw it onto the end of a food tray, and voila! – the tray turns into a handle for the scrubber. The pro pack includes a second food tray, so while you have one tube cooking, you can fill another tray to pop into the oven after it cools back off (don’t put cold trays in the hot glass tube … I’ve broken enough glass canning jars to know that’s a no-no). The GoSun pro pack also came with a small kettle for boiling water (hot cocoa while camping – yes please!) and a user guide with a handy cooking chart that tells you how long different food products take to cook in the sun. The GoSun has black wire handles that fold all the way around towards the back (behind the parabolic reflector) and become the legs of the oven. Use the legs to position it exactly how you want it, and make sure your solar oven is facing the sun. Pro tip: stand between your solar cooker and the sun, and make sure your shadow is falling perpendicular to the glass tube. Or pretend you’re making a letter “T”; your shadow will be the stem of the T, and the glass tube will be the part that crosses the top. To challenge my GoSun, I decided to try it out on a snowy day. An arctic blast passed through this weekend, and today it’s only 27° F. With the below-freezing temperature and partly cloudy skies, I could really put this little oven to the test. I made chocolate cake batter from a box mix (shortcut) and filled up half a dozen of those little cupcake trays. The tray easily slid into the oven nice and snug. At the top of the seal on the end of the tray nearest the handle, there’s a little V-shaped notch. That notch is your vent, so the steam can escape while your food is cooking. Make sure the vent is facing up. I left my GoSun sitting outside surrounded by snow on a cloudy day for about an hour and 20 minutes while I went and did some grocery shopping, and when I came back, I opened it up. The tube was cool enough for me to touch, but I burned my hand on the actual food tray – so be smarter than me and make sure you wear oven mitts! My little snack cakes baked perfectly. They came out moist and fluffy and steaming hot. I was amazed at the amount of heat that collected inside the oven's glass tube, and I have no doubt it could grill meatballs and bake potatoes with the same efficiency – even under a cloudy sky! I hope that you enjoyed this quick review showing that the GoSun Sport oven really can cook in all different temperatures. All you need is a little bit of sun and something wonderful to cook! PS – If you want to kick your solar cooking up a notch and use your GoSun grill 24/7, take a look at the GoSun Fusion! It's the best of solar cooking combined with a USB connection that connects to a battery pack for late-night meals when you're on the go.

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. Some people are easy to buy for, and others have a unique way of looking at life—and need a unique gift to match their taste. I’m talking about people who love living off the grid, connecting to nature, and the outdoors. People who would rather go for a wilderness walk searching for wild edible plants than stream shows on TV. People who spend more time with their backyard chickens than waiting in line at Starbucks. People who are willing to brush snow off a solar panel in exchange for not being connected to local public utilities. You get the idea. These self-reliant individuals appreciate sustainable, environmentally friendly gifts made with renewable resources. We’ve got a gift idea for every budget and every season—whether you’re shopping for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas gifts, or a birthday or anniversary present. So if you’re buying for a casual off gridder, a modern homesteader, or an off grid weekend warrior, this off grid gift guide is sure to have something they’ll love. Can’t wait to see them smile when they open the box? Let’s get started! Solar gift ideas Flashlight: Flashlights are something we like to keep handy in our house. There are several solar flashlights on the market, and all of the ones I’ve seen have such a small solar panel that it takes many hours (like … a couple of days’ worth of sunlight) to charge them fully. Instead, try this tactical flashlight that can plug into your solar-powered generator, a USB battery bank, or the 12V in your car. My husband loves his, and the light is super bright. Portable solar panel: A portable solar panel lets you charge your devices when you’re away from home. We use this folding portable solar panel that can charge our phones or tablets with USB—and it can charge a car battery, too! Solar generator: Solar generators offer a clean, quiet alternative to (noisy) gas generators. This Jackery solar generator is powerful enough to run appliances, a TV, your laptop, or an electric grill. Solar phone and tablet charger: With five panels and a detachable wireless charger, this BLAVOR solar charger will help your off grid friend stay connected to you while they disconnect from the grid. Solar LED desk lamp: How about a solar desk lamp for the off grid book enthusiast or student? Make sure the solar panel on the lamp is exposed to direct sunlight through a sunny window, and you’ll have enough power to read by (or charge your USB device) at night. Solar lights: Need to find the path to the chicken coop at night? How about lighting the backyard for an evening cookout around the fire pit? These waterproof LED solar lights have a motion sensor, so they’ll only be on when you need them. Now you’re cooking! Sun oven: Your favorite off grid chef will love you for picking out a solar oven to save them from hovering over a fire when they want to cook outdoors. GoSun is my favorite portable solar oven, and they have several models and sizes to choose from. Nonelectric food dehydrator: Hanging, screen-covered food dehydrators are the most economical (and energy-free) way to dehydrate fruits and veggies. But if your off grid gift recipient generates their own electricity, I recommend Nesco food dehydrators to quickly and efficiently dry several stacked trays of goodies at once. I’ve used the same Nesco dehydrator for close to 20 years, and I finally gave it to my daughter this year when I bought myself a new Gardenmaster from Nesco. Kelly Kettle: Need a holiday gift for a coffee lover? Kelly Kettles are pretty amazing. Think rocket stove plus tea kettle all in one. By using twigs and other natural fuel sources, you can bring water to a boil in just a few minutes. Make coffee or tea, rehydrate freeze-dried foods, or fill a hot water bottle! Water bottle with filter: How about a water bottle to keep your off grid buddy hydrated when they're out in the wilderness? The Survimate water filtration bottle not only has a replaceable filter that lasts for around 1500 liters of use, but it also has a little compass on the lid to help your loved one find their way back to the path. Berkey: We’ve been using our Big Berkey for over two years, and we still love it. We bought our Berkey while still connected to city tap water (yuck!). It does an excellent job of filtering out all the undesirable chemicals to make our drinking and cooking water safer for us and our dogs. Canning supplies: Gardening goes with living off the grid. But you have to do something with your excess harvest, so why not gift some much-needed canning supplies? If they have plenty of jars and lids already (can you ever have too many?), give them some canning accessories to make life easier. I bought these silicone gloves back in 2020, and they have been my best canning buddy ever since. Hand-powered blender or mixer: Sure, you can chop fruits and vegetables with a knife and knead bread by hand, but what if you want to make a smoothie? The GSI Outdoors Vortex Blender can puree fruit into a delicious breakfast drink completely off the grid. All you need is a little elbow grease. Sprouting seed sampler: I try to keep sprouts growing indoors all year long, and in the winter—when our garden is buried under snow—we rely on fresh microgreens for sandwich fillers and smoothie additions. Gift a sprouting seed sampler pack to add some variety to your loved one’s indoor culinary garden. Thermal cooker: Thermal cookers keep food hot for hours without using any electricity, and they're a practical gift for outdoorsy types who like to go camping. Simply fill with food and liquid that has been brought to a boil, and a thermal cooker will continue the cooking process by trapping heat with a vacuum seal. My favorite? The Stanley Adventure Stay Hot Camp Crock! Fermenting kit or glass weights: I adore these glass fermentation weights! I keep mine in continual use for fermented salsa and, in the fall, fermented sunchokes. Glass butter churn: Some things are just easier when you have the right tools. Churning butter is one of those tasks. If your off grid chef makes butter at home, gift them a glass butter churn that will look just as pretty on the counter when it’s not in use. Butter keeper crock: Butter was always kept in a crock on the counter when I was growing up. Always the perfect consistency for spreading, we never had to take butter from the fridge to let it soften so we could spread it on toast. How about gifting some vintage charm reminiscent of a French country kitchen with a Butter Bell butter crock? Wooden utensils: My mom always used wooden spoons when she cooked. They were equally well-loved for stirring a pot of sauce or mixing pound cake batter. If you want to gift something other than the average wooden spoon, may I suggest a set of wooden spurtles? Spurtles are a Scottish utensil for stirring soups, stews, and porridge. Plus, it’s fun to say! Sprout bag: One of the issues I’ve had when growing sprouts is not getting enough water back out of the jar … and then the sprouts start to spoil. A hemp sprout bag eliminates that problem by allowing more airflow through the tiny, growing seedlings. Hand-operated grain mill: This hand-crank grain mill does an amazing job of turning wheat berries into flour. I’ve used mine successfully for wheat, oats, and barley. Cooking pot tripod: If your gift recipient enjoys cooking over an outdoor fire but doesn’t have a great way to support their soup kettle over the flames, think about getting them a cast iron cooking tripod so they can hang their kettle or dry their socks! Afghan pressure cooker: You know how fast a pressure cooker can cook a meal. But most pressure cookers have plastic handles or other meltable parts that are not intended to be exposed to fire. An Afghan pressure cooker is different—it’s made to handle the heat! Gift this, and your off grid gift recipient can pressure cook over a campfire or in a fire pit. Camp stove: I truly don’t know what I’d do without my Camp Chef Explorer camp stove; it’s not just for camping. It’s strong enough to support my All American Pressure Canner, and with two burners, I can use the second one to sterilize more canning jars in a pot of boiling water at the same time. Reusable grocery bags: Just because someone lives off grid doesn’t mean they never need to go shopping. There are still occasional items they’ll need to run to town to pick up. These heavy-duty reusable shopping bags will support them in reducing their carbon footprint by avoiding single-use plastics when they shop. Yard and garden Heirloom seeds: Is your favorite off-gridder worried about the apocalypse … or do they simply enjoy gardening? Either way, a seed vault with non-GMO, heirloom seed varieties is sure to be a serious gardener’s delight! Compost barrel: Compost should never be stinky, but it can be dirty (and backbreaking) work to turn a large compost pile with a shovel. Save your loved one’s back and the mess by gifting them a tumbling compost barrel. Trail camera: Solar trail cameras recharge with the sun, so you never have to worry about running out of battery in between camera checks. By adding wireless technology (and a monthly wireless plan), you can see images from your trail camera on your phone day or night. Choose a trail camera with high resolution and long-distance views plus infrared so you won’t scare the critters away at night. Chicken coop: Although I’ve always let my chickens have the run of the yard, a chicken coop is a great way to start baby chicks or keep banties safe from hawks. This nifty chicken coop with a wire run is great for beginning hobbyists. Cast iron dinner bell: My dad could never hear my mom yell for dinner when he was out in the workshop at the back of our acreage. She kept a cast iron dinner bell, like this one, hanging from the porch rafters and sent me out to ring it when supper was ready. Rain barrel: Rain catchment is an excellent way to save water and use it in the garden during a dry spell. How about gifting a rain barrel kit (made from recycled materials) to supplement your loved one’s water supply? Gorilla cart: This is one of those things that you don’t think you need until you actually need it! I love using a gorilla cart to lighten my load and haul groceries, bags of feed, and gardening soil. Get one with removable sides to make unloading even easier. Gathering basket: I can’t count how many times I’ve gone out to the garden thinking there would only be a few tomatoes to pick and ended up using my shirt to carry loads of tomatoes, squash, and peppers into the house. A gathering basket makes life much easier and keeps my shirt clean. And for gathering eggs, try this egg gathering apron with individual pockets to prevent the eggs from cracking against each other. Poultry balm/chicken first aid: While we’re talking about eggs, how about gifting your off grid hobbyist with a chicken first-aid kit or some poultry balm to help those little chickies stay healthy and protected from leg sores? Steel forged garden tools: Anyone who lives off the grid and raises their own food knows that having the right tools for the job makes all the difference! Gift your gardener some sturdy, steel forged garden tools. If you think they already have all the gardening gear they need, how about something a little different, like a hori hori knife for cutting through roots or stems and poking holes for planting seeds? Walking stick for your wildcrafting and gathering hikes: I enjoy wildcrafting, and sometimes looking for berries takes me a little further into the wilderness than I had originally planned. I love my Black Diamond walking poles—they’re collapsible, lightweight, and easy to carry in my pack. Tree diapers: A tree diaper refills during rain and slowly releases the water back into the soil to keep young trees protected from drought. If your off grid loved one is trying to establish an orchard or planting fruit trees for the yard, tree diapers will help establish a moist growing medium for their newly planted saplings. Arbor Day membership: I’m all for planting trees! Give two gifts in one with an Arbor Day Foundation membership. Your loved one will not only become a member, but they’ll also receive free trees as part of the deal. Boot scraper: All that mud needs to go somewhere, and tracking it in the house on the bottom of your boots isn’t an option. How about giving an industrial-strength boot scraper so the dirt can stay outside where it belongs? Wood splitting, fire starting, and heavy-duty jobs Gloves: Leather work gloves, wool gloves for warmth, and even glove liners make a great gift idea or stocking stuffer. I bought these Merino touchscreen-compatible glove liners a couple of years ago. They’re perfect to wear under mittens, and I can still answer my phone or send a text without having to expose my fingers to the cold. Farmer sleeves: It’s easy to get scrapes and scratches when you’re out in the garden or working with animals. Gift a set of farmer sleeves to protect your friend’s arms while they’re doing chores. Trucker’s friend demolition ax: This might say it’s designed for professional truck drivers (who also spend a lot of time off the grid), but this multitasking tool has just as many uses around the homestead. Use it for chopping branches, prying nails, and chipping ice. Canvas firewood bag: Waxed cotton canvas firewood bags make transporting kindling and small logs a breeze. I like this rectangular one from WhiteDuck because the open ends don’t limit the length of the logs we put inside. Kindling splitter: Chopping wood is hard work. The Kindling Cracker makes the job easier by holding the log in place over a sharp blade while you whack it with a large hammer (or even another piece of wood). Chainsaw or folding saw: There’s always stuff that needs to be done on an off grid homestead, so saws are a necessity. Why not give a heavy-duty folding saw like this one or a cordless chainsaw? Log rack for firewood: Outdoor firewood can be stored under a porch or overhang or covered with a tarp to keep it dry. But indoors, you need a rack to keep it within easy reach of your fireplace or wood stove. Why not gift a pretty log rack to help keep everything in its place? Fireplace bellows: I remember using wood and leather fireplace bellows at our cabin once I was old enough to help with the fire. Save your off grid friend’s lungs and give them a bellows so they’ll stop blowing on the fire. Lightable fire-starter pellets: Starting a fire is easier with fire-starting pellets. I like these charcoal and tumbleweed fire starters by Melt Candle Company. Communication Hand crank radio: Hand-crank radios alert you to weather bulletins and emergencies when the power is out or when you’re off the grid. This wind-up weather station can charge your phone and play MP3s. BlueCosmo Inmarsat IsatPhone 2.1 Satellite Phone Kit: Satellite phones provide global coverage to remote areas for either emergency or ongoing communication. Make sure your loved ones can reach you when they’re out of reach of cell phone service. GPS plus GMRS: Garmin offers a high-sensitivity GPS and two-way GMRS radio combo in their Garmin Rino series. You can even send text messages between units—just remember to buy one for each of your off grid buddies. Walkie-talkies: Do you have an outdoor-loving kid on your list? Walkie-talkies are fun (and useful) for kids and adults of all ages. If you’re tired of trying to keep in contact with your children when they’re hiding out in their tree fort, a pair of walkie-talkies might be just the solution you’re looking for. So you can always keep them warm Zippo hand warmer: My hands get really cold in the winter, and having cold hands makes doing outdoor chores challenging. I was given this Zippo refillable hand warmer for Christmas last year, and I’ve been amazed at how well it works! I can fill it with lighter fluid, light it, and keep it in my pocket to warm my hands as needed. Mr. Heater: Mr. Heater makes indoor-safe propane room heaters to keep you toasty in a cabin or a tent. The one we bought can be used with both small and large propane tanks. Make sure your gift recipient follows the manufacturer’s safety instructions to use this propane heater indoors safely. Wool socks: Merino wool is soft and does a wonderful job of keeping you warm. How about keeping your loved one’s toes toasty by including some cozy merino wool socks as a stocking stuffer this year? Natural cotton blankets: For another warm and cozy idea, how about gifting a waffle-weave cotton blanket for snuggling up on the sofa or layering on the bed? For bookworms and game players Books for off grid living and homesteading: You can never have too many skills, and one of the best ways to learn new skills is by reading books written by experts. Gift a book to your homesteading friend to help them maximize their abilities. Homesteading magazine subscription: I always look forward to the next issue of my favorite magazine. Give a subscription to a magazine targeted at self-reliant individuals, like Self-Reliance or Mother Earth News. Farmopoly: Whether you play the traditional or one-hour version of this game, homesteaders are sure to enjoy a TV-free evening playing Farmopoly. More games: Need more game ideas for nonelectric entertainment? How about The Farming Game, which touts being “invented on the seat of a tractor,” or Life On the Farm, where you compete to see who can retire first! Wild edibles books: As an avid wild edible foodie, I can attest to the value of spending time outdoors harvesting berries and dandelion roots. Try gifting a book that describes wild edible plants and how to harvest and use them ethically. Other items for the home Natural soaps and lotions: People move off the grid to get away from noise and chemicals and to reconnect with nature. Support your loved one’s sustainable lifestyle by giving them soaps and lotions made without harsh chemicals, parabens, or phthalates. Avalon Organics makes lotions that are free from synthetics and are vegan and cruelty-free. Beeswax candles: Ethically harvested beeswax, provided by beekeepers who love their bees, makes naturally sweet-smelling and long-burning candles. Try these pure, unscented taper beeswax candles if you don’t have a local beekeeper or candlemaker nearby. Hand-crank clothes wringer: My great-grandmother used an old wringer washer, and I’ve always wanted one for myself. Not that I want extra work when doing laundry, but I like the idea of doing things manually and reducing the amount of electricity I use. If you or your gift recipient like the idea of wringing clothes the old-fashioned way, give this hand-crank clothes wringer a try. Low-powered washing machine: Washing machines pull a lot of power. But a low-powered washer—like this one that can wash 8 pounds of laundry—can run off a generator or the inverter for a solar system without wasting energy. Candle by the Hour 80-Hour Vertical Candle: Candlelight is always charming, and sometimes it’s simply necessary. This 48-hour beeswax courting candle looks amazing whether it’s lit or not. Now that you’ve picked out the perfect gifts, it’s time to start thinking about wrapping them! For eco-friendly ideas, pile them in a gift basket or wrap them with recycled paper. You can also tie small gifts in a tea towel with a raffia bow, or use newspaper for wrapping boxes. Bonus gift idea #70: How about making some DIY sugar scrubs and gifting them in Mason jars? Looking for even more great homesteading gift ideas? Check out my friend Samantha's gift guide at Homesteading Tips 101!

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. I’ve wanted an off-grid underground house for as long as I can remember. Most people give me an odd side glance when I say that—including my husband, who lifted an eyebrow and looked at me like I’d lost my wits. But when we started looking for land to buy, we stumbled upon a listing for an earth sheltered home and made an appointment with the realtor just for fun. That “just for fun” showing turned into a second visit to the unfinished earth berm home and ignited a fire in my husband that matched my own. We wanted an underground house and were determined to buy one. Part of the appeal was the energy efficiency of a house that’s protected by earth on three sides as well as the roof. But we also loved the idea of the low-maintenance exterior (no more shingles blowing off in a windstorm or dented siding from golf ball-sized hail!). When we learned that we would need cash or some kind of alternative financing to purchase the unfinished home, we were shocked, to say the least. Here was a solid shell of a home with 9-inch-thick concrete walls and a roof that could support a tractor, and no banks would consider granting a traditional mortgage. We could only get funding for the value of the land—and even that would require 25% down and a higher interest rate than a conventional mortgage. We didn’t end up buying that particular earth sheltered home, but we didn’t give up, either. We simply adjusted our goals, started discussing ways to make our dream of living off the grid a reality, and found a piece of land we liked even better that we could use as a blank canvas to build our dream home. We considered different options for this dream home: underground earth sheltered, bermed earth sheltered, geodesic or monolithic dome houses, and even an Earthship. We finally settled on a hybrid model: a barndominium with a bermed, earth sheltered home all in one. Technically, there are some differences between an underground home and an earth sheltered (or earth bermed) home. An underground home is truly underground. It might have a courtyard or atrium to provide a more open feeling and give access to the above-ground world, but the house itself is below ground level. A bermed home has earth piled up on the sides and roof, providing insulation from the elements. Frequently, grasses and other small plants are encouraged to grow over the piled earth to prevent erosion and help the home blend in with its natural surroundings. The front of a bermed home can be disguised to fit in with zoning and neighborhood requirements or to give curb appeal or provide versatility. In our case, having a large shop with a one-bedroom home (the barndominium) that leads into a bermed wing (with more rooms!) is the perfect solution. On the other hand, an Earthship is typically built from used materials that can be stacked, filled, and incorporated into the construction of the home. Think old tires and beautifully colored glass bottles. Earthships are designed to make the most of passive solar energy for light and temperature control. They frequently include gray water systems and indoor planting beds for raising food. But you can include these amenities in an earth sheltered home, too. Choosing a sustainable lifestyle One thing almost all alternative housing models have in common is sustainability. People are trying to shift to a greener lifestyle: a life that allows us to get in touch with nature, provide healthy food for our families, and have access to water that hasn’t been chemically altered to make it safe to drink. Renewable energy is another motivating factor. People are attempting to decrease their environmental impact. Solar panels and wind technology are just two of the options you have for getting off the grid and providing energy to your home. When you start looking for land, keep these things in mind: What are the building codes in your county/city/town? Can you collect rainwater from your roof? Are gray water systems allowed? Can you dig a well on the property, and if so, what are you allowed to use the well water for (home, yard, domestic livestock)? What is the soil like? Will you be able to garden without having to amend the soil, or will you need to haul in topsoil and compost for your fruit trees and veggies? Check with your county assessor office to see what qualifies as a “home” for zoning purposes. This can give you a point of discussion with your lender—if the county says your solar panels qualify as electricity for a residential property, then they should qualify as electricity for the loan. Still, some lenders may require proof that you can provide energy to the home during periods of low solar gain—like having a backup generator on the property. Most alternative homes are built on parcels of land outside of cities or suburbia. Part of this is due to building codes. But it’s also because people who want a lifestyle where they can connect to the earth and provide a sustainable living for themselves tend to want to live away from the hustle and bustle of city life. That’s not to say that all alternative homes are built on huge acreages, hours away from town. The Greater World Earthship Community in Taos, New Mexico, is a quick 20-minute drive from Taos. And dome homes (which are also energy efficient) can be found in small towns and larger cities alike (like this monolithic dome in Denver). Why is it challenging to finance an alternative home? There are several reasons lenders are hesitant to provide home loans for alternative homes. The main reason is that there are so few of these homes compared to traditionally constructed models. They just can’t get the comparables they need to get an accurate value of the home. To value a home, an appraiser needs to find similar homes that have sold in the area within the past 12 months. That isn’t easy to do for a unique home constructed from non-traditional materials. Materials are part of the problem—but they can also be part of the solution. To qualify for conventional loans, homes must be constructed from approved materials (a straw bale home or cob house likely won’t qualify). Those materials must meet HUD minimum property standards. If you can prove to your lender that your home was built with materials that meet the standards, you might just convince them to give you a conventional loan—or to at least give you a little better interest rate on a non-conventional option. Lenders may also want to make sure that you have a reliable exit strategy. What if you need to sell your home? Will the lender give you an assumable mortgage? If you, too, are fascinated by alternative homes but have hit the no-lender wall, I’ve listed a few lenders below who might be able to help you out. The lenders in this list have either funded alternative homes in the past, provide a non-conforming mortgage, or have information on their website that mentions financing for Earthships, earth sheltered homes, or tiny homes. If none of these work for you, try contacting local credit unions, local banks, and hard money lenders. If you already own a home, you can try taking out a home equity loan or personal loan to get started with your new build. Make sure your lending institution doesn’t have restrictions on the use of a home equity loan. Or you could sell your current home and—if county zoning regulations allow―live in an RV while your new, off-grid homestead is under construction. Lender options Dimond Mortgage: Taos, NM Flat Branch Home Loans Free and Clear: Ideas for alternate loans HomePromise Nova Home Loans: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada Quontic: Non-traditional, Community Development Loans VGreen Mortgages: Vermont Who builds alternative homes? Many people prefer to build their Earthship or alternative home themselves, saving money on construction costs and being involved with every aspect of their home’s creation. Others prefer to hire a construction company to do part or all of the work. After all, building a home is labor-intensive! Some builders hold workshops that teach would-be homeowners how to build their own Earthship or dome house. This is a great option for eager learners who want to get involved in the construction process. When you contact a builder, ask them if they use HUD approved materials. And ask them if they have worked with any lenders in your area! Here are a few builders you can check out: Earth Sheltered Technology Davis Caves Earthship Global Formworks Building: Durango, Colorado Monolithic Dome Homes Terra-Dome Corporation American Earth Sheltered Concrete Construction, LLC Financial incentives Although the amounts have been decreasing in recent years, a few financial incentives are offered by the IRS for green home buyers and owners. Some of these pertain to remodeling a home, and some can be applied to a new build. Financial incentives may be available for “solar electric property, solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, small wind turbines, fuel cell property, and qualified biomass fuel property expenditures.” Check this link for financial incentives from the IRS. Tiny houses and bunkers can be off the grid, too! Many people are opting for a minimalist lifestyle, and tiny homes cater to the modern minimalist. Funding for tiny homes is slightly different from funding for earth berm homes or other alternative home models. Some lenders will finance tiny homes with the same type of loan as an RV; the tiny house will usually need to have wheels for this to apply. If you live in an area that allows tiny homes, check out NerdWallet for tiny house funding options. You can also contact Lightstream, a lender that funds storm shelter and tiny house loans. What if you want your tiny house to be underground? Enter—the bunker! Bunkers come in sizes from “just enough space for a cot and a few necessities” to studio or one- or two-bedroom models. Expect to pay more and get lender financing if you’re going for something on the larger end of the scale. If, however, you’re truly looking for a tiny house underground (small bunker), some manufacturers will offer financing on the models they sell. Rising S Company has a steel “mini bunker” that is eligible for financing. It has room for a bunk bed, a composting toilet, a small stove and sink, and shelves for food storage. Wrapping it up Whether you want to buy a yurt or tiny house or build a rammed earth or dome home, financing can be your biggest challenge. But the benefits of living a sustainable off-grid lifestyle are worth the effort it takes to educate your lender and build the life you desire. With a few phone calls and some elbow grease, you can make your off-grid dream a reality. Know of any lenders you’d like to see added to this list? Contact me here!

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. We bought property during the pandemic, but it wasn’t an impulse buy. We weren’t suddenly trying to escape from the confines of society in a mad dash to find fresh breezes and room to stretch. We’d been on our search for several years. We had finally decided against building in the forested areas (too many wildfires) and agreed to buy property on the plains just over an hour’s drive from the closest big city and about the same hour or so from my job. If anything, we were even more driven than before due to my successful completion of chemotherapy and the realization that we needed to stop putting our dreams on hold and start enjoying our lives together. Like, really enjoying ourselves. And for us, that means stretches of blue sky, pastel sunsets, the sound of birds instead of sirens, and fresh soil bursting with the food we grow for our family. So when we stumbled upon 70 acres of rolling farmland with mountain views on a well-maintained county road, we were hooked. We found the property during the summer, and by autumn, it was ours. We spent the winter dreaming about what we would build: a home, a barn, a Walipini-style greenhouse, and acres and acres of native grasses that would attract wildlife, control erosion, and restore the area’s natural beauty. But then we met our first neighbor, and our excitement started to dwindle. They let us know that their well water was undrinkable. We would need to filter our household water and acidify the water for the garden. Not exactly what we had hoped for, but it was manageable, so we put in for our water well permit (and rain catchment permit) and started collecting bids from well-drilling companies. Next was our perc test. The test came back showing that our soil had high levels of clay and absorbed water instead of letting it drain through. That meant we would need to install an engineered septic system (to the tune of more money) instead of having a simple, gravity-fed system. And finally, the soil test for our house came back as our biggest disappointment. Our foundation would need to be supported by caissons—not because we were on a hillside or had a high water table, but because the soil expands and contracts too much, so it can’t support a house without the extra stabilization. *sigh* Each of these—the lousy well water, perc test, and soil test—were a surprise to us. But you don’t need to end up with the same surprises after you purchase your dream property. Read on to discover five things to look out for before signing a purchase agreement. (You might be able to add water and soil tests in your contract as contingencies, but expect to foot the bill for testing since the seller isn’t obligated to pay.) Well water If the property you are interested in already has a well, ask to have the water tested. You may be able to take a sample to a local well company or county extension office for lost-cost testing to make sure the water is safe to drink and use for household purposes. If the property doesn’t have a well yet, try talking to your neighbors. Ask them if they’ve had any issues with the water, if they need a whole-house filtration system, and what aquifer they’re on. You can also check your state’s water quality division to see how deep the water wells are in your area, so you’ll know how deep yours will need to go, too. (The deeper the well, the higher the drilling costs.) Septic perc test This one’s a little trickier unless the property you want to buy already has a septic system. Again, talking to your neighbors is a good way to gather opinions, but checking with the county to see if the septic systems in your area require engineering is a safer bet. If you don’t want the extra expense of an engineered system, it’s better to find out before you’ve signed on the dotted line. Soil test (core drill) Some counties require a core sample before they will grant a building permit. Check with your county, then find out if you’re going to need engineered plans for your home. You can ask your neighbors, but we learned that not all soil is created equal, and just because properties are nearby does not mean they share the same type of soil. Our soil contains more clay and is more expansive than our neighbors’. We’re also just slightly uphill from them, so our increase in elevation might be part of the reason for the difference. They were able to plunk their house down on a standard foundation, while we were required to have an engineered foundation with caissons to keep our home steady on the expansive soil. Zoning requirements Although this might sound obvious, check your zoning requirements before purchasing your land. Some of the counties we looked at would only allow site-built homes (no modular or manufactured) and had stricter regulations than an HOA—even though there were no HOAs in the area. Other counties have more of a you-do-you attitude and allow homeowners to build anything from an Earthship to a ranch with multiple dwellings. Make sure the property you’re interested in meets your needs. If you want a property with agricultural zoning to raise livestock and grow food for the table, make sure you understand what is required to keep the property in agricultural status (which usually means lower taxes, too). Just owning a horse or a few chickens won’t do the trick. You will generally be required to raise food or fiber for profit—or own a large enough acreage to keep the status simply due to size. Another option is to register as a farm with the FSA (the USDA Farm Service Agency) and get involved with the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The NRCS can help you conserve your soil, apply for federal grants, and possibly receive funding by signing up for a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Property taxes We found some beautiful, rolling farmland closer to town than the property we eventually settled on. What made the difference? Several thousand dollars a year in taxes! Check your county and find out what the taxes are for agricultural land, residential property, and vacant land (which sometimes has a considerably higher tax rate than either of the previously mentioned types). Resources For more information on how to buy land without buying a lemon, check out these helpful reference books. Land Buying Tips From the Pros: How to Buy Rural Real Estate by Pat Porter Land Investing Mistakes: 11 True Stories You Need To Know Before Buying Land by Erika Benson 10 Things You Need To Know About Land: A How-To Guide About Lots and Vacant Land for Agents, Investors, and You! by Cheryl L. Sain There are even more books on Kindle. If you haven’t joined yet, click here to sign up and enjoy free books and discounted prices.

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. You might be thinking, “How can having a pet reduce stress?” After all, aren’t they a lot of work and responsibility? Yes, they are. But there are scientifically proven health benefits to living with a pet. Just having the chance to pet a dog or cat can reduce cortisol, lower blood pressure, improve mental health, and bring a smile to someone’s face. As I mentioned in a prior article about party planning, I always look for the dog when visiting someone’s home. Animals are stress relievers, and for me, a friendly dog always does the trick. If you’re a pet owner, you probably feel the same way. Pets encourage us to go outside, take walks, and socialize with other animal lovers. Dogs are especially good at reminding us to walk as part of our daily routine. But even pets that don’t enjoy going for walks (like fish, reptiles, or birds) can help alleviate depression and provide companionship. Cats have a special ability that no other pets can provide: they purr within a frequency of 20 to 140 Hz—a range known to promote healing in humans. My sister’s cat was able to detect skin cancer on my mom. The cat’s constant sniffing of my mom’s head every time she went for a visit prompted her to make an appointment with the dermatologist (and probably saved her from progression of the disease). 10 ways pets benefit our health. Boost your mood: Interacting with dogs or other pets increases our level of oxytocin (the “love hormone”). Oxytocin is associated with that warm, fuzzy feeling—what a great way to boost mental health! Increase socializing: Walking a dog encourages us to meet other animal lovers and provides opportunities to make new friends. Lowers blood pressure: Studies show that pet ownership improves our health in many ways, including lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Research on human and dog interactions shows that talking to and petting a dog—like a therapy dog visiting a hospital—lowers blood pressure in the person the dog interacts with. Decrease loneliness: Having a pet provides companionship and creates a mutual bond (another mental health benefit!). Data from Shelter Animals Count shows that dog and cat adoptions increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people took on the responsibility of pet ownership to decrease their loneliness during the lockdown. Sense of purpose: The responsibility of pet ownership can be a joyful reminder that you are loved and needed by someone who depends on you. Reduces cortisol levels: Engaging with a dog or other pet during stressful times helps decrease cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and reduce anxiety. That’s why more courtrooms are including therapy dogs as part of the team—especially with children who are victims of crime. Give us someone to talk to: Have you ever just poured your heart out to a beloved pet? Pets sense our feelings and give us unconditional love. They can be great listeners and excellent secret keepers. Decrease fearfulness: Having a dog in the home can decrease feelings of fear for people who live alone. Even small, gentle dogs can alert us when someone approaches—you don’t need a large breed or guard dog to let you know when someone is at your door. Physical fitness: Walking a dog or working outside with farm animals encourages muscle building, strength, and coordination. Remind us to relax and live in the present moment: Pets live in the now and bring our attention to the little things around us—a slobbery ball to play fetch with, bubbles in a fish tank, or the smell of fresh hay when we’re feeding a horse. “Dogs are very present. If someone is struggling with something, they know how to sit there and be loving.” ~ Dr. Ann Berger, NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland What if I don’t live with a pet? You can still experience the benefits of being around animals even if you don’t have a pet in your home. Here are a few ways you can bring the joy of animals into your life. Volunteer to cuddle cats. Many shelters, humane societies, and rescues need volunteers to play with cats waiting to be adopted. Find a location near you, and indulge in some snuggle time. Volunteer to walk dogs. Just as cats need cuddling, dogs need to get out of their kennels and go for a walk. Contact a shelter near you to see if they have a dog-walking program you can join. Goat yoga: Yes, this is really a thing! If you enjoy a good stretch and love to play with goats, find a goat yoga location near you and get ready to make some new friends. Cuddle a cow. Farm animal rescues, sometimes known as sanctuary farms, are opening up to the idea of inviting visitors to interact with rescued farm animals. Cuddling a cow increases oxytocin—just like interacting with household pets! Get a lower-maintenance pet. Easy to care for pets, like goldfish or betta fish, are an option for people who want a pet in their home but aren’t ready for a dog or cat. Pets such as freshwater fish are lower maintenance and usually cost less to feed and take care of. Participate in a pet therapy program. Dogs are common therapy animals, but cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and miniature horses can participate in select programs. Some programs need volunteer handlers to work with animals who are in the process of earning a certification. Search Google to find a program near you. Whether you’re a dog owner or a cat cuddler, you can feel confident that you are gaining health benefits, reducing stress, and giving a loving creature some much-needed attention when interacting with animals. Know someone who loves dogs? You might enjoy this post with ideas for gifts for dog lovers. Have you ever thought of throwing a pet party? Check out this dog Halloween party post to get a free printable party planning checklist!

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. I love the smell of warm cookies. A cup of hot tea is equally inviting. And if either of those is made with something that can soothe and balance my nervous system—I’m all in! Oats were a breakfast staple in my childhood home. On school days, oatmeal came from a sugary packet, dumped into a bowl with a little hot water added to turn it into an instant excuse for breakfast before I ran down our quarter-mile dirt road to the bus stop. Nowadays, I prefer my oats cooked slowly and topped with fruit or baked into heavenly oat bran muffins. Rolled oats Oats are a perfect example of a wonderfully warm and soothing nervine food (although some may consider it a nervine herb when made into an infusion or tincture). You can bake them into bread or cookies, make overnight oats for a quick breakfast pick-me-up, or mix them with dried fruits and honey to create your signature granola. Nervines are foods or herbs that affect the nervous system. Nervine tonics nourish and support, reducing stress and bringing calm and focus into your life. In contrast, nervine stimulants excite, and nervine sedatives suppress the nervous system. Herbal folklore claims that oats may help your nervous system recover from anxiety and nervous exhaustion. But their delightful nutty flavor and versatility are enough to keep me coming back for more. Milky oat tops and oat straw Although most of us are familiar with rolled oats, the unripe tops have the strongest tonic effect. The milky green tops of the common oat plant (before the grain is fully ripened and ready for your breakfast bowl) are referred to as “milky oats” or “milky oat tops.” The stems that are harvested during the same stage are known as “oat straw.” Oat straw and milky oats are highly regarded as nervine tonics in the herbal world. If you’ve never tried a cup of oat straw tea, you might want to give it a sip. The light, mellow flavor is sure to please. (I like to add a swirl of honey.) If you’re not a fan of hot teas, you can drink it iced or add a few drops of milky oat tincture to your favorite beverage to reap the benefits without ever heating the kettle. But oats aren’t only good for us on the inside. Externally, an oatmeal bath can help relieve itchy, dry skin. If you’re the creative type, give the following recipe a try. Just remember to use old-fashioned oats—not the quick kind—for the best results. How to make an oatmeal bath What you’ll need 1 cup old-fashioned oats Blender Optional ingredients (do not use with infants or young children without the advice of a doctor or herbalist): a few drops of lavender essential oil and ¼ cup Epsom salt Put the oats into a blender with a snug-fitting lid. Pulse to blend into a fine powder. If you add optional ingredients, pour the oats into a bowl, and then stir in the essential oil and Epsom salt. (Don’t add these to the blender! You don’t want all of your future smoothies to taste like an essential oil.) Store the mixture in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. To use, pour half the mixture into a warm bath and swirl the water to dissolve the powder. Homemade granola recipe If you're more inclined to enjoy your oats from the inside out, try this simple granola recipe. It only takes 30 minutes in the oven, and you can swap out the nuts and dried fruit for your favorites! Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Ingredients 4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit 1/2 cup sliced almonds or chopped nuts 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds 1 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon 1/2 cup melted coconut oil 1/2 cup real maple syrup Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Slowly pour in the melted coconut oil and maple syrup, and stir well to make sure all of the dry ingredients are coated. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet or in a jelly roll pan. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. After the 30 minutes are up, remove the baking sheet and give the granola one more stir. Allow it to cool on the baking sheet. Store in a clean 2-quart glass jar or another airtight container. Enjoy! Want more bath ideas? Click here for 15 stress-relieving bubble bath ideas.

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. Last weekend we met a lovely couple who live in an earth-bermed home about a mile from our ranch. They built the house after they retired and did most of the work themselves. They hired subcontractors as needed and put in long, knuckle-busting hours of manual labor to save costs. Their home is amazingly light, bright, and airy. Sun tubes brighten rooms without windows, and the walls are covered with the rich, earthy tones of a product called American Clay. The neutral color scheme—reflected on their walls and tile floor—tie everything together and provide a cozy, welcoming atmosphere. As they gave us a tour of their home, we took notes and a few photos to remember the pointers and helpful advice they were generously sharing. “You can install your own plumbing in this county, but if someone else installs it for you, they have to be licensed by the state.” “We changed the tile color in this room because of the way the sun hits the floor in the winter; a darker tile means it absorbs more heat.” Speaking of heat, they installed a radiant floor heating system entirely powered by the sun. This solar heating system, also known as hydronic radiant floor heating, transfers heated water and glycol through a closed-loop system from solar panels to long loops of PEX tubing under the floor and then circulates it back up to the solar panels to be reheated. That’s the simplified version, but I’ll go into more detail in another post. The important thing is that their home is toasty warm (with floors that feel great on bare feet!) even in the midst of a blizzard. And there are no air ducts collecting dust, pollen, or spores to trigger allergies. Amazing! They don’t really need window coverings for privacy since their earth-bermed home is in a remote location, but they made their own custom insulated window coverings to hold in the heat on extra chilly days when the sun is in hiding. The window coverings are made with a product I can’t wait to get my hands on—Warm Window, a multilayered insulating fabric from The Warm Company. We asked them how their well water tastes since we’ll be drilling into the same aquifer, about 500 feet below the surface. That’s when things started to get disappointing. First, they gave us a glass of water from the sink. It was delicious. Then they took us out to where the well water comes directly into their home before it enters a filtration system, and they opened the spigot to get a glass of water. The yellow liquid fizzed when it hit the air. “Don’t drink it! Just smell it.” That was great advice but unnecessary since the rotten egg smell reached my nose before the glass was up to my lips. It smelled like sulfur. And I was shocked. At my childhood home, the well water was a beautiful thing. It tasted great. It was crystal clear. And it was completely safe to use. That wasn’t the case with this glass of yellow yuck that we were presented with. So we asked, “How do you fix putrid well water?” They use a whole-house filtration system that removes the extra iron and softens the water. What comes out of the tap is an entirely different beast than what comes out of the well. Their filtered drinking and household water is soft, sweet, and allows them to use less soap for washing (bonus for sustainable living!). How can you tell if your well water is bad? First, make sure that your groundwater is the problem. Check your water heater and any filtration systems you currently use. Do you have a water storage tank or cistern? Check those, too, for sources of bacteria, algae, mold, or other contaminants. Well water that has an off color, fizzes when it comes out of the tap, or smells like sulfur, rotten eggs, or sewage should not be used for drinking or bathing until you’ve had it tested. Other signs to look for are cloudy water; green, pink, or brown stains on faucets and in sinks; or a salty, metallic, or chemical taste. Our house in town continually had pinkish-brown rings that would form wherever the tap water sat—like that little ring of water that stays right around the sink drain. We had the city come out to check it, and they said it is a type of iron bacteria. They also said it was safe to drink, but I’m glad we filter all our drinking water through a Berkey! If your well water smells like rotten eggs, it may be caused by hydrogen sulfide gas (which can naturally occur from the breakdown of organic matter deep below the surface). You’ll want a whole-house system if hydrogen sulfide is present—no one wants to shower or wash their clothes in stinky water! Call a local well service company to get your well water tested. You can also contact your state’s water quality division at the Department of Public Health and Environment to ask if they can test your water. Oh, and remember this: don’t use chlorine bleach to clean the ring out of your sink if you have a septic system. You don’t want to kill off the helpful bacteria while you’re getting rid of the bad! How do you fix smelly well water? What kind of system do you need when your well water smells like rotten eggs or has an off color? There are quite a few options to choose from. I’ll go over just a few here to get you started. A simple point-of-use countertop system, like Berkey filtration systems (which I love and use daily!), can remove the junk from your water and make it safe to drink. But this only takes care of drinking water. What if your well water is so bad that you don’t even want to shower in it? A whole house water filtration system, or point-of-entry system (POE)—like this one by Express Water—works to make all the water in your home safe to drink, wash dishes, and shower with. POE systems can even help reduce scale buildup in your water heater. Express Water has an under-sink reverse osmosis system, too. Pro+Aqua Elite makes a 3-stage whole-house well water filter—and it removes dissolved solids and heavy metals (like the iron in our water). Bad well water can destroy a garden Although this couple has a lovely garden area to the south of their home, there weren’t any plants growing in it (and not just because we went in the winter). Hard water is alkaline, and their well water is so alkaline that they spent two years figuring out how to get acid-loving vegetables to grow before they learned the water was the problem. Now, they acidify their garden water with a dose of white vinegar (they have a large reclaimed water tank for this) and easily grow an assortment of herbs. We plan to use the vinegar trick if needed, but we’ll also be dosing our vegetable garden with healthy servings of compost tea to make sure our plants get the nutrients they need. If you want to try this to acidify your water, start with one cup of white vinegar per gallon of water. If that's too much, try a half-cup of vinegar instead and gradually increase as needed. Use pH strips to check the balance before your pour the water on your plants. Wrapping it all up Smelly or discolored well water is a warning sign you should heed, but it doesn’t mean your water is useless. With proper testing and filtration, you can remove the foul odor and contaminants and turn your bad well water into safe, clean water for drinking and household use. Want more off grid living tips? Check out our other topics, like gardening for stress relief or grocery shopping once a month!

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. Meals-in-a-bowl. They come by many names—Buddha bowl, nourish bowl, hippie bowl, poké bowl—and they all share the similarity of a one-bowl meal filled with nutritional goodness. We eat them at least twice a week at our house (sometimes several nights in a row). Honestly, we’re not boring; we just know how to combine leftovers into various dishes that delight the eyes and the tastebuds while making leftovers seem brand new. Seriously—meal prep has never been more fun than when I’m thinking up new combinations of ingredients, and it’s even better when I’m adding in flavors and colors fresh from nature’s bounty. I should tell you … there’s something that shows up in our meal bowls that you might not find elsewhere: wildcrafted herbs and flowers. It’s not unusual for flower petals and dandelion greens to find their way into our evening meals in the spring and summer months. Why not add that freely available nutrition (and color!) into every recipe that we possibly can? And here’s the thing—you can too! Just imagine walking out the door with a basket over your arm, heading off into the fields or forests to gather greens and berries. You hear someone ask, “Where are you going?” “Oh, I need to go meal prep!” you reply as you skip out the door feeling blessed that you can use dinner as an excuse to add a mindful walk to your day. Okay, so maybe I got a little carried away, but I truly enjoy foraging and ethically wildcrafting ingredients to feed my family. It’s fun, it’s healthy, and it gives me one more opportunity to get outside in the fresh air. Nourishing bowls are simply delicious when you follow the basic formula for success. (I’ll give you the five-part path to goodness in a minute.) In this article, I’ll share the five components you should include in every Buddha bowl, plus a few ways to incorporate your wildcrafted harvest and some of my favorite sauce recipes. Pro tip: The sauce you use can make or break your bowl recipe, so make sure your sauce is flavorful and pairs well with your ingredients. You know I’ve gotta say it—always be certain that the ingredients you wildcraft are an edible species, and check for food sensitivities before serving to your friends and family (and you!). If you have any doubt about what you’re harvesting, leave it be and come back with another field guide or an expert! What’s the difference between a Buddha bowl, hippie bowl, nourish bowl, and poké bowl? In simple terms, here’s the breakdown of each kind of bowl (although definitions abound and vary wildly). Buddha bowl: Buddha bowls typically include only vegetarian or vegan ingredients. Nourish bowl or harvest bowl: A nourish bowl includes non-vegan/non-vegetarian ingredients such as grilled chicken or grains cooked in a meat-based broth. Poké bowl: Poké means to cut or slice (in Hawaiian) and refers to raw fish, so a poké bowl includes raw, marinated fish as the protein. The traditional grain served in a poké bowl is rice. (Choose from sushi rice, jasmine rice, or brown rice, depending on your flavor and nutrition goals.) Hippie bowl: “Hippie bowl” is really just another name for a Buddha bowl. Think vegetarian superfoods when you’re building this kind of meal: goji berries, roasted sweet potatoes, avocados, sprouts, and quinoa might be on your ingredients list. Whatever name you’d like to use, make sure you select a generous bowl size to hold all of the deliciousness you plan to fill it with. You can even pack a Buddha bowl for a meal on the go by using a bento box to keep hot and cold ingredients separate. Combine them at the last minute when you’re ready to eat. 5 key components every bowl should include The basic formula for creating a nourishing Buddha bowl full of flavor and healthy goodness can be broken down into five simple categories (with examples in parentheses). Grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet, or wheat berries) Vegetables (sweet potato chunks, dandelion greens, roasted peppers, grilled mushrooms, avocado) Protein (grilled tofu, chickpeas, or lean poultry) Sauce (creamy sriracha, buffalo ranch, hippie sauce) Toppings (think “crunch”—pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cashews) So how do you take those five components and add wildcrafted ingredients? Try this: Grains (These are a little more challenging to wildcraft, so think “wild” with your purchased ingredients: wild rice, black rice, or ancient grains like spelt, Kamut, or teff) Vegetables (dandelion greens, ramps, morel mushrooms, sunchokes, purslane, sliced nopales) Protein (wild-caught fish, nuts, homemade cheeses—okay, cheese isn’t wildcrafted, but if you make homemade cheeses, that’s wilder than most people ever get!) Sauce (dandelion and pine nut pesto, nettle pesto) Toppings (fried dandelion flowers, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, edible flower petals) Here’s where the magic comes in … A great sauce can take a bowl from blah to bang! Experiment with different sauces and toppings to make the blandest ingredients pop with flavor. Here are three of my favorite sauces for you to try and some toppings ideas you can wildcraft or harvest from your garden. Feel free to adjust the ingredients to suit your taste! Creamy Sriracha This super simple sauce is a family favorite. Double the batch if you need more to go around. Topping ideas: spicy golden marigold petals or bright yellow sunflower petals. ½ cup mayonnaise (regular or vegan) 1–2 tablespoons sriracha Fresh lemon juice (just a squeeze) Paprika Combine mayo, sriracha, and lemon juice, and whisk together until well blended. Sprinkle with paprika and serve in a pretty bowl with a spoon for drizzling. White Tiger Sauce Unlike red tiger sauce, which gets its heat from peppers, this white tiger sauce variation takes its kick from a generous helping of horseradish. Add a pinch of garlic powder to take this sauce to the next level. Topping ideas: nasturtium blossoms or crispy fried dandelion blooms. ½ cup mayonnaise (regular or vegan) 3 tablespoons sour cream or cashew cream ¼ cup prepared horseradish 1 teaspoon ground dry mustard Pinch salt Black pepper, cracked Combine the first five ingredients and stir well to thoroughly blend the flavors. Top with cracked black pepper after drizzling over your favorite roasted veggie bowl combination. Hippie Sauce My slightly sweet version of hippie sauce uses tahini as a base instead of mayo or sour cream. This vegan sauce is full of nutrients from tahini’s sesame seeds and the added nutritional yeast. Topping ideas: peony petals or clover blossoms. ¼ cup tahini ⅛ cup water (or more if needed) 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard ½ teaspoon ground ginger 2–3 tablespoons nutritional yeast Pinch of finely ground sea salt Add all ingredients to a small mixing bowl and whisk until blended. I especially enjoy this sauce with bowl ingredients such as bean sprouts, edamame, brown rice, butternut squash, and snow peas. Want to learn more about healthy ingredients you can grow at home? Check out my post on sprouts and microgreens!

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. Thinking of moving off the grid and becoming more self-reliant? Living in a remote location and providing for yourself is different from living in town and having the ability to go to the store or out to eat when you need something or don’t want to cook. And there are many things on a homestead that can break or need repairs. Just how far you live from town can help determine how self-sufficient you need to be, but even if you’re only a few miles from a small town, you will still need some basic skills to get by when help isn’t immediately available. You might not be able to get a repair person to fix something in your home—like your well pump—for days. You’ll want to be able to harvest food and preserve it for the lean months. You need to know some basic survival skills—like how to start a fire—in case you have days with particularly bad weather. And learning some basic first aid skills is a definite must. Thankfully, most people who want to build an off grid life are avid learners and do-it-yourselfers, so learning new skills and honing old ones is more of an adventure than another chore on the to-do list. If you’re dreaming of living an off grid lifestyle but don’t know how to get started—or you’re waiting to find the perfect piece of property and want something to do in the meantime—you can always start by learning new skills or improving the skills you already have. This is the first article in a series to help you gain the essential skills you need to live off grid. We’ll go over the basic ideas here and delve into more details on each topic in future posts. What skills do you need to live off grid? You don’t need a degree or a certificate in off grid living to build a sustainable lifestyle. But you should have a few basic skills under your belt to see you through day-to-day chores and hard times alike. Here are a few essential off grid skills every homesteader should have. Basic repairs Stuff breaks, and when it does, someone has to fix it. Learning to spot problems early can save money in the long run. If you use solar energy for electricity, regularly inspect your solar panel and batteries, and keep them clean so you’ll spot any irregularities early on. Make sure the wires are intact and firmly attached, and check your inverter to make sure it’s working properly. If you live where it snows, you’ll need to clean snow off your solar panel array using a soft brush to maintain your system’s efficiency. Wind systems also need regular maintenance and cleaning. Check the concrete foundation under your wind turbine so you can catch small cracks and fill them before they grow into a problem that compromises the foundation’s integrity during the next freeze-thaw cycle. You should also check the bolts and blades on your small wind turbine. Tighten bolts that have started to work loose, and make sure the leading edge of the turbine’s blades are free from damage, like cracks and erosion. Your water source and pump will also need regular maintenance. You may be able to fix small issues yourself, like replacing a switch or repairing a pipe. But bigger issues with the submersible pump require a call to your local well company. A septic system needs to be professionally inspected every one to three years, depending on the recommendation from your septic installer and the type of septic system you own. Regular maintenance—like keeping trees and shrubs away from the drain field and using septic-friendly cleaning products—can lengthen the timespan between pumping the system. Rain catchment systems, including gutters and the rain barrel you use for water storage, must be kept free of leaves and debris. And although you might not have a sprinkler system to blow out before the first deep freeze of the year, you’ll need to drain your rain barrel and detach the garden hose to avoid splitting or busting the barrel, pipes, or hoses when the weather turns cold. You can learn to do minor household repairs, like fixing a leaky faucet, touching up paint, and cleaning sink drains. Find detailed information on basic repairs in books such as The Encyclopedia of Country Living and Beginner's Guide to DIY & Home Repair: Essential DIY Techniques for the First Timer or through searching online resources. Build a fire If you enjoy off grid living, then you probably also love the smell of a warm, crackling campfire. But when you live off the grid full time, fires are not just for camping trips. You depend on them to warm your home and cook your food, and a steady fire can be a lifesaver. Building a fire is an essential bushcraft skill, but it comes in handy at home, too. Learn how to build a fire without matches or a lighter, and you’ll immediately feel a renewed sense of security and self-sufficiency. Gardening One of the main reasons people begin homesteading is to grow and harvest food. I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I watch seedlings grow from seeds I saved from last year’s harvest—and filling my pantry shelves with jars of home-canned, homegrown goodness? No trip to the grocery store can match that feeling of self-sufficiency and preparedness. Grow heirloom, non-GMO and non-hybrid varieties for hardier plants with seeds you can save to grow again and again. Harvesting Whether you’re harvesting fruit from your orchard or wild, native trees and shrubs, learning to watch the seasons and harvest fruits in their prime is an essential skill. If you’re used to grabbing fruit from bins in the grocery store, you may think harvesting food from the wild is something you can do on demand. But that isn’t how nature works. Plants that grow in a natural environment in sync with the seasons can have fruit ripening over a span of time—and the date range can vary slightly from year to year depending on rainfall, hours of sunlight, and soil conditions. Spend time in nature watching plants grow and see how they change with the seasons. Soon, you’ll be telling the weather by the way leaves turn or by the activity of the birds in your area instead of tuning in to the local news. Food preservation Along with learning to grow and harvest food comes food preservation. Food preservation is an essential homesteading skill when you’re living off grid. Building a root cellar and learning to dehydrate and can foods will stretch your harvest into the lean months of winter. How reassuring is it to know that you have your very own healthy grocery store equivalent in your at-home food storage? Shelves lined with jars of fruits and vegetables in every color of the rainbow are a comforting sight to behold. Follow safe canning precautions when you learn to preserve food, and you’ll be able to feed your family all year long. I particularly love the Ball canning books, like the Ball Complete Book of Home Canning, as a reference for how long to water-bath can and pressure can specific recipes. Wildcrafting Wildcrafting is the art of using wild plants for medicine and food (although some refer to food harvesting strictly as foraging). If you live in an area with any kind of plant life, some of those plants can be made into herbal medicines or used as supplemental food sources. I recommend consulting with an herbal expert in your area and using several sources to verify which plants grow locally. You can sign up to go on an herb walk and read books such as Wild Edibles: A Practical Guide to Foraging, with Easy Identification of 60 Edible Plants and 67 Recipes and other edible and medicinal plant field guides to gain knowledge. Sewing and mending I’m not going to suggest that you have to start sewing all of your family’s clothing when you live off grid. But it is important to learn how to do some basic sewing and mending to save money and trips into town. Sewing a button on a shirt and mending the hem on a pair of pants requires minimal skills, and the only tools you need are a needle, thread, and scissors. Nicki Callahan has a wonderfully simple video on YouTube that shows hand-sewing techniques, such as sewing on a button. If you already know some basic hand sewing techniques but need ideas for upcycling used clothes, try Wear, Repair, Repurpose by Lily Fulop for fresh, new ideas. Cooking I’m always amazed when I realize that not everyone learns to cook when they’re growing up. My mom turned the holiday baking over to me by the time I was twelve years old, and when I was sixteen, I had to start cooking dinner one night per week. One of my daughters loves to cook anything and everything. Another one learned to love baking at an early age and is now the cupcake and brownie master of the family. But some of my other children had no interest in learning to cook while growing up. They’re learning these skills as adults, and that’s okay, too! Cooking is part of food preservation and another one of the essential homesteading skills. After all, you probably won’t be able to get pizza delivery to your remote off grid home. Learn to boil water, and you’ll be able to make pasta and soup. Learn to make basic bread (like tortillas and flatbread), and then expand your skills so you can maintain your very own sourdough starter and bake fresh rolls for the holidays. If you already have basic cooking skills but need some hacks to make life a little easier, click here to read my post on 15 Off Grid Cooking Hacks to Save Time and Fuel. Animal husbandry Animal husbandry is another piece of the sustainable living puzzle. Knowing how to raise chickens for eggs, a backyard cow for milk, and sheep for wool is a skill that most modern Americans lack today. Yet as our society turns more toward sustainable living and moves away from mass production, these skills are being relearned and recognized for the value they hold. One quick look and you’ll see how the bright, orange yolks of home-raised chickens are so vividly different from the pale yellow centers in eggs from chickens raised in confinement. And the only cooking oil that’s practical to raise at home is butter from the family cow. (You need a lot of equipment to make your own vegetable oils, but butter churning is a super-easy skill to master.) Another benefit of raising livestock? Organic fertilizer for your garden! Goats and rabbits produce dry pellets that you can put in the garden right away. Cow, horse, and chicken manure are considered “hot” and should be aged before application to avoid burning your plants with a high concentration of nutrients. First aid I think first aid is the skill that worries me the most. What do you do if there’s an accident, but the closest hospital is an hour away? I’m CPR certified and I’ve taken basic first aid certification classes, but the advanced wilderness survival first-aid course I planned to take was canceled (thanks to the pandemic). I need to add it back to my to-do list! If you’re not a doctor, nurse, or EMT, you could probably polish up your emergency first aid skills. Take a class from the Red Cross, buy a how-to book, and put together a first aid kit or two. (How about one for the house, one for the car, and one for the barn?) One more thing you should know … Whatever your current skill level is, there is always more to learn. If you yearn for a sustainable lifestyle and plan to move off the grid, begin gaining skills now. You’ll be so much better prepared when you finally start living your off grid life!

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. In an earlier article, we talked about nine essential off grid skills every homesteader should know. But what if you haven’t moved off the grid yet? How do you prepare for homesteading? Can you get started learning the necessary skills you’ll need once you move to your new homestead? The answer is yes! Homesteading is living a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. But you don’t need acres of land or an off-grid home to start becoming self-sufficient today. With all the news about supply chain shortages and food crises in multiple countries, self-sufficiency is regaining the importance it once held for people in earlier times—like our great-grandparents during the Great Depression. Adding simple homesteading skills to your weekly schedule is a way to grow your skillset and step out of your comfort zone. If you don’t want to learn alone, invite a friend or loved one to learn along with you. You’ll both benefit from the shared experience. In this post, we’ll talk about the important skills around feeding yourself and your family: growing and foraging food, and cooking and preserving it for food storage. To get started, choose a skill from my list below, or pick something you’ve always wanted to try. Start simple and work your way to more advanced levels. Before you know it, your confidence and homesteading knowledge will be growing by leaps and bounds! Keeping track of your progress I highly recommend finding a way to keep track of your progress so you can look back and see how far you’ve come while you practice homesteading skills. You can make a chart or keep a journal specifically for recording the skills you practice, your results, and what you’d like to try next. Or you can just jot down each skill on a calendar on the day you practice it. Tracking your progress can be as simple or as complex as you’d like it to be. However you decide to log your practice sessions, you’re sure to feel great about the results. Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction. ~ Al Bernstein Food skills you can practice right now Cooking with solar energy One of my favorite off grid skills is cooking outdoors. I learned to cook over a campfire when I was growing up, but I’ve always wanted to learn how to use a solar oven, too. I live in a sunny state, so why not take advantage of all that free energy, and use it for cooking a meal? Solar cooking is silent, smoke-free, and easier than you might think. There are a lot of solar ovens on the market and some creative DIYs if you’d like to try to make an oven yourself. But my favorite solar oven is the GoSun (I have the Sport, but all sizes work similarly). GoSun solar ovens preheat fast and cook efficiently. I baked cornbread muffins in my GoSun to practice using it and try my hand at learning a new skill. The muffins turned out perfectly moist, evenly cooked all the way through, and tasted delicious—much better than the egg I tried to fry on a tin can the summer I turned 12! Motivation: Learn to use a solar oven so you can show off your cooking skills at your next outdoor picnic! Simple foods, like the cornmeal muffins I mentioned above, cook in only 20 minutes in a GoSun. Your guests will be amazed when you serve them fresh, steaming hot bread straight from your solar oven. Baking in a Dutch oven Dutch ovens are a favorite among campers and are frequently associated with campfire cobblers and stews. If you’ve never baked dessert in a Dutch oven, I recommend starting by using the Dutch oven in a regular electric or gas oven—then progress to cooking in campfire coals once you get a feel for how a Dutch oven holds heat and bakes the food inside. When you decide to buy your first Dutch oven, make sure you get one that will stand the test of time and hold up against campfires and hot coals alike. I prefer Lodge Dutch ovens—I’m still using the Lodge Dutch oven my parents cooked with at our cabin many years ago. If you need recipes, Country Living magazine has some great ideas you can try. Motivation: Kick your next camping trip up a notch by serving piping hot apple cobbler from your Dutch oven. Move over s’mores—there’s another dessert in town! Growing food When you think of gardening, where does your mind go? Outside to beautiful garden beds bursting with fresh vegetables and leafy greens? Or to an indoor windowsill overflowing with microgreens and sprouting jars? Gardening is a skill you can practice on a micro or macro level. If you have the space, create a small garden bed in your yard and plant two or three of your favorite, easy-to-grow vegetables. Tomatoes and squash are easy starters with rewarding harvests. Grow them outside since they require a lot of space to spread out. In the winter, or if you don’t have yard space, you can grow sprouts and microgreens on a sunny windowsill. Purchase clean seeds specifically produced for sprouting; you don’t want any of the additives that are sometimes sprayed on garden seeds to promote growth or inhibit insect infestations. Growing sprouts and microgreens is a gratifying experience with a quick turnaround time. You can harvest and enjoy your harvest in a matter of days instead of weeks. Sprouting is proof that there's no need to hold back on improving your gardening skills due to lack of space. Sprout People is my favorite site for sprouting info and supplies if you’re just getting started. But you can also find seeds and sprouting equipment on Amazon, like this Mason jar sprouting kit that even comes with a ceramic drip tray (so you don’t have to try to balance your jars in a bowl). To grow sprouts, soak the required amount of seed in clean, filtered water (check the package for the number of hours to soak). Then, rinse and drain your sprouts two or three times a day, and watch them grow. No soil required! Motivation: Your next work potluck is the perfect place to showcase vegetables you grew at home. Slice tomatoes over a crisp green salad, or bake zucchini bread from your abundant summer squash harvest. Foraging for wild food Foraging and wildcrafting are skills typically associated with long hikes in nature spent gathering nature’s bounty. But urban foraging is becoming more common—just make sure whatever you pick hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides or other contaminants before you eat it! Consult a reputable field guide before you start harvesting plants from either rural or urban areas, and never take more than what you need. A good rule of thumb is to leave 10 for every one you pick. By leaving plenty behind, you can protect the species you’re harvesting from and help ensure that it will grow back again next year. Begin by foraging foods that are easy to identify and unlikely to have toxic look-alikes. Dandelions are a delicious addition to salads and teas and grow just about everywhere. City parks may have fruit trees, like hawthorn or crabapples, that you can turn into jars of jams and jellies or enjoy freshly picked. Bring the right tools with you when you head out to forage: large, reusable bags and containers or jars with lids will help you tote your harvest home and protect berries and small fruits from getting bruised. Motivation: Foraged foods are perfect for creating specialty items you can’t find at the supermarket. Try making hawthorn jelly or crabapple butter and gifting it in mini jars for the holidays. Food preservation Along with growing food and foraging is food preservation. After all, you’ll want to save some of your harvest for use at a later time. Food can be preserved through proper storage techniques in a root cellar, drying or dehydration, and canning or freezing. There is definitely a learning curve when becoming versed in how to can food, but this valuable skill will help you stock your shelves with nature’s bounty to see you through a long winter or leaner times. I suggest beginning by learning to preserve foods that only require a water bath canning method (used for acidic foods, jams, and jellies). Once you’ve mastered that, you can move on to pressure canning and more complex recipes (like low-acid vegetables and meats). My favorite canning guides are the Ball canning books—specifically the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. Dehydrating food is another important homesteading skill that is much easier to learn. I love making dehydrated fruit snacks and fruit leather, and my dogs appreciate the crunchy, dehydrated sweet potatoes I make for them every fall. Shop your local farmer’s market for affordable produce, or look in the discounted section of the grocery store. You’d be amazed how much your food storage will grow when you bring home produce on its last leg and pop it into the dehydrator to preserve for future snacks. (And don’t forget to compost all those food scraps you trim off. Your garden will thank you!) Motivation: Amaze your hiking companions when you share homemade dehydrated fruit leather or trail mix with dried apple slices on your next adventure. Conclusion Growing, foraging, cooking, and preserving food are important skills every modern homesteader should learn. Whether baking sourdough bread, fermenting pickles, or learning to use a solar oven, everyone must start somewhere—and there’s no better time to start than now!

This site is supported by our audience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I only recommend products I love and/or use. I’m not a coffee drinker. In fact, I rarely even taste the stuff unless it’s coffee-flavored ice cream or coffee-flavored candy … or maybe a milkshake with a chocolatey mocha flair. But I have plenty of friends who rely heavily on their morning cup of joe. There’s even a sign hanging on the wall in our office building that reads, “This office runs on laughter, love, and strong coffee.” Coffee is one of those plants that will only grow in a particular climate and growing zone (zones 10–11). Not all of us are fortunate enough to live in tropical areas with plenty of moisture and just the right amount of warmth and daylight to grow every plant we desire. However, there are plants you can grow in just about every growing zone that make an absolutely delicious morning beverage to help you get out of bed and get your day started on the right foot (without those caffeine-heavy jitters)! The key to creating a successful coffee substitute is that you’re not looking to replicate the authentic flavor of coffee (everything will fail to some degree if you’re expecting an exact duplicate). Instead, aim to create a flavorful brew that satisfies the craving for an earthy, roasted flavor and early-morning energy boost. You can create a pleasing, aromatic brew by combining flavors from two or three different roasted ingredients. The flavor profiles of each component will determine your signature blend’s overall taste. Add creamer and sweetener to your liking, and voila!—say goodbye to unhealthy caffeine and good morning to your new favorite functional beverage! If you’re looking for a coffee substitute that you can grow on your homestead (or stockpile for when the SHTF), check out my herbal coffee suggestions below and create your own delicious designer blend. Pro tip: All of the following ingredients should be dried and roasted before brewing. See the instructions in the dandelion section for starters, and repeat the process for whichever ingredient you choose to grow, harvest, and brew. Dandelion root (growing zones 3–10) Dandelions are one of those pesky weeds that everyone tries to eradicate from their yard. But did you know that every part of the dandelion plant is edible, and roasted dandelion root makes a delightfully refreshing coffee substitute? You will need to dry the roots in a dehydrator or let them air dry in the sun, then chop or break them into crumbs and roast them in a hot skillet over low heat until they turn a rich brown color. Alternatively, you can roast the roots in a 350F oven until they darken. Stir every 10–15 minutes to make sure they roast evenly—and to keep an eye on the color so they don’t burn. Once the dandelion root is roasted, run it through a spice grinder or coffee grinder in small batches to make a fine to medium grind with more surface area to release the flavor. Approximately one teaspoon of dandelion root to one cup of water makes a delightfully earthy brew. Add the dandelion root to boiling water and keep over low heat for about 5–10 minutes. You don’t want it to boil, but it should stay very hot while it steeps. After brewing, strain the solids out by pouring through a coffee filter. Add your favorite sweetener and creamer, and enjoy! (You can also serve this iced if you like iced coffee beverages.) Chicory root (growing zones 3–10) The chicory plant has beautiful blue flowers, but you’ll use the root to make your chicory root coffee substitute. Chicory root is loaded with inulin, a healthy prebiotic fiber that can help keep things running smoothly in your digestive system. Chicory root has the added benefit of eye appeal, mimicking traditional coffee's rich, dark color and lending itself to various creamy caramel shades of lattes and mocha blends. Sweet potato (growing zones 7–8) This sweet tuber shows up in casseroles loaded with marshmallows at Thanksgiving and as a healthy baked side dish all year long. But sweet potatoes can also be part of a deliciously smooth brew you can enjoy in the morning or as an evening wind-down drink. Combine dehydrated, roasted sweet potatoes with chicory or wheat for a dark brew that more closely resembles the rich color of regular coffee. Or combine it with dried turmeric root and ginger for a nutrient-boosted variation of golden milk. Wheat berries (growing zones 7–10) Wheat berries are the whole grain of wheat, minus the inedible husk. The same wheat berries that we grind into whole wheat flour can be dry roasted and ground into a nutty-tasting beverage. Dry roast the wheat berries in a skillet over low heat, stirring frequently, until medium to dark brown (like the light to medium roast color of a coffee bean). Allow them to cool, then grind and add to boiling water. Use about one tablespoon of ground wheat berries to one cup of boiling water per serving. Burdock root (growing zones 2–10) Another common weed, burdock grows in disturbed soil throughout much of North America (it is native to Northern Asia and Europe). Sticky burrs from the burdock plant cling to socks and animal fur alike—one drawback to growing this nutritious vegetable—so if you choose to plant some in your garden, keep it somewhat contained to prevent it from taking over and causing more trouble than it’s worth. Burdock roots are long with a thin brown skin that can be easily removed with a vegetable peeler or the back edge of a spoon. The white root quickly begins to turn brown once it is exposed to the air, but this discoloration does no harm and won’t be noticable after it’s dried and roasted. Acorns (growing zones 3–8) Acorns are used as a food source by both humans and animals and star in Native American recipes such as acorn stew. To process acorns into a beverage, you’ll need to add in an extra step beyond what I described above. Before drying and roasting the shelled acorns, first boil them for about 20 minutes (or until the water looks like tea) to leach out some of the bitter-tasting tannins. Start a second pot of water boiling before the first 20 minutes is up, and transfer the boiled acorns into the second pot after the first pot’s water has colored. Boil the acorns in the second pot until the water (again) turns color, then switch back to another pot of clean, boiling water. Repeat this process a third or fourth time if necessary—you’ll know they’re ready when the water remains relatively colorless. Strain and dry your boiled acorns, then dry roast and grind them the same way as the dandelion roots. (The oven method is easier than the skillet method since acorns are larger than chopped dandelion.) Rye, barley, and other grains (growing zone varies with grain type) Grains such as rye and barley can be roasted and ground like wheat to make a coffee substitute. Just follow the skillet roasting method, and grind them when darkly colored and completely cooled and dry. Sunchoke (growing zones 2–12) Sunchokes are a member of the sunflower family and have chunky edible roots that look similar to ginger but have a mellow flavor (similar to a potato). Sunchokes are simple to grow and will easily take over a garden if left unchecked. If you already enjoy sunchokes roasted, boiled, or pickled, why not try dehydrating and dry roasting them to create one more coffee substitute variation? Thinly slice or grate your sunchoke tubers before dehydrating them, then chop finely and stir continually while dry roasting in a skillet to avoid burning the small pieces. Carob (growing zones 9–11) I used to have a carob tree growing in my front yard when I lived in the desert, in USDA growing zone 9. Unfortunately, my tree was a male, so I was never able to harvest carob seed pods to use in cooking. But the tree grew well in the heat with just the right amount of weekly watering, and I would encourage anyone who lives in zones 9–11 to add a pair or more to your edible landscape. I love the flavor of carob, but since I can’t grow it in my current climate, I purchase carob powder (like this Chatfield’s brand) and add it to my herbal coffee blends. Carob is naturally sweet, low-fat, and contains calcium. It makes a wonderful hot chocolate substitute when added to milk, too! Figs (growing zones 8–10) Figs are delicious fresh or dried, and they offer yet another option for a caffeine-free coffee substitute. Although most fig varieties flourish in zones 8–10, there are a few cold-hardy varieties that grow well in zones 6 and 7. Simply dehydrate and chop your figs (black mission figs work best) before roasting them. You’ll need to make sure they’re super dry before you start, or the sugars may burn in the skillet even with constant monitoring. Coffee alternatives you can buy Would you like to taste test some of these herbal coffee alternatives beefore you devote an entire growing season to producing the plants? Here are some of my favorites you can purchase and try at home: Dandy Blend is a combination of barley, rye, chicory roots, beet roots, and dandelion roots. It dissolves instantly in water (like instant coffee) and is a great way to explore the pleasures of root- and grain-based coffee substitutes. Mushroom coffee isn’t exactly a coffee substitute; it combines the health benefits of dried mushrooms with the flavor and caffeine-boost from ethically harvested coffee beans in one deliciously nutritious functional beverage. Coffig is an herbal coffee substitute made entirely from dried and roasted figs. Orzo is an Italian roasted barley beverage that tastes great when added to hot milk. Cafix is another healthy coffee alternative made from roasted barley, chicory, barley malt, figs, and sugar beets. Pouring it all together Although no coffee alternative tastes exactly like traditional coffee on its own, you can replicate the deeply roasted, slightly bitter flavor of coffee by combining flavor profiles and adding your choice of sweetener and creamer to create your own healthy brew. By using plants you grow in your garden (such as wheat or chicory) or harvest in the wild (like dandelion or acorns), you can create a flavorful and sustainable morning beverage routine to boost your health and vitality.