I want more out of life. I want to live free from government and society. Off-grid living means something different to everyone, but essentially it is the same idea. The motives are almost always aligned but the extent of the lifestyle is what differs.

“I want only to work so that I may live. I want to live so I may stay strong.”

-Tiffany Varner

This is my life quote. Yes, I said this. I strongly believe that the old saying of “work smarter, not harder” is the way to go. However, I think manual labor is something that our bodies crave to remain grounded and keep a sense of balance in our life. I am not talking about back breaking labor of toting buckets water when you could pull them with less effort. The fact that you are fetching water gives you two things. A sense of accomplishment that our souls long for and it also makes us appreciate things that the earth provides.

I prefer the manual labor that produces a result needed for me to survive versus the exhausting hours of my life given to the CEO of a company just earn money that I then give back to other people for things needed to live. Am I the only one that thinks that cycle is so savage and just wrong? Why is our society so obsessed with becoming more and more successful to live a life of “luxury”?

Technology is amazing and I choose to stay up to date and not ignorant to the advancements in our society. However, I also pick and choose what elements I allow into my daily life and I am also looking forward to the day I cut ties with it all. There are tons of opportunities to make money living off the grid, thanks to the advancement in technology and the internet. I have learned so many things about making money online and have mastered several of them. I was a stay at home mom and managed to pay bills on my own with money made online, but today I have a 9 to 5 job because I cannot stay home and stare at a screen all day. The amount of money I needed to make to continue living the life of a “normal” person meant that I had to spend hours and hours and hours with my face to a computer screen. I thought staying home and working from home was going to give me so much more time with my kids but it was not the quality time I was looking for. In order for me to have that quality time, I had to change my lifestyle to one that required much less money or none at all.

This is “my why”. Why would I want a life other than the “norm”? Well, it is very simple, really. Instead of me just laying my whys out, can I ask you a few questions?

What would you do if grocery stores one day did not exist? How would you eat? What would you do if the power plants no longer existed? Would you know how to cook? What would you do if your water company became contaminated? How would you live if no one bottled your water? What if you couldn’t just run to Wal-Mart and buy your deodorant, toothpaste or shampoos? Would you know how to make them yourself? How many times a day do you take out a bag of trash to the street? What would your yard look like if there were no garbage men or big waste plants? What would you do if you could not just buy formula at the store?

I know that these scenarios are likely to never happen in our lifetime, but the real problem I have is putting so much faith in corporations and other people to take care of my family. Whether or not I get the awesome opportunity to utilize all these skills, I would take comfort that my ability to survive surpasses even the president of the United States. I will not label myself as a “prepper” or one who is preparing for a life lived in fear of world destruction, but I would prefer to be one who agrees with nature and lives to be free.

Follow my six year plan to living off the grid and take this journey with me. I will continue to blog about progress, ideas and skills as I learn them. Let’s get garden soil rich!