Quite aside from the physical arrangements involved in going off grid there is a frame of mind required. Without it you will become disillusioned and move back to the grid.
When you live off grid it is often in a remote rural location far from stores and the conveniences found in cities. The isolation aspect bears giving serious thought to.
Some people are not happy or comfortable if neighbors are not close.
When you need a 50 cent piece of hardware you think twice before jumping in the car or truck to drive to the hardware store. Chances are it’s an hours drive away and burns $20 worth of fuel.
You learn to plan ahead and list what purchases you need to make for your projects You plan ahead so you will have everything on hand BEFORE you start a project and you learn how to improvise.
Sometimes the solution will not look anything like a store bought solution but if it works. why not?
People who live off grid quickly learn to think outside the box. They have to because the box disappeared.
You also begin to think about energy use. Nothing is worse than learning your battery is depleted by sunset and your solar panels will not recharge it until next day.
And when you don’t feel like cooking you can’t send out for pizza.
You find ways to accomplish things using muscle power instead of electric power.
Daylight hours are spent working outdoors when you have plenty of sunlight to see by.
Part of living off grid in a rural environment is being more self sufficient regarding food. You have a garden for food stuff and many people raise chickens for eggs and sometimes meat. More ambitious homesteads also raise pigs and cows for food.
A few even have horses as work animals to power things they do not have the muscle for themselves.
All of this activity tends to reshape your thinking and world outlook. Among other things you tend to become more aware of weather and in particular weather forecasting.
Will it rain tomorrow and how warm or cold will it get? These all have a direct bearing on your daily activity. .
Some activity is not suited for doing indoors. Canning involves long hours with a hot stove and could be better done in an outdoor kitchen to avoid over heating the indoors during a hot summer day. Rain would be a major disruption to such activity.
Unless you already have a nice indoor wood shop many projects will be done outdoors in the sun to avoid making a mess in the living quarters.
Crop planting and harvests must be co-coordinated with the weather.
Your whole daily rhythm changes compared to living in the city or suburbia.
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