Terri Reid - The Everything Guide to Living Off the Grid: A back-to-basics manual for independent living

Dear Reader,

Twenty years ago, my family and I left the hustle and bustle of living in Chicago and moved to a small farm in northwest Illinois. I remember the very first night in our hundred-year-old farmhouse, resting in my bed and being kept awake by the sounds of frogs and cricketsinstead of the usual noises of the trucks and cars on the highway and the airplanes from OHare. We couldnt sleep because it was too quiet. A lot has changed since then.

During these years much of what we learned about a self-sufficient lifestyle was by trial and error. From chasing our escaped cattle down the road when I was eight months pregnant to trying to herd sheep in on a rainy day, I know we gave our more experienced neighbors good reason to shake their heads and laugh.

With this book, Id like to take your hand and guide you through some of the things we learned, so youre not out there on your own. Instead, youll have a friend to lean on. This book will send you in the right direction and give you the tools to learn more. Enjoy your journey to being self-sufficient. Its well worth the trip!

These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten.

You can choose to read an Everything book from cover to cover or just pick out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e-alerts, and e-ssentials. We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too.

We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide-ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When youre done reading them all, you can finally say you know Everything!

PUBLISHER KAREN Cooper

DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier

MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing

COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert

ASSISTANT PRODUCTION EDITOR Jacob Erickson

ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Kate Powers

SENIOR DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Ross Weisman

EVERYTHING SERIES COVER DESIGNER Erin Alexander

LAYOUT DESIGNERS Colleen Cunningham, Elisabeth Lariviere, Ashley Vierra, Denise Wallace

Visit the entire Everything series at www.everything.com

THE
EVERYTHING
GUIDE TO
LIVING OFF
THE GRID

A back-to-basics manual for independent living

Terri Reid

Dedicated to all of those who are willing
not only to dream big, but also have
the courage to make their dreams come true.

Copyright 2011 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything Series Book.
Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.

Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-4405-1275-2
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-1275-9
eISBN 10: 1-4405-2491-2
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-2491-2

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reid, Terri.
The everything guide to living off the grid / Terri Reid.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4405-1275-9
1. Self-reliant living. 2. Sustainable living. I. Title.
GF78.R45 2011
640dc222011010219

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
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