Lately I’ve gotten into watching videos of people building small, simple off-grid cabins in the back country. Not so much because I want to necessarily want to build my own, but I want to understand basic building concepts and how small, simple cabins are constructed and materials used.

The thing is I don’t want to own a modern house ever. I don’t want to have something that requires a dumpster and a charge account at the local big box store to constantly be cycling toxic materials in and out of. I don’t want to spend my whole life working hard and spending money just to literally toss it into a dumpster. It just seems like modern houses are full of flimsy, short-lived material quickly dirtied and discarded.

I have fallen in love with look and feel of tongue-in-groove walls in part due to look of the natural material, but also because I perceive it to be more durable, easier to install and replace. The scraps are wood, so they can be safely turned into heat in a wood-stove or enjoyed in a bonfire. Same is true with wood siding, such as rough cut lumber,  log cabins, or other wood siding. Most of that isn’t loaded with toxic chemicals. If you can’t relatively safely burn it or bury it as back fill it on your land, I don’t think it should be part of your homestead.

I love the idea of rain water collection, rather then deep wells that are in many cases literally sucking the ground water dry in great parts of country. Or urban pipes and reservoirs that divert great rivers. Likewise, I’d much rather have gray water either be captured for gardens or returned to ground in a leachfield where it can be reabsorbed back into the ground. Much rather compost poop and urine in humanure or at least put into ground to biodegrade rather then flushing it down a toilet and having the solids stored in a tank to be pumped out by a big diesel truck then hauled to a sewage treatment plant and ultimately a landfill.

Likewise, while I am watching the grid slowly green itself, I am not convinced that much of solar panels and wind turbines being built are mostly window-dressing. While grid tied solar might save you money the idea of building my system myself and having complete control over at least my electrical system seems so attractive – especially to a hobbyist like me.

Is it going to happen this year? Probably not but now is the time to research options and continue to save and invest and work towards making the dream a reality.