Your first year off-grid

Why this order

This order is The Ready Team’s recommendation, not an official standard. A household can’t stay on land without safe water and a dry, warm shelter, so those come first. Food takes the longest to establish, which is why trees go in during year one even though most of the first year’s food will still be bought or stored. Energy comes last because you can live simply without much power while you learn your real needs, and you’ll size the system better once you know them.

Plan with the tools

• Land and garden calculator: how much garden row and land your household needs.
• Energy and solar calculator: size an array and battery bank from your actual loads.
• Cost of living calculator: what you’ll still spend each month.
• Startup cost calculator: budget the whole move.

Year one checklist

1. Water. Drill or develop a source, then test it. EPA recommends testing private wells every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH, and again after floods or repairs. ⁵
2. Shelter. Even a temporary shelter should face its main windows within 30° of true south, unshaded from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in winter. ⁶
3. Food. Plant fruit trees right away, and start a garden sized with the calculator. Preserve the harvest safely: low-acid foods must be pressure canned. ^{7 9}
4. Energy. Start small, measure what you actually use, then build the full system. ⁸

Sources

1. USDA NRCS, Getting Started With Web Soil Survey
2. FEMA, National Risk Index
3. USDA Forest Service, Wildfire Risk to Communities
4. U.S. EPA, Why Maintain Your Septic System
5. U.S. EPA, Protect Your Home's Water (private wells)
6. U.S. DOE Energy Saver, Passive Solar Home Design
7. University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Rootstocks and Dwarf Fruit Trees
8. Penn State AE 868, Stand-alone PV system sizing
9. National Center for Home Food Preservation, For Safety's Sake