49 degrees outside - 11:45 am - it has temporarily stopped raining and the sun is trying to break thru the cloud cover...
Generally, appreciation means some blend of thankfulness, admiration, approval, and gratitude. In the financial world, something that "appreciates" grows in value. With the power tool of appreciation, you get the benefit of both perspectives: as you learn to be consistently thankful and approving, your life will grow in value. ~ Doc Childre
Off-grid living means many things to many people. Some think that living off-grid means to live a minimalist life style; while others that live off-grid will tell you that you don’t have to give up anything.
During the construction phase of our home, we are living a minimalist lifestyle. We don’t have a television but we do have a computer with internet; we have to wash the dishes by hand; go into town to do laundry; air dry the wet hair instead of using a blow-dryer; if we want electricity for anything, we have to go outside and turn on the generator; and we sometimes have to go on the almighty treasure hunt in the storage unit where the rest of our non-minimalist lifestyle is kept. This may not sound like much fun, but it really puts things into perspective and makes you appreciate the little things in life that normally you take for granted.
Living off-grid doesn’t have to mean living poorly, or going back to the Stone Age. We are looking at achieving self-sufficiency by doing many of the same things our great-great-great grandparent used to do, but we can use modern technology to do them much more quickly, easily, and effectively than they ever could have. We now have a huge appreciate for those who came before us with the hardships they had to endure on a daily basis along with a huge appreciation for modern technology.
Once construction is completed and our off-grid power system is up and running, we will have the microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and television, all of the things that we have been missing and will appreciate so much more when we get them! Normally people seriously dislike moving due to the packing and unpacking, but for us, when it is time to empty and get rid of the storage unit and unpack all our stuff into our completed off-grid home, it will be like Christmas!
