I've dreamed of living off the grid for years. I've read how-to books about building root-cellars, passive solar heating, alternative home construction, and grey-water recycling. From my research, I know there are people out there who've managed to live off the grid quite happily for years. But how do they do it? And what do they give up for that lifestyle?

It takes a lot of money to get new technology, to install wiring and plumbing systems that allow for both normal and alternative electricity or drainage. It takes a lot of money and time to buy the right land and get the right permits to build it all in the first place. And not all green technologies are legal in the United States. Most people who don't have an extra million dollars in their back pocket, and aren't licensed to be their own design architect, start small. They make one change in their lifestyle and their dependence on utilities, and then they build up and out from there. Most people slowly and laboriously craft an independent lifestyle. And many more people than will ever become truly off the grid are living mostly independent lifestyles.

There are tons of books, tons of blogs, tons of how-to websites about living green, and becoming just that one bit more self-sufficient than we were before. I'll list a few, but my links and suggestions will only scratch the surface, and for that I apologize. The biggest challenge to living off the grid is defining what that means to you. Do you stop drawing on municipal utility systems such as electricity and city water? What about city sewers? What about the water you use-- what do you do with it after you've used it? Do you still go into the city for foods like grains, flour, sugar, olive oil? What about health care? Are you going to have a regular job-- and if so, how far are you willing to commute to get there?

Do you own a car? Where do you buy gas? Electric cars require as much electricity as running your clothes dryer for twelve hours straight to recharge after just a few hours of use. They require a dedicated electrical line and a special kind of plug-- just like your clothes dryer does. How do you wash your clothes? Where does the fabric for your clothes come from? What about the products used to build your home? Concrete, at least for the foundation, is a requirement. And you'll need manufactured water pipes and electrical conduit. What about your furniture? Your refrigerator? Your fertilizer? Exactly how far off the grid did you want to live in the first place? And how will these decisions affect your children?

It is important to define your goals before you decide just how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

For the purpose of this article, lets focus on utilities: water, sewer, gas, electric. And, let's say you live in a city or town. Your home is hooked up to the city water and sewer systems, and you depend on the city's electric company for your home's power. You use a regular washer, dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher. Maybe you've already replaced all your light-bulbs with those new long-life LEDs or something similar, but you want to do more. And where do all those ineffable watts of electricity GO, anyway??

Here in Portland, Oregon, some homeowners are experimenting with water collection systems. One man remodeled his home so that the metal roof actually drains all the rain water it catches through a filter, and into a large cistern buried under the house. The water is filtered a total of three times before reaching the sinks, shower, and toilets in his home. It is potable-- drinkable --and the current system provides enough water for him and one other family member, year-round. He does not take long showers. He does not leave the faucet running when he washes dishes, brushes his teeth, washes his hands. Another person I spoke with recently purchases his family's drinking and cooking water by the gallon from a local municipal source. This means he doesn't have to filter the rainwater and well water used for other purposes quite so religiously.

My parents get all their water from their well. The water must be tested twice a year to make sure it is still drinkable, and has not been contaminated by their neighbor's chemical lawn fertilizer, among other things. Their well water system requires an electricity-driven pump to draw the water out of the well, so when they lose electric power, they can't flush the toilets or use the faucets until power is restored. I read an article last year about a family who have managed to get off the grid while living in a large city. They have used a hand-pump for all their water needs for the past ten years. It takes a lot of work to pump enough water for a bath or a load of laundry, but the work doesn't cost them anything but time. There is no electric bill for pumping the water, for heating the water, for draining the water away once it's been used.

The first step to freedom from a municipal water system is using and wasting less water. Put a barrel under your home's downspouts, and use the water that collects there to water your garden and wash your car, your bike, and your pets. Securing a fine mesh across the top of the barrel keeps leaves, debris, and most bugs from landing in the barrel with the water. Grey water from your roof, and from your shower, your dishwasher, even your laundry, can be reused in other places where you will not imbibe (eat or drink) the unpurified water. The next step in a self-sufficient water-usage system is to reuse the grey water you produce for flushing toilets, watering gardens, etc. The dishwasher may even heat water sufficiently to make it safe for use in that appliance as well. If you build from scratch or remodel your home, consider putting in a system that allows you collect and redistribute grey water, in accordance with local building codes-- or in the hope that such codes will eventually change. Composting toilets or low-flow toilets, low-flow shower heads, and hand-cranked clothes washing machines are all commercially available as well.

We are lucky to live in a time when new and more efficient options for off-the-grid power production and collection are constantly improving and have become commercially available. Options range from purchasing green energy from municipal power plants to installing your own alternative energy sources and constructing or remodeling your home for passive solar gain as well. In Portland, Oregon, PGE produces wind energy as well as more traditional energy, and gives each energy-using household the option of purchasing exclusively green energy. It's a great place to start.

At a recent alternative energy faire, I was told by one solar power company that a small 3-person household with average energy needs could power their entire home on an array of three roof-mounted solar panels measuring about 5x10 feet each. At this level, homeowners can install solar panels that feed their energy needs for most of the year, even in rainy states like Oregon. In fact, many power companies will buy any extra energy your solar array produces, and use it to power other homes in the community.

However, most households that go this route find themselves using that money the power company paid them to buy energy in the winter months. Most home-owners with direct solar panel systems choose this route, connecting their system to the local city power grid. The balance between over-production in summer and over-consumption in winter may even balance out over the course of a year.

Households that want to really disconnect from the city utilities have the added cost of buying huge battery systems for their solar panels to feed into. The solar panels charge the batteries, and the home uses that energy to run. Battery life is improving, but this type of independent electrical system requires a certain level of knowledge and effort for the average home owner to maintain. Families who have elected to go off-the-grid with their electrical power talk about their awareness of the electricity each appliance uses. Do they want to blow-dry their hair or run the dishwasher today? Do they want to turn on another light, or sit by the window? Does it need to be 72 degrees in the house, or 62 degrees plus a sweater?

Since heating and cooling are the two largest and most constant energy drains in the modern household, it is important to plan ahead and minimize these power-sucks. Double the insulation in walls, floor, and especially the attic or roof. Replace old, poorly sealed or condensation-prone windows. Install highly efficient water heating and furnace systems. Be aware that most refrigerators are not built to work with direct solar energy systems. There are a few brands of refrigerators and other appliances that have been manufactured with extreme energy efficiency and solar panel power sources in mind.

Use power strips or configure the electrical system in your home so that you can turn off all electronic devices when they are not in use-- from your cooking stove with its built-in clock to your computer with its "sleep" mode to your DVD player with its handy stand-by feature which means it never really turns off, even when the "power" is off. Unplug your cell phone recharger when not recharging your phone, too. Just because it's not plugged into the phone doesn't mean it's not drawing juice from the wall. It's amazing how much energy our convenience appliances use when we aren't actually utilizing them.

If your home is overshadowed by trees or buildings in such a way that the experts tell you to give up on solar panels, consider wind power instead. While traditional energy-producing wind towers require clearance, and often don't meet city codes for height and safety restrictions, some of the newest wind-turbine designs are made for back yard use. Bird-safe, community safe, and very compact, they begin harvesting energy in winds as low as 5mph! I have yet to hear specifically of wind turbines hooking into community grids for energy buy-back programs, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

Start by watching your energy bills, and understanding how much energy your family uses at various times of the year, and why. With this information, it will be much easier to approach local licensed alternative energy companies, and find out just how much it would cost to take your household off the grid.

Some handy resources about off-the-grid living at various levels and with various goals include: