# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > General Homesteading >  Basic Comforts of life

## Alaskan Survivalist

BASIC COMFORTS OF LIFE

I’ve seen some ups and downs and have seen life from many levels ranging from just the clothes on my back to home ownership and new cars. A person can survive with very little but for me I need a certain level of comfort to be content with life. This is what I consider my minimum for the long term and think it would serve as a good guide for those wishing to transition from urban to rural living but will serve for any body with a shelter of any kind be it a garden shed or one room of a burnt out building. I have set myself up so that should I have to start over (again) this is where I would be starting from. My basic shelter is a 10 man Arctic army tent but the shelter could be anything and what follows is what I consider needed for comfortable living. 

Small wood burning stove - Heat is essential. I said small stove because it is for heating a small space. Large stoves take more space in room, burn more wood. Smaller stoves also burn hotter to heat the same amount of space. There is an assumption that you can cook on a wood stove but in all practicality they will run you out of a place before they generate enough heat to cook on. They can be cooked in and used for keeping coffee warm or heating water but would take forever to cook diner. Smaller stoves are also more portable and the items I list here will fit in the trunk of a large car or in a closet and could be used in your home should you loose utilities. You can run the stove pipe out a window of your house and be set up in 15 minutes. 

Cast iron propane stove - The kind that sit on counter. I have a single burner but they come in double and triple version also but I prefer the portability. They do not have pilot lights so they do not use propane when not in use and burn hotter than most stoves so can be used as auxiliary heat and heating water. 

Wash pan and tub - Wash pan for heating water and used for dishes. To bath I just heat up some water, stand in tub, pour about half a gallon over my head, soap up and then pour another gallon and half over my head to rinse and then dump tub outside. The tub is good for washing cloths that can be hung to dry too. 

Cast iron cook ware - It requires less scrubbing and cooks more evenly. Great for cooking over an outdoor fire pit.

5 gallon water jug with valve type spout - Set on a shelf or counter it’s just like having running water. 

Cooler - I like cold food but not frozen food so I just freeze jugs of water outside and put them in a cooler inside to keep chill on things. There are many ways to keep food cool like putting it in a creek or digging to permafrost but beyond the scope of this posting. Portability is part of the theme.

Honey Bucket - Just a five gallon bucket to take a crap in. They make lids and seats for them that cost about 15 dollars but you can always improvise. I prefer them to out houses for portability reasons and hate dropping my drawers at -50 below. This is about comfort and I would rather crap in the warmth and carry it fully dressed to dump in a hole outside. Urban dwellers may want keep some kitty litter on hand. You still need a place to dump it. 

Good old fashioned kerosene lamp - Not the ones for decoration so common today. Even the larger wicks of the older ones don’t throw an intense light but adequate for most things and 5 gallons of kerosene will last a long time. Winters are long and dark here and I go crazy without light, been there, done that!

Coleman white gas lantern - They throw a lot more light for reading or work that needs more light. They burn more fuel so if money is an issue I limit their use. Good portable light for going outside. 

Inflatable bed or cot - Long term comfort means getting a good nights sleep. 

Good battery operated radio - Like the kerosene lamp it helps to keep you from going crazy. Also warns of bad weather and current events and Tradio can help you find temporary work or other opportunity. Tape and CD players will use up batteries fast so I just listen to radio. 

NOTE: This is what I consider minimum for LONG TERM comfort. I could live indefinitely like this the rest of my days and be happy, but I always try to improve my condition. Electricity is not as high on my list as with others but my preparations are actually beyond this point now. I have a 500,000 BTU weed burner to start my car on cold days, All the hand tools to develop another piece of land. I have a Honda generator to run power tools and put a chill on freezer once a day and charge batteries for a couple hours that run through an inverter for quiet power. The thing is while nice to have my contentment does not require it. I post this for those wanting to transition to off grid living that think they cannot afford it. This what I have done when I could not afford to live in town.

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## Justin Case

Good Post,,,,,,,,,

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## Winnie

> BASIC COMFORTS OF LIFE
> 
> Ive seen some ups and downs and have seen life from many levels ranging from just the clothes on my back to home ownership and new cars. A person can survive with very little but for me I need a certain level of comfort to be content with life. This is what I consider my minimum for the long term and think it would serve as a good guide for those wishing to transition from urban to rural living but will serve for any body with a shelter of any kind be it a garden shed or one room of a burnt out building. I have set myself up so that should I have to start over (again) this is where I would be starting from. My basic shelter is a 10 man Arctic army tent but the shelter could be anything and what follows is what I consider needed for comfortable living. 
> 
> Small wood burning stove - Heat is essential. I said small stove because it is for heating a small space. Large stoves take more space in room, burn more wood. Smaller stoves also burn hotter to heat the same amount of space. There is an assumption that you can cook on a wood stove but in all practicality they will run you out of a place before they generate enough heat to cook on. They can be cooked in and used for keeping coffee warm or heating water but would take forever to cook diner. Smaller stoves are also more portable and the items I list here will fit in the trunk of a large car or in a closet and could be used in your home should you loose utilities. You can run the stove pipe out a window of your house and be set up in 15 minutes. 
> 
> Cast iron propane stove - The kind that sit on counter. I have a single burner but they come in double and triple version also but I prefer the portability. They do not have pilot lights so they do not use propane when not in use and burn hotter than most stoves so can be used as auxiliary heat and heating water. 
> 
> Wash pan and tub - Wash pan for heating water and used for dishes. To bath I just heat up some water, stand in tub, pour about half a gallon over my head, soap up and then pour another gallon and half over my head to rinse and then dump tub outside. The tub is good for washing cloths that can be hung to dry too. 
> ...


Glory! I lived in similar circumstances for the first 5 years of my life! Although we did have furniture and an outhouse. :Smile:

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## DOGMAN

I've got all that...so i guess I'm ready

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## Sourdough

Can you talk about growing up in Homer, Alaska either in this thread or another new thread........Thank You.

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## Camp10

Well, I agree with the small wood stove over a larger one for a small area but I cook on my little Jotul 602 up at camp through the winter and fall and have never starved while waiting for the food to cook.  

I do cook with propane the rest of the year though with an apartment sized stovetop/oven.  I also use propane to run the gas lights and fridge.  This to me is easier than having to keep different fuels on hand up there.

I also use cast iron cookware for the same reasons you stated and I have water jugs on hand through the months that it wont freeze on me.  I also dug a well and stuck a hand pump in it but I only use it for wash water because it has a yellow color to it and drinking it gets me a little nervous.

As far as the honey bucket...I'll stick to the outhouse!

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## Alaskan Survivalist

> Can you talk about growing up in Homer, Alaska either in this thread or another new thread........Thank You.


Sure. Maybe a little here and a little there.

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## Rick

> water has a yellow color to it


Just how close to the outhouse did you dig that well?

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## Camp10

> Just how close to the outhouse did you dig that well?


Well I wasnt about to dig two holes!! :clap: 
Honestly though, I have no idea what mineral would do that to the water and I never had it tested but it sure doesnt look very tasty.

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## Justin Case

Ha ha ,  Good One !   :clap:

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## Alaskan Survivalist

> Well, I agree with the small wood stove over a larger one for a small area but I cook on my little Jotul 602 up at camp through the winter and fall and have never starved while waiting for the food to cook.  
> 
> I do cook with propane the rest of the year though with an apartment sized stovetop/oven.  I also use propane to run the gas lights and fridge.  This to me is easier than having to keep different fuels on hand up there.
> 
> I also use cast iron cookware for the same reasons you stated and I have water jugs on hand through the months that it wont freeze on me.  I also dug a well and stuck a hand pump in it but I only use it for wash water because it has a yellow color to it and drinking it gets me a little nervous.
> 
> As far as the honey bucket...I'll stick to the outhouse!




There is something I am failing to convey probably due to my lack of education. My approach to survival is somewhat different to most. I learned to build my life with hands. Winter comes hard and fast and there is no time to screw around. We call it "Burning Daylight". I skip some steps along the way. I don't waste time building a debris hut when I can have a cabin built in a couple of days. If I were to dig a hole for a outhouse why not just bury a septic system? In the picture below even while cutting lumber up for cabin roof you can see the old tanks in the background I weld up for septic.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Some of this is different in different environments but know the ground freezes solid here and I posted this as a list of things a person could head to the woods with or replace thier utilities if they stay where they are. 7 months of the year if a person had to pull up and head out there is no way they are digging an out house in the frozen ground. But even if I could I would just skip that step and put the effort into a septic system. The picture is for a cabin I built years ago in Homer but I have detailed pictures of my current system I in stalled in my house. I had to turn them into DEC and keep them if I ever sell the place. Homesteading and Construction has been my lifes work.

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## Justin Case

Makes sense to me . :Smile:

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## hunter63

AS, good post, you pretty much covered everything, well done.

That kinda the way our cabin started out, but i did add the elect and for-real-legal (for here) plumbing, well and septic, but used the sawdust bucket for a long time.

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## Rick

I thought you explained yourself very well. It was a good post!!

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## crashdive123

Good posts - cool picture.  Looking forward to more.

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## rebel

I liked your post.  Thanks!

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## Camp10

> There is something I am failing to convey probably due to my lack of education. My approach to survival is somewhat different to most. I learned to build my life with hands. Winter comes hard and fast and there is no time to screw around. We call it "Burning Daylight". I skip some steps along the way. I don't waste time building a debris hut when I can have a cabin built in a couple of days. If I were to dig a hole for a outhouse why not just bury a septic system? In the picture below even while cutting lumber up for cabin roof you can see the old tanks in the background I weld up for septic.
> 
> Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
> 
> Some of this is different in different environments but know the ground freezes solid here and I posted this as a list of things a person could head to the woods with or replace thier utilities if they stay where they are. 7 months of the year if a person had to pull up and head out there is no way they are digging an out house in the frozen ground. But even if I could I would just skip that step and put the effort into a septic system. The picture is for a cabin I built years ago in Homer but I have detailed pictures of my current system I in stalled in my house. I had to turn them into DEC and keep them if I ever sell the place. Homesteading and Construction has been my lifes work.


I thought I understood the post and I thought it was good but maybe I missed something.  I have much of the same prep as you except I found a few things that make me more comfortable...which I thought your post was about.  I am off the grid at camp and have no need for electric at all up there.  I wouldnt jump from crapping in a bucket to putting in an entire septic system because that would mean hauling enough water to flush everytime I needed to go.  The extra effort of an outhouse makes more sense to me when living comfortably long term in the woods than hand digging a septic system and then dealing with all the extra work of having it.

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## Alaskan Survivalist

> I thought I understood the post and I thought it was good but maybe I missed something.  I have much of the same prep as you except I found a few things that make me more comfortable...which I thought your post was about.  I am off the grid at camp and have no need for electric at all up there.  I wouldnt jump from crapping in a bucket to putting in an entire septic system because that would mean hauling enough water to flush everytime I needed to go.  The extra effort of an outhouse makes more sense to me when living comfortably long term in the woods than hand digging a septic system and then dealing with all the extra work of having it.


That's the beauty of living off grid. We can crap wherever, however we please.

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## Camp10

> That's the beauty of living off grid. We can crap wherever, however we please.


 :clap:  :clap:  :clap: Well said!!

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## rwc1969

Amen to the cast iron cookware. it's not something I like to lug around for camping, but it can't be beat for cooking.

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## trax

excellent post AS

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