Have you ever watched one of those post-apocalyptic shows that depict a dystopian future with no power and electricity? Well if you have, then you must have wondered how you would survive without power and electricity. Humankind had survived without power and electricity for centuries until the discovery of electricity in the 18th century. After the discovery of electricity and the many things it can do, humankind became dependent on it to power their daily lives. Some people have tried to break their electricity dependence by living off the grid, but most of them always come back to use it. So what if the power grid went down? What if there was a zombie apocalypse and all systems stopped functioning? You would not have a choice then so, how would you survive without power and electricity? Let us look at how you can maintain normalcy in your day-to-day life without power and electricity.
Food preservation and preparation
You are living without power, so a fridge and a four-burner cooker are out of the picture. How do you preserve and prepare your food without electricity? You go back to the traditional methods. Salting, drying, and smoking are all traditional methods of food preservation that were used for centuries before the discovery of electricity. If you want to preserve some meat from a hunting expedition, you can salt it and hang it to dry. You can also smoke it then hang it to dry. For cooking, you can go with firewood, charcoal, or gas. Gas is the superior option here since it is more efficient and portable. You can get a camping gas stove which is compact, safe, and efficient to use when you have no power.
Lighting
Light is a critical aspect of our daily lives whether there is electricity or not. There are several alternative lighting methods that do not require electricity to function. Candles and kerosene lanterns are some of the best options when it comes to lighting without power. They are both cheap to purchase and maintain. They also illuminate a large area so you will not be compromising on visibility in the absence of electricity. If you want to go truly old school, you can use a medieval touch made from a cloth dipped in kerosene and wrapped around a stick. You should, however, be careful not to burn your house down with the torch since it utilizes a naked flame to illuminate.
Communication
No matter how off grid you are, you will at one point need to communicate whether for emergency purposes or just so that you can maintain some sanity. Without power and electricity, most communication devices will not function. So what do you do apart from sending smoke signals like some cave dweller? You get a rotary phone. Rotary phones do not need to be plugged into an electrical outlet to function. Just plug in a rotary phone to a landline, and you are in business. Alternatively, you can use battery-powered shortwave radios like the Arcshell two-way radio to transmit any communication.
Cooling and heating
Two instances when you will dearly miss electricity; when the winters get too cold, and when the summers get too hot. You will spend hours fantasizing about how awesome it would be if you had an air conditioner. Since you cannot access electricity for whatever reason, you will have to do with alternative cooling and heating methods. The go-to natural source of heat during cold seasons is fire. You can light up the fireplace using firewood to warm up your house. If you do not have a fireplace in your home, you can use a wood burning stove to light up a fire and warm up. It is advisable that you do not light a fire inside the house if you do not have a fireplace, so the wood stove will have to stay outside. Alternatively, you can use a kerosene heater in place of the wood burning stove if you do not have a fireplace.
When it comes to cooling off during the blazing summer heat, you will need to open your windows first. Next, you will need to dunk a few sheets in water and hang them outside the open windows to create a breeze. Leave the attic windows uncovered. Since hot air rises, it will move up to the attic and escape through the attic window while cold air gets in through the lower ground windows with the wet sheets.
Entertainment
You have to make peace with the fact that you will not be watching the latest episode of your favorite show without power and electricity. Without electricity, it is impossible to have most of the entertainment that we are used to. There will be no internet, no TV, and no computer. It, however, does not mean that your life has to be dull when you are living without electricity. There are a lot of entertaining things you can do to keep yourself occupied without using electricity. Reading a fascinating book is one of the ways that you can keep yourself entertained without electricity. In fact, reading a good book can be more entertaining than watching a movie. Alternatively, you can take a walk. Walks can be fun especially if you have a pet like a dog to accompany you.
If you are living with family, you can get a deck of cards to play with your family members as you spend some quality bonding time. Alternatively, you can get a few board games to keep you and your family entertained. Family board games like scrabble and monopoly are an excellent source of entertainment that does not need any electricity, unlike televisions and computers. There are several benefits of playing board games with a family like promoting problem-solving skills, bonding as a family, and reducing stress.
Conclusion:
Living without electricity after years of electricity dependency can be tough, but it is doable. Maybe you want to stop your dependence on electricity, or you have found yourself in an area with no electricity. These tips will not only help you survive without electricity but also thrive. Learning how to survive without electricity is a skill that everyone should learn. We do not know about tomorrow. There might be extreme weather, war, or a cataclysm event, all of which would leave us without electricity. In the face of such unfortunate circumstances, you will need all the survival skills you can muster to thrive without power.