But what about the fridge?

When I tell people I'm going off grid they normally ask how you'll live without a fridge. I've got a confession to make. I've not had a fridge for about 4 years, its really easy.

The first thing people find hard to accept is that its not really feasible to have milk in your tea. I quite like milk in tea but its a very English tradition, no one else in the world really does it as far as I can tell. People not from the UK think we are a little strange. You may not decide to go for the strong, black tea as it can be quite bitter without milk. What tea should you drink if you don't have a fridge? Let's ask Captain Jean-Luc Picard from the USS Enterprise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2IJdfxWtPM

What about other things you normally use fridges for? Some things are not really that feasible but I don't miss them. Storing meat and most dairy (eggs are fine) can't be done for long. That means I tend to not buy cheese, butter or meat. It doesn't mean you can't have these things but it does mean you have to eat them in a couple of days so its fine if you have people over or if you are feeling particularly gluttonous.

Generally I think not having a fridge has improved my diet, I eat allot of fresh veg and olive oil (in place of butter). Neh bother.

This is not my fridge BTW

Warm Showerer

I heard that in Germany if you are describing someone who is a bit of a wuss you can say that they are a warm showerer.

Last week the emergency ran out on my Gas meter mid way through a warm shower. Apart from the screaming, it was fine. As I'm planning to go off grid this week I thought why bother putting another £20 on the meter and left it.

I'm really not concerned about the gas. I've lived without proper water heating for long periods of time before. Normally I just boil a kettle and shower that way. 1 full kettle and 4 parts cold water in a bucket or the sink next to the bath is actually pretty warm and comfortably does the job.

But what happens when the electric goes off? Well I'm going to boil a kettle on a camping stove on the balcony. I would have done it in the kitchen but I've been advised this is dangerous. I've looked into it and I'm not really convinced its that dangerous as long as your kitchen is well ventilated and you have a carbon monoxide alarm:

http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_5380295_use-camping-stoves-indoors.html

Bloomin Nora!

Anyway, I'll play it safe and do it out doors. I may even try to man up and go for cold showers... Booyah.