Living off grid or on our own piece of property with a cabin seems far fetched for many of us due to the expense involved. Many of us would give nearly anything to get away from the rate race and get off grid. I ran across a website that sells cabin kits. It’s basically everything that you would get in a house including windows, doors etc – it just comes in a kit meaning you would have to put it all together. If you have a family member or friend that has a little know-how you could get it built in a few days.

The term off grid refers to living self-sufficiently. For most people this means giving up reliance on public utilities. Off grid homes do not rely on municipal water, sewer, natural gas, electricity or other utility services.

When disaster strikes the consequences could be devastating for those who aren’t properly prepared. Unfortunately, you can’t prep enough for the entire population, so you need to be ready to protect the resources you’ve gathered to keep yourself and your family alive. Sometimes the best way to protect yourself is to stay unseen.

Every survivalist dreams of building an underground bunker or an impenetrable safe room. While a survival bunker can be expensive, if disaster strikes it could easily save your life.

In any survival situation from natural disaster to nuclear war, shelter is a primary consideration. Unless the disaster is one that requires an underground bunker, a yurt will meet all your shelter needs. These inexpensive homes can be made from everything from small trees and animal skins to metal posts and heavy canvas. They are mobile yet solid.

Being able to construct shelter from local resources is a key survival skill. If you learn how to properly construct a cob home, you can build more than just a temporary home. Cob houses are known to last well over a hundred years. All you need is a clay based soil and straw or pine needles.

It’s not hard to understand why the geodesic dome was a popular home design in the 60’s and 70’s. Geodesic domes require few building materials. They are energy efficient and incredibly stable. If you live in an area prone to earthquakes or hurricanes, a geodesic dome is the most secure structure you could build.

An important part of survival prepping is sustainability. To be truly ready for disaster on any scale, you must be prepared to provide your family with food and shelter. Ideally you are able to generate your own power and heat, collect your own water and process your waste. An Earthship home is designed to do all of this. It collects and recycles water, generates power, stabilizes temperatures, processes sewage and grows food.

J.R.R. Tolkien captured the hearts and minds of the American people. The Hobbit came first, then The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps not surprisingly, his writing, and later the films based on his books, inspired people to build real life hobbit homes. These homes are dug into the earth. They are not dirty, dark holes but rather, as Tolkien writes, “they are Hobbit holes. And that means comfort.”

Every survival prepper should sit up and pay attention to the tiny home movement. These little dwellings are a physical representation of the survivalist philosophy: they consume minuscule amounts of energy, save on water, are generally inexpensive and, most importantly, they force you to let go of your attachment to stuff. There simply isn’t room for more than you need.