Six Years Off Grid: Why My Homestead Is Still Not Finished
After six years off grid, my homestead is still not finished. But I do not see that as failure. I have learned that building a practical off-grid life is not really about reaching some perfect final version. It is about creating shelter, water, food, power, and income systems that slowly become more useful, more stable, and more sustainable over time.
Why the homestead is still incomplete after six years
When I first moved onto raw land, the goal was not to build a perfect homestead all at once. The goal was to get started, solve the most important problems first, and keep improving as I learned. That process has included a small cabin, rainwater collection, water storage, solar power, fencing, gardens, animals, a greenhouse, and the slow development of an income system that supports the life I am building.
Some projects are working well. Some are still rough. Some have changed several times. That is part of the process. A homestead is not a finished product as much as it is a living system. Weather changes, animals grow, priorities shift, materials cost more, and new problems show up. The work keeps going because the land keeps teaching.
A homestead does not have to be finished to be useful
One of the biggest lessons from six years off grid is that a homestead can be unfinished and still be valuable. It can still provide shelter. It can still collect water. It can still grow food. It can still produce power. It can still create income. The question is not whether everything is done. The better question is whether the systems are moving in the right direction.
For me, the answer is yes. The homestead is still incomplete, but it is far more functional than it was when I started. Each project has added a little more stability, a little more comfort, and a little more clarity.
The five systems I keep building around
Most of my off-grid life comes back to five core areas: shelter, water, food, power, and income. Those systems do not all mature at the same speed. Shelter may come first. Water may need to be expanded several times. Food systems may take years to become reliable. Power needs may change as the homestead grows. Income may become one of the most important systems of all because it helps keep the rest of the homestead moving.
This is why I do not think of off-grid living as one big project. I think of it as a series of systems that can be improved over time.
FAQ
Is the homestead finished after six years?
No. The homestead is still incomplete. There are still fencing projects, food systems, animal areas, repairs, improvements, and long-term plans that need time and money. But many of the core systems are working, and that matters more than having everything finished.
Does an off-grid homestead ever feel complete?
Maybe for some people, but I do not really see it that way anymore. A homestead is always changing. There is always another project, another season, another repair, or another way to make the property work better.
What should someone build first on raw land?
Before building anything, I think the first step is choosing the right county. The rules, permits, zoning, access, water options, and enforcement environment can shape everything that comes after. After that, most people need to think through shelter, water, access, power, and waste in a practical order.
What is the biggest lesson from six years off grid?
The biggest lesson is that slow progress still counts. You do not need to solve every problem at once. You need to make the next practical improvement and keep building from there.
Want a more organized path?
If you are trying to build your own off-grid life, I created The Frugal Off-Grid Path to help organize the process. It brings together the lessons I have learned from building on raw land, making mistakes, improving systems, and slowly turning an unfinished property into a working homestead.
The Path is for people who want more structure, less guessing, and a clearer way to think through land, shelter, water, food, power, and income before they spend years learning everything the hard way.
Explore The Frugal Off-Grid Path
New here? Start with step one.
If you are just beginning, I recommend starting with the Off-Grid County Directory. Before you buy land, build a cabin, haul water, install solar, or plan a homestead, it helps to understand where off-grid living is more practical and where the rules may create problems.
Start with the county, then look for land, then do your due diligence, then build with a clearer plan.
Start with the Off-Grid County Directory
Explore the off-grid library hub
This video connects to the five core systems I use to think through off-grid living: shelter, water, food, power, and income. Each pillar page includes more videos, diagrams, photo overviews, and practical examples from the homestead.
Six Years Off Grid Documentary Notes
This documentary follows the slower, more practical side of building an off-grid homestead after several years on the land. It covers the work that has been done, the projects that still need attention, and the reality that a homestead does not become finished all at once.
In this video, I talk about slowing down after a back injury, continuing the wood privacy fence, hiring help for heavier work, repairing the 1977 Chevy Bonanza, and shifting more time toward the business while still moving the property forward.
Topics covered in this video
- Six years of off-grid living and steady homestead progress
- Why I worked hard early on when money was limited
- Building swales, geothermal systems, and the root cellar by hand
- Adding a six foot solid wood privacy fence around the homestead
- Recovering from a back injury and learning when to hire help
- Repairing and rebuilding the 1977 Chevy Bonanza engine
- Planning fence posts, gates, freight delivery, and future panels
- Balancing useful off-grid videos with the need to make a living
Why this matters
This is a practical look at off-grid life after the early excitement has passed. The work becomes less about proving a point and more about building systems that can last. The homestead is still incomplete, but it is also more functional, more private, and more stable than it was in the beginning.
View full video transcript
0:15 Watch out. Go on.
0:23 Okay. Go on.
0:50 [sighs]
0:51 Sit. Sit. Stay.
1:06 [snorts]
1:36 [snorts]
2:05 [snorts]
2:38 Sit. Sit.
2:44 Good boy.
2:56 [screaming]
4:54 [snorts]
6:20 Look at it.
9:50 Something that really slowed me down recently. You might know when I came out here, I just worked
9:56 hard, hard hard all the time because if you don't have money, you can work hard and invest in your
10:03 property. And that's why I focused on digging the geothermal and the and the root seller and
10:11 swells because I couldn't afford much, but I could invest in the property. And recently, you know,
10:19 I want to I've already fenced one acre around the homestead and then the entire perimeter of
10:25 the property with barb wire. Recently, I threw up 80 ft and I've got these ties every every 10 ft
10:33 roughly. They're 3 ft deep. And because they're 9 ft tall, that leaves 6 feet above ground. So,
10:40 a solid wood 6t tall fence, which is wonderful. I've got a fruit tree over there now. But I had
10:48 a good deal and it seemed like a limited time frame. And even though I hired some help,
10:52 I tore my backup doing this. And that's a large part of why I slowed down the last
10:56 several months and put a lot of time and effort into building the business cuz that's something
11:01 I could do. I bought this old 77 Bonanza. The engine didn't have good compression,
11:09 and I wanted something really good and reliable. So, I fully rebuilt the engine. It's the first
11:14 time I ever did that. I just researched how to do it and did it. It ran pretty great, but
11:22 there was an intake and exhaust leak, so I pulled that. And then I think by then it was January,
11:29 just way too cold to come out here and mess with that for several months. It's still gets down to
11:34 44 in the morning, you know. But I'm going to go ahead and sand down the intake and put that
11:40 back together. Readjust readjust the valve lash and it should be good to go. So, I've
11:49 started to hire help to help with heavy lifting things and hard labor things, but you still
12:08 It looks like an old dried up turd or something. You still have to be thoughtful of what you're
12:15 hiring them to do. And so I'm planning to go out and mark every 10 ft myself so that there's just
12:26 less possibility for mistakes. And then I can have the guy come out and use the augur and drill those
12:32 holes and then throw in the posts. I've already got enough post for the entire perimeter of the
12:38 homestead and a couple gates. And I'll work out hiring a freight truck. Instead of going and
12:45 hauling one load at a time, it's a long drive. I think I'll hire a freight truck and I'll just pay
12:51 for like the equivalent of three or four loads and have it all delivered at once for the paneling.
13:06 [snorts]
13:07 So, slowly and surely, I'm going to continue to build the fence. I'm going
13:11 to get the truck back up and running, and I'm going to post more videos like
13:17 this for you guys. I'm thinking every Saturday, one of these might be nice.
13:26 If I'm being completely transparent, I know that I've talked a lot about my systems based
13:32 thinking over the last couple months because I've been rebranding and I like to make entertaining,
13:39 thoughtful, valuable content for you guys, but I can't do that if I don't make a living also. So,
13:44 that was necessary, but I'm not going to just drill that into you for the rest of
13:49 my life. I got the most of that out of the way. And I'll just lightly mention, you know,
13:56 if you missed my last live Q&A on the 16th of May, I'm doing another on June 20th. And if you'd like
14:03 me to walk through your specific situation to help you build your off-grid homestead,
14:07 then you're welcome to join me. And otherwise, I'll probably see you guys on Saturday.