Practicalities Archives

[2020] Off-Grid Lights & Lighting Options

By Kevin Weidner April 5, 2020 April 3, 2020

We’ve lived in an off-grid yurt in southern Vermont since the spring of 2016 and have used a few different lighting options. Maybe you’re looking for off-grid lights for a cabin, a hunting camp, a tiny house, a van, or whatever the next iteration of off-grid living might be. Regardless

How to Prep With Limited Space

By Kevin Weidner March 16, 2020 March 16, 2020

There are plenty of images out there from preppers who have walk-in closets or basements or dedicated prepping rooms. These preppers have floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with canned goods and bulk foods, stacks of water containers, and survival gear. But the reality is that not everyone has that much space for

[2020] Best Gravity Water Filters for Off-Grid Living – Reviews

By Kevin Weidner February 6, 2020 March 22, 2019

This review of water filters contains a few affiliate links, which means if you buy a filter through these links we may get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). This helps support our off-grid experiment so we can continue to share content. When we moved off grid,

Animals and Rodents in That Yurt: A Story of the Food Chain

By Kevin Weidner March 10, 2019

One common question about yurts is if animals can get in, and if we’re worried about that possibility. People seem to be especially concerned about whether yurts are bear-proof (a fair question). Bears and Yurts In Vermont, we only have to think about black bears, which are skittish enough around

The Cookbooks in Our Tiny Yurt Kitchen

By Kevin Weidner January 23, 2019 January 23, 2019

Living with a small kitchen is not an uncommon reality for many, whether you’re in a yurt, a tiny house, or a New York City apartment. And cooking in a tiny kitchen presents some challenges, or at least encourages the cook to be mindful of how many dishes they’re making

Off-Grid Outdoor Shower with Propane Water Heater

By Kevin Weidner March 26, 2020 October 8, 2018 2 Comments

After two years of living in our yurt, two years of cold showers and lengthy considerations for a hot water off-grid shower solution, we finally decided to pull the trigger and build an outdoor shower, off-grid and powered by a propane on-demand water heater. TL;DR: We use the Camplux 1.32

LED Lights for Our Off-Grid Yurt

By Kevin Weidner March 6, 2018 March 5, 2018

For the first year in this little off-grid yurt of ours, our sole light source was six small, inflatable, solar-powered Luci lights from MPOWERD. Now we’ve upgraded to two strings of LED lights, powered by a solar-charged battery. Though the Lucis were great and we still use them as reading lights

How to Find Yurt Insurance

By Kevin Weidner February 11, 2018 February 7, 2018

So you spend thousands of dollars and countless hours building your yurt, and then move everything you own into it. You want to insure that yurt. It’s your home—your life! the things you love! But you start calling around to get quotes from home insurance companies and the response is…disheartening.

Yurt Living in Winter – The Practical Aspects

By Kevin Weidner February 18, 2020 February 6, 2018 1 Comment

Small talk is easy when you run into us in the winter. When we see friends at the local Vermont coop (real crunchy), when we talk to family on the phone (less crunchy), the question is common: How’s the winter been? Are you staying warm in the yurt? Of course!

What to Consider When Designing a Yurt Interior (or Tiny Home)

By Kevin Weidner February 5, 2018

After hours and hours of building the yurt platform, and slightly fewer hours setting up the yurt itself, we had a big, round, empty space to make our own. I think this fact is often understated and underrated when considering what yurt life might be like—when you move into a