C'mon, we all know who Macgyver is: eighties heartthrob who could get out of any sticky situation with a role of duct tape, trusty pocket knife, and a toothpick....okay, and maybe a bit of chewing gum. And while we all giggle about him now, he did have something going on there during our 1980's consumerism boom: you can make some rather incredible inventions out of ordinary objects if you can think outside the square and have a bit of know how.
Thinking about building a structure that is 'off the grid' really makes you start to assess what you have into what you need and what you want. And then ask your self: how am I going to have that while living off the grid so to speak? Lets face it, even though the cost of living has risen significantly the last few years, we still have the blessing of clean drinkable water, plumbing, hot water, and electricity to run lights, radios (to keep in touch with what is going on in the world) , and lets face it a laptop and other amenities for the multimedia experience we all enjoy.
When you get down to the nitty gritty though, its potable and other sources of water for our daily ablutions/cleaning, heating for cooking and warmth, and light that is essential to our way of life. Everything else, even the laptop *gulp*, is what we want in life, not a need when it comes to amenities.
While I have been recuperating from my angle-grinding adventure, I have had the opportunity to do some research on the internet on alternative sources of lighting, both passive (no mechanisms) and active (mechanisms and moving parts). My husband is experimenting with vertical wind turbines (active source of lighting) and he's like a pig in muck. :)
I put on my MacGyver Thinking Box on to look at what you can do with bottles and water in particular. Alternative sources of lighting was my initial search and then all sorts of things came out of the woodwork. Its all actually pretty fascinating! Click on the captions beneath the images for some pretty amazing ideas and facts.
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| The MacGyver Award |
Of all the things that sites I explored, the ultimate MacGyver Award goes to Derek (DEEK) Diedrikson of the Youtube Tiny Yellow House series. The following link is for Tiny Homes as Punk Rock interview from Faircompanies.com. His use of recycled bottles, windows, and everything really makes the subject of alternative dwellings funky and fun. He appeals to the practical rebel in me. Down to earth and fun; inspiring.
M-
C'mon, we all know who Macgyver is: eighties heartthrob who could get out of any sticky situation with a role of duct tape, trusty pocket knife, and a toothpick....okay, and maybe a bit of chewing gum. And while we all giggle about him now, he did have something going on there during our 1980's consumerism boom: you can make some rather incredible inventions out of ordinary objects if you can think outside the square and have a bit of know how.
Thinking about building a structure that is 'off the grid' really makes you start to assess what you have into what you need and what you want. And then ask your self: how am I going to have that while living off the grid so to speak? Lets face it, even though the cost of living has risen significantly the last few years, we still have the blessing of clean drinkable water, plumbing, hot water, and electricity to run lights, radios (to keep in touch with what is going on in the world) , and lets face it a laptop and other amenities for the multimedia experience we all enjoy.
While I have been recuperating from my angle-grinding adventure, I have had the opportunity to do some research on the internet on alternative sources of lighting, both passive (no mechanisms) and active (mechanisms and moving parts). My husband is experimenting with vertical wind turbines (active source of lighting) and he's like a pig in muck. :)
Just thought I'd add that we made our own Sun Jars, it was simple really. I saw that you could buy them on TradeMe for $14.99 and it was cheaper to make yourself and makes a great gift for the holiday season.
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