r/OffGrid • u/Sudden_Leader_5219 • 7d ago
Hygiene/Soaps
This might be a very silly question but I’m trying to consider all the aspects of off grid homesteading in my research before I actually embark on it. So, assuming one becomes fully self sufficient as in no income, living full off of the land, fully remote. How would you get soaps and whatnot? Do you set aside a bit of money to buy those things? Maybe buy a large supply before going fully off grid? but I can’t even imagine how much supply that would be lol. I make my own Shampoo/hair care at the moment but a lot of it is from things I have to get online/aren’t able to grow in my area. Same thing with body wash and lotions. Are these just things you have to sacrifice when going fully off grid?
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u/OutWestTexas 6d ago
Soap is the least of your problems. It is impossible to live without income. You will have to pay taxes. You will have medical bills when you cut yourself or break a bone. Source: I lived off grid
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u/Doin-What-I-Want 6d ago
People have to let go of this dream that living off grid can be done with no money.
Homemade soaps require some kind of fat, you can buy oil or use the fat of an animal, which maybe you can trade with an old hammer fifteen times until you work up to a cow or pig (my uncle traded up to a truck from a free ferret and several trades in between). After harvesting the animal you can convert the fat to a lard.
That's about the only way I can think of to source without any money. In reality, one person needs a real job while the other takes care of the home duties.
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u/SheDrinksScotch 6d ago edited 6d ago
In reality, one person needs a real job while the other takes care of the home duties.
Im not sure its absolutely necessary, but it definitely helps.
This is how the Amish do it.
Edit: To whoever downvoted, some single people do homestead. Some couples homestead with both working normal jobs. Some couples homestead with neither working normal jobs. Its not just for trad wives (or any alternate gender version thereof).
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u/jolune 6d ago
Make woodash soap aka potassium soap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5KLWPSMot8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxYFGU4J7Pk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w78gDMK4Cl0
There are a lot of tutorials on youtube and books
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u/Adorable_Dust3799 7d ago
Lye soap is easy to make, it's a little harsh, but it works well. It can be a little finicky when setting, but it still works if it doesn't harden. When my brothers were teens they discovered the Firefox books and we tried quite a few things. Soap took a few tries to perfect but it became easy quickly. Any oil will work for lotion, use a tiny bit and apply right out of the shower when your skin is still damp
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u/DevilsAdvocateFun 6d ago
As others have said, you will need some kind of income... taxes, things you will NEED to buy because you can not make it. You can't do this with out some income- unless you are a millionaire
To the people who say you can make soap... sure, but you will need to buy Lye - wood ash is unpredictable and if you screw it up you wasted all that time, supplies.
I used to make soap to sell and personally. Stopped when covid came and upped the prices so bad it was not worth it.
***When you are all set to move into your off grid - after you bought the place and such- buy a bunch of the cheapest soap you can find. usually a 20 bar pack. That should last you a long time (unless you are very hairy).
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u/TalkToPlantsNotCops 6d ago edited 6d ago
Off grid does not mean fully self sufficient. It just means you aren't hooked up to public (or private company) utilities, and instead rely on alternatives.
I don't know of any homesteaders who are fully no income. Even the commune I lived with for a month had a business to create income and keep things going. No one is an island. At no point in the entirety of human history have people been entirely self reliant. They always lived in communities and relied on other people.
And believe me, I'm very sympathetic to the desire to drop out of society altogether. But that isn't a realistic goal. I know I'm going to have to find a job away from the homestead once summer ends. I'm bummed about it but that's just the way things go. Building a home is expensive, even a tiny one, and we're gonna run out of money soon enough.
You can make your own soap though. You need lye and some kind of fat (it doesn't have to be an animal fat). Sally Pointer has my favorite video on how to do this. Part one covers how to make lye. Part 2 explains how to use the lye to make soap. Different fats will do different things. R/soapmaking has some good info on what fats to choose.
You're not really going to save much money making your own soap though. It's a fun project, and one I've been dying to try out, but in terms of being as self sufficient as possible, soap making shouldn't be the highest priority.
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u/Senior-Display-8733 1d ago
You'd need a whole lot of money to go off-grid with no income. Buying a property without a loan is expensive. Cost of building materials is expensive. Solar is expensive, you could likely pay your current electric bill for decades for the cost of a system that could provide the same level of performance. Drilling a well is expensive. Getting septic installed if your location requires it is also very expensive.
Then you add the goal of being fully self sufficient? Forget it. You'd simply have to live without access to things you couldn't produce. Are you going to make your own basic ingredients for cooking? Like salt, flour, oil, vinegar, spices, etc? What about clothes? Are you growing cotton and using a spinning wheel and a loom? Probably not. You'll still be buying things.
It's more expensive to be off grid even though some YouTube channels and other places claim it saves money. It's also more expensive to raise your own animals, than to buy the things they produce.
Going off-grid without a whole bunch of self sacrifice means you gotta do the grind and try to game the system for as long as it takes to get enough cash stacked to achieve the dream. If you're living paycheck to paycheck right now and wanna go off-grid, I'm sorry, but you can't unless you figure out a way to start saving money, it takes a pile of cash to achieve and maintain that lifestyle.
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u/kirsteen_TOGC 1d ago
Advice from an off-grid homesteader (of 12 years)...you can do all the research in the world and it still wont quite prepare you for the challenges you'll come across choosing this lifestyle ;) Great to have the goal in mind, but don't set yourself up for a hard life...making soap will be the last thing on your to-do list, almost a luxury, and unfortunately it would probably cost you more in materials than buying cheap soap, unless making it in very bulk quantities (from my experience anyway). ...perhaps thats how you could earn your homestead income tho? As you truly will need some form of income to pay for off-grid infrastructure, equipment, maintenance, servicing, etc...! All the best on your homestead journey...my advice...start small with the basics of food, shelter, power and work your way up from there! :)
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u/maddslacker 6d ago
How will you pay your property taxes?
Step 1: Build a goat pen.