Going Off-Grid: Where to Start

Off-grid is a spectrum

You don't have to sell your house and move to the woods. "Off-grid" ranges from:

Resilient on-grid: a normal home that can run for two weeks without the grid (backup power, water, heat, food). Most people should start — and many stop — here.
Grid-tied with backup: solar panels with batteries that keep running in an outage, plus a wood stove and a well with a backup pump.
Mostly off-grid: a rural homestead that makes most of its own power, heat, water and some food, but keeps a grid connection or propane delivery.
Fully off-grid: no utility connections at all. Total self-reliance — and total responsibility.

The further down the list, the more money, land, skill and daily work it takes. Each step also makes you far tougher in an emergency.

Every off-grid home — or emergency-ready home — has to solve the same five problems. Each one links to its own page.

System	Simple version	Full off-grid version
Water	stored water + filter	well with solar/hand pump, rain catchment, cistern — Water systems
Power	power station + small solar panel	solar array, battery bank, inverter, backup generator — Solar & batteries
Heat	warm room + sleeping bags	wood stove with a year's firewood — Wood heat
Food	2-week pantry	garden, preserved harvest, small livestock, deep pantry — Growing food, Preserving, Livestock
Waste	bucket toilet	septic system or composting toilet, compost — Waste & compost

If you're planning a real off-grid move, check these first. They make or break a property.

Water: Is there a well? How deep, and how many gallons per minute? If not, what do local well logs show? (Washington's Department of Ecology has a searchable well report database.)
Water rights and rules: rainwater, springs and surface water all have state rules.
Septic: will the soil pass a perc test? Composting toilets are legal in many counties but often still need a septic system for gray water.
Sun: south-facing open ground for solar and a garden. Steep north slopes and tall trees can mean months of shade.
Access: year-round road? Who plows it? How far to a hospital, fire station and school?
Wildfire risk: fire history, defensible space, insurance availability.
Building codes and zoning: many counties require permits for cabins, solar, wells and septic — even off-grid. Check before you build.
Internet and phone: cell coverage and satellite options (like Starlink) matter for work and emergencies.

Year 1: build a 2-week home kit, a two-bucket toilet kit, and a power station. Learn to cook on a camp stove and can a few jars of food.
Year 2: add a wood stove (installed to code), a generator with an interlock, a garden, and a few weeks of deep pantry.
Year 3+: solar with batteries, rain catchment, a hand pump on the well, chickens, food preservation as a habit.

Each step is useful on its own, so you're better prepared the whole way.

Gear breaks, runs out or gets left behind. Skills come with you. The most valuable ones for off-grid life:

Sources: Energy Saver (DOE) — off-grid and stand-alone systems · WSU Extension · Ecology — Water wells