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Couple’s 3 Years Living Fully Off-Grid in a Tiny House


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Pat & Mel built this tiny house in Ontario, Canada as a way to stop paying rent, and to start living a simple, minimalist lifestyle.

They lived in it completely off the grid for 3 years while it was parked on a friend’s land, but they recently decided to sell the tiny home and buy a house because it was cheaper than buying vacant land (a down payment on a piece of land in Ontario is often 35%, while the cost of a down payment on a home is often as low as 5%).

While they were living in the house, they were completely off the grid. They used a wood stove for heat, solar panels for electricity, propane for hot water and cooking, and they collected rainwater for all of their water needs. They used a composting toilet (Nature’s Head) since they didn’t have access to a septic system.

Couple’s Off-Grid Tiny House Lifestyle

Couple living 3 years off-grid in a tiny house – Exploring Alternatives 1

Image © Exploring Alternatives

Couple living 3 years off-grid in a tiny house – Exploring Alternatives 2

Image © Exploring Alternatives

Couple living 3 years off-grid in a tiny house – Exploring Alternatives 3

Image © Exploring Alternatives

This is the first tiny house setup we’ve seen that uses 100% rainwater collection for all their water needs. Check out the video below to see how they collected and stored their rainwater for year-round use.

VIDEO: 3 Years Living Fully Off-Grid in a Tiny House

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Danielle is a digital nomad who is passionate about tiny spaces, living with less, reducing waste and eating plant-based food. Danielle is half of the Exploring Alternatives blog & video project. You can find more of her at www.ExploringAlternatives.ca and her Exploring Alternatives YouTube Channel.
{ 4 comments… add one }
  • Marsha Cowan
    May 10, 2018, 3:12 pm

    Pretty amazing! The house is gorgeous, but the ingenuity is pretty cool, too! I live in AZ, so don’t think it would work here, but most places in the country, that set up would be ideal. Great job! Beautiful house!

    • Toni
      May 10, 2018, 11:14 pm

      Why not? There are quite a few of us off grid in northern AZ. We just get totes and trailers for water. It’s not for everybody but we enjoy it.

      • James D.
        May 11, 2018, 3:39 pm

        There are limitations for which counties will allow Tiny Houses in AZ but there are exceptions…

        Check out youtube channel Handeeman (DIY Homestead Projects, previously known as Life In A Box)… Tiny House homestead in AZ, they use rain catchment and solar…

        Not everyone can have as good a setup as they have but it shows what’s possible…

  • cheri roshon
    May 12, 2018, 4:01 pm

    I hear that they want to sell it, but I don’t see a price anywhere. Help?

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