I quit Amazon.
And other ways I’m doing ‘off grid’ my way.
I’m not sure if we ever talked about it, but I’ve long carried a dream – a very romanticised dream, perhaps – of one day living off-grid.
It’s not so much the solar panel/rain water collection/paying little for utilities that appeals; to me, that feels more like a bonus of the lifestyle. It’s the sense of achievement that would come from being self-sufficient, and the sense of freedom I’d feel in detaching from organisations that control large chunks of our existence. It’s how I’d feel more grounded by the seasons; living closer to nature – even on the days when I didn’t feel like it –and having that as an integral part of my day-to-day.
I’ve been thinking about it all a lot more lately. I’ve noticed it when I’ve joked to my friends about running away to live in the woods. Or when I open up the Rightmove app, hoping that a piece of land we could actually, legally, live on, has become available. I’m sure that’s partly due to the state of the world; the pull to hunker down until the ‘storm passes’ is strong. I know I’m not alone in feeling this way – I’ve had many conversations that end: “will it actually make a difference, though?” with acknowledgement that self-preservation makes us want to hide. We’re the lucky ones.
So why have my thoughts about the state of the world and this off-grid dream been dancing with each other so much? Contrary to my initial conclusions, it’s not about burying my head in the sand, but I think it might be a quiet kind of activism? (Does that even exist? OK, I’ve just Googled it, and it does! Actually, it sounds very me! I’m delighted at this discovery, because I’ve never thought of myself as an activist and admittedly have carried a small amount of guilt and shame about it.)
It comes back to the freedom I mentioned earlier: being able to detach myself from companies and organisations that control large parts of my existence, doing so because their practices and values (if you can call them that) are, at best, disagreeable, and knowing that that will have a ripple effect.
Call it a penny-drop, but I’ve realised I don’t need to wait for my life to look any sort of way to start doing the things that would typically fall under that umbrella (yes, my brain likes to group and categorise). I don’t need to actually be living off-grid to start living off-grid!
We operate within many grids, providing many opportunities to ‘opt-out’ and choose alternatives. We get to decide where we divert and invest our time, energy, money and attention. We get to choose companies, organisations and ways of being that allow us to ‘do our bit’, and that, I believe, really do help make the world a better place. I also know that much of that choice can be dictated by privilege, and I don’t have an answer for that…yet.
I realised there are already many ways I (and we as a family) live ‘off-grid’. I thought I’d share them with you, in a bit of a quick and dirty list,, and maybe you can share yours in the comments, too.
As a prefix to them all, what I’ve listed below is about diverting our money from the pockets of billionaires who spend it in shit and disgusting and frivolous and egotistical ways, and into those of the people who actually care about people and the planet. It’s about regaining some autonomy over our brains and the choices we make, and trying to remove ourselves from what feels like a carefully engineered cycle that ultimately only benefits the billionaire clique.
Quit: buying new clothes. Replaced with: shopping second-hand and making my own from pre-owned fabrics. Gained: fun, rekindling my love with charity shops and an addiction to Vinted.
Quit: Amazon. Replaced with: anything but. It’s new and a pain in the arse and often more costly, but I’m persevering. Second-hand or going without seems to be the way forward.
Quit: Instagram (4-years strong!) Replaced with: honestly? YouTube and Substack (but not in the same addicted way) and just not scrolling. Gained: more time, memory, and soooo much else.
Quit: the news. Replaced with: I’ve never subscribed to it (contriversial), so nothing. Gained: less anxiety and doom and numbing and distraction, and I still have a broad understanding of what’s going on. I might do a post on the news another day because it’s a whole topic.
Quit: new tech. Replaced with: refurbished second-hand and not buying when not essential. Gained: not being on the tech hamster wheel and a low-tech home.
Quit: the ‘bigger is better’ house treadmill. Replaced with: living small. Gained: time, freedom, less stuff, calm, lower bills & emissions. Again, this is a whole post.
Semi-quit: some supermarket purchases. Replaced with: we try to buy our fruit, veg and meat from smaller scale operations who value regenerative farming, seasonality, organic farming, fair-wage farming, etc. Gained: feeding ourselves with food we feel good about.
That’s the stuff I can think about right now, but maybe there’s more?
Let’s swap tips and tricks and loudly celebrate the subtle, everyday things that can make a difference. And, I’m saying this more for me than anyone else: let’s not find ourselves in a state of comparison, feeling like what we’re doing isn’t enough. I know there’s space for me to do more, and if you’ve read this far, I’m guessing you feel that way, too! So let this be about celebrating and shouting about what we are doing, being inspired by each other, and trusting the path that we’re on!
See you in the comments!
Alana x