Lessons I've Learnt From Surviving My First Off-The-Grid Winter

Spring is here...

Ok it probably wasn’t this bad…

Hi lovely reader 👋

First of all, if you're new here, my name is Sophie. I’m on a journey to slow down, reconnect with nature, and live more intentionally. After moving off-grid, I’m sharing lessons on rewilding, simplicity, and finding balance in a busy world, without any of the fluff.

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Being in the Southern hemisphere, now that we’re nearing the end of October, winter is well and truly over. Spring is here. This means that we have officially survived our very first off-the-grid winter. I thought it timely to share some of the lessons we’ve learnt with all of you.

1. Get enough firewood, and then get more

Winter is cold and let’s just say, I don’t do cold very well. I can’t even really complain that much because New Zealand winters aren’t exactly like living in the Arctic. However, there were a couple of chilly nights. Unfortunately, those chilly nights lined up perfectly with the time our diesel heater, which was supposed to warm up our bedroom, broke down. Waking up to a crisp 6°C bedroom, while it is character-building, is not my idea of fun.

We had some firewood, but not nearly enough to sustain us through the winter. We had started our wood-collecting journey quite late in the piece, despite warnings from our neighbour. This meant that we didn’t have enough, but also the wood wasn’t fully dry yet. We were lucky to find a couple dead trees in the forest surrounding us - these were already dry and ready for burning. Thanks Nature for looking out for us.

We’ve already started collecting for next winter, and already have more wood than what we started previous winter with. It’s an important lesson learned.

2. Being prepared is key

That brings me to the second lesson we’ve learned: preparedness is everything.

Gone are the days that we could just arrive home and everything would turn on with the flick of a button. Our lives are so vastly different now and require much more planning.

Every day is filled with planning and anticipation: is there enough firewood? Is there enough sun for our solar system? Do we have enough electricity in the batteries to do our laundry? Will it rain or can we dry our laundry outside?

Everything we once took for granted now requires careful thought and preparation. It really makes you reflect on just how fragile our reliance on modern day conveniences can be. There have been a few power outages in the area over the past couple of months. Just seeing how much this impacts people and their ability to go about their normal days has really made us appreciate that we have our own systems.

The more you anticipate, the easier life off the grid becomes. And honestly, once you get used to it, there’s comfort in knowing you’ve prepared for the worst.

3. Nature dictates your schedule

Being prepared is one thing, but it’s also important to understand the rhythms of nature and adjust accordingly.

For example, before embarking on this winter, we certainly didn’t fully appreciate how little sunlight we’d get during the shortest days. Our solar panels barely caught enough to power the basics, which meant conserving energy became a daily challenge. It wasn’t just about turning off a few lights—suddenly, it was about adjusting how we lived.

We learnt to make good use of daylight hours for everything that required power and then embraced the darkness once the sun went down. Laundry became a struggle, and there were days we could only do it when the generator was running. Enjoying a piece of toast for breakfast has become a thing of the past - or a thing to enjoy when the generator was on.

Halfway through winter, we realised our system just wasn’t enough. This was around the same time we realised we didn’t even have enough power to run the diesel heater. We purchased some extra batteries to store energy and added more solar panels. That was definitely the turning point when winter became manageable again.

We got used to living life according to nature’s rhythm. Winter was all about taking it slow, going to bed early and enjoying the sun when it did decide to come out.

4. Self-reliance is empowering

When you have set up your entire system yourself, it becomes very difficult to call a repair service when something breaks. Our setup is so complicated that only one person in the world can fix it: my husband.

He has had ample opportunities in the past months to show off his skills, as nearly every element of our house that could break, did break.

It’s empowering, confidence-building and character-building. It’s also utterly exhausting.

There was one week, yes, the same one when the diesel heater had broken down, where so many things broke that I lost faith for just a split second. We had no heating, the solar panels were playing up, the firewood was damp, the water pump had started leaking and then the gas water heater started malfunctioning. It was one thing after another. Surprise cold showers were not my favourite way to start the morning.

But when it was all fixed, it felt incredible. That’s when we really started believing that we could do this whole off-grid thing. Maybe we were cut out for this, and maybe we were stronger than we thought.

I’ve always wanted to skip winter. It was always my least favourite season. I disliked the shorter days and couldn’t wait for it to be over. But now I learnt, winter isn't anything to be afraid of or to want to rush through. It brings its own beauty and adapting to it has shown us a whole new way of life — one that’s slower, more in line with nature, more intentional and most of all, full of possibilities.

That being said, I'm glad it's over. I'm glad spring is here and the days are getting longer again. The birds are getting their nests ready, and it’s like our long-lost friends have come home. There's life all around us and I can't wait to see what this new season will bring.

My attempt at some photography…

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One thing that inspired me this week:

I came across this quote and realised how true it is: every time I’m in a hurry or I’m focused on getting things done and being overly productive, it almost never works out. Whenever I slow down, I actually get more done.

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This is what you can expect from me every week! A long-form article related to a reflection or life lesson on personal growth and one thing that inspired me this week. If you liked this, don’t keep it to yourself; share it with your friends:

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