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Hi. I had originally posted this on the Frugal board, then the Rural/small town board and it was recommended I bring it over here, So what do you all think?
" Heres a kicker. I have paid off my land. Its out in the sticks in rural a paradise of Oregon. In Oregon, people get to vote on raising their property tax or not. This county has the second lowest property tax in the state. The county gov. is going broke. So what?
I live in a portable storage building I paid cash for and tricked out the inside like a darling little house. But this is illegal. So I have put up shutters lined with hay that close from the inside. It looks like that building is a storehouse full of hay, an agricultural building. Also, to tweakers and burglars it looks like a low value target. No rent, no mortgage, and minimal property tax, hehehe I am happy as a clam. "
" A couple of more frugal things I forgot to tell about. I don't have water or electricity or sewer bills. I have a seep spring that I pipe the water to a tank, then pump it up by battery power to a 300 gallon tank further up the hill. When it is full I add the right amount of household bleach and let it sit 24 hours. Then open the tap and this supplies clean sanitized pressurized water to my house. I use candles, lanterns, cook and heat bath water with a duel fuel camp stove. I food cool by keeping it in a spring box. Thats a box lowered down in the spring water. I have an outhouse that disguised as a chicken house. I use the library in town for the internet. I have a cellphone plan, you put in $25 worth of minutes at a time, no contract. "
There were some snide comments about cheating cheating on taxes and such, so I added:
" I have a pet milk cow, a horse to ride and 8 chickens. There is no pasture in this country and all their feed and hay has to be brought in and thats expensive. The forest shade is not a good gardening spot but I am clearing an area with sun for the garden. I am no free loader. People in this state call that 'being on the dole'. Although I would qualify for food stamps and medicare I have too much pride. I believe in self sufficiency. It is wrong to leech off people. The wifi is free at the laudrymat in town and other places. I pay my property tax bill every year and that supports the library. I could not afford the tax on a big house that is why I live in a 'feed shed'. People around here fix the pot holes in front of their land themselves, have done so for years. Most people do not care if the county government goes broke. They keep refusing to raise their own taxes. Oh, I know not to tell anyone about my stealth house. People out in the country and small towns have nothing much to talk about except gossip. They know each other's underwear size. My official address is the house of the man I bought my land from because we are now friends. The real secret is the treehouse I have for a summer house. Its on stilts up at the highest elevation hidden in the forest of my mountain. Not built to code!
Welcome to the Self Sufficency/Preparedness boards
Actually many posters here have very little regard for government, (except for a couple, including one you have already met ).
Your set up sounds interesting, but I would like to know more about the treehouse. You noted it was on stilts, so did you integrate a tree into it or is it a stand-alone structure similar to a hunting blind?
You also don't note if you are in the eastern or western part of Oregon for your garden. I visited the area around Antelope, Oregon, and those are some pretty harsh places to raise more than cactus, with very little water, but you said you had trees, so are you east or west of the divide?
SW Oregon, (shhhhhhhh) It is two story, 10'x10' each floor with roofed over porches, ten feet+ off the ground so bears cannot get in. This is an area that gets 100 mph wind storms. I would not attach a structure to a living tree, but I love being up IN the trees. I had to drag every bit of building material up there. The path up to it is disguised.
Last edited by leftwinghillbilly; 07-02-2014 at 05:37 PM..
I am up on 33 acres in northern Maine (= very remote). Around here, there is very little need for such secrecy. Most folks do not have very much money, and have 'alternative' types of housing. I know families living in what were actual barns a century ago; one lives in a renovated turkey coop. He says it's renovated; I don't argue with him, but I don't see any renovations. The roads hereabouts are lined with old mobile homes. We just moved here from Rhode Island, where I retired after running a business for most of my life. We built a small ranch house ourselves. Folks think we're rich.
I don't see why anyone would call you a "leech". You're not collecting welfare, are you? The ones who do are living much better than you are! They want all the amenities. If your land is owned free and clear (as ours is), if you own the structure you live in (as we do), if your taxes are paid (as ours are), then who has the right to call you a leech? You have paid your own dues to the beast.
We have 1700 watts of solar power, with 8 deep-cycle batteries and a 3,000 watt inverter. We collect rainwater. We have a fully applianced kitchen (what the missus wanted) and a flush toilet, but an outhouse as well, where I spend some quiet time. We heat with wood, and a back-up propane stove. We have a garden, and raise chickens, geese, and turkeys. Perhaps a hog next year.
Tax evasion is a crime, but tax avoidance is considered the smart thing to do. I would put you in the 'smart' category. Most folks are not aware of how the bankers, insurance companies, and municipal code enforcement have conspired to bilk the American public out of the greater percentage of their earnings. I have known this for many years, and have decided to kick them all out of my life. Looks like you have too, and I can't fault any man for doing that. Read Thoreau's "Walden Pond".
Oh no, I am not on welfare of any kind, although I would probably qualify. I do not want be a to leech and be 'on the dole' and can take care of myself just fine. No one called me a leech The thing is, in this state there are laws against making an agricultural building into a house, or living in a barn, or having an outhouse unless you have a 'dry camp'. You do not even own the water on your land, there are water rights and the state owns all the water. The way I get around this is my livestock. You can divert a stream to water livestock as long as any unused is put back. I am stretching the land use and code laws here to avoid higher propery taxes which I cannot afford. Ah yes, Thoreau's Nine bean rows I shall have there in the bee loud glade. I have loved that book ever since a child.
I would like to learn more about deep cycle batteries and inverters. I figure I could charge them up by driving my truck and then have low wattage electricity up at my tree house when I haul the batteries up there.
I would like to learn more about deep cycle batteries and inverters. I figure I could charge them up by driving my truck and then have low wattage electricity up at my tree house when I haul the batteries up there.
Deep cycle batteries have thicker plates in them than regular automotive batteries. This makes them quite heavy. The least expensive are flooded lead-acid batteries; the gel types or AGM - absorbed glass mat - are a lot more expensive and will not last longer. So just go with 12V flooded deep-cycle batteries, for less than $60 per. What makes a battery last longest is not discharging it down to less than half it's capacity. Do that too many times, and your batteries will fail to hold a full charge, and need replacement.
Batteries are best at producing 12V power. Check out websites for marine and RV appliances - water pumps, lights, small coolers; you can even install a car radio/CD system for entertainment. Don't forget that campers use propane refrigerators. If you have, or can get, 20 or 30 lb propane canisters filled in your area, you can easily run a propane fridge. Rather than buy a new one (pricey), try to get an old camper free for the hauling, or for very little. Its condition does not matter; such campers can be a treasure trove of kitchen and bathroom stuff (not to mention furnishings) that are worth many times over the value of the old camper.
I'd say that setting up a 12V system is the best step for your situation. Probably begin with a bank of 4 batteries. You'll need a charge controller (cheap) and a way to charge them. Using your truck to do it would work, but is not efficient (you'll burn too much gas). A small generator of 750 to 1,000 watts, will do it for you, rain or shine, for much less gas. Later, you can get solar panels, which have come down in price.
The inverter is only for those things that run on AC power. You may not need that at all. If you want one, start out with a 400 watt model. As an example, 400 watts would power 4 lamps with 100-watt bulbs in them. But that's not the best use for it. Do not be in a hurry to get into Ac power, which is all an inverter is for.
Wow. Thanks. Thats a lot to think about with this off grid business. My land is on the north side of a mountain and forested. So it is not much of a solar panel spot. I do have a little generator but I hate the noise. All I really miss out here is a music system. Dragging those heavy batteries up 600' in elevation sounds like a job but its good exercise. How much do these deep cycle batteries weigh? Maybe my horse can carry a couple.
Wow. Thanks. Thats a lot to think about with this off grid business. My land is on the north side of a mountain and forested. So it is not much of a solar panel spot. I do have a little generator but I hate the noise. All I really miss out here is a music system. Dragging those heavy batteries up 600' in elevation sounds like a job but its good exercise. How much do these deep cycle batteries weigh? Maybe my horse can carry a couple.
You may also consider wind power as you noted you can get some good breezes, you could put a small turbine on the roof of your treehouse to get a more steady windstream, or if you have enough flow in the stream, a waterwheel generator as those don't require any dam or major building installation.
You don't have to haul the batteries up in your treehouse, that's what wires are for.
If your roof of your treehouse is above the line of the hill or mountain for a southern exposure, you could probably still get some power from solar, or you could have 2 sets of cells, one facing east, one facing west to pick up some power for you, or you could have the cells out in a more exposed area away from the trees and mountain shadow.
There are usually options available, you just have to look at what resources you have and then fit your requirements to what is available to use.
Heck, if you don't like noise, use steam to turn your generator! Those are pretty quiet
The only problem I see is that you live in the wrong state and are having to hide from others or stretch laws. Oregon has some nice features so I can understand your wanting to be there.
The only problem I see is that you live in the wrong state and are having to hide from others or stretch laws. Oregon has some nice features so I can understand your wanting to be there.
BINGO ! ...............( on the first sentence )
Reminds me of a house buyer who hates rules buying in an HOA.
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