Why would anyone want to live off the grid? Not the way we did in the 1970s, perhaps. We lived a bare-bones, back-to-the-land, kerosene lanterns, wood heat, outhouse, cabin-in-the-woods existence, with children--talk about chopping wood and carrying water! This is a candid story of what Dale and I did at that time with references for your continued research toward the many available options we now have. Today, thanks to the wonderful leaders who keep developing and improving better ways to build, you can create a home in a sustainable, responsible way with both the efficiency and comforts you desire. The use of earth, recyclable materials, the ability to have an inside garden, and alternative energy choices may allow you to be independent and obtain financial freedom. In this book, I have quoted some of the various people responsible for the many alternative ways to build your own home. Websites and references lead you to discover some of the organizations committed to the health of our Mother Earth, our use of water, and the importance of preventing the use of chemicals in what we eat. We have a lot to do to clean up our lands and our oceans. We should be leading the way in the world toward changing over to clean energy. Our health and education rankings are focused on as well. Can we improve our quality of life toward living healthier and educate our children to become more conscious of our planet? Can we end the cycle of over-consuming our precious resources and create a smaller carbon footprint? Heck, ya! America is the 'can do' country and we must use the freedom we have to make our home, community, schools, towns and states better than when we found them.