Almost Off Grid Blog - Brew, Make, Forage, Grow.

  • Beginner's Guide to Solar, Storage and Saving Energy - Where to Start?

    by Almost Off Grid
    I have talked before about retrofitting solar technology in our 100 years+ old property, which has been ongoing for 10 years. Suddenly it's Autumn ...
    Posted in Shop Life

  • Solar Panels, Battery Storage and a Heat Pump together

    by Almost Off Grid

    When is the best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago. When is the second best time to plant a tree? Now. This logic applies perfectly to installing solar technology in your property. There has never been, nor will there ever be, a better time than now to get started with solar technology in your home, your business or both. Here's some of the background on our set up, and how solar panels, heat pump and battery storage together are helping us to reduce our costs and our carbon footprint.

    Posted in Shop Life

  • Monitoring Outdoor Air Quality with a Sensor

    by Almost Off Grid
    We have started monitoring outdoor air quality by installing a sensor on our Horam shop. We were approached to do this by local community action gr...
    Posted in Shop Life

  • Storing Root Vegetables from Christmas until Spring

    by Almost Off Grid
    Last Christmas we started an experiment, storing root vegetables from Christmas until Spring to avoid waste. We're now in March and are still eatin...
    Posted in Shop Life

  • Ways to save water at home - order your free water saving devices

    by Almost Off Grid
    Did you know that households across much of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can order a range of free insulation and water-saving gadgets from their water company free of charge, to save water at home? While the goodies are funded by the water companies, the water efficiency company Save Water Save Money manages the distribution of them.
    Posted in Shop Life

  • Solar Panels, Electric Cars and Heat Pumps... achieving Net Zero before 2030

    by Almost Off Grid
    Tackling climate change is now top of the agenda for many countries, companies and people around the world, and we are one of them. If you follow us on Instagram, you'll know that we signed our shop up to the SME Climate Commitment this year. As our shop is on the front of our family home, the actions we take at home affect our business and vice versa. So, in effect, we are committing our Business and Home to achieving Net Zero before 2030.
    Posted in Shop Life, Small Independent Retailing

  • Create a Beautiful Bio Link for Instagram

    by Almost Off Grid
    We love Instagram. It's a great way to share links to our shop and our blog posts. I go through phases of blogging... a lot. With lots of links, my Linktree was getting long and looked a bit (dare I say) boring. So I set about finding a way to create a beautiful bio link for Instagram.
    Posted in Shop Life, Small Independent Retailing

  • IKEA Live LAGOM Programme - our first step!

    by Almost Off Grid
    The IKEA Live LAGOM Programme runs every year, and we were lucky enough to be invited to participate in the 2021/2022 programme. Live LAGOM explore...
    Posted in Shop Life

  • Introducing... the Almost Off Grid App for your phone

    by Almost Off Grid
    We're always looking for ways to make it easier to shop with us, particularly in the midst of a global pandemic. So from today, when you visit our ...
    Posted in Shop Life

  • The most expensive Paella Pan in Europe. [Happy Easter.]

    by Almost Off Grid
    Once upon a time, we ran a childrenswear business. It was called Little Sunflowers. We ran it for 14 years, from 2004 until 2018. Many of our cust...
    Posted in Shop Life

  • Why I now own this Singer Treadle Sewing Machine

    by Almost Off Grid
    A couple of weeks ago a listing on Ebay caught my eye. It was for a Singer Treadle Sewing Machine. With a trend towards all things retro, Singer Tr...
    Posted in Making, Shop Life

  • Chickens for Beginners - for the love of eggs

    by Almost Off Grid
    Chickens for Beginners. This year we started to keep chickens. To anyone thinking about it: I highly recommend them! Who knew you could love a chicken?
    Posted in Shop Life