If you’re ever thought of going off-grid, you may have a romantic vision in your head of the untouched wilderness, far away from the troubles of modern society. But not everyone who dreams of living off the grid is actually cut out for it.
It requires grit, determination and constant manual labour to keep an off-grid property functioning.
Still, there is something romantic about it, despite the work it entails (or maybe even because of it). And if you ask Tammy Trayer — a woman who’s been walking the off-grid walk for over a decade — the pros far outweigh any potential cons.
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Tammy, her husband Glen and their son Austin bought a plot of raw land in North Idaho 13 years ago, sight unseen. They started off in a canvas tent and built an off-grid homestead from the ground up with their own hands.
Then, a number of years ago Tammy’s health began to decline due to Breast Implant Illness from saline implants she had put in after having lumps removed from her right breast years earlier.
She attributes much of her healing from this decline to the healthy, natural, low-tox, traditional lifestyle that she and her family have created for themselves off-grid.
Tammy’s son Austin is also high functioning autistic, and she also attributes their off-grid lifestyle and environment to helping him thrive.
Tammy explains on her website, “our lifestyle has provided Austin with a chance to live life to the fullest without the stresses of the modern day. With this opportunity came great accomplishments and provided him with the ability to overcome 98% of his autistic tendencies.”
Tammy’s healthy, natural living journey has continued to evolve over the years, and today she is a trained breathwork practitioner and guides people to help heal themselves physically, mentally and emotionally through her online live breathwork sessions.
You can learn more about breathwork and what Tammy has to offer at breathetohealing.com.
Today, Tammy and her family still live off-grid and she says she wouldn’t trade it for anything.
While this rugged lifestyle certainly isn’t for everyone, if you’ve ever considered going off-grid, Tammy had some great tips and insights to share in this interview that can help you get started, or decide if it’s right for you.
The following is an interview Homestead Living Editor-in-Chief Anna Sakawsky conducted with Tammy Traynor:
TAMMY: [My husband and I] both grew up traditionally on farms, canning, hunting, all that stuff … but we had both ventured out into the world.
I’d programmed in the city for 10 years and he was a professional bull rider for 11 years. But our roots kept calling us back.
So, it’s a funny story — I kind of started stalking him after we met, then he left for a guiding trip to Wyoming. After he left, he shared with me that he wasn’t sure if he was going to come back.
So I took the biggest road trip of my life, from Pennsylvania to the middle of Wyoming!
I didn’t even know exactly where I was going, I just knew what town he was in, and I found him. So, that was the end of that, I roped him in!
At the time, that was my first trip out West, but once I saw it, I knew I wanted to be there. A year later we got married, packed up everything
ANNA: Tell me a bit about your origin story. How did you get started homesteading, and what has that journey looked like for you so far? What drove you to want to live a more self-reliant lifestyle?
TAMMY: It’s been pretty interesting. I was living on a 150-acre farm in Pennsylvania when I met my husband, but I was determined to grow old by myself living in the woods.
When I met him, our desires totally matched. Even back then, between 2007 and 2010, we felt the heaviness of the world.
We headed 2,500 miles north to a property in North Idaho that we purchased sight unseen. We set up a canvas wall tent, and that’s where we lived for 8.5 months while we built our house.
It was the most amazing time of my life, very freeing, very adventurous, and it was a lot of gruelling work.
When we first got there, it rained a straight torrential downpour for a month. It was probably the hardest that either of us has ever worked, but it was just so amazing.
Probably the first seven years was spent just building structures and getting things in place, because it was completely overgrown, raw land.
We had to clear a space to build our home, and then we put in chicken coops and a goat barn, and a 36 × 36 garden that we fenced in. We got bees and meat rabbits, and it was just a wild ride!
I wasn’t practicing what I preach now, which is to take it in bite-sized pieces and not overwhelm yourself by taking on too much. We just dove in and kept going.
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I think if I brought people here, they’d question me when I call it ‘simple living,’ because it’s a lot of constant work. But it’s what I like to do.
My husband is a real MacGyver. He built our sawmill, and everything other than the house was built from lumber we milled ourselves from trees on the property. It was very traditional living.
I’ve been criticized a lot because we’ve been off-grid the whole time, with solar power, but because I’m still attached to the internet, I’m not really living “traditionally” or “off-grid” in a lot of people’s eyes.
But we don’t have any attachment to the real world out here, other than going to get fuel and some food. We aren’t on water, or sewer, or power. We’re just out in the wilderness, muddling through. It’s pretty amazing.
Out here where we are, there are a lot of people living in some pretty interesting ways.
Our first homestead had a full-blown, 4,800 watt solar system. On a sunny day, I could be running a load of washing while vacuuming, and my husband could be welding outside, and we’d have more than enough power.
He makes furniture and has a lot of power tools, in addition to the traditional tools we have. It was a $21,000 system, but within five years we had that paid off; It cost about as much as five years worth of electric bills would have.
ANNA: Yeah, but you own it in the end.
TAMMY: Right. We had to move to a new homestead because of my health, but when we sold that first one, we had gone without power from the sun for only three days that entire time. Three days in ten years.
We’d go to the closest town, which was 20 minutes away, and sometimes they’d be telling us they’d been without power for seven days!
ANNA: So what do you guys do for water? Do you have a well?
TAMMY: At the first homestead, we had a well, which was a tremendous blessing.
Out here, the wells are very deep — like 300+ feet deep — and some places have had to dig wells three different times before they actually hit water.
There’s also a lot of iron in the water. I did some heavy-duty praying, and we ended up with a 175 foot well, and the pump is at 150 feet. It’s crystal-clear water, so we were very blessed.
Here on this property, we have a lot of water, but we don’t have a well yet. We started efforts to put a pump in ourselves, but we ran into rock.
We’ve got some things we need to try this spring, but for now, we’ve been getting it from a friend in our area here, so we haul it, which is challenging.
When we first started out in our tent, we had to haul water.
After that first month of rain, we had to use a sled and come-alongs to pull water, because the truck would have gotten stuck. My husband built this huge catapult so we could gravity feed water into the tanks. It was really funny, but it was a task.
Now, it’s still a task, especially because of our weather. I never know if I’m going to have a foot of snow or three feet of snow, so going to get the water can be challenging.
We gravity-feed here, too. I have a 40-gallon barrel on the second storey, and my husband reworked a frost-free that you’d use outside to pump water out, but it’s forcing water in.
So we attached a sump pump in a 55-gallon drum, and we pump the water into the house so that we can then gravity-feed it into the sink.
ANNA: And he just set that all up himself?! My husband is like that, too … he can build anything, and he’s a mechanic so he can figure out anything mechanical.
I always tell him that he’s my greatest asset! I need to make sure he’s in good health and able-bodied because so much of my self-reliance actually relies on him!
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There are many levels of off-grid living … you have to decide how you want to embrace it and how much you want to detach.
You mentioned earlier that some people have given you a hard time because they say you’re not “off-grid enough.”
People can be very dogmatic about living off-grid, and homesteading in general. I’ve heard of other people being told they’re not really a homesteader because they don’t have any large livestock, even though they have chickens and gardens and all sorts of things.
That’s why I love interviewing people from all walks of life.
Some people are urban homesteading in the city. We’re kind of half-and-half out here … we’re rural, but we have a small-ish property close to town. I’m almost hesitant to call myself a homesteader sometimes, too.
There are a lot of farmers out here, but our focus isn’t really selling to the public, it’s more about self-reliance for us. I certainly wouldn’t say that we have a farm, but I do sometimes hesitate to say that we’re homesteading.
But that is what we’re doing! It’s more of an approach to how you live life, not just checking all of these boxes to somebody’s standard.
TAMMY: That’s just it. We need to create what works for us, and brings us peace and happiness. I couldn’t live any other way, that’s for sure!
ANNA: I believe it was Justin Rhodes who said something along the lines of “you don’t work for your homestead, your homestead has to work for you.”
Just because I do things one way, doesn’t mean that you have to do it the exact same way.
So you’ve lived off-grid for 13 years now. What’s been your favourite part, and what are some parts that maybe aren’t so great?
TAMMY: You know, the world really affects me. That’s one thing that’s been a huge plus to my lifestyle.
After my surgery, when I told the doctor that I live off-grid, she said “you’re living in the most valuable place for your healing.”
I’m living so clean, I couldn’t have asked for a better place to heal.
Sometimes I feel like I need to be in a bubble, even here, as clean as we are. I want to be in my 60s and 80s looking like some hippy wearing my own leather moccasins and stuff!
ANNA: It’s funny, that’s the vision I have for myself, too. Some old biddy in the woods with my chickens and my cats, canning up my food and working in my garden!
I try really hard not to get into a pessimistic or negative state about the world, but I go out sometimes, and I’m like, that’s it! I’m just going to retreat and do things myself.
I think that’s the attitude that a lot of people have when they come to this lifestyle; they’re wanting to move away from the toxicity and the systems that we’re all stuck in.
On that note, I think more and more people are feeling that way lately because of the way the world is right now. There’s been a lot more interest in homesteading and off-grid living, because people want to be able to live life on their own terms.
But it’s not always as romantic as it might seem, and it’s definitely not as easy. “The Simple Life” doesn’t necessarily mean easy, as I’m sure you know.
TAMMY: I think if I brought people here, they’d question me when I call it “simple living,” because it’s a lot of constant work.
But it’s what I like to do. I grew up fishing, hunting and climbing trees. You should see my view! There’s nothing I miss in the real world. I love my lifestyle.
I went from a 4,800-watt solar system at my old homestead, to a 300-watt system out here. They charge two portable power units that have plugs and USB portals, and that’s how I keep my internet going on a regular basis.
My lights are LED AC/DC lights. Everything like the washing machine and my husband’s power tools require the generator right now.
Our bath house has a little 100-watt unit that charges the batteries for our little camp water heater and pump.
That’s how we live. So, every time we progress further into this lifestyle, we move closer towards living off the land. It’s gotten very minimal.
ANNA: There’s so much talk lately about “what if the grid goes down,” or “what if there’s an EMP” or whatever, and there’s a tiny piece of me that gets excited about that idea.
Obviously, the downside would be that my business and so much of our communications rely on the internet.
But the thought of not having that connection, even just for a couple of days, and really going back to traditional living … it would be nice to just take a break from all of it.
TAMMY: On occasion, our solar-powered cell tower goes down. And when it does, I’m just like, oh … I guess I can’t work. I’m going outside!
ANNA: Yeah, there’s always this pull that I “should” be showing up online, or I “should” be doing this or that on the computer.
But if you just can’t, then you can’t! It’s also nice to have these modern conveniences though.
So when it comes to off-grid living, obviously, not everybody is cut out for it.
What advice would you have, after 13 years, for anybody who is maybe thinking of trying it and has never lived that way before?
TAMMY: There are many levels of off-grid living.
You can be attached to the grid and have supplemental solar, wind, or hydro power.
You could go full-on with one of those, which can be really expensive if you don’t change the way you live and continue to be really wasteful with power.
You’ll have to spend more money to run the generator more often to recharge batteries.
Or, you could go way frugal like us, and burn candles and lanterns at night instead of using a light.
My suggestion to people is to begin cutting waste, with water, light, power, etc.
So often, people have every light in the house on, along with the TV and the radio, and nobody’s even listening to it or using them.
Cutting back for starters and learning to work with the sun, or the natural resources you have, is a huge thing.
I wash with the sun, and with good weather, because if it’s sunny, my clothes will dry.
I work with the sun, and by doing that, it saves me a lot of money. You have to decide how you want to embrace it and how much you want to detach.
I don’t have any power appliances in my house, aside from my washing machine. I have a hand- crank coffee grinder and percolator, I have a hand-crank blender … it’s traditional.
If you want to live the way that we do, and go as low-key and traditional as possible, go camping for a week, if not more, and go completely hardcore with no power or anything. The longer, the better.
ANNA: I think that’s so doable for people to start where they’re at. Like if you’re thinking about going off-grid, just try living that way a little bit right where you are, and be mindful about your resources.
We actually recently purchased a few oil lamps too. We also bought a Berkey water filter. I’ve just been trying to be a bit more prepared in case there ever is an emergency situation.
My 6-year-old daughter was actually excited about the prospect of turning off the TV and all the lights and just using the oil lamps for a day!
Even if you’re in the city, you can kind of “test yourself” and just try living without those conveniences for a day or longer.
And you do realize that, when you don’t have all those conveniences to rely on, you do use less. I would recommend the same — just try it before you dive in.
TAMMY: The other thing you could try is an off-grid AirBnB.
We’ve helped some people transition to off-grid, and some of them don’t realize things like that you shouldn’t run certain appliances when the sun is off the panels, like a heat lamp for example.
Some things pull so much power. You know, most people are using toaster ovens and coffee pots and all that stuff, so you really need to think about that.
ANNA: So you mentioned you had a health scare a few years ago, and that your doctor told you that you were in the perfect setting for healing. How did that affect living off-grid?
Was it harder for you to deal with while living off-grid? I know that’s something that a lot of people, especially older people, may worry about.
TAMMY: We also have a son who is high-functioning autistic, so when we got here, we had to make sure that everything he needed was accessible.
We looked into the schools and then ended up homeschooling him anyway. But the medical considerations were the other concern, and right now we’re about 45 minutes from the closest hospital.
My husband and I would both love to be 100 miles into the middle of Alaska, and we would be totally fine with being that far away from everything.
My son is struggling with that idea, because he says, what if you need a hospital? And I told him, if I’m supposed to die of something, I would rather die doing something that I’m passionate and happy about, versus worrying about how close the hospital is.
I would much rather be living the dream every day than worrying about that.
The best things in life are on the other side of our comfort zone. Our fears are what hold us back, and keep us vicariously watching others instead of doing it ourselves.
My husband and I are both embracers, and we don’t think twice about diving in and living our dreams. We bounce everything off of God first so we’re following Him, but we don’t hold back.
But you can do this anywhere. You don’t have to be 100 miles in, you can be on a single acre on the edge of town and be off-grid.
ANNA: So you’ve been running your blog, Trayer Wilderness, for a number of years now. You also have a YouTube channel, and a podcast; the Mountain Woman Radio Podcast.
Recently you started venturing into the world of breathwork too. For anybody who doesn’t know what that is, can you explain it?
What is breathwork, and what got you interested in it in the first place?
TAMMY: I was introduced to natural medicines when I was 14, and I was totally amazed because the medical system was failing me with a skin rash.
I went to a holistic doctor, was given herbs, and within three days, it was gone. That was an eye-opener for me, and I’ve been progressively diving in ever since.
Through my healing journey, I was pretty much self-diagnosing because the medical system was laughing at me.
My doctor took me through a cleanse and a natural healing process, and one of the things I was struggling with was my lymphatic system. Because of all the toxicity, it was terribly clogged.
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You can do this anywhere. You don’t have to be 100 miles in, you can be on a single acre on the edge of town and be off-grid.
I was divinely gifted a breathwork session, and through that, my lymphatic system opened within minutes, and I didn’t have any problems for a week or so after.
I was in awe that something as simple as my breath could do that. I know it sounds woo-woo, but our bodies are healing machines.
God designed us in such a way that we are able to heal ourselves so much. I ended up training in breathwork, and now I guide people through hour-long sessions of deep breathing.
The majority of people breathe shallowly and hold their breath 80% of the time. Many people are walking around in fight-or-flight mode, dealing with chronic pains and illnesses, and don’t know it, or know how to heal themselves and manage things.
Breath is an incredibly powerful tool to overcome anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic conditions, illnesses, auto-immune diseases, so much.
Since I started using it, my lymphatic system is open all the time. It’s very healing.
It’s great for high blood pressure, accessing more creativity, and removing brain fog. So my passion for this, both on the preparedness side of things and the wellness side of things, is to help people embrace their dreams, live their best lives, and ultimately, to heal.
It all kind of just morphed together.
As I step further into the wellness arena, I’m hoping to become an integrative holistic doctor. I’m really driven.
I feel it will help my family in any given situation, but also those around me. Being able to work with people all over the globe through the internet is so powerful.
Because I’m faith-led, I also offer prayer breath, which is breathing and prayer together. I have downloadable mp3s available for purchase on my website.
I also have just breathwork mp3s available as well, for helping people with anxiety, creativity, immune boosting, PTSD, all kinds of categories.
ANNA: It really is the ultimate form of natural, self-reliant healing, isn’t it? You’re not even relying on any herbs or anything.
You could be in any situation, and as long as you’re breathing, you have that modality available to you. It’s a way that we can calm ourselves down, especially in an emergency situation.
It’s the ultimate in self-reliance; something ancestral that we’ve always had.
TAMMY: Exactly. That’s why I’m so passionate about bringing this to people.
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The best things in life are on the other side of our comfort zone. Our fears are what hold us back, and keep us vicariously watching others instead of doing it ourselves.
You know, on the homestead, you might pinch a nerve while you’re hauling water, and you can actually lay flat somewhere and focus your breath towards that area to relax the muscles and take care of that situation.
It’s a tool that you can fall back on when everything else fails.
If you’re injured in a survival situation, and you’re waiting for people to find you, you can lay there and implement the breath to keep yourself in a good space.
You’re not going to freak out and put your body into shock, and you can actually start naturally healing the body. It’s such a powerful tool.
It’s also tremendously helpful for helping people with trauma.
We all walk around with trauma, whether we realize it or not. I had a rough childhood with physical and verbal abuse.
We can actually breathe that trauma out of our body! It’s a form of neuroplasticity where we can actually re-train our brain through our breath.
ANNA: These things that are so primal, but so underrated, such as breath and sleep, are some of the most important tools that we have that we just take for granted.
They don’t cost anything and we don’t even need any resources outside of ourselves. From there, we can layer things on like nutrition and herbal medicines.
I think there’s a place for western medicine, absolutely, but I always think that should be the last resort if possible.
TAMMY: We take things like our breath for granted, until we can’t breathe.
Sleep is the same. So many of us are scrolling our phones until 2:00 in the morning, and we’re neglecting our body and missing all of that rest. I go to bed early and wake up early, and I feel so refreshed by doing that.
When we first embarked on this lifestyle, we had people close to us shaming us and betting against us, they couldn’t understand why we wanted to live this way.
And one of the greatest things I’ve learned is to not give a rat’s behind what anybody else thinks, and to just live my life on my own terms.
Off-grid living is freedom, but the next level of freedom is not caring what other people think of me. I’m perfectly content in my own skin, even if I’m peculiar.
I love my life because I’m embracing it that way. When you finally get to that place, it’s so freeing. I don’t even have fear and worry anymore, I just enjoy my life.
And that’s how it’s supposed to be.
ANNA: It really is. That’s a perfect note to wrap up on. Thank you so much for sharing!
TAMMY: Thank you! I’m really feeling led and inspired to help people heal and live a healthy life.
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Get a better glimpse into Tammy’s off-grid life and connect with her online at Faith Led Living, on her YouTube channel, or her podcast. You can also learn more about breathwork or book a group or private breathwork session with Tammy at Breathe to Healing.
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