Handy Gadgets Everyone Should Own

I try to get a sense of what someone is thinking when I tell them we live off-grid.  Do they see Little House on the Prairie or The Adventures of Grizzly Adams? Are they picturing us cooking dinner over a fire by candle light and trudging through deep snow to go to the outhouse? What is reeling through their head? I often wonder.  In some ways, yes, much like both. Other ways? We are in the 21st century.

My love for the outdoors has been a constant in my life. I started camping as a baby and haven’t stopped. If we didn’t go camping, I was still camping out in the back yard. Spring would roll around, Dad and I would take our annual trip to Sears, so I could buy my new tent. Yes. A new tent EVERY year. Tents are not made to stay up and weather for months on end. By the end of the season, the tent would be all dry rot. I woke up many mornings wet. I eventually gave up on tents. As a teenager, I started just throwing a sleeping bag on the ground and calling it good. I have been known to still do that. My bestfriend, who was from Georgia, was a trooper. As she agreed with no hesitation. They didn’t sleep under the stars in the city of Savannah. I tell her husband he can Thank me for preparing her for camping. My outdoor adventures continued into adulthood, even starting my babies off early. Come May, rain, sunshine or snow, we were camping.

With all the camping background and history in our family (along with my father working  for a large outdoor company, after he retired), we have found some of the handiest gadgets. Whether you’re an avid outdoors person, living off-grid or someone who never leaves their house, but constantly losing power, these things are great to have around. One can never be overly prepared.

Here’s my list of handy dandy gadgets I think everyone should have on hand.

To me, the most important gear, THE COFFEE MAKER!! I NEED my coffee.  Obviously, a heat source is needed to make coffee. For a few years we had an electric range at the old house. If we lost power then, we used our Coleman propane stove or outside grill that had a side burner. For one of our Anniversaries, moons ago, my parents got us the Coleman coffeepot. Game changer for me. Percolated coffee does the job..but this is as close to Mr. Coffee drip as you’re going to get. Or Keurig…whatever your fancy. Still takes 20 minutes to brew, but it’s good coffee. At camp we had the old faithful percolator.  Once we no longer had the camper, Mr. Coleman moved to camp. We still use it every day…15 years later. Electric coffee makers don’t last that long. I would have to buy a new one every 6-12 months.

Then there’s the Air pot. Once you turn the burner off, your pot of coffee is going to get cold. Who wants cold coffee? Yuck! While camping, we would always have a full Air pot.

Next in line would be a compact solar generator. I got Jesse one for Christmas one year, initially to run the fan on the propane heater at the Schoolhouse. I’d charge it, by plugging it in at the house, and bring it with us when we came to stay.  We’ve never used the solar panels, because it held a charge all weekend.  Our daughter has charged hers with the panel, no problem.  I’m still impressed with the little generator. If I’m running the large generator to charge up the solar, I charge the compact up at the same time. Phones starts running low, I can charge them without using the stored solar power. If I need to use a small hand mixer, the compact generator will run one (I just recently realized this fun fact). It will even boost a vehicle battery. Our side by side had a dead battery in the late fall from sitting to long in the cold. I took the handy little booster cables (that were included) and jumpstarted the Ranger.

When we moved, I needed to figure out a shower. And fast. A quick “horse bath” was only going to work for so long. Over the years, I had used a bag shower, but it was now November. Bag showers were not only a pain to get the height, but out of the question. Period. During my search online I found the rechargeable battery operated showerhead. The pump sits in the water, you push the button and wah la! You have a shower. I was pretty stoked with this find.

The heat generated fan was another great find. As the top of the woodstove, cookstove or propane monitor heats a piece of metal on the fan base expands. As it gets hotter and the more it expands,  the faster the fan starts to spin. Pushing the hot air away from the stove, into the room. How something so small can make such a difference in heat.

Gas lights are not very bright. For ambiance they’re fine. Reading. No. Cooking. No. Dishes. No. I remember years of playing cards at night, in the main living area, with all three gas lights on. We still had to hang the North Star Coleman lantern to see. The galley kitchen.. just as bad, even for a small space. We solved the kitchen issue with overhead LED battery operated lights. Now we can see in the fridge, be sure the dishes are clean and the chicken is fully cooked, all with the click of a remote.

At the house I rarely used ceiling lights. We had lamps in every room. Here, we have two. Not to long ago our neighbor was telling us about their new rechargeable lightbulbs. Of course, we ordered some. We also ordered them for gifts and recieved some as gifts! The bulbs charge during regular use. When the power is cut off, they turn back on for 3-4 hours. They can also be removed from the light fixtures and used as hanging lights. I love ours. To read at night, I can just snap off the lamp. No more reading with a headlamp when my solar reading light gets dim or having to climb out of a warm bed to shut the solar system down.

Our old faithful crank radio. I honestly can not say when I put batteries in this last. Or even cranked it to charge the battery for that matter. Even though we’ve had this one for years, I’d bought other small radios since, and they are long gone. This guy’s still singing away to us. Country Gold Saturday Night!

One of the other cool things I came across was a small washing machine. It’s hand crank, and a good arm work out, if you need to do just a small load. It even has a rinse and spin cycle. All manual of course. I’ve only needed to use it a few times, as Jesse goes to the laundromat every Saturday. Yeah, he’s a keeper.

Blueys. Everyone should have Blueys. The big 5 gallon blue water totes. No matter where we were, home, camp or camping, we always had those filled and ready.

Needless to say, we still have our gizmos, gadgets and whatsitsgalore up here in the woods. I’m sure I’ll learn about some more over time.

Again, no matter your lifestyle, you can never be overly prepared. Just be certain you have a manual can opener. If not, you CAN use a spoon!! No joke!

What are some of your favorite gadgets?