5 Backyard Projects Yoder & Jo Built (That Let Them Ditch the Grid for 40 Years)

By Backyard Mastery Tips - Oct 2024

The Homesteading Movement Quietly Growing in American Backyards

 

For 40 years, Yoder and Jo have lived completely independent from grocery stores, utility bills, and corporate infrastructure. Not on a remote farm. Not with special skills. Just on what most Americans would call an ordinary suburban quarter-acre.

Now, homesteaders across the country are copying their exact systems.

These aren't theoretical projects. These are proven methods that have kept a family fed, powered, and water-secure through 40 years of real-world use. Here are five of their most ingenious creations:

1. The Year-Round Self-Sustaining Greenhouse

Imagine harvesting fresh lettuce in January while snow blankets your yard. Ron and Johanna grow vegetables year-round using a greenhouse system that maintains perfect growing conditions regardless of season or climate. The system uses a mechanism that most people have never heard of—but it's so simple, materials cost under $500.


The result? Fresh produce 365 days a year. No matter if you live in Saskatchewan, Texas, or Maine.
 

2. The Off-Grid Water System 

For 40 years, Ron and Johanna have never paid a water bill. Their system collects, stores, and filters water to drinkable standards—using methods so simple, they can be implemented on any property with zero electricity.


They've tested every approach over four decades: hand-dug wells, drilled wells, hand pumps, lake water collection, shallow well systems, and deep well systems. Each had trade-offs. But this one system? It's the one they kept because it works everywhere and requires almost zero maintenance.

The system is so reliable, they store thousands of gallons in inexpensive tanks without worrying about contamination, seasonality, or supply interruptions. Families who implement this never think about water bills, drought restrictions, or municipal water failures again.

Most people don't realize you can achieve water independence on any property—suburban, rural, or anything in between. It's one of the foundational pillars Ron and Johanna built their 40-year independence on.

This method? It's the one they kept.

3. The Hybrid Electricity System

For four decades, zero wires from the power grid have connected to their homes. Using a hybrid electricity system they've perfected over 40 years, they generate all the power they need—with zero outage risk, zero price increases, and zero dependence on grid stability.
 

The system combines small-scale solar, wind capture, and a backup mechanism that produces reliable power even on cloudy days. It's not a complicated $20,000 installation. It's an elegant, cost-effective approach that works on residential properties and scales to whatever your needs are.
 

They generate so much excess power, they could sell it back to the utility company if they chose to remain grid-connected. But they don't need to. The system is completely independent, completely reliable, and requires only minimal maintenance.

 

Most people don't realize that grid independence is achievable for regular homeowners without massive upfront costs. 

4. The Earth Refrigerator (No Electricity Required)

Food preservation without electricity or equipment. Ron and Johanna used this ancient-but-perfected method for 40 years to store vegetables, fruits, and roots for months—keeping everything fresh and safe through winter.

One system eliminated their refrigerator entirely. No electricity bills. No maintenance. No equipment failures.

The result? Year-round food security, preserved like your grandparents did it—but designed for modern life.

5. The Automatic Irrigation System

Set it once. It waters your plants perfectly every single day for years with minimal effort and minimal water waste. Yoder and Jo spent years perfecting this system through trial and error so you don't have to.


The result? Thriving gardens with zero daily watering maintenance.

The Complete 75+ Project Blueprint

These five projects are just the opening act.

 

The reality is Yoder and Jo have spent 40 years perfecting over 75 additional DIY projects that work together as one comprehensive homesteading system. Each one:

 

✅ Works on a quarter-acre or less 

✅ Costs under $1,000 to build 

✅ Requires no prior experience 

✅ Is proven to work year after year 

✅ Produces measurable results in weeks, not years

 

But here's the catch: All of this knowledge was scattered—across old blog posts, YouTube videos, and personal experience. Never compiled. Never organized. Never available in one place.

 

Until now.

See All 75+ Projects + 3 Bonus Systems

All five projects above—plus 70+ more—are now available with complete step-by-step blueprints in The Simple Living.

 

Each project includes: 

✅ Complete materials lists 

✅ Exact building instructions 

✅ Real-world timelines 

✅ Cost breakdowns 

✅ Proven results
 

PLUS 2 FREE Digital Bonuses:

  • The Aquaponic Gardener (grow fish + vegetables together)
  • DIY Projects from the 1900s (old-time self-reliance skills)

 

Start Your Journey to Self Sufficiency

Discover which projects fit your life. Build your independence. 

 

Cut your bills.

 

60-day money-back guarantee. Order today and get bonuses free.urilabs.co

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