When living off the grid, all you energy, food, and water use should be carefully monitored and maintained.  The more of these precious resources you use, the more reliance you will have on others.  Easy ways to reduce waste include:  Keeping your showers short and not watering your lawn. Unplugging appliances when they’re not in use. Turning off the lights when exiting a room. Learning to love leftovers.  Start a compost pile so you can get some use out of unused food. Workshops on topics like growing your own garden, starting a compost pile, and repairing your home might be useful when you move off-grid.  Check the community events calendar of your local newspaper or library for a list of such workshops. If you plan on growing a garden, for instance, run a search for how to do so using your search engine of choice.  There are countless videos and articles online about how to live off the grid.  Alternately, visit your local library and check out some books on how to live off the grid, grow fruits and vegetables, and manage your solar array. Renting a cabin in a rural, isolated place might provide you with a taste of what you can expect when living off the grid.  Call several cabin rental agencies in a location near the area you intend to live off the grid.  Spend a week or so in one that most closely approximates the sort of home you plan on living in.  While the amenities and features of a particular cabin might not be exactly the same as those that you’ll include when moving off the grid, spending time in such a cabin could help you better determine what you’re looking for. Use the experience to decide the location, size, and amenities of your off-grid homestead. Living off the grid doesn’t mean you need to be hundreds of miles from civilization.  You could choose to move to a plot of land that is isolated and rural but still within easy reach of stores, hospitals, and family.  On the other hand, you could live in a totally self-sufficient home or trailer far from anyone else.  The distance you choose to remove yourself to depends only on your preferences and personality. Travel to a number of different locations before selecting the site of your off-the-grid homestead. Living off the grid typically means dramatically reducing your level of interaction and communication with the outside world.  However, the degree to which you choose to do this varies depending on your own personality and desires.  For example, you could choose to get rid of your phone, computer, and radio altogether.  Alternately, you might keep your radio, but ditch your phone and computer. There is no right or wrong way to decide how to limit your level of communication.
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One-sentence summary -- Reduce waste. Attend workshops. Read about topics that could help you live off the grid. Book a stay at a rural cabin. Decide how far away you want to be. Choose your level of communication.


Measure out equal parts of white vinegar and olive oil, then mix them together in a large bowl or jar. Test the mixture out on an inconspicuous area of your wooden furniture before applying it onto the entire surface. If there is no negative reaction, dampen a soft cloth with the mixture and rub it on the surface. Polish the wooden surface by rubbing in slow, circular motions.  Use a clean, dry cloth to remove any excess from the surface. This mixture works well on wooden furniture such as coffee tables, desks and dressers. It can effectively remove rings left behind by beverage glasses. Apply 1 tablespoon of olive oil to one side of a cloth or sponge. Rub it on the surface of stainless steel to remove smudges. Dampen the other side of the sponge with white vinegar. Use it to wipe away the olive oil and polish the steel surface. Mix 2 cups (480 mL) of warm water with ½ cup (120 mL) of white vinegar and ½ cup (120 mL) of olive oil. Apply the mixture to wood paneling with a clean, soft cloth. Rub it gently over the surface. Use a clean, dry cloth to wipe it away, simultaneously cleaning and polishing the wood paneled surface.
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One-sentence summary -- Mix equal parts vinegar and olive oil to make a furniture polish. Remove smudges from stainless steel with vinegar and olive oil. Use olive oil, vinegar and water to clean and polish wood paneling.


The biggest pot you can get your hands on will allow you to distill larger amounts of liquid. The pot should at least be large enough to hold another smaller container like a metal mixing bowl.  If you have a curved lid that will cover the pot, use that instead of a flat lid. The shape of a curved lid will help in collecting condensation toward the center. If you can't find a curved lid, you can use some aluminum foil and shape it over a large bowl to get a curved shape. Then you can place the foil, curved side down, over the pot and hold it in place with the lid. This will help to direct the condensed water toward the center and your collection container. Select a container that can withstand boiling temperatures.  You will likely want to elevate the collection container toward the top of the pot. You can place a small rack in the bottom of the pot and prop your container on top of it. You can even use a brick or similar object since it won't be in contact with the distilled liquid. You can also drill a hole in the lid and use a length of tubing to collect the distilled liquid in a separate container. However, you have to be willing to put holes in your cookware to do so. Be sure not to get any of the dirty liquid into the collection container. You will only want to fill the pot so that the water level is a couple inches below the height of your collection container. If the water is too close to the height of the collection container, it might splash into the container of distilled water and contaminate it. By placing the lid upside-down, the curved angle will help direct the water vapor toward the center as it collects and falls back into your collection pot. A transparent lid is ideal, as it will allow you to see what is happening. You can also place some ice packs or cool water on top of the lid to help the vapor cool faster and return to a liquid form. Turn on the stove and heat the water. Monitor the temperature of the water and keep it at a slow boil. You want to avoid heating the water too much and having the dirty water splashing into your collection pot. Adjust the temperature as needed.
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One-sentence summary -- Find a large pot with a lid. Place a collection container inside the large pot. Pour the dirty water into the large pot. Place the lid upside-down over the pot. Bring the water to a boil.


You can build your own portfolio website or use a template. If you are applying for jobs that include website design, then you should design your own. If you want to highlight copy or print graphic design, you can choose a pre-designed, professional template. Behance Network, Coroflot Portfolios and Cargo Collective are often used by advertising professionals. Anytime you use a template or design a website, you have to make choices about how you want to appear. You should focus on a professional and original look that showcases your advertising work, instead of distracting the viewer from it.  Purchase your domain name. Your domain name can be your own name, or your name plus a reference to your work. Even if you are using a free blogging platform to create your portfolio, it is worth paying the 10 dollars a year to register it in your name. Book-based portfolios allow people to change the samples according to the job interview. If you have varied advertising skills, consider creating a specific portfolio for each type, such as copy, logo design, online advertising or television advertising.  You may want to include your 6 best samples on each of your portfolio sites, and then only add other samples that are specific to this type of portfolio. When you submit your portfolio, only submit the one that responds best to the job description. Include specifications, dimensions and details for each sample. Make sure to note the copyright of anything you post online. Consider watermarking images that might be especially tempting to steal, such as images of people, or images with little or no text across them.
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One-sentence summary --
Choose the best platform for your portfolio website. Brand yourself. Consider having more than one digital portfolio. Protect your work.