Don't get disheartened. You are a motivation to so many. You're so fortunate to be of like minds. So glad to follow you guys in your videos. Wish you both a happy thanksgiving on your homestead!
Fun to come back from November 23, 2017... to see you back at your beginnings... You guys were so on the right path from the start... Proud of you both
I am glad no one was hurt. You are young and you will get true it. Never despair you got your hold lives to work on your project, take one stept at a time and be safe. We are looking foward for more future videos. Again thanks for redoing the video.
Please keep doing what you are doing! You ARE being BLESSED and being a BLESSING! You were so fortunate NOT to have more damage and you guys really are in a great place,....debt free and working on your dream! DO NOT give in or give up! Praying for you!!
If you guys don't have cell service, you might want to think about getting your HAM radio license. An inexpensive dual band radio have pretty good range, especially if there's a repeater nearby.
We are over the road truck drivers. We sold everything we had and bought an 18 wheeler. With this we were able to totally eliminate our bills and operate debt free on straight cash. In this 5 year experiment we were able to save up enough money to buy 100 AC in the mountains of TEXAS ( 3,000 feet above sea level ). I rented a dozer and cleared about 15 acres and leveled out about 1 AC for our home and out buildings. We collect rain water. We have electricity and sometimes cell signal. We built a shed to store some tools and use as a shower room. The shed blew over after surviving almost 2 years. We had the same feeling as you did about it. We sleep in the 18 wheeler. We have started a small house ( 480 SF ). We have the foundation and floor decking completed. Summer caught up with us and temps have been over 100 degrees since Memorial Day. This heat is really tough on us as we are both 65 years old and not in the best of shape. We are doing everything ourselves and that certainly is a challenge. We are only able to steal away to the property 4 or 5 times a year and that's only when we have saved up enough money to be able to do something. The end of September we plan on taking the plunge and retiring from trucking and moving to the property full time, no matter what. I found a little job close by for extra cash to supplement our social security and we should be able to make it on that, without having to touch our retirement nest egg. Maybe you could do a video on how you are able to afford to do what you are doing, because that was the big question for us ( How much does it cost to live like this )? We figure once we have the place the way we want it that $2,000 a month should do it, but right now while we are still developing the property it takes a bit more with all the stuff we need to buy. My email is jquick@jonbquick.com Maybe if we get by Idaho it would be fun to get together and share stories and pictures of our place. We have a trip coming up next week going to Washington state and will be going through Idaho on the 27th or 28th. We will be traveling across I-90.Sincerely,Jon & Dotti832-724-4197
Thanks for posting guys. I once commented to my mom that it must have been easier when she and dad were starting out. Funny, she looked at me as if I'd lost it and exclaimed that it wasn't. Later my dad remarked, son, it's always hard when a couple's starting out. Silly comment maybe, but I admire what you're doing, and look forward to your success.
I like that you guys have only shown a positive attitude in all the vids I have watched. When I was in the army it one of the things I learned was that "stuff happens just deal with it". I like that you guys seem to have this mindset also. Keep that attitude and I am sure you guys can accomplish anything you set your mind to. I also like that you do not feed the trolls. If you do not feed trolls eventually they will move on.
Hi guys, I started watching your channel yesterday and it's been enjoyable to see your journey so far. You are both very level headed thinkers and that will help you achieve your goals. You have a lot of great ideas. Considering you started in September you have achieved quite a bit. I can't wait to see the hot tub. Also I'm glad that you made it through that nasty storm, I'm in Spokane and the people on the South Hill got hit really hard. I've lived in the area for 32 years and that's the worst that I've damage I've seen in such a short period of time. If you can make it though that then it's down hill from here. Good luck and keep smiling. Steve K.
You guys are doing a beautiful job. It is all about experiences. Not destinations. I've been living off-grid for several years now as well. Although with a substantial solar system up, so not roughing it as our forefathers would have done. I'm excited to have our on-demand water heater arrive today! Finally will have running water in the Cabin after nearly 3 years without! :) - Cloud
Great job you guys it was a terrible storm we got our share. Trees were down all over hwy 57 and 41, non passable for a period of time until the locals got out their chain saws after all its the Inland Northwest. We're in PRiver Idaho. God Bless, he has already.
p.s. there's a lady on my fb page who is building a cob home by herself in the Southwest. It's freezing cold and one of the walls of her cob house crashed in. She was sleeping on a stone floor with her dog by herself freezing to death. A lot of people are watching her. fyi just because she knows how to build a cob home the point of those homes is teamwork. never mind but it's the point. It's hard.
I live on a 33 ft sailboat. Stuff happens and you just deal with it! No way around it! You fix stuff yourself because the nearest help is days away. And cost a fortune too fix. So you do what you have to do! Good job people!
+surfnfx And I also live off grid just sailing around or on the hook in some nice bay somewhere. You can be land locked but I do not want to be! Sailing is freedom. BTWI sold my house and bought the boat. So glad I did. And yes I still work in winter for 5.5 months and make $45-$55K for that 5.5 months and they house me and feed me too! I owe nothing. So slave away to pay off your house. I also have a few other houses that I rent out!
Even though this video was made last year, I have to say, you two as a couple are inspirational..!! This is as bad and stressful as it can get, besides a natural disaster.. Excited to watch your progress, and a bit jealous as well..!! Remember, it can ALWAYS be worse..!! No matter what the situation.. Keep going..!! Don't stop..!! Even after building your house..!! haha..
Stay with it guys. I know what it's like to be bone tired when you are pushed to your limits and in the elements. The path and end results will be worth it.
The wind storm of 1962 i got caught out in that one.. The 2007 windstorm that hit the coast of WA,OR was bad too, trees down , power lines down everywhere, no power for a week... Thank god for Honda generator and propane cook stove... Not impossible to pick up the pieces but hard and it took time to repair everything ..
Great job guys. I know it's hard but the rewards will be worth it in the end...well it never really ends, hehe..but you know what I mean. I love your upbeat positive attitudes. You are both doing a kick butt job!!!
LOVE ya'lls channel! So much good info and ya'll have a great perspective on how to go about doing life. Definitely inspirational and though provoking!
off grid lesson #245- garage in a box + wind=sail, i have heard nothing good about them, I'd re-enforce it as much as you can and replace after the winter
trials will come at you form many different way. when you step back and look at what others are going through you see things in a new light. keep up the good a fight. thank you for the video
Had to smile. When I moved onto a canalboat (my verson of the off-grid dream) everyone said to me "if you survive your first winter you will be Ok". Well I did...just! Tripped over my own rope and broke a left rib. Six weeks later going to the aid of a friend stuck on a weir I misstepped and broke two on the right! Had my gearbox throw its fluid in the bilge, my batteries die (they were life expired), had an accidental bath in freezing january water! and...I am still here loving it. Even moving the boat in driving wind and rain. (Ok I lied! I hate moving in the rain and as I am a flat bottomed boat the wind is a problem for steering)but I have overcome them and learnt from them. Now if I could find a way to earn a living that meant I could give up the day job...!
Wow!!! Glad you're okay. If you think about it, it was probably better for the 2 of you to miss the storm. Sometimes it's best because, during times of stress you can really get hurt. Those "logic" tents are really cool. I've lost 2 of them, I lost one in a tornado at my RV and a garden logic at my house during a hurricane. The tornado one was when I wasn't there and 2 poles we're ripped out of the ground and went through the south side of my trailer wall just above my thermostat. So I was really happy I had missed that event. Glad to know you. Thanks for the vid. Jb.
We try :) Things happen so fast that it's not always convenient to document professionally, so we have to decide between publishing something lower-quality or skipping parts of the journey. iPhone videos usually aren't TOO terrible but technology messes up all to often and we can't catch it all! Luckily, other folks let us know when we have issues! HA!
Did you ever think of building a 3 or 4 car garage first for better protection. I do not remember hearing your over all building plans. Trying to catch up with older videos and follow your adventure. Keep up the dream. It will all be worth the struggle. Good luck, enjoy your adventure.
You two need to realize the people your reaching and the affect your having on them. My wife and I were doing something similar to what you are doing when a health issue forced us to retreat back to the city. We remind each other regularly that being in the city is but a season. Eventually the health will return and allow us to return to the homestead. In the meantime, a channel like yours breathes life into those dreams that have grown oddly dim during this period of our journey. It reminds us what it was like to be out there, and why we were out there to begin with. It focuses us back on the things that really matter to us a couple. I just thought you should know.
+Wayne Martin Hey Wayne! So sorry to hear about your temporary roadblock. In a perfect world, those of us that want to would leave the city to homestead, never to return, but sometimes things come up that cause a change of plans and that's okay! Glad you and your wife try to keep a positive outlook even in a dim time. Thanks for the kind words... this is one reason why we love sharing both successes AND failures, because setbacks are just a normal part of like and they are okay. Happy to hear you find some motivation in watching our journey... we are reminded on a daily basis why we chose this path, and I think in the end many of us have similar goals of living a more simple life! All we can do is support one another! Rest up and you'll be back on your feet in no time!
Wow what a wonderful blessing and opportunity to do WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE! Homesteading is not easy you are so right. You do not owe anyone an explanation or need a justification of your life. You two have it under control and sure it is hard, but it is what you want to do. You do not have to be clocked in at work or at the homestead. It took a long time for us to realize here in Chile that we work at OUR pace. There are no rules here just self help. If you are working on a project sometime you will find that you do not have the tools or funds that you need to complete it. Fine no big deal. Move on to something that you can do or would like to do, and come back to the old project when you can. You make your schedule and it is what it is. On the power, I would put in Solar as soon as you can. Do your research and put it in. We hesitated and regretted it because we now have our power up and going and we just step back and say to ourselves, why did we not get this done sooner? If you are planning on being off grid then move along and get it done. This storm is like many you will face, literal and emotional. You came through and you are able to deal with what you can control and that is all that can be expected. Good job. Jim
That's some profound thoughts! It will definitely take time to acclimate to this life. It's been so hectic it's hard to find balance. It's slowing down now with winter knocking and we are thankful. As we sit here eating breakfast by the fire, snow falling outside, it's a great reminder of why we worked so hard early on and why we choose this life. We don't have anywhere to be or any urgent matters. Our woodpile will last months of needed. Thanks for helping us keep grounded. It's easy to get overwhelmed as the needs far outweigh the haves and energy. Agreed on solar. We need to get the budget balanced which I've been working on for a couple evenings. Find out where we are with money and decide if it's within reach. We've been actively seeking a partnership with a solar manufacturer but haven't had any bites yet. One reason we want to slow down is to have more time for outreach. Glad your solar and power is working now. We know how inconvenient it is to go without!
+Terry Tackett They do have a baby-sized Garage-in-a-Box, it's rather cute! We will probably pass for now as we hope to have it protected with a permanent structure by next winter, but still an option to keep in mind.
Good luck. From the looks of it you are pretty close to where we live. Hope you are enjoying all of the snow in you GarageMajHall :-) If you survive the winter the rest will be a breeze.
Hurricane winds start 75 mph. Your wind storm was equivalent to a category 2 hurricane at least- if my memory serves me correctly. Amazing you came away unscathed. Love your attitudes. (new subscriber)
I really like your little cabin, you guys seem to really be busting out the projects (just don't burn yourselves out). The part you mentioned about a wood stove catching fire to your childhood home brought back memories of us frequently cleaning our chimney as to avoid problems. I'm no expert, but that chimney routing with the horizontal short run may become a collection point for extra creosote not to mention how much more difficult cleaning will be. Like I said I'm not an expert so maybe get some more information, I hope I'm wrong so you don't need to do any rework. Keep up the good work!!!
you know those dog tie downs the ones that look like a corkscrew try getting those and go every 3ft with them for short term hold down and also get some of those wonderful big rocks and tie around them and tie to the pipes of shelter for ancor weights
how do you guys deal with pple sayen " you cant do it" and "thats a dumb idea" cuz were getting lot of that and we haven't even started our home stead yet. but keep goen guys you guys are doen awe some if u ask me and your living the dream!
That's a great question, Matt. We actually wrote a blog post to answer this question which you can find here: purelivingforlife.com/well-meaning-critics/ In short, anytime you go against the grain you will receive A LOT of pushback. The key is to understand why people are "naysayers", and why they say the things they do. The blog post gives some great insight to that. While people do sometimes bring up helpful things to take into consideration, or can spot a problem we will run into simply because they have been there, many are just speaking out of fear and projecting their insecurities onto you. Comments from negative Nancy's don't bother us anymore, we simply feel bad for the folks that are nothing but negative and tell us the millions of ways we can fail. Chances are they will never get much of anywhere because they are paralyzed by fear and will never take action... funny thing is that chances are, we will fail in one way or another but that's how we learn!
finally some one who is willing to talk about nay sayers, cuz thers a loy of them thanks for the blog post and everything it feels good not to be alone
I know it's been a year since you posted this. I'm currently doing something like you. Not to the level you are. We have hurricane coming in, in a few days. I'm really worry because I have so many trees with in feet of my place. And both my cars are broke down. So right now I'm praying it just keeps moving west. But at the same time I'm thinking what if I'm praying to save my skin only to send it in to some else that is in the same situation as me. Wind is my worry.
Wearing Stihl Pro safety chaps while cutting up all those windfalls ;-) Earthships are the best windshelters ever invented, especially when you built one into the side of your hill. Same for the barn. See also the Phillipine version called a Windship model against cyclones. It's build by interconnecting two Earthships opposite from eachother, connected by an earodynamic glass roof. We'd even terras that hill of yours for veggie garden and orchard, shaping the backwall of each terras in a snaking/zig-zagging pattern dressed with those stones using adobe masonery. So the wall and sheltered spaces function as heat sinks. Plus it will turn all those stones and rocks on your property into pure gold. You can even build rice paddies with ducks like Ben Falk(has his own youtube channel with that name) does on his really cold Vermont(?) permaculture farm.
Hi Kids,Marvin and I just bought 4 acres in Bonanza, Ore. in Sept... We have all utilities except a well... but, we have a 2,500 gal. water tank BURIED in the ground we won't fill til spring!! Our neighbor has a well which we run a 300 ft. hose to his well to our 35' motorhome... ha... works great unless it snows (which it has this yr. ALOT)!! They haven't had much of a winter up here (5,000') for the last 3 yrs... so of course the first yr. we decide to stick it out up here... it has THE worse snow storms ever!! One after another not allowing the snow to melt from the last!! But, we knew it could happen and were somewhat prepared (using a propane heater inside sure helps) so we're not using your RV heating system too much... along with electric heating gives us enough... electric blanket at night... I know you don't have power (so that would be hard)!! We have surrounded our RV with bales of hay which keeps the pipes from freezing and keeps the wind at bay... use straight hay not alfalfa... cheaper too (3.00 per bale)!! We have a metal garage with a pipe for a wood burning stove... next yr. will have one installed... but, Marvin doesn't stay out there for any reason... will be building a Tiny Home in a yr. or so (500 to 800 sq. ft.) and a couple sleeper cabins for guest as well... Feel free to ask any questions you may have... also checkout J.C. Desclos (bossoftheswamp) this man knows everything and is really fun to listen to and his dog Frankie is a crack up!! We have seen most of your videos and enjoy your humorous experiences... ha!! Stay safe... God Bless you both... Marvin and Carol
+Marvin Goodknight Hi Marvin! We just purchased some land near you. Out a little further, in Beatty. We plan on slowly developing our land, over the next few years, until we're able to build our homestead home. I was wondering, if there was a blog, or something to connect to like minded people out there. We plan on building an earthbag/earthship type structure. Any information, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jim.
+Jim Randall Hi Jim... We are really close... yes, if you need to converse with us about your property issues (if possible) would love to help!! Are you staying on the property right now?? We've been watching other websites from people like: Purelivingforlife... there's also: thebossoftheswamp (which is VERY informational about EVERYTHING you'd want to know) just connect with these and they lead you to many other video's it's fun to listen and learn from their experiences... our email is: goodknightm@gmail.com... if your in the area of Kingfisher rd... let us know and you can visit... Marvin and Carol
What about that standing water? If your property wasn't able to shed that water, what are you going to do when you build a house and the water is there again? I think you need to somehow shed the water that is coming off that hill behind you, need to shed it to the left or/and right, whichever way it will go so it doesn't flood the flat area you are on in the future. I used to live in California and they have lots of long concrete troughs stretching across the hills to catch the water on the way down. Lots of water coming off that hill of yours after the ground can't take anymore. You can't afford the concrete troughs, I know, but got to think about that water you were standing in.
Please don't forget to plant your fruit- & nut trees all over your property. They take ages to mature and bear fruit. A house or earthship will take a few months to build. Those trees will take 10 years or more to fully mature and produce to their max. You can use those Groasis Waterboxxes with those transparant green telescope (against deer) tubes to ensure their survival during winter etc.
In that regard you're absolutely right. There are several fruit trees that already produce a lot after just a few years. Depending on the size of the dwarf sapling of course. But some fruit tree species and a lot of nut trees and sap trees like Maple and Birch take loads more years to fully produce or to produce at all. I should have put more nuance in my statment. In stead of they take ages I should have said quite a lot of them take ages... Thanks for the correction.
Ah yes, Pacific NW wind storms! You are definitely focusing on the blessings that show you are doing well and you still have strength when you think you are wiped out. Most important is it gave you information for rethinking the designs of future buildings. That could prove to be worth all the trouble.
New Sub here. Love your videos. We heat with wood slabs too. We have a WOODMASTER outdoor heater for the past 12 years. We get bundles of slab wood delivered from a local saw mill. We split it to the length we need it hope to have more of a homestead in the future. Wish we had filmed our journey along the way. Looking forward to watching your journey.
Pure Living For Life - Just a bit of advice for you. If your seeking more energy then consider doing Veggie Juice for a boost. In the winter time lack of sun results of reduced suns powerful energy called Vitamin D3, it's a real booster, plus keep up your magnesium levels for Muscle aches n pain.
I enjoy your videos. I'm in Boise and yes we had a record winter also. What area in Idaho are you in? During the summer we ride ATVs throughout the southern half of Idaho.
Hi, you great people ... I'm from South Africa ... Cape Town ... Love your videos ...wish living of grid were posable in SA ... you will most probably be robbed or killed the first week trying what you did ... good luck and hope all your dreams come true ...
I see several baby-boomers, over 60, who want to go off grid. I would LOVE to also and I am one who prefers the north too, FL is just not my cup of tea. I have lived in S. CA, Phoenix and South FL, maybe I had my fill of heat?? And the bugs and snakes AND gators in S. FL would scare anyone away. But anyway, I am alone in this life, have been divorced and widowed and am only 64. So anyone out there wanna homestead with a cougar ;- ) here I am. Seriously, contact me thru here. We can get to know each other, male or female is OK. Just gotta love dogs.
Love your videos but just wanted to say that its hard to listen when one is talking and the other person cuts in and adds to what is being explained. Not trying to be mean or anything. Love what you both are doing just not explained at the same time. :)
That just illustrates how close they are! My wife and I love the videos and are planning to make the move from Central Florida to northern Idaho with our four kids. It's gonna be tough but we're looking forward to the challenge 👍🏻
Hi, there I have been watching your videos with great interest. I am 72 and cannot imagine taking on a project like yours, But I would like to offer a bit of advice. This is not intended as a rant about what you are doing, and someone else has perhaps already commented about it. If so, I am just trying to lend a hand. Heating with wood is great, but as you no doubt know, dry wood burns best. I noticed in this video that you have the firewood stacked nearly as high as your cabin. Has the wind knocked it down yet? Shorter piles can take a lot more wind abuse. There is really an art to stacking firewood, youtube has many examples of doing just that. Here is just one of the many videos on stacking wood, there were pages and pages of videos. th-cam.com/users/results?search_query=stacking+firewood+outside I noticed that the stack looked rather thrown together, and as it stands it will literally provide a path for water to run through the pile. It's slab wood with bark on a lot of it. It's best to stack the wood so that it drains the water off the ends of the rows in the stack using the bark to help in sheltering the wood from moisture. When I was in High school so many years ago, we didn't have much, but we did have 4 acres of woods, so we heated with wood for several years, until we could get a decent house built, and there is nothing worse than trying to burn wet wood. I have learned a lot while watching your videos. You are following your dream, something that most people are too timid to try.
OK, the occasional brief, polite comment isn't working. PLEASE STOP INTERRUPTING HIM! You two are doing SO MUCH good. But this damages the atmosphere you are building. When my late Daisy was alive, and she wanted to say something while I was in a story, she just touched my leg or arm. So I then yielded the floor, and there was no tension. And the same worked in reverse. She lived her life so that when she died at a young age, I always missed her.
Hey guys you are a very likeable and pleasant couple and I wish you all the success. I have watched a few of your videos, and while I enjoyed them, I want to say that your videos would be a lot more watchable if you did not do so much talking and explaining and spent more time showing us the actual building and construction of your place and how it is taking shape gradually. A good vidoe story in the end is visual and not audio. We do not need so much explaining, Make it move. You are on to a winner if you follow my advice. Good luck.
+actionmethod They are going to build their real own home! Maybe you would buy one but they want to build their own. My Grandfather built his own home in Santa Barbara California in 1940!
It is normal in my experience. My wife and I, as well as quite a few of our friends in long term (>10 years) relationships do the same thing. In my experience, it is often associated with trying to help out your partner when you feel, consciously or unconsciously, they are in trouble (e.g. struggling to find the right words, missing out on communicating a key point in the story, etc.) I applaud them for putting themselves, warts and all, out there so folks like us can be part of this amazing adventure.
tom19592003 Wow! Strong suggestions: Can you NOT personalize another human being's communication style? It sounds like there may be control issues to look at. How can one be free enough within, to really appreciate another when in identity lock down all the time? No one completes another. You are ALREADY whole. What might be learned in exploring taking it easy on one's inner sense of self?
Love your channel and your ideas, but hate your wife's personality. Sorry i don't know your names, but when the husband is talking she really needs to let you finish what your saying and stop butting in. Seems like every video you are talking and she has to put her foot in your mouth and say something, there is enough time for everyone to speak.
you know those dog tie downs the ones that look like a corkscrew try getting those and go every 3ft with them for short term hold down and also get some of those wonderful big rocks and tie around them and tie to the pipes of shelter for ancor weights
Don't get disheartened. You are a motivation to so many. You're so fortunate to be of like minds. So glad to follow you guys in your videos. Wish you both a happy thanksgiving on your homestead!
Fun to come back from November 23, 2017... to see you back at your beginnings... You guys were so on the right path from the start... Proud of you both
you did fine on your recovery from the storm.. Most important you didn't give up on your adventure...
I am glad no one was hurt. You are young and you will get true it. Never despair you got your hold lives to work on your project, take one stept at a time and be safe. We are looking foward for more future videos. Again thanks for redoing the video.
Please keep doing what you are doing! You ARE being BLESSED and being a BLESSING! You were so fortunate NOT to have more damage and you guys really are in a great place,....debt free and working on your dream! DO NOT give in or give up! Praying for you!!
glad your not hurt. wish you the best of luck on making your dream happen.
If you guys don't have cell service, you might want to think about getting your HAM radio license. An inexpensive dual band radio have pretty good range, especially if there's a repeater nearby.
We are over the road truck drivers. We sold everything we had and bought an 18 wheeler. With this we were able to totally eliminate our bills and operate debt free on straight cash. In this 5 year experiment we were able to save up enough money to buy 100 AC in the mountains of TEXAS ( 3,000 feet above sea level ). I rented a dozer and cleared about 15 acres and leveled out about 1 AC for our home and out buildings. We collect rain water. We have electricity and sometimes cell signal. We built a shed to store some tools and use as a shower room. The shed blew over after surviving almost 2 years. We had the same feeling as you did about it. We sleep in the 18 wheeler. We have started a small house ( 480 SF ). We have the foundation and floor decking completed. Summer caught up with us and temps have been over 100 degrees since Memorial Day. This heat is really tough on us as we are both 65 years old and not in the best of shape. We are doing everything ourselves and that certainly is a challenge. We are only able to steal away to the property 4 or 5 times a year and that's only when we have saved up enough money to be able to do something. The end of September we plan on taking the plunge and retiring from trucking and moving to the property full time, no matter what. I found a little job close by for extra cash to supplement our social security and we should be able to make it on that, without having to touch our retirement nest egg. Maybe you could do a video on how you are able to afford to do what you are doing, because that was the big question for us ( How much does it cost to live like this )? We figure once we have the place the way we want it that $2,000 a month should do it, but right now while we are still developing the property it takes a bit more with all the stuff we need to buy. My email is jquick@jonbquick.com Maybe if we get by Idaho it would be fun to get together and share stories and pictures of our place. We have a trip coming up next week going to Washington state and will be going through Idaho on the 27th or 28th. We will be traveling across I-90.Sincerely,Jon & Dotti832-724-4197
Jon Quick 2,000$ seems a bit high. I'm at 2K with a Mortgage an car payment, plus utilities...just a thought tho best of luck to you.
Thanks for posting guys. I once commented to my mom that it must have been easier when she and dad were starting out. Funny, she looked at me as if I'd lost it and exclaimed that it wasn't. Later my dad remarked, son, it's always hard when a couple's starting out. Silly comment maybe, but I admire what you're doing, and look forward to your success.
I like that you guys have only shown a positive attitude in all the vids I have watched.
When I was in the army it one of the things I learned was that "stuff happens just deal with it". I like that you guys seem to have this mindset also. Keep that attitude and I am sure you guys can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
I also like that you do not feed the trolls. If you do not feed trolls eventually they will move on.
That's crazy! You guys are doing a great job!
Hi guys, I started watching your channel yesterday and it's been enjoyable to see your journey so far. You are both very level headed thinkers and that will help you achieve your goals. You have a lot of great ideas. Considering you started in September you have achieved quite a bit. I can't wait to see the hot tub. Also I'm glad that you made it through that nasty storm, I'm in Spokane and the people on the South Hill got hit really hard. I've lived in the area for 32 years and that's the worst that I've damage I've seen in such a short period of time. If you can make it though that then it's down hill from here. Good luck and keep smiling. Steve K.
You guys have a great outlook on things. I really enjoy.
You guys are doing a beautiful job. It is all about experiences. Not destinations. I've been living off-grid for several years now as well. Although with a substantial solar system up, so not roughing it as our forefathers would have done. I'm excited to have our on-demand water heater arrive today! Finally will have running water in the Cabin after nearly 3 years without! :) - Cloud
Best of luck to the both of you!
Alissa...you don't get enough credit for your vidblogs....I see your progression...WELL done!!!
Great job you guys it was a terrible storm we got our share. Trees were down all over hwy 57 and 41, non passable for a period of time until the locals got out their chain saws after all its the Inland Northwest. We're in PRiver Idaho.
God Bless, he has already.
Weather like that would have me burrowing into that mountain. :D
p.s. there's a lady on my fb page who is building a cob home by herself in the Southwest. It's freezing cold and one of the walls of her cob house crashed in. She was sleeping on a stone floor with her dog by herself freezing to death. A lot of people are watching her. fyi just because she knows how to build a cob home the point of those homes is teamwork. never mind but it's the point. It's hard.
I live on a 33 ft sailboat. Stuff happens and you just deal with it! No way around it! You fix stuff yourself because the nearest help is days away. And cost a fortune too fix. So you do what you have to do! Good job people!
+surfnfx And I also live off grid just sailing around or on the hook in some nice bay somewhere. You can be land locked but I do not want to be! Sailing is freedom. BTWI sold my house and bought the boat. So glad I did. And yes I still work in winter for 5.5 months and make $45-$55K for that 5.5 months and they house me and feed me too! I owe nothing. So slave away to pay off your house. I also have a few other houses that I rent out!
I'm really impressed with you guys!
Even though this video was made last year, I have to say, you two as a couple are inspirational..!! This is as bad and stressful as it can get, besides a natural disaster.. Excited to watch your progress, and a bit jealous as well..!! Remember, it can ALWAYS be worse..!! No matter what the situation.. Keep going..!! Don't stop..!! Even after building your house..!! haha..
Keep going! you guys are great.
You two are funny when you finish each others sentences...lol... And you are pioneers ...keep it going...
Love what you are doing and applaud you sharing with planet Earth. Thanks and keep up the great work. I look forward to the permaculture.
Stay with it guys. I know what it's like to be bone tired when you are pushed to your limits and in the elements. The path and end results will be worth it.
Love the way, you lift each other up to thinking positive, many couples could learn from that! :-)
Wow, coming back to the earlier vids, you've both came a LONG way.
The wind storm of 1962 i got caught out in that one.. The 2007 windstorm that hit the coast of WA,OR was bad too, trees down , power lines down everywhere, no power for a week... Thank god for Honda generator and propane cook stove... Not impossible to pick up the pieces but hard and it took time to repair everything ..
The joys of land ownership sometimes fall short of a nomadic life.
Idaho, no wonder your terrain looks similar to Montana. If windy for the most time, maybe a windmill generator might be of benefit. Just guessing.
+Walter Palmer I like there little slice of heaven
Thanks for the confidence booster with this video!
Great video. You surely got through it with great spirit.
Great job guys. I know it's hard but the rewards will be worth it in the end...well it never really ends, hehe..but you know what I mean. I love your upbeat positive attitudes. You are both doing a kick butt job!!!
if i were 50 yrs younger, i would have loved to done this, my hubby was a builder, which would have been very helpful in doing this
LOVE ya'lls channel! So much good info and ya'll have a great perspective on how to go about doing life. Definitely inspirational and though provoking!
off grid lesson #245- garage in a box + wind=sail, i have heard nothing good about them, I'd re-enforce it as much as you can and replace after the winter
If its windy there you might want to consider a wint turbine as your prime power source since you have a lot of trees to shade any solar.
Thank you for sharing and being so positive thanks, vibes in return God bless
No fortunate you were blessed very blessed thank you Jesus that he protected you little home
trials will come at you form many different way. when you step back and look at what others are going through you see things in a new light. keep up the good a fight. thank you for the video
Had to smile. When I moved onto a canalboat (my verson of the off-grid dream) everyone said to me "if you survive your first winter you will be Ok". Well I did...just! Tripped over my own rope and broke a left rib. Six weeks later going to the aid of a friend stuck on a weir I misstepped and broke two on the right! Had my gearbox throw its fluid in the bilge, my batteries die (they were life expired), had an accidental bath in freezing january water! and...I am still here loving it. Even moving the boat in driving wind and rain. (Ok I lied! I hate moving in the rain and as I am a flat bottomed boat the wind is a problem for steering)but I have overcome them and learnt from them. Now if I could find a way to earn a living that meant I could give up the day job...!
You're doing great, just keep it going
Great job
Wow!!! Glad you're okay. If you think about it, it was probably better for the 2 of you to miss the storm. Sometimes it's best because, during times of stress you can really get hurt. Those "logic" tents are really cool. I've lost 2 of them, I lost one in a tornado at my RV and a garden logic at my house during a hurricane. The tornado one was when I wasn't there and 2 poles we're ripped out of the ground and went through the south side of my trailer wall just above my thermostat. So I was really happy I had missed that event. Glad to know you. Thanks for the vid. Jb.
Awesome! Thank you for recapturing this on another camera :)
We try :) Things happen so fast that it's not always convenient to document professionally, so we have to decide between publishing something lower-quality or skipping parts of the journey. iPhone videos usually aren't TOO terrible but technology messes up all to often and we can't catch it all! Luckily, other folks let us know when we have issues! HA!
You did great.
Did you ever think of building a 3 or 4 car garage first for better protection. I do not remember hearing your over all building plans. Trying to catch up with older videos and follow your adventure. Keep up the dream. It will all be worth the struggle. Good luck, enjoy your adventure.
You two need to realize the people your reaching and the affect your having on them. My wife and I were doing something similar to what you are doing when a health issue forced us to retreat back to the city. We remind each other regularly that being in the city is but a season. Eventually the health will return and allow us to return to the homestead. In the meantime, a channel like yours breathes life into those dreams that have grown oddly dim during this period of our journey. It reminds us what it was like to be out there, and why we were out there to begin with. It focuses us back on the things that really matter to us a couple. I just thought you should know.
+Wayne Martin Hey Wayne! So sorry to hear about your temporary roadblock. In a perfect world, those of us that want to would leave the city to homestead, never to return, but sometimes things come up that cause a change of plans and that's okay! Glad you and your wife try to keep a positive outlook even in a dim time. Thanks for the kind words... this is one reason why we love sharing both successes AND failures, because setbacks are just a normal part of like and they are okay. Happy to hear you find some motivation in watching our journey... we are reminded on a daily basis why we chose this path, and I think in the end many of us have similar goals of living a more simple life! All we can do is support one another! Rest up and you'll be back on your feet in no time!
you did well. great job.
Wow what a wonderful blessing and opportunity to do WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE!
Homesteading is not easy you are so right. You do not owe anyone an explanation or need a justification of your life.
You two have it under control and sure it is hard, but it is what you want to do. You do not have to be clocked in at work or at the homestead.
It took a long time for us to realize here in Chile that we work at OUR pace. There are no rules here just self help. If you are working on a project sometime you will find that you do not have the tools or funds that you need to complete it. Fine no big deal. Move on to something that you can do or would like to do, and come back to the old project when you can. You make your schedule and it is what it is.
On the power, I would put in Solar as soon as you can. Do your research and put it in. We hesitated and regretted it because we now have our power up and going and we just step back and say to ourselves, why did we not get this done sooner?
If you are planning on being off grid then move along and get it done.
This storm is like many you will face, literal and emotional. You came through and you are able to deal with what you can control and that is all that can be expected.
Good job. Jim
That's some profound thoughts! It will definitely take time to acclimate to this life. It's been so hectic it's hard to find balance. It's slowing down now with winter knocking and we are thankful. As we sit here eating breakfast by the fire, snow falling outside, it's a great reminder of why we worked so hard early on and why we choose this life. We don't have anywhere to be or any urgent matters. Our woodpile will last months of needed. Thanks for helping us keep grounded. It's easy to get overwhelmed as the needs far outweigh the haves and energy.
Agreed on solar. We need to get the budget balanced which I've been working on for a couple evenings. Find out where we are with money and decide if it's within reach. We've been actively seeking a partnership with a solar manufacturer but haven't had any bites yet. One reason we want to slow down is to have more time for outreach.
Glad your solar and power is working now. We know how inconvenient it is to go without!
+Pure Living for Life Every time it turn on a light, hear the fridge kick in, run the well pump, I know it's free! Priceless.
you folks should get another one of the carport like shed as a small storage area for the ATV
+Terry Tackett They do have a baby-sized Garage-in-a-Box, it's rather cute! We will probably pass for now as we hope to have it protected with a permanent structure by next winter, but still an option to keep in mind.
Good luck. From the looks of it you are pretty close to where we live. Hope you are enjoying all of the snow in you GarageMajHall :-) If you survive the winter the rest will be a breeze.
I love it! GarageMajHalldaminium! Hahaha. We got winter under control. Those wind storms though.... Nobody is safe!
Hurricane winds start 75 mph. Your wind storm was equivalent to a category 2 hurricane at least- if my memory serves me correctly. Amazing you came away unscathed. Love your attitudes. (new subscriber)
I really like your little cabin, you guys seem to really be busting out the projects (just don't burn yourselves out).
The part you mentioned about a wood stove catching fire to your childhood home brought back memories of us frequently cleaning our chimney as to avoid problems. I'm no expert, but that chimney routing with the horizontal short run may become a collection point for extra creosote not to mention how much more difficult cleaning will be. Like I said I'm not an expert so maybe get some more information, I hope I'm wrong so you don't need to do any rework.
Keep up the good work!!!
you know those dog tie downs the ones that look like a corkscrew try getting those and go every 3ft with them for short term hold down and also get some of those wonderful big rocks and tie around them and tie to the pipes of shelter for ancor weights
I really want to do this now
how do you guys deal with pple sayen " you cant do it" and "thats a dumb idea" cuz were getting lot of that and we haven't even started our home stead yet. but keep goen guys you guys are doen awe some if u ask me and your living the dream!
That's a great question, Matt. We actually wrote a blog post to answer this question which you can find here: purelivingforlife.com/well-meaning-critics/
In short, anytime you go against the grain you will receive A LOT of pushback. The key is to understand why people are "naysayers", and why they say the things they do. The blog post gives some great insight to that. While people do sometimes bring up helpful things to take into consideration, or can spot a problem we will run into simply because they have been there, many are just speaking out of fear and projecting their insecurities onto you.
Comments from negative Nancy's don't bother us anymore, we simply feel bad for the folks that are nothing but negative and tell us the millions of ways we can fail. Chances are they will never get much of anywhere because they are paralyzed by fear and will never take action... funny thing is that chances are, we will fail in one way or another but that's how we learn!
finally some one who is willing to talk about nay sayers, cuz thers a loy of them thanks for the blog post and everything it feels good not to be alone
I know it's been a year since you posted this. I'm currently doing something like you. Not to the level you are. We have hurricane coming in, in a few days. I'm really worry because I have so many trees with in feet of my place. And both my cars are broke down. So right now I'm praying it just keeps moving west. But at the same time I'm thinking what if I'm praying to save my skin only to send it in to some else that is in the same situation as me. Wind is my worry.
Wearing Stihl Pro safety chaps while cutting up all those windfalls ;-)
Earthships are the best windshelters ever invented, especially when you built one into the side of your hill.
Same for the barn.
See also the Phillipine version called a Windship model against cyclones.
It's build by interconnecting two Earthships opposite from eachother, connected by an earodynamic glass roof.
We'd even terras that hill of yours for veggie garden and orchard, shaping the backwall of each terras in a snaking/zig-zagging pattern dressed with those stones using adobe masonery.
So the wall and sheltered spaces function as heat sinks. Plus it will turn all those stones and rocks on your property into pure gold.
You can even build rice paddies with ducks like Ben Falk(has his own youtube channel with that name) does on his really cold Vermont(?) permaculture farm.
Hi Kids,Marvin and I just bought 4 acres in Bonanza, Ore. in Sept... We have all utilities except a well... but, we have a 2,500 gal. water tank BURIED in the ground we won't fill til spring!! Our neighbor has a well which we run a 300 ft. hose to his well to our 35' motorhome... ha... works great unless it snows (which it has this yr. ALOT)!! They haven't had much of a winter up here (5,000') for the last 3 yrs... so of course the first yr. we decide to stick it out up here... it has THE worse snow storms ever!! One after another not allowing the snow to melt from the last!! But, we knew it could happen and were somewhat prepared (using a propane heater inside sure helps) so we're not using your RV heating system too much... along with electric heating gives us enough... electric blanket at night... I know you don't have power (so that would be hard)!! We have surrounded our RV with bales of hay which keeps the pipes from freezing and keeps the wind at bay... use straight hay not alfalfa... cheaper too (3.00 per bale)!! We have a metal garage with a pipe for a wood burning stove... next yr. will have one installed... but, Marvin doesn't stay out there for any reason... will be building a Tiny Home in a yr. or so (500 to 800 sq. ft.) and a couple sleeper cabins for guest as well... Feel free to ask any questions you may have... also checkout J.C. Desclos (bossoftheswamp) this man knows everything and is really fun to listen to and his dog Frankie is a crack up!! We have seen most of your videos and enjoy your humorous experiences... ha!! Stay safe... God Bless you both... Marvin and Carol
+Marvin Goodknight Hi Marvin! We just purchased some land near you. Out a little further, in Beatty. We plan on slowly developing our land, over the next few years, until we're able to build our homestead home. I was wondering, if there was a blog, or something to connect to like minded people out there. We plan on building an earthbag/earthship type structure. Any information, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jim.
+Jim Randall Hi Jim... We are really close... yes, if you need to converse with us about your property issues (if possible) would love to help!! Are you staying on the property right now?? We've been watching other websites from people like: Purelivingforlife... there's also: thebossoftheswamp (which is VERY informational about EVERYTHING you'd want to know) just connect with these and they lead you to many other video's it's fun to listen and learn from their experiences... our email is: goodknightm@gmail.com... if your in the area of Kingfisher rd... let us know and you can visit... Marvin and Carol
What about that standing water? If your property wasn't able to shed that water, what are you going to do when you build a house and the water is there again? I think you need to somehow shed the water that is coming off that hill behind you, need to shed it to the left or/and right, whichever way it will go so it doesn't flood the flat area you are on in the future.
I used to live in California and they have lots of long concrete troughs stretching across the hills to catch the water on the way down. Lots of water coming off that hill of yours after the ground can't take anymore. You can't afford the concrete troughs, I know, but got to think about that water you were standing in.
you two are awesome wish I could do what you are doing love the videos
Please don't forget to plant your fruit- & nut trees all over your property.
They take ages to mature and bear fruit.
A house or earthship will take a few months to build. Those trees will take 10 years or more to fully mature and produce to their max.
You can use those Groasis Waterboxxes with those transparant green telescope (against deer) tubes to ensure their survival during winter etc.
In that regard you're absolutely right. There are several fruit trees that already produce a lot after just a few years. Depending on the size of the dwarf sapling of course.
But some fruit tree species and a lot of nut trees and sap trees like Maple and Birch take loads more years to fully produce or to produce at all.
I should have put more nuance in my statment.
In stead of they take ages I should have said quite a lot of them take ages...
Thanks for the correction.
watching this in july 2017 in phoenix in 120degree weather wishing for snow
You guys are going to need to build your soil if you want to grow food. I would suggest looking into permaculutre for strategies.
+Joseph bagofcarrots I'm sure we have a bit of work to do with our soil. Another exciting project we have to look forward to!
+Pure Living for Life.... back to eden gardening. check it out on Vimeo!
You all must be in the N. Central Oregon area. The 100+ winds that I saw were near the Columbia River area.
Hobby Homesteader probley a bit closer to the coast, north central is more high desert land. I grew up in Walla walla (s.e W.A an now live in Olympia)
Ah yes, Pacific NW wind storms! You are definitely focusing on the blessings that show you are doing well and you still have strength when you think you are wiped out. Most important is it gave you information for rethinking the designs of future buildings. That could prove to be worth all the trouble.
LKH Fun i
You guys are doing "GREAT"! What type of wood stove is that? Thanks, JC
New Sub here. Love your videos. We heat with wood slabs too. We have a WOODMASTER outdoor heater for the past 12 years. We get bundles of slab wood delivered from a local saw mill. We split it to the length we need it hope to have more of a homestead in the future. Wish we had filmed our journey along the way. Looking forward to watching your journey.
When down you should sing that little diddy "Do you want to buy a Homestead."
Pure Living For Life - Just a bit of advice for you. If your seeking more energy then consider doing Veggie Juice for a boost. In the winter time lack of sun results of reduced suns powerful energy called Vitamin D3, it's a real booster, plus keep up your magnesium levels for Muscle aches n pain.
Just wondering what your good camera is. Thinking of buying a new one
I enjoy your videos. I'm in Boise and yes we had a record winter also. What area in Idaho are you in?
During the summer we ride ATVs throughout the southern half of Idaho.
Hi, you great people ... I'm from South Africa ... Cape Town ... Love your videos ...wish living of grid were posable in SA ... you will most probably be robbed or killed the first week trying what you did ... good luck and hope all your dreams come true ...
all though we may not think so at the time rember God only deals what we can handle. keep it up
tough as nails go get um
God it testing your resolve
what state are you in?
Like your videos. Keep upp The God work
Maybe both of you can think about building a basement as a bunker.
sh t happens keep up the good work your getting there your idea of a timber frame barn might be better served with a pole barn instead
I see several baby-boomers, over 60, who want to go off grid. I would LOVE to also and I am one who prefers the north too, FL is just not my cup of tea. I have lived in S. CA, Phoenix and South FL, maybe I had my fill of heat?? And the bugs and snakes AND gators in S. FL would scare anyone away. But anyway, I am alone in this life, have been divorced and widowed and am only 64. So anyone out there wanna homestead with a cougar ;- ) here I am. Seriously, contact me thru here. We can get to know each other, male or female is OK. Just gotta love dogs.
Love your videos but just wanted to say that its hard to listen when one is talking and the other person cuts in and adds to what is being explained. Not trying to be mean or anything. Love what you both are doing just not explained at the same time. :)
That just illustrates how close they are! My wife and I love the videos and are planning to make the move from Central Florida to northern Idaho with our four kids. It's gonna be tough but we're looking forward to the challenge 👍🏻
Hi, there I have been watching your videos with great interest. I am 72 and cannot imagine taking on a project like yours, But I would like to offer a bit of advice. This is not intended as a rant about what you are doing, and someone else has perhaps already commented about it. If so, I am just trying to lend a hand.
Heating with wood is great, but as you no doubt know, dry wood burns best. I noticed in this video that you have the firewood stacked nearly as high as your cabin. Has the wind knocked it down yet? Shorter piles can take a lot more wind abuse. There is really an art to stacking firewood, youtube has many examples of doing just that. Here is just one of the many videos on stacking wood, there were pages and pages of videos.
th-cam.com/users/results?search_query=stacking+firewood+outside
I noticed that the stack looked rather thrown together, and as it stands it will literally provide a path for water to run through the pile. It's slab wood with bark on a lot of it. It's best to stack the wood so that it drains the water off the ends of the rows in the stack using the bark to help in sheltering the wood from moisture. When I was in High school so many years ago, we didn't have much, but we did have 4 acres of woods, so we heated with wood for several years, until we could get a decent house built, and there is nothing worse than trying to burn wet wood. I have learned a lot while watching your videos. You are following your dream, something that most people are too timid to try.
OK, the occasional brief, polite comment isn't working.
PLEASE STOP INTERRUPTING HIM!
You two are doing SO MUCH good. But this damages the atmosphere you are building. When my late Daisy was alive, and she wanted to say something while I was in a story, she just touched my leg or arm. So I then yielded the floor, and there was no tension. And the same worked in reverse. She lived her life so that when she died at a young age, I always missed her.
Hey guys you are a very likeable and pleasant couple and I wish you all the success. I have watched a few of your videos, and while I enjoyed them, I want to say that your videos would be a lot more watchable if you did not do so much talking and explaining and spent more time showing us the actual building and construction of your place and how it is taking shape gradually. A good vidoe story in the end is visual and not audio. We do not need so much explaining, Make it move. You are on to a winner if you follow my advice. Good luck.
looks like your shack is going to fall apart 15 mph wind
kul3 kul3 Takes a lot more than 15 mph to blow over us northwestern folks. you guys call em hurricanes an we just call it wind.
yeah okay looks like a homeless shack in manhattan new york
Mate, buy that pretty wife of yours a real home.
+actionmethod They are going to build their real own home! Maybe you would buy one but they want to build their own. My Grandfather built his own home in Santa Barbara California in 1940!
She deserves better than a primitive shelter.
actionmethod they had a "real" home....
WHY DOES SHE START TALKING WHEN YOU ARE TALKING.
What are you talking about ? I think she is polite and is very respectful .
It is normal in my experience. My wife and I, as well as quite a few of our friends in long term (>10 years) relationships do the same thing.
In my experience, it is often associated with trying to help out your partner when you feel, consciously or unconsciously, they are in trouble (e.g. struggling to find the right words, missing out on communicating a key point in the story, etc.)
I applaud them for putting themselves, warts and all, out there so folks like us can be part of this amazing adventure.
Because he never shuts up
tom19592003 Wow!
Strong suggestions:
Can you NOT personalize another human being's communication style? It sounds like there may be control issues to look at.
How can one be free enough within, to really appreciate another when in identity lock down all the time?
No one completes another. You are ALREADY whole.
What might be learned in exploring taking it easy on one's inner sense of self?
Love your channel and your ideas, but hate your wife's personality. Sorry i don't know your names, but when the husband is talking she really needs to let you finish what your saying and stop butting in. Seems like every video you are talking and she has to put her foot in your mouth and say something, there is enough time for everyone to speak.
you know those dog tie downs the ones that look like a corkscrew try getting those and go every 3ft with them for short term hold down and also get some of those wonderful big rocks and tie around them and tie to the pipes of shelter for ancor weights