In the heart of their bustling homestead, Danae and Chris are embarking on a journey towards a sustainable lifestyle, aiming to live off the land through gardening and crafting herbal medicines. With their eyes on the prize of leaving behind their full-time jobs, they’re repurposing a woodland platform made from pressure-treated lumber. This couple isn’t just building a structure; they’re building a future where they can cultivate and craft to their hearts’ content. Moving the platform to the north side of their home brought challenges, including water-damaged siding, which they tackled head-on with determination and teamwork.
Their weekends are filled with projects that cater to their growing homestead needs, from constructing new areas to managing their bountiful garden produce. Danae’s clever use of straw mulch showcases her passion for extending their harvest season, even as fall threatens with frosty mornings. As they refine their homestead living, their efforts are highlighted by moments of humor and insight into day-to-day activities—like Danae’s playful banter with a remarkably dusty feline friend. Chris and Danae’s vlog offers a peek into the hands-on, fulfilling crafting of a life that’s truly their own.
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Planning the Porch and Working Area
The Dream of a Sustainable Lifestyle
Imagine cultivating a life where every decision you make edges you closer to a sustainable lifestyle. For you, Danae, and your partner Chris, this dream fuels your drive to transition from corporate careers to living in harmony with nature. The vision is clear — trading in office hours for days spent tending to gardens, crafting herbal medicines, and creating sustainable crafts. Each step you take on this journey brings a sense of fulfillment, guiding you closer to leaving behind the hustle and bustle of full-time jobs.
Identifying the Perfect Spot
Finding the ideal location for your projects is crucial, and you’ve done just that. You and Chris identified a spot on the north side of your home, tucked away under a comforting canopy of shade. It’s a place ripe with potential, ready to be transformed into a thriving working area. This spot promises the tranquility needed for your projects and offers a retreat from the demands of daily life, enabling you to focus on what truly matters.
Gathering Necessary Materials
Every great project starts with the right materials. Fortunately, you have a knack for repurposing and see value where others might not. As you gather the remnants of an older project, namely pressure-treated lumber from a woodland platform, you’re reminded of the high cost of new materials. Resourcefully, you salvage what you can, preparing these pieces for their new life as a leveled working area, a testament to your commitment to sustainable living.
Relocating the Woodland Platform
The Old Compost Relocation
Your homestead is all about efficiency, so moving the old compost pile was a natural first step. Relocating it to a more convenient spot by the house meant easier access for chucking kitchen scraps and nurturing your garden. This change has made a noticeable difference, and you’re eager to apply the same thoughtfulness to the next project.
Choosing Pressure-Treated Lumber
With the old compost pile moved, the next task was to dismantle the woodland platform. While it once served its purpose well, it was time to breathe new life into its pieces. The pressure-treated lumber used for the platform would become a cornerstone in your new working area, proving its resilience and worth once again.
The Big Move to the North Side
The task of relocating the platform to the north side was no small feat. But with determination and teamwork, the pieces made their way up the hillside to their new home. It wasn’t just a move; it was a transformation, repurposing the past to build the future, while ensuring resources were used wisely.
Dealing with the Unforeseen: Water Damage
Discovery of Damage
Life has a way of throwing curveballs, and this time, it was water damage. Once the siding was pulled back, a discovery of water damage awaited. It was one of those moments where a necessary project revealed hidden challenges, but you were ready to meet them head-on.
Damage Assessment Techniques
Armed with DIY spirit and practical knowledge, you and Chris took careful stock of the situation. The lumber beneath was still strong; it was mostly superficial damage. Using blow dryers and other handy tools, you dried out what you could, appreciating this opportunity to fortify your home.
Repairing and Installing New Siding
Repairing the damage became the next priority. New siding was essential to ensure your home stood strong against future weather conditions. The care you put into this repair was not just about addressing the damage but about building a resilient and lasting living environment for your sustainable lifestyle.
Constructing the Base
Laying Down the Framework
With a vision and materials in hand, you laid the groundwork for your new working area. Each beam placed was a step closer to realizing a functional and practical space, where sustainable projects could flourish. It felt good to see it come together, piece by piece.
Securing the Structure
Securing the structure was not just about the physical act but about creating a foundation for future endeavors. You carefully aligned and anchored each part, knowing that stability today would lead to easier projects tomorrow.
Ensuring Durability and Stability
As the basic structure took shape, your commitment to durability was unwavering. Reinforcing the platform meant ensuring it could withstand the elements, serve its purpose, and remain a part of your homestead for years to come.
Weekend Projects with a Purpose
Balancing Work and Homestead Tasks
Juggling the demands of weekly work with weekend projects can be challenging, but it’s a dance you’ve learned well. With each weekend, you carve out time to advance your homestead, tackling both necessary chores and projects that bring joy and fulfillment.
Fall Chores and Their Importance
Autumn brings a whole new list of tasks essential for the care and upkeep of your home and garden. From preserving summer’s bounty to preparing for the colder months, these chores are a cornerstone of your sustainable practice, keeping your home robust and ready for whatever comes.
Planning for the Future Christmas Tree
There’s something magical about envisioning a Christmas tree sparkling with lights outside your window, blending festive cheer with the warmth of home. Planting and planning for this tree is a testament to your dedication to integrating sustainable practices with life’s joyful moments.
Maximizing Garden Produce
Canning Surplus Greens
Your garden rewards you with an abundance of greens each season. Canning has become your go-to solution for preserving these rich flavors, allowing you to taste summer long into winter. This practice not only minimizes waste but makes efficient use of everything your garden offers.
Enriching the Soil with Produce Remnants
Nothing goes to waste in your garden. Even the scraps contribute to a thriving ecosystem. By returning remnants to the soil, you enrich it naturally, ensuring the land that provides for you continues to do so with fertility and vigor.
The Art of Making the Most out of Your Harvest
Mastering the art of using every part of your harvest takes dedication and creativity. Whether through canning, composting, or creating, you celebrate each seed’s journey, honoring the cycle of growth and replenishment that nourishes your family.
Repurposing and Reutilizing Materials
The Value of Wooden Boards
Repurposing old materials like wooden boards highlights your resourceful nature and dedication to sustainability. Each board, once part of something else, finds new life in your projects, reminding you that what is old can flourish once more when you look at it through a creative lens.
Turning Old into New
There’s a special kind of satisfaction that comes from turning something old into something new. It reinforces the belief that nothing is truly past its prime — merely waiting for a fresh opportunity to shine, much like you do in every facet of your sustainable efforts.
Thoughts on Future Projects
With each project completed, your thoughts wander to what’s next, dreaming of what could be. The future promises new opportunities to enhance your homestead, blending functionality with beauty, and always with sustainability at its core.
Protecting Garden Plants
Benefits of Using Straw Mulch
Straw mulch is not just a protective layer for your garden; it’s a nurturing blanket that supports life underneath. It prevents soil erosion, retains moisture, and adds a rustic charm as it quietly does its critical work within your garden beds.
Preventing Freezing and Extending Harvest
The first frost doesn’t spell the end for your produce, thanks to thoughtful preparations like straw mulch. By insulating plants, you extend the harvest well into colder months, ensuring that your labors in spring and summer provide nourishment deep into winter.
Guarding Vegetables like Leeks
Leeks, with their delicate flavor, are a prized part of your autumn fare. By using straw to guard them against the encroaching cold, you savor the ability to harvest fresh, homegrown leeks even as the year winds to a close.
A Day in the Life: Personal Touches
Humorous Moments and Daily Life
Every day carries with it small moments of laughter and levity that shape your homestead life. Whether it’s a misstep, a sudden shower of leaves, or a playful quip from one of you, these moments keep the spirit of your lifestyle light and joyful.
Interactions with the Dirty Cat
Oh, the antics of your beloved, albeit sometimes grubby, cat! It’s these simple, heartfelt moments that remind you that this journey is as much about the creatures you share your life with as it is about the plants you nurture.
Building Bonds Through Simple Joys
In this quest for sustainability, the bonds you build, with each other and with the world around you, affirm the value of simple joys. Whether through sharing a harvest, a laugh, or a quiet moment of gratitude, these connections enrich the purpose you’ve found together.
Conclusion
The Journey to Sustainability
This journey towards sustainability is as much about the destination as it is about the path you tread. With each step forward, you cultivate not just a homestead, but a life imbued with purpose and interconnectedness with nature.
Reflecting on Accomplishments
Looking back on what you and Chris have built together fills you with pride. Your accomplishments are many, each a marker in your ongoing journey, an effort shared, and a dream gradually becoming reality.
Excitement for Future Endeavors
The future beckons with endless possibilities, each one shining brightly against the canvas of your aspirations. There is excitement brimming for what’s to come, each challenge and triumph eagerly anticipated as you continue this beautiful, sustainable narrative you’re crafting together.