one of the most important, at least to me, is that our long term goals are the same.
we are pretty 'offbeat' in a lot of ways - and that carries over into that KIND of lifestyle we want to live.
we arent much for 'keeping up with the jones'' as they say - we arent into big and fancy. we arent into pre-fabed, well, anything. we are a little more 'crunchy' (ive always called it bohemian, myself). we want LAND more than a big, fancy, house. we want SUSTAINABLE. we want HAND MADE. we want to homestead (we want to grow our own food, maybe raise some animals, make our own things) - you know, old school.
and even though we aren't currently in the most ideal place, we are in the process of planning for our future. and what that looks like for us is really different than what it looks like for most people we know, and really, most people in general.
we recently read an article about a couple that built their own 2500 square foot home, with their own two hands, for $35 a square foot (granted this was in the early 90s) with materials they had sourced themselves. their total cost from start to finish was under 90,000. their home was made of lumber and stone, was energy efficient, and beautiful.
how beautiful is this!?
and wonder of all wonders - there are plans online to help you do this yourself. and ideas how to modify, etc etc. although, building a home yourself from the ground up tends to be time consuming - this project took five years.
so then we start looking into sustainable homes, small homes, homesteading, etc etc etc and we find the most amazing stuff! and BEAUTIFUL.
i fell in LOVE with this small, two bedroom, dime sized, amazing little house:
that we could "build for ourselves" for under 42,000. or that we could have built though the cost increases drastically. either way, it pays for itself in the amount saved on heating and cooling, electricity (there are solar options), water usage, etc etc etc. and its BEAUTIFUL!
we dont want a 'starter home' only to upgrade in five years (unless you count our little matchbox house as our 'starter). we dont want to flip property or refinance or think about resale value. we want - a settlement. something that we will cultivate, use, and nurture for our whole lives and then leave behind for our child(ren) to do the same, if they so wish.
i think our ultimate goal that we are working towards is to find a really beautiful piece of land that we want to live on, homestead on, and enjoy forever. my 'dream' is to put one of these amazing, small, perfect matchbox houses on it and live in that while we slowly work on building our dream home from gathered materials as time and money allows. kind of like the above image.
then, when all is said and done, we have our dream home with geothermal heat, rainwater recycling, solar energy, sustainable produce (and who knows, maybe chickens and cows), beautiful land, etc. AND an adorable, QUALITY, efficient 'carriage' or guest house for when people come to visit, or for bella, when she is older (maybe college, if she goes to school close to home) or if she ever returns to the nest - we have space for her. or to rent out! or, lets be realistic - for me to use as a 'getaway' slash 'writing space' slash studio.
the deeper we delve into all of this, the more we find.
we aren't crazy. there are (and have long been) other people like us who want sustainable living (www.smallhouseliving.org), who dont want to conform to the 'new american dream' lifestyle. yes, my husband works and will continue to do so, but i am finding that i am happier and (more importantly) healthier as a housewife and 'stay at home mom' - who is also a writer, photographer, and dabbling musician. also, cook, crafter, homeopath, aspiring herbalist, beginner furniture maker and all around earthy-witchy-gypsy-boho-artist-mama.
(and really, i cant get enough of these little houses:
and these (ok they arent all tiny but they are BEAUTIFUL!)
and, on that note, i think im going to call this a wrap.
xo.
m.
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