Our Journey

Part 1

After purchasing our land, we began making plans for our homestead. Since the only structure on the property was a small shed, a place to live was our next step. Our first task was to figure out how to live on the property while we built a house.

An old school bus was left on the property, giving me a great idea. In my mind, turning the bus into a tiny home was the perfect solution. My husband was a trooper and wanted me to be happy, so he went along with the crazy idea. We began ripping out seats and clearing debris left by the previous owner in preparation for making our tiny house. It seemed like a fun project; we thought it would be a great guest house to keep on the property. Well, it probably would have been all those things, but after working to clear it out, we quickly realized how much time and money it would take to do what we wanted with the bus. So, we stopped production and put our time and money into starting the house.

Ultimately, we decided to stay where we were at the time and begin building the house. It was at this point that we made our second mistake. With the tiny house craze going strong, we watched episode after episode of tiny house shows, where they created beautiful, efficient living spaces for families. We knew we would be exactly like those people who spent most of their time outdoors and used the house mainly for sleeping. Newsflash! We aren’t like those people at all. We built a small (not tiny) home and made it fine for a while, but it was clear that our children needed more space. Although we spent a good bit of time outside, I admit, we did like the air condition of the inside.

Our grand plan was to build small and then add an addition later. Now I know that everyone knows it doesn’t save money doing it that way. And yes, well-wishers gave us the same warning, but we thought that since we were doing most of the work ourselves, it would allow us to spread the cost over time. Of course, that is not exactly how it worked, and we learned a lesson firsthand. Sometimes you spend more doing it this way.

On a brighter note, we all learned invaluable skills during our construction days. Looking back, I know this was most valuable for our children, who will not shy away from tackling home improvement projects as they begin their journeys through life. I already see they don’t hesitate to tackle projects others may hire a handyman to complete.