Four years ago, myself and my husband moved 3 hours away from Toronto to live rurally. We’d been yearning for a life that was more self-sufficient, where we could learn, create, make, and do from scratch.

We were in a situation where our budget gave us very limited options on what we could buy. All we could afford was a fixer upper property. For the last 30 years, the previous owner hadn’t maintained the 100 year old house OR the property.

So we got to work. The landscaping part isn’t too bad – I have a background in landscape design, while my husband has a background in horticulture. Our biggest challenge was (and still is) the house itself.

We had to tear the interior down to the studs and rebuild it on a budget. It’s certainly livable now, but we’re definitely not finished yet! We’ve learned so much along the way, and we still are.

The goal of this blog is to share the challenges we’ve faced and the mistakes we make – so that you don’t have to go through what we did! (Or at least be better prepared for any challenges). We also learned a lot about navigating a small space and how to properly design multi-functional spaces when you’re not working with lots of room.

So, welcome new and aspiring homesteaders! I hope you can glean a few useful tips from this blog on your journey to self-reliance, creating, making, and DIYing!

Much love,

Karolina