Slow living, off grid and self sufficiency with kids

On this page, I’ll share how we changed our life from surviving in the rat race to slow living, off grid and self sufficient lifestyle. Minimalistic and more intentional. Less stress, less clutter, less demands. Over the years, I have learnt many life skills from people all over the country and through having more time to relearn the old ways. It’s not perfect but I’ll share what I know.

DIY cleaning and self care products with simple ingredients – Ditch the plastic and toxic chemicals and make your own healthy, cost effective alternatives.

Baking and Making Making Sourdough, Kombucha, Kefir, herbal teas and wild salads from things you have foraged and preserved.

Other life hacks Things that will help you save money, reduce waste and overconsumption, save energy and help the environment
Living on the Road I’ll share what we learnt on the road and how we lived as a family of five (and a cat) in our home on wheels.

Home education and roadschooling Taking charge of your child’s education is not easy but it’s so rewarding. I’ll share resources and what we did to keep learning fun and engaging.

Scroll down to the latest posts and to keep updated, bookmark the website or feel free to follow me on pinterest.

Drowning in responsibilities and clutter

It’s been a long journey to get here but slowly, I’ve been stripping back the unhealthy habits, the toxins and living a life that’s far, far too busy. Now, I live a life that is slow and intentional. I live as self sufficiently as possible and have lived off grid for a few years. Before that, I was a hamster on a wheel, just trying to survive modern life. I decided to take some radical steps (and also a number of little steps) to live the life I dreamed of. It’s still a work in progress but looking back, I don’t know how I survived that furnace of stress. I used to ask myself, how is everyone else coping with this amount of pressure? I think some are just better at hiding it than others. If you feel as though you are drowning in clutter, or in a sea of stress and responsibilities, I’m here for you.

Life before …does this resonate?

The children were at school, attending after school clubs, activities and parties. We had a white board with clubs, venues, days and times. Running two demanding businesses and I was a director for the town’s business district. I was organising festivals for the town and managing a family loyalty club with local companies. I had so many plates spinning and all I really wanted to do was spend time with the family, grow veg and learn some home making skills. Modern life wasn’t letting me.

Suffering burn out.

I was suffering burn out and was constantly exhausted. My eldest child was not happy in the school system due to all the testing, no free time, the constant homework and pressure….and this was primary school! He is actually really academic but also very creative and found the curriculum very restrictive. He’d come home from school on a Friday and have meltdowns all weekend. It was heart-breaking. Sunday (our only family day), was a sad anxious mess, with the impending, back to school on Monday. The school had no idea. He was the model pupil, with perfect attendance and good grades but it all fell apart when he came home. In a way, his falling apart, was a reflection of how I felt inside. The model business person, holding it all together but there was no time to fall apart with all the responsibilities I had piled on myself.

The younger two were starting to follow suit with the meltdowns and it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage three, tired, overstimulated children. The school was lovely but the system is not designed for individuals who want to do their own thing or think outside the box. Forcing the children out of bed into uniforms, bribing them to do homework and pleading for them to go to bed, is not how I wanted to spend my time as a mum. Just because something is the norm by society’s standards, doesn’t mean it is natural.

Discovering vanlife

Seeing my son so miserable was the catalyst for me. There had to be a different way to live than this? Something slower, more meaningful? Where we could spend more time together as a family and enjoy a daily rhythm. That’s when I came across #vanlife. People were living on the road and home educating / roadschooling their children…. Yes! I fell down the rabbit hole and was completely smitten with the idea of this slow living and off grid lifestyle. The freedom to travel and play and learn and have new experiences. To be a family without interruption and learn real life skills. I researched for months on how we could do this and change our whole lifestyle. The children needed me and I had already missed out on so much quality time already. A busy life and business had left me with little free time and barely any maternity. I was going to turn this around….

Slow living on the road

I sold my businesses, deregistered the children from school and started home educating. We sold and gave away most of our possessions, bought a campervan, and went on the road! This simplified version of home was just the tonic we needed…Travelling with only the things we needed, made our possessions more intentional and our purchases more thoughtful. Focusing on purpose, utility and longevity, added value and joy to our things. It helped us reduce excess that caused stress and clutter. Being on the road made us very mindful of our purchases and creating waste. There simply was no room for rubbish of any kind!

Here, I share some of my favourite things we use daily and items I will use forever. Intentional purchases, which save money, make life easier and are designed to last.

 It wasn’t easy or glamourous but it was ours and I loved the lifestyle so much. We were searching for answers, knowledge, how to live off grid and ultimately for a plot of land to call our own…Now we have a plot of land and are renting a cottage whilst we set up for off grid living. We’ve had to take a step back into “normal life” so we can move forward but I’m using this time to get set up and build our permanent self sufficient life for the family. There is more on our journey here.

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