After years of saving, months of hunting, days of stress and countless sleepless nights, we finally have our very own little bit of green.
Our tiny cottage is in the middle of National Trust woodland with streams and ponds and fields and hills and comes with a massive overgrown jungle of a garden.
The house has been lived in but unloved by the same couple for the last 30 years and the neighbours have confirmed that they never took so much as a tin of paint inside. Needless to say the house needs a bit of TLC. The grey muddy living room carpet, the brown wallpaper, the dingy, grimy kitchen and the asbestos kitchen floor all need a lot of attention- as does the 14 foot crack which runs the height of the house... (no nails?)
The problems are these:
our combined salaries (teacher and skateboard shop dude) do not amount to much
we want to live our lives with as little impact on the environment as we can
The Solution:
Our little bit of green is going to be furnished with entirely second hand/ vintage/ antique furniture (including the kitchen which the boyf is building with a selection of old chest of drawers- more on that later)
We are going to do all the work ourselves (mainly the boyf- being a skateboard dude totally doesn't take up as much time as inspiring young minds and indoctrinating teenagers towards feminism and away from David Cameron...and marking)
We are going to make all our selections based on choosing the products with the lowest environmental impact within our budget (obviously on our budget farrow and ball throughout might put back the fixing of the crack by a few years)
We are going to grow as much of our own food as we can (this part of the plan wont come into effect until we have attacked the garden in the spring)
We are going to heat our house with a wood burner and try as hard as we can to resist putting the heating on (blankets and an open fire- terribly romantic..right?)
Easy right?
I'll keep you up to date!
The house you bought is quite old. Have you finally moved in to this house? It would be better if you’ll address those things that need to be fixed before settling in here. Isn’t it much better to move in a house that smells like a newly built home? -Oscar Lang
ReplyDeleteLiving in a house that doesn’t fit your cost of living is a risk and you have to adjust to the situation. I love the fact that you’re planning to grow your own food and use wood burners to heat your home. I’m just curious if you bought this house in full or with a home loan. If bought in full, I recommend that you take out a home loans to have your renovations. Well, that is, if you can allocate some of your income to pay your loan. :)
ReplyDelete-^ Nannie Toller ^-
This post is kinda encouraging, but I’m really afraid of living somewhere that I can’t afford. I know I’m paying my mortgage with very compassionate creditors, but I still don’t want to get a bad credit score if I fail to pay on time. Anyway, I hope that things are going well for you. I also realized that growing your own food can be a great time to bond with your family. How are you now? :)
ReplyDeleteCarmen Monrovia
Hi all- we are fully installed now and living in the house. Luckily no heating bills as its warm enough to do without heating and we do a lot to keep costs down with everything else. The house has taken 6 long months of work and we are only just getting round to growing- the first year is going to be very expensive but by next year costs should settle down...fingers crossed!
ReplyDelete