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Simple Farmhouse Life
272. Mortgage-Free Homestead Living: DIY Cottage of Your Dreams! | Natalie of Home of Hollands
01:08:41
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- [00:00]
Lisa
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- [01:26]
Natalie
Either we throw a bunch of money at rent while we build or we build this shed house and that way we can take our time, we can be on our property. My husband will do some of our build and so he can be here and like oversee it. And the reason we went with a shed rather than just building a small little house is if it's a shed and you don't go over 16ft wide, you can actually have it moved off your property so we can sell it to another family. We priced out what these are selling for and we're like, okay, great, so we can live for free, make a turn around and sell it for way more than what we put into it.
- [01:58]
Leanne
My name is Lisa, mother of eight.
- [02:00]
Lisa
And creator of the blog and YouTube channel Farmhouse on Boom.
- [02:03]
Leanne
On this podcast I like to talk.
- [02:05]
Lisa
About simplifying your life so you can.
- [02:06]
Leanne
Live out your Priorities.
- [02:07]
Lisa
I help you learn how to cook.
- [02:09]
Leanne
From scratch and decorate on a budget through this podcast and my courses, Simple Sourdough and the Simple Sewing Series.
- [02:15]
Lisa
I also help people reach their goals.
- [02:17]
Leanne
From home through my business courses, Create your blog Dream and YouTube Success Academy. I will leave links to these resources in the show notes and description box below. Now let's get into the show. Welcome back to the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast. Today I'm having on Natalie from home of Hollands over on Instagram and YouTube. We are going to talk about how she and her husband took a 16 by 48 foot shed and turned it into a beautiful tiny home with ample space for cooking from scratch and homeschooling their four children on property. So the idea was to live mortgage free on a piece of property. So many of us want to do that, but then financially, we try to figure out how we could do it. You know, maybe we could live in an rv, maybe we could live in a tent. Just something to get us out on property. She came up with a beautiful solution, and I think you're going to find this conversation very interesting. Well, Natalie, thank you so much for joining us. I think a lot of people are going to find your story very fascinating. A lot of people have already heard of your story because if, like me, they saw your viral reel where you discuss your story and show the before and after of the shed that you turn into a very beautiful home. A lot of questions. Like, there's a lot of people that have a lot of questions. I normally Leanne, my podcast manager, puts a question box over in Instagram, but I'm like, this time just go to that reel and look at what people are asking because that has already had a lot of interest and discussion. So let's start from the beginning.
- [03:46]
Natalie
Yes.
- [03:46]
Leanne
First, tell us what you and your husband did, what we're going to talk about here.
- [03:50]
Natalie
Yeah. So we were trying to think of an idea. Okay. We were moving from Texas to South Carolina and there's like no rentals here. And so we thought, okay, how can we live with a little bit less each month and. But still be on property because we want to build a house. And so we started like, toying with ideas. We've actually lived in a renovated RV before that. We renovated in 2021. We only had three, three boys at the time and we lived in it for about six months. But we knew we didn't want to do that route again. And so I came to my husband and I was like, what if we, like, take a shed and make it into a house. And so we kind of just started like playing with floor plans and thinking, okay, can we do it? And so we basically drew it out on graph paper, had it designed into actual floor plans, and then found property and ordered it. And my husband, you know, built it out. And it is, it's 16ft wide by 48 foot long. So it's about 750 square foot, not counting the loft.
- [04:59]
Leanne
Wow. Yes. And so the loft adds an additional, I believe, bedroom for the kids.
- [05:05]
Natalie
Yes. Yeah, it's about 150 square foot. And it's a large loft they cannot stand. It's only three, a little over three feet tall, but they don't seem to. They can all sit up and play. They don't really mind, so.
- [05:19]
Leanne
Right, yeah. Yeah, well. And you're on property. So for people who live on property, the goal is kids being outside like most of the day. I'm always talking about on my channel, like, how to keep a clean house. And I'm like, declutter and all of this. And I realize now, like speaking from a person in the middle of winter where we have like 8 inches of snow on the ground, that that works all year until winter. And now I am literally cleaning non stop because the kids are inside and when they come in and out, they're dropping all of their snow. And like, there's just snow and wet and boots. There's like really nothing you can even do. So normally when you're on property, kids are outside all day. And it's very easy to keep a clean house.
- [06:00]
Natalie
It is. Right now it's a little tough. It is a little tough. We don't have. Well, we're supposed to be getting our first snow this weekend, but it doesn't snow a ton here. However, there's a lot of red dirt and it will make you go a little bit insane. So that's a fun challenge. But everything's super washable. And we do have. We put in a 30x30 shop that's connected by a porch to the shed and they. And it has concrete and they play out there even when it is so, so cold. They bundle up and they like get on their scooters and their bikes and they like just ride around all, all day. So that has been really nice.
- [06:42]
Leanne
Yeah. That really makes a small home very livable. Like having good space that they can play that's not in the home. And for me, like most of the year, we don't spend a ton of time in our home. We spend sleeping time and eating time. But the rest of the time, there's other spaces. So we've always lived. I think people consider it to be a relatively small home. I mean, it's nothing compared to you. But I think my. Our last home was around 2400 square feet. This one's around 2400 square feet. And it actually most the year feels plenty big. It doesn't feel. And we have eight kids, and now we have neighbors, so we have, like, at least 10 kids in the house at all times. So that's a whole different thing.
- [07:21]
Natalie
For sure. It. It helps when you have that outdoor space.
- [07:24]
Leanne
Yeah. And so for you, it was mostly driven by this goal to get out on property. I don't really know what brought you to South Carolina. Was it a certain property that you saw or was it a job that brought you there?
- [07:37]
Natalie
Well, so we were in. We were originally from California. We moved to Texas, the Houston area, about three years ago, and we just didn't have any family there. We moved there for my husband's job, but he really was feeling the pool to move away from that job and start his own company just to have that, like, passive income and freedom because we do homeschool and, you know, he really wants to be a part of our family and not like, see you later, go to work. And, you know. And so we had a beautiful property in Texas. It had multiple houses on it. One was a rental. But we were just so tired of that, like, monthly, like, grind, right. Where you're like, it's so stressful. And the rental was kind of stressful. And so we listed that for sale. We had renovated both houses, so we listed that for sale. And we just really wanted to live mortgage free for a little bit so that my husband could start his own company. And we didn't love living there. We love Texas, but it was just miserably hot. And there was, like, always storms. We never had power. And so my sister actually moved to South Carolina about three years ago. Upstate South Carolina. And it is so beautiful here. The weather is amazing, and there's so many outdoor things to do for the kids where there wasn't really that option in Texas. It was just too hot. And so we were like, why do we live here if we could live anywhere? Let's go there. It's not here. And so we just sold everything. My husband started his own business, and then we've just been living. Moved here. We lived in a temporary rental while he built this out. It took him two months, which is really fast.
- [09:23]
Leanne
Wow.
- [09:24]
Natalie
I don't really recommend it. Was two months. It was actually a little bit less than two months. Obviously the shed came like built, but then to build it out and he did everything except for the drywall finishing and the insulation. And so him and my at the time, 10 year old son worked all day, every day. It was kind of bananas, but they did it. And so we lived in a temporary furnished rental and then we were able to move in here. So. And it's been nice not having any.
- [09:56]
Leanne
That is crazy fast.
- [09:57]
Natalie
It was.
- [09:57]
Leanne
So for those who haven't yet watched the your content over on Instagram, home of Holland's Go watch and you will be amazed at how great this looks. I was actually showing my husband last night because he was like, who are you interviewing tomorrow? And I'm like, well, you got to see it. They built, they took a shed and turned it into a, a home, you know, and there was of course like skepticism in that. But when he saw it, he was like, wow, like they did a really good job. So tell us a bit about the planning. Like you said, you put together a floor plan. How did that work out to where you actually have this home that looks very comfortable. It looks like you actually have like good kitchen space, living room space, space for everybody. How did that all play out?
- [10:38]
Natalie
So when we were designing it, I literally took a graph paper and you know, each graph was a square foot and I drew the shed, which is just a perf, perfect rectangle. And I knew that the kitchen had to be large because I like you make everything from scratch and we live in our kitchen and so I knew that had to be a bulk of it. And most shed houses I've seen, the kitchen's kind of in the middle and very small. So which is why we put it.
- [11:07]
Leanne
On bedrooms on each side.
- [11:09]
Natalie
Yeah. Usually we're like a living room. Yeah. And so we wanted to kind of walk into that living room area, have like a little hall closet or entry closet and then a large U shaped kitchen. And the kitchen is definitely the biggest kitchen I've ever had in any of my houses.
- [11:29]
Leanne
Wow.
- [11:30]
Natalie
It's very large and. But we knew, you know, we're in there so much, we were able to do a little like dine in nook area which as you know when you're homeschooling, everyone graduates towards that dining table if you don't have a homeschool room. And even if you have a homeschool room, I feel like everyone still ends up at the.
- [11:49]
Leanne
You probably still don't use it.
- [11:51]
Natalie
And so we did a little like Built in with a bench, and we store school stuff under there. And then. So we knew we needed that living room. And then the bedroom. It's not the biggest bedroom, but, I mean, it fits perfectly. We have one family closet. We did a pantry, and then one bathroom. And it honestly, it hasn't been. It hasn't been that bad. And then the boys, they. The older boys sleep upstairs, and there's lots of floor space. They play with their Legos and Magna tiles and stuff up there.
- [12:23]
Leanne
So. Right.
- [12:24]
Natalie
They honestly love it up there. We've had a lot of criticism around that, you know, the kids, that they can't stand in their room. But really, when you live like we do and you. You share your whole home with the children. Right. They don't have their room. You have your room. It's. It's our home. And so they. I mean, they sleep up there and they play with their Legos up there, but most of the time they're down here with us or they're outside.
- [12:50]
Leanne
Yeah, that's. I find it interesting, the way we've always used our homes, that there's actually space that goes unused if there's too much dedicated to a bedroom. So in our last house and this house, the layout's very, very similar almost in a lot of ways. And there's.
- [13:07]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [13:08]
Leanne
Like, the bedroom space almost doesn't. We have one bedroom that nobody even sleeps in. It's because it's connected. And there's all these boys. They all sleep in the same room, not because we make them, but because they just do. So we have this one large bedroom with two very nice beds in it, and nobody even uses it. So it's completely wasted space. And if I could redesign, which we are currently designing a home, I would take from that, and I would throw it at the kitchen. That's so small. So I think sometimes we just see the square footage and just assume every part of it's getting used equally when it totally is not. And again, we could. Our kids could sleep in that room. We have the space. They sleep five boys in one not very large room, which is just. It's funny, people. I think a lot of times this criticism comes from people who don't have a lot of kids, or kids at all, maybe, and they just imagine what they think they would want. But it's hard to understand that family culture that you have.
- [14:05]
Natalie
Right. Yeah. And my children have said, you know, I've asked them. I'm like, do you mind sleeping? And they're like, we love it, Mom. Like, we we don't mind it at all. People have said that we, you know, that's like not ideal. And I'm like, yeah. And they're like, well, we think it's great. I mean, you know, so. And like I said, this isn't our long term, you know, home, but we are going to be here probably 18 months to two years by the time it's all said and done. But when we were doing the math on rent, I mean that's like $60,000.
- [14:36]
Leanne
Okay, so actually you didn't share that yet. What is your long term plan for the shed house and then what is your plan for the future for your, your acreage that you have?
- [14:47]
Natalie
Sure. So we are going to build a house. We're going to start it hopefully mid year this year.
- [14:53]
Leanne
Okay.
- [14:54]
Natalie
Yeah. And so we were trying to think, okay, you know, either we throw a bunch of money at rent while we build or we build this shed house and that way we can take our time, we can be on our property. My husband will do some of our build and so that way he can, you know, be here and like oversee it. And then also we thought, okay, 60 grand over two years in rent is a lot of money. We built this for 68,000.
- [15:21]
Leanne
Okay.
- [15:22]
Natalie
So really, you know, that's a pretty good like, yeah, almost a wash. And then we started doing research and the reason we went with a shed rather than just building a small little house is if it's a shed and you don't go over 16ft wide, you can actually have it moved off your property so we can sell it to another family. And then we have a company that comes, they put it on a truck and they move it. And so we priced out like, did some research what these are selling for and we're like, okay, great, so we can live for free. And we could turn around and sell it for way more than what we, you know, put into it.
- [15:59]
Leanne
Oh, I imagine so. Because somebody could get a ready made house that if your family isn't super large and you know, I always picture when they're all teenagers, like right now I think we could just about live in a 16 by 48, to be honest with you. But when they're all, you know, like teenagers, I think that might be a little bit more difficult. But for some families that could just be your actual, there won't have to be a future plan. And to think exactly in this market that price, like if you were able to buy something like that for, I'm sure you guys are going to make a profit on it. But even something for under a hundred thousand. That's an interesting thought. That you could just literally build it and then sell it later.
- [16:38]
Natalie
And then you can sell it, or we can move it to a different piece of our property and like Airbnb it out. I mean, there's so many options. This would be perfect for, like a older couple, like a retired couple, who. They don't need a ton of space, you know, something big to take care of. So.
- [16:54]
Leanne
Yeah. And then the grandkids could sleep in the loft when they come over.
- [16:57]
Natalie
Totally. Yeah.
- [16:59]
Leanne
Yeah.
- [16:59]
Natalie
So that. That's the plan. That's kind of how we were thinking, okay, how are we going to get the most out of, you know, what we're putting into it? And we just really wanted to be on property. We asked our kids, would you rather live in a neighborhood?
- [17:12]
Leanne
Yes.
- [17:13]
Natalie
Or would you rather be on our property? And they're like, oh, we would sleep in a tent if it means we get to be on the property. So that's. That was their vote.
- [17:20]
Leanne
I'm feeling that right now because we were building a house on a farm and we decided instead to buy a house in town close by. That way we could, like, be able to sell our homestead property because it was much more expensive than this house in town. But I need to get out back out to the farm so bad. Like, it needs to happen, so it's going to be a little bit. But yeah, I could. Oh, man. If we could just have something like that, like, honestly, if there was one for sale for what you guys paid for it, I mean, I would literally, I would buy it. We'd be out there like tomorrow.
- [17:58]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [17:58]
Leanne
I just didn't even think about that.
- [17:59]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [18:00]
Leanne
So interesting.
- [18:01]
Natalie
It's definitely. It's definitely different, but it was. I don't. We were really trying to avoid. Well, and it really stemmed from looking at rental houses in this area, and there was nothing. It was like $2500 for a 900 square foot house that I was like, I can see the mold. Like, it looks really scary. So there was just not. There's just not a lot because people here. It's like a hidden gym and people don't leave. And so there's just not a lot of options. And so that. That was really where we were thinking, okay. But we didn't want to, you know, do the RV route again, so. So that's how he came up with this.
- [18:39]
Leanne
Yeah.
- [18:40]
Natalie
So, yeah.
- [18:42]
Leanne
Yeah. I think everybody that wants to live on property at some point gets some kind of idea like this in their head, like, either a wall tent. I know a couple, a family that I follow online that. That did that. An rv. I know many families that have done that. Our builder actually said he was like, I don't. Like, he was telling us he doesn't like when people put an RV on the property because then he feels really rushed. He's like, just don't move out with an rv. So apparently they must do it a lot because he told us not to do it.
- [19:10]
Natalie
Yes.
- [19:11]
Leanne
Which part of me is like, I think I want to kind of push you along a little bit. I think I'm about looking at that RV right now. Look at us and our kids here. Like, build faster.
- [19:21]
Natalie
You have to get it done. We're going crazy.
- [19:25]
Leanne
But I think, like, everyone who wants to live on property at some point has considered one of these alternative plans because it's so pricey to buy both a home and a property. And so how could we maybe trade some of our square footage for living on land? I think that people get a lot of ideas. This is like, you know, the ultimate. Like, how can I both have what I want, but yet also live mortgage free? And then tiny house living comes up as a result of that. And so I think the way you've blended, that's what I was so fascinated about, your story is it's not an rv, because, honestly, I just don't think I could do it.
- [20:03]
Natalie
It's hard.
- [20:04]
Leanne
It's beautiful. And it feels like people do kind of have their own space where they can sort of get, you know, separate. They want to go read a book or, you know, just so many reasons why you'd want a little bit of extra space.
- [20:14]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [20:14]
Leanne
It seems like the best of both worlds.
- [20:16]
Natalie
Yeah. And it functions just like a house, you know, like, you have your normal pantry. You have your stove and your dishwasher and everything, your washer and dryer. Everything's, you know, normal. It's just smaller and a little bit louder.
- [20:30]
Leanne
Right.
- [20:31]
Natalie
But yeah, and it's. It's actually kind of crazy to me how it has blown up. When I posted it, I never expected my reels to go viral like they did. And so we had so many people actually asking us for the floor plan, so we actually had them made. So I created a design guide and a floor plan that people can purchase and.
- [20:55]
Leanne
Oh, that's cool.
- [20:56]
Natalie
I am honestly blown away by how many people who have purchased it and that are going to do this. I just love it. I love that we could inspire people.
- [21:07]
Leanne
I'm not surprised, honestly. It's the ultimate dream. I mean, and I actually know families in real life. Two different families who have done something similar. It wasn't a shed, but it was a similar, like using a very tiny space and reimagining it for a large family. I've been to both their houses, and they both live on property, and they're beautiful and functional. And so I'm not a naysayer. I 100% see how comfortable they can be when done right. And not everybody can imagine it. So that's why it's cool that you actually offer the plan. We'll leave that link below.
- [21:38]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [21:38]
Leanne
So what all does that include? Like, just the floor plan. How. How does that all play out? Now? Is this something you could hire out or. Totally. Most people are probably going to want to DIY it.
- [21:48]
Natalie
Yeah. So it's not like a engineered floor plan, but it is a floor plan to show you. So it's a floor plan we actually used. We did make some edits, but we gave it to the shed builder and it told them, like, exactly where to put the windows and the front door. And so we. We added a couple windows because we weren't sure exactly, but now that they're in, we added those to the floor plan for the people who are, you know, going to do this. So that's the floor plan. We used you literally to PDF give it to the shed builder. They built it out, and then it also told my husband where to frame out the bathroom and the bedroom and the stairs and all that good stuff. And then, like, it tells you what cabinet sizes to get. And then I also included my design guide, all my, like, paint colors and the cabinets we used countertops, we used all those sources. So. And then it also answers a lot of questions that people have had on how do you do the foundation? How did you do the air conditioning and the plumbing, all that. It outlines everything that. My husband actually typed that out because I know a little bit about it, but not as much as he does. He has to sometimes get on my Instagram and answer people's questions. I'm like, someone's asking something, right?
- [23:03]
Leanne
You take over on this.
- [23:04]
Natalie
Yeah. I'm like, I have no idea. I'm just here for the design. We have learned a lot, though. It's. So we. We learned a lot along the way. And so it's kind of nice, too, to share that with others. And we put things in there that we would have changed, too, and done differently. So we're happy to share.
- [23:23]
Leanne
Yeah, I know you did a Lot of sourcing on Facebook Marketplace. I think it was. I'm pretty sure it was your real. I was reading questions and somebody said something like, this isn't cheap. You have an expensive stove. And you're like, I found that on Facebook Marketplace people. There's actually hacks for that. You don't have to always go buy something. Like, people get criticized non stop for everything online.
- [23:42]
Natalie
It's actually funny how many people have said, I think your range is worth more than your house. And it actually really made us laugh. But yeah, we got all of our appliances, which are really nice on my Facebook Marketplace and my countertops for like $450.
- [24:00]
Leanne
It makes it look so upgraded.
- [24:02]
Natalie
Totally. It's.
- [24:03]
Leanne
Yeah, yeah.
- [24:03]
Natalie
And when you use it as much as we do, it's. It was absolutely worth it. And so it really. Yeah, it was basically the same price as like another, you know, decent range. So, yes, face the marketplace. Anything you need.
- [24:17]
Leanne
Yes. Always a good hack. Yes. Everything is not always as it appears. There are ways to get things cheaper, everybody. Yeah, just dig deeper. Drive really far. That's what you're doing. There's a little bit of work we did.
- [24:28]
Natalie
We had to drive kind of far for the range. But I saw it and I was like, I think we even, I, I bought it before we even moved here. I messaged them and I was like, will you please hold this for me? I will send you money. Like, what do you need? Right? And she was so nice. She held it for us. We had to drive an hour and a half, but it was absolutely.
- [24:45]
Leanne
Oh, yeah. So, yeah, absolutely.
- [24:48]
Lisa
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- [25:47]
Leanne
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- [25:48]
Lisa
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- [27:30]
Leanne
Shopify.com farmhouse now did your property already have on it the, well, electricity, anything like that? Like are you including any of that in the price of this? So that infrastructure stuff?
- [27:44]
Natalie
Yeah, so that. So the price in the 68000 that is just for the shed and building it out. A lot of people have asked about the other stuff and obviously I mean that's really dependent on you know, what situation, what do you what your situation is. But we did add a septic how.
- [28:01]
Leanne
Far from the road right?
- [28:02]
Natalie
Exactly.
- [28:03]
Leanne
Like that all matters.
- [28:04]
Natalie
But to give people an idea, adding a septic system, running water and power from the road was. And then also, like, the foundation to put the house on and, like the rock. And then you also have to have a deck because it's raised up, so you just, like, you know, fall out the front door. So you have to have something. So all of that was about 15 to 20,000 just to kind of give people an idea. That was. Was what it was for us. Yeah. And that was obviously my husband running water from the road, power and all that good stuff. And then we had obviously, septic system put in. But the septic system also, it's bigger than we need for this house. But we just put it in for our actual house, too. So we only had to do it one time.
- [28:49]
Leanne
Okay.
- [28:49]
Natalie
Okay.
- [28:50]
Leanne
Because will your future house go very close to where your shed houses?
- [28:55]
Natalie
Yeah, it's like. Right. It's very, very close. So it'll be. Because, like, our shop is right here by the shed house. And this is actually. So we permitted for an RV pad. That's actually what the shed is on, is an RV pad. So that way, when it's gone, if we do have family or visitors that have an rv, they can park it right here and hook it up.
- [29:17]
Leanne
So I did not think of that. That makes sense that you'll still have.
- [29:21]
Natalie
That, or we'll do a smaller one maybe. So. But yeah, that's. And that was another thing that a lot of people have asked is how did you get it permitted? And that's. Obviously, it's so dependent on where you live. Texas. We lived in Texas, and we lived in a house that people literally just, like, built in their friends back at their property. It. You could do anything you want. You have. You have.
- [29:45]
Leanne
No, you can do anything here, too.
- [29:46]
Natalie
Anything. Okay.
- [29:47]
Leanne
Yeah. People always ask, like, what about. And I'm like, no.
- [29:49]
Natalie
What state are you in?
- [29:51]
Leanne
I'm in Missouri.
- [29:52]
Natalie
Okay. So it really depends on the area. Some places have super strict stuff. So we've been kind of. We can't really answer that question for people directly. I mean, we could tell you.
- [30:01]
Leanne
Right.
- [30:02]
Natalie
This is what we did. But it depends on where you live. So.
- [30:05]
Leanne
Yes. And it's county specific. Like, I think that there are plenty of counties in Missouri where it would be way more regulation and code. I mean, just some counties nearby me are like that. But it depends, like, how rural you are too. I think, like, we're more rural, and so there's a lot. Not as much planning and zoning stuff like that.
- [30:23]
Natalie
That's exactly. So it really, it's really dependent on where you live. But we always just recommend people find out what you can do and then get creative from there.
- [30:32]
Leanne
Yeah. What about if someone doesn't have the cash for that? Is there a way. And this could be a dumb question, but would the bank loan you money for something like that?
- [30:42]
Natalie
This is something I really, I don't know because we did pay cash.
- [30:47]
Leanne
Right.
- [30:47]
Natalie
And I've had so many people ask me this and I wish I had an answer.
- [30:50]
Leanne
Okay. Yeah.
- [30:51]
Natalie
I wish someone out there would be like, yes, I did. It could like. Tell me. So far we haven't. I know the Shed companies, they do some sort of financing, but as far as building it out, however, I don't know. I think it depends too on like your relationship with your bank. Maybe if you had a smaller bank credit. Yeah. And because really it's. Which is very silly that it's technically a manufactured home. I mean it is built just like a manufactured home.
- [31:22]
Leanne
But they do loan money and they.
- [31:23]
Natalie
Do loan them for that. So I don't know. I would like to see people get creative and figure out how to finance them because I think that's a lot of people's hold up with this is they would love to do this because even if they had to pay a contractor to do it, such a cheap mortgage, it would still be less than a house and easier. And I would just love to see people be able to finance it because. Yes. Not everyone has that, you know, the means and the cash to do that. So. Yeah, I don't know.
- [31:54]
Leanne
Right. I mean, we didn't. When we first got married, you know, our goal was mortgage free living as well. But when we first got married, we got a mortgage because we didn't just come into marriage with an, you know, and we got in really cheap living because we got married in 07. So we bought a house in 08. So, you know, it wasn't like a ton, but we still didn't have a hundred grand just laying around. And I, you know, most people don't. So I was just curious what that would look like and. Okay, tell me again or explain further why you. Why it would be so much cheaper to build out a 16 by 48 shed versus like a 16 by 48 rectangular house with the same dimensions.
- [32:36]
Natalie
You know, I don't. I think it, it could potentially be around the same price. I think it is cheaper, I guess because the Shed, you're doing a lot of the work.
- [32:48]
Leanne
Right. Because it's very straightforward. It's Already.
- [32:50]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [32:51]
Leanne
Like, I would not know how. And not that we'd know how to do a lot of this, but I could see us feasibly doing that over building from scratch a house.
- [33:00]
Natalie
Right. Yeah. Well, and that's. And that's, I think, where the savings comes in. However, the appeal to doing the shed is one, that that part's already done for you, and two, if you do want to sell it and move it off your property, you can.
- [33:16]
Leanne
Right.
- [33:17]
Natalie
And so that's kind of because we have had people say, well, why didn't you just build a house? And my. You know, and that's why we didn't is so we can, you know, eventually sell it and move it. And then that part was already done for us.
- [33:29]
Leanne
Right.
- [33:29]
Natalie
And we started the build of the shed before we even moved to South Carolina.
- [33:33]
Leanne
Okay.
- [33:34]
Natalie
So it was already, like, being built.
- [33:36]
Leanne
Right.
- [33:36]
Natalie
So right after we got here, it was, you know, ready for us. Like, we weren't waiting on it. It was waiting on us, actually, to be delivered.
- [33:43]
Leanne
Yes. And then I could see how that would be important in a lot of scenarios.
- [33:46]
Natalie
Yeah, yeah. And then from there, you could do what you can and then sub out what you can't. So, like, finishing drywall. My husband was like, I have no idea how to finish drywall.
- [33:56]
Leanne
Or I.
- [33:57]
Natalie
You know, that's one thing he didn't want to learn, but everything else he either knew how to do or he watched on YouTube, like, he did the electrical plumbing, and he had never done electrical. We were going to hire it out, and he was talking to some electricians, and they were like, it's easier than you think. Get on YouTube and watch some videos. And he did it, and he was like, it really wasn't that hard, maybe.
- [34:19]
Leanne
For also such a small house, I feel like it'd be less complicated.
- [34:22]
Natalie
Absolutely.
- [34:23]
Leanne
Yeah. So what's the process like for moving it? I'm curious. Like, what has to come out and what stays intact? Like, just.
- [34:31]
Natalie
Yeah, yeah. It's a great question. I think when we move it, basically anything on the walls, you know, will bring down. And then, you know, mostly just furniture and, like, shelving, I think, but everything else will stay the same. Like the. The heating and air conditioner system is, like, on the wall on the back. And so that stays. It's, like, attached to the house. And so when you move it, there is going to be some cracking in the drywall. But you would. We'll just, you know, have our drywall guy come in and refinish that. But it shouldn't Be too much. We will come in and we'll add, like, some, probably some, like, braces in, you know, in the ceiling so it doesn't, like, like, move too much. But other than maybe removing, like, the light fixtures that are, like, you know, hanging and, like, the open shelving, I think everything else, you know, and furniture will be okay.
- [35:32]
Leanne
Yes, we'll stay.
- [35:33]
Natalie
I suspect it's kind of like.
- [35:34]
Leanne
I'm sure you're gonna take your oven and just put that in your new house. I mean, I'm just gonna.
- [35:40]
Natalie
We. We want the same one, but, like, a bigger one. But I told my husband, I was like, what if I just. But what if I just get a second one and we just put them side by side? I think that would be a great.
- [35:50]
Leanne
So there you go. I like that.
- [35:52]
Natalie
And so he's laughing. He's like, well, when you list it, you got to take it out before, because they're going to want that thing. And I'm like, I know.
- [35:58]
Leanne
So, yes, right? Yeah. That cannot be in the picture. With your Instagram following, you probably should almost leave it as is, and then you'll get top dollar. I mean, just saying, people love it how it is.
- [36:14]
Natalie
We've already have. People have DMed, and they're like, are you selling this? When?
- [36:19]
Leanne
Are you sure? Can you.
- [36:20]
Natalie
Can I be on a list? And I'm like, I will post it here first. I promise.
- [36:23]
Leanne
One person gets it.
- [36:24]
Natalie
I know. I'm like, it's only one person, but unless I. Airbnb. Yeah. So we will share on there when it is for sale. We would love to keep it, but, you know, our plan is to have the smallest mortgage possible on our build. And so that's obviously, you know, money that we'll put towards that, you know, so. But it's crazy. We've seen ones sell that are not this, like, nowhere near this attractive. They're, like, very brown.
- [36:56]
Leanne
The finished shits and everything. Yeah.
- [36:57]
Natalie
And they sell for, like, $130,000 finished, which is crazy.
- [37:02]
Leanne
I mean, I'm not surprised because with the way the market is, that's still very cheap living. You know, for. For most areas now, the area that I'm in right now, it's not. That wouldn't be. But for. For air, a lot of areas, I mean, it would be. It'd be cheap, but not for that size. Like, you could get. You could get a house already, but for so many areas across the country, they're just. Jaw would hit the floor. Now, how far could you transport it? Because I bet you like if you live over in California. Well, probably the zone.
- [37:32]
Natalie
Yeah, probably could.
- [37:34]
Leanne
So is there even a hack here? Like, can somebody who lives in a really expensive area, is there a hack? Because really it's probably just the property that's worth so much. Yeah, in a lot of areas.
- [37:42]
Natalie
Yeah, absolutely. If you have the property, I think you could build it for about the same. If you were doing it yourself, you could absolutely build it for what we built it because we got everything from Lowe's and Home Depot. You know, it's not like. So that I'm assuming is similar prices in every state, but it's the land. Absolutely. However, this would be a great option though for someone who maybe has a family member with land and they want to like build on the land, but they don't necessarily want to. So if you build on someone's land and you want to sell your house, you're like, well, you can't. Right. Because it's on their property. But this would be great because if you wanted to sell it, you sell it and it and it moves.
- [38:24]
Leanne
So that was the ultimate catch for me because my parents have always had property and before we bought our farm. Yeah, we thought, well, we could. I'm like, I just wouldn't do that because no matter what, like if you aren't satisfied with that in five years for whatever reason, which you know how life is like something sounds like a really good idea and then it doesn't, you are not selling it. Like you cannot now. What about like you're still putting in a lot of that infrastructure. Right. Like you're still putting in some things that you really couldn't get back, but at least you're not a whole house isn't going to just stay there.
- [39:00]
Natalie
Yeah, totally. Well, and that's why we did like the water, septic, power. All of that is, was for our big house too. And so that was kind of a nice like one time. And then clearing the land was also. Because this was raw land, there was nothing and it's like on a hill. Thankfully my brother in law who lives here, that's what he does. And so he was actually able to clear the land and do all that for us before we even got here. And like made us a pad for this and for our shop. And so, so that was nice. So that that expense is already done. So when we go to build our house, we already have our power, water, septic and cleared land which was, you know, a large expense that now. Oh yes, yeah, yeah, you're building. So you know.
- [39:49]
Leanne
Yeah, We. And we haven't even started. Like, we just have the stuff, like the electricity, the driveway, and it's like, wow. You know, taking raw land and. And making it into something that you can actually build a house on is already a big deal. It is in a lot of cases.
- [40:03]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [40:04]
Leanne
Yeah.
- [40:04]
Natalie
It is expensive. I mean, the land is cheaper, but it's a lot of work. It was more work than we. Than we thought it was going to be. But we learned a lot. And, I mean, we wouldn't. We would do it again, you know, we know. We love.
- [40:19]
Leanne
Yes.
- [40:19]
Natalie
Where we're at. So. So, yeah, we. It's been. It's been a journey the last six months, but.
- [40:27]
Leanne
Yeah. How long have you been in your shed house?
- [40:30]
Natalie
So we moved in here the beginning of October. So. Okay. The first. We moved here July 1st to South Carolina, and we were in the rental for three months because the first month my husband was. They were finishing preparing the land for the shed and building the pad and stuff. And so then we had the shed delivered August 6th, and we moved in. Like, it was exactly. I want to say it was October 6th. It was like, exactly two months later.
- [40:59]
Leanne
Yeah. That's awesome.
- [41:02]
Lisa
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- [44:38]
Leanne
What are some of the most common questions you get asked other than the ones I've already asked you? What are some ones I missed that people are always like, I don't know. I'm sure a lot of them are like, gotcha Questions like, what about this? Or maybe it's genuinely curious curiosity, like, how could I do this too? Type of questions.
- [44:53]
Natalie
Okay. Most commonly questions, what size is it? What did it cost? What do you do for heating and air conditioning, which we have a mini split system.
- [45:03]
Leanne
Okay. Yes, yes.
- [45:04]
Natalie
And it works great. And I think in my videos, because the ceilings are really tall, they're 11 and a half a half foot. And so in the kitchen, and they're so tall, we did upgrade the walls. Instead of being six and a half feet, they're actually seven and a half feet. And then from the wall, it also is like the pitch up, you know, several more feet. And so, you know, you have almost 12 foot ceilings. And so the heating and air conditioning systems are up really high. And so I think a lot of people have said, well, I don't see, you know, duct work. And I'm like, well, it's there. You just, you just can't see it because it is really towards the ceiling. So we do have a mini split system. It works great. What other questions do we have? Permitting? That's another huge question.
- [45:50]
Leanne
Yeah.
- [45:50]
Natalie
And then. And yeah, a lot of people have asked.
- [45:53]
Leanne
I'm looking through your reel and seeing what, like a lot of questions, obviously, on paint colors and things like that, which, yes, probably include mostly in your plan.
- [46:02]
Natalie
I do. It's in my plan, but it's also, I have a reel on it in my Instagram. And so I have it set up to where anytime someone says the word paint or color, I automatically message them and it. It sends them that reel because I could not keep up with the amount.
- [46:19]
Leanne
Yeah, that's like the most, the most common question. Like, everybody's asking that, huh?
- [46:24]
Natalie
Yeah, it's funny. Yeah. This, and it's interesting. This color on my doors, that our accent color, it's pigeon By Faro and Ball. But, oh, I love a lot of people. Some people call it blue, some people call it green, and it's definitely a chameleon color. You can see it either way. But that's the most asked color is my doors. What color is that?
- [46:45]
Leanne
So I'm pretty sure that's the color that in my last house, I did, like, a color match to Pharaoh and Ball and did Carolina Gull by Benjamin Moore.
- [46:56]
Natalie
Okay.
- [46:57]
Leanne
I'm pretty sure because it also looks blue and green because I've. My sister's used it, my mom has used it. And in some people's, like, in certain lights, it looks like in my pantry, my last house, it looked very, very green. But then in my mom. On my mom's wall, in one spot, it looks very, very blue.
- [47:15]
Natalie
It's so interesting. I've used it. This is my second house that I've used it in. And it does look different. A little bit different in each house. But. But, yeah, that's my most lighting, most asked question.
- [47:26]
Leanne
That is. I'm like, I'm just trying to find some more questions. And everything's just painted. Paint, paint, paint. There are people that want to know, like, the grand total, like, what did this cost? Which I think's, you know, a very natural question if you're considering doing something like this. Mostly.
- [47:38]
Natalie
Right.
- [47:39]
Leanne
The motivation is, of course, money savings. Because this is the way to get to a property without having a huge mortgage. So.
- [47:48]
Natalie
And in our guide, I actually do give them my budget. Everything that we spent money on, how much we spent on it. Obviously, it's going to vary, right, because, you know, we did this several months ago. It all depends on so many things. But just. And then I gave them a blank budget, too, so where they can go in and fill in. Because, you know, one thing I really wanted was, like, quartz countertops, but that wasn't in the budget. And so I, you know, cut that out. So we also give them that, too, to kind of go through. This is what we spent. But fill in, you know what your quote is, right? So, because, yes, that has been the most asked question too, is how. What size is it? How much did it cost? Where do my kids sleep? What's upstairs? I haven't showed the upstairs too, too much because, I mean, it's like Lego town up there. And so it's always, you know, therefore. Yeah, three little boys who, I mean, just, you know, build up there all day. I did recently film it, though, so I will. I will share it. But. But that's a huge Question, too.
- [48:47]
Leanne
That's. That's for a special day.
- [48:48]
Natalie
Yes.
- [48:49]
Leanne
Ours is always covered with Legos and cards.
- [48:51]
Natalie
Yeah. Yes, they have. Have.
- [48:53]
Leanne
I don't even know how many cards. Yeah, I'm kind of sick of that thing, but it just is what it is. And I'm like, that's just contained to that room, which is fine.
- [48:59]
Natalie
It's kind of nice because they do. They go up there and they love it because in our old house, I was always telling them, pick your Legos up, put your Legos away, you know, Right. And they go up there and they just have so much fun. And I don't bother them because I can't see it.
- [49:15]
Leanne
So, yeah, there's really no reason for you to go up there much. I mean, if that's the only space up there, why would you really need to.
- [49:21]
Natalie
But I do. I go up there and I change sheets and I do pick up some sometimes if the baby goes up there and destroys Legos, I kind of feel a little bit bad, like, I should help clean up. But. Yeah, but it's. They love it. They honestly. They play. They. That's all they do. They sleep. They play with their Legos up there. But, yeah, I think that was another one of the main questions is what do you do for. Or, you know, what. What is upstairs? Yeah. And so. And yeah, they've. They love it. It's like their little clubhouse.
- [49:53]
Leanne
So was there any part of you that ever, like, after getting it done and it being so beautiful, that thought maybe we don't need to build a house or not so much?
- [50:00]
Natalie
Yes, there has. When we. It was done, my husband said, let's just stay here. But as we've lived here and our kids. Our oldest just turned 11. And so by the time our house is done, I mean, we still probably have another 12 to 18 months here. So, you know, he'll be a little bit older. I think we'll be ready for that. However, it hasn't been like, there's no day where we're like, oh, this is awful. We are so thankful. That's mostly our hearts are in, like, a part, a season of thankfulness that we can be out here, we can have a home that we love in this, like, little season of waiting until we feel ready to start our build. And we absolutely could stay here longer. I will say I look forward to having my own bathroom again and not sharing it with four boys.
- [50:53]
Leanne
Yes, that is.
- [50:54]
Natalie
That's amazing.
- [50:55]
Leanne
I can see that. See, we haven't in so many years, because in this house, there's not. Like, there's only two bathrooms, but one's upstairs, one's down, and so it's not your own.
- [51:07]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [51:07]
Leanne
And then the same in our last house. So I'm sure that'll be really great. Like, I don't.
- [51:12]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [51:12]
Leanne
I haven't experienced that in so long, but I do think I'm looking forward to it. You don't have to have it, but I guess it would be kind of nice, you know, to have your own bathroom space.
- [51:22]
Natalie
Absolutely. To just have that space again. Yeah. So we really haven't felt like anything's lacking. That's just the one thing is once in a while we, you know, which. We will put a bathroom in our shop. We just haven't. It's plumbed. We just haven't done it yet. So that will help. But, yeah, I would say that's probably been the. The biggest struggle is just the one bathroom. But also. And I say struggle, but it really hasn't been that bad. It's just once in a while you're like, oh, I just wish I had my own bathroom without all these little boys in it getting toothpaste everywhere. And, you know.
- [51:57]
Leanne
Yes.
- [51:58]
Natalie
But I know that I will miss. I will miss this season one day. So. With little boys all over my.
- [52:03]
Leanne
I actually know two families. Well, one, a friend of mine, she has several children. They live in a tiny house that they've added on. So they added first, it was just like, for many years. Just kind of like years where there was a large kitchen, living area, but then there wasn't a ton of space for the kids. And they added on another bedroom and a porch. And after doing that, the plan was always to build a big house. They kind of were like, I don't know that we need the house, but it took a. It took a while for that to happen. It sounds like you guys are ready to actually build a house soon.
- [52:35]
Natalie
Is happening, you know, and one thing that my husband and I both, we dream of, like, for our house, for our kids getting older, we want to be the home where. Where everybody wants to come hang out. Right. Like, we want all the kids.
- [52:48]
Leanne
Yes. That is my big goal in life.
- [52:49]
Natalie
We want.
- [52:50]
Leanne
Exactly. I want a big old house, and I want.
- [52:52]
Natalie
That's what we want. We want all the boys at our house, all the kids. We want the youth group. We want. Want to. We would really want to lead us all the group. Like, it is on our hearts to lead small group through our church. And that's something we. It's not going to Stop us living in this small house. Like, we will do it outside this summer.
- [53:09]
Leanne
Yeah. And I. That family does that.
- [53:11]
Natalie
That they do, absolutely.
- [53:13]
Leanne
But something about having the house too. I. There have been families like that in churches over the years that. I'm like, you're the one who, like, we. We're glad that you exist because where else would we go? And so I agree. Like, it'd be nice to be that person in the future.
- [53:29]
Natalie
That's what we really look forward to is we want to know that our kids like where they're at. And so we just want to be the home where all. All the teenagers want to come hang out and, and their parents or whatever. And we really want to have, you know, the space for that. And so that's something that, you know, is bigger than us. Right. We want to use our home to like glorify the kingdom and, and bring those people into our home. And all of our kids friends with four boys, I'm like, wow, they can.
- [54:02]
Leanne
We're gonna have a lot of.
- [54:03]
Natalie
They're gonna. Right? And they're gonna be wild. And I'm like, oh, they're gonna be like jumping off things.
- [54:07]
Leanne
See, I'm already living in that world right now.
- [54:09]
Natalie
Okay. Yeah.
- [54:10]
Leanne
Although my oldest son is your oldest son.
- [54:13]
Natalie
Okay. Yeah.
- [54:15]
Leanne
And then now that we live in town, there's lots of neighbors and I mean, and I have six sons. But as far as the ones that are like playing and roughhousing five and then neighbors. And I'm like, there is literally like at all times, like seven boys, like just nerf guns, like all throughout the house. And yeah, it's, it's wild, but.
- [54:37]
Natalie
But I would rather know exactly where they are. Right. And what they're doing. And I, I don't mind the noise and all of it. So that's really what we look forward to is having all the kids, you know, at our house and outside the dirt bikes and.
- [54:51]
Leanne
Yeah, whatever.
- [54:53]
Natalie
Whatever they do.
- [54:54]
Leanne
That's my ultimate dream too.
- [54:55]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [54:56]
Leanne
So with that, I'm just curious. Sorry this wasn't on the script, but what kind of house are you designing for your like your real, like your future house?
- [55:04]
Natalie
Yeah. So I once again took graph paper and I drew it on a piece of paper. And my mother in law is very talented. She can like, like on the computer, she can make it into a floor plan for me. It's not ones we'll actually use, but it's ones that I can actually visualize.
- [55:20]
Leanne
Right.
- [55:20]
Natalie
She puts cabinets in there so I can really get a idea and Then we'll obviously have like an actual. The person who designs the plans.
- [55:28]
Leanne
Oh, the architect or maybe.
- [55:31]
Natalie
Yeah, there you go. So I have once again taken it to paper, designed it. My husband loves a farmhouse. I love an English cottage. And so we're kind of like marrying those together. So there'll be like some stone and. But also like a big wraparound porch. So we're still kind of in the design phases of it, but.
- [55:50]
Leanne
Yeah.
- [55:50]
Natalie
And I love all my bedrooms upstairs. I just like. I don't know, I. I don't want to be on a different level than my children. I think I worry too much, like, safety, like, I want to be where they are. And we also don't do other kids upstairs in our house because our last house was, you know, two story. And so we'll have our homeschool room and our like hangout room, everything downstairs and then sleeping all upstairs. So.
- [56:15]
Leanne
Okay.
- [56:16]
Natalie
Are you doing a one or two story?
- [56:18]
Leanne
We're doing a two story. Yeah.
- [56:19]
Natalie
Yep. Yeah.
- [56:21]
Leanne
Yeah. And then we're doing finished attic space as well. So it's not really three story, but it's just. It'll look like a two story. But yeah, we're gonna do that from the very beginning. So plan for it.
- [56:32]
Natalie
Oh, that'll be nice.
- [56:33]
Leanne
Yeah.
- [56:33]
Natalie
Is that kind of like the hangout area?
- [56:35]
Leanne
Kind of. We think it'll be possibly like there'll be two big rooms up there and. Well, big. But they're, you know, of course they're gonna be up in the attic, but possibly boys and girls, but maybe office and girls because the boys take up so much other space. So we'll see. But I want that, I want all the options. And we're definitely gonna make more bedrooms, but less space in each bedroom. I think that's gonna.
- [57:04]
Natalie
Okay. Yeah.
- [57:05]
Leanne
Possibly work out best for our older situation. That's going to be, you know, we already have 16, 14, almost 12. So they're gonna, they're all getting ready to be, you know, big people soon here.
- [57:17]
Natalie
Yeah. Okay. I was wondering how old your oldest was, so 16.
- [57:21]
Leanne
16. Yeah. But the oldest two are girls and yes, that's different. They're not near as.
- [57:27]
Natalie
Okay.
- [57:28]
Leanne
Wild and crazy.
- [57:29]
Natalie
Okay. I don't have girls, so I don't know, but I hear they are different boys. I have nieces and it's funny, when we get together, I have to remind my 4 year olds that my nieces don't always.
- [57:41]
Leanne
So. They don't.
- [57:42]
Natalie
They don't. They're like, they look at him and he's. That I'M like, I'm so sorry, girls. He's so used to only having brothers and they're just so.
- [57:49]
Leanne
So you have, you have all four boys, right?
- [57:51]
Natalie
Four boys, yes.
- [57:53]
Leanne
Okay.
- [57:53]
Natalie
We. Number four was a surprise. We didn't know. I mean, we didn't know what he was. My first home birthday and so all my boys were there and they thought for sure they were getting their sister. And I still know. And I said, it's a boy. And they were like, okay. So now they keep asking me when we're gonna have another baby and I'm like, oof. Guys, you know that means you can have five brothers, right?
- [58:22]
Leanne
Well, yeah, because I have six boys in a row and so does my sister, so it's okay. In my world, like, people always have stuff in a row. Like, my parents had four girls. My sister and I, we had, you know, we had a few girls and then the 12 boys. So it's just.
- [58:40]
Natalie
Oh my gosh. So your sister also has eight kids?
- [58:44]
Leanne
She actually has one girl and six boys.
- [58:47]
Natalie
Okay.
- [58:47]
Leanne
And so we together, like, we're very close in age and we're close. So between the two of us, we had three girls in a row and then 12 boys in a row. Yeah.
- [58:58]
Natalie
So that's amazing.
- [58:59]
Leanne
We got a really cute picture recently and right now they're perfectly stair stepped, which I. I won't share this photo on social media, but like, it's the best. It's so good because it goes mine, hers, mine, hers, mine, hers, mine, hers, all the way down through 12. And sometimes, you know, you have one random kid that's kind of the outlier. Like they're tall or they're short. Nope, they're all. Literally, it's like the perfect line. Just like this. And I just have to share this for. I think it was seven days. They were 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. But then the ages changed.
- [59:41]
Natalie
Right.
- [59:41]
Leanne
For seven days. I didn't even realize it during those seven days, but I thought back and I'm like, wait, his birthday was that day. His birthday is that day. I'm like, oh my goodness, Laura. Like, they were literally.
- [59:50]
Natalie
That's so cool.
- [59:51]
Leanne
Perfectly. Yeah. So it's special.
- [59:54]
Natalie
But I love that cousins are besides your siblings. Cousins are your best friends. So siblings and cousins.
- [60:00]
Leanne
Yeah. Yes. Cousins are so special. They're so special. And I want them all over all the time. And like you said, that's a lot of kids, that's a lot of boys, and that's okay. I don't want the space, you're gonna.
- [60:12]
Natalie
Have a home for it. So when. And the outside area, too, because you, you know, have your farm.
- [60:17]
Leanne
That's. That's one of my biggest focuses. Yeah. Is the outside, because. Yeah. The house, like, I'd like a nice sized kitchen and I'd like a couple tables. So that way, you know, if there's two, like, nine or ten foot tables, you can host a lot of people. But the outside space.
- [60:32]
Natalie
Yeah, yeah, it's huge.
- [60:34]
Leanne
Do you have any special plans, like, for your outside space other than just like, lots of it?
- [60:39]
Natalie
Yeah, just a garden. Lots of garden area and animals. And, you know, we would love a pool at some point because it gets. Gets a little toasty in South Carolina.
- [60:50]
Leanne
Yes. South Carolina's a good place for that. Yeah.
- [60:53]
Natalie
Yeah, it is. It's not as hot as Houston, but. And we have a little creek and, you know, the boys go in there, and that's so fun. But yeah, just basically we. So a fun thing about our property is we're only on a few acres, but my dad, who does not live here, he lives in California, he actually purchased. He actually owns all the land around us.
- [61:16]
Leanne
So behind us, that's the ultimate dream.
- [61:19]
Natalie
Yeah. And he doesn't. He doesn't do anything with it. It's just farmland and woods and so there's deer stands so we can hunt it. There's. My kids take, like, dirt bikes and go karts back there. So we have access to, you know, 55 acres.
- [61:34]
Leanne
Yes.
- [61:35]
Natalie
And so that's really special that I don't necessarily even have, like, neighbors either, because just across the street, but behind me, into my sides, I just see woods. And that was something we really loved about this, you know, property was having access to all of that, so.
- [61:55]
Leanne
Well, yeah, that's the. That's just a given. If you can get land that borders something like that. Like, that's how I grew up. So my dad and mom owned, you know, like, I think, think like 40 acres. But then my grandpa owned 400, was attached to it. And so I grew up in my mind on 400 acres. My parents didn't own it all, but that's how I grew up.
- [62:15]
Natalie
Yeah. So amazing.
- [62:17]
Leanne
You know, you have access to. That was such a great way to grow up.
- [62:21]
Natalie
It is. And especially when you have all these, you know, boys and kids and so. And so that's kind of. The plans for the outside is just as much outside as possible. And.
- [62:32]
Leanne
Yep, sounds good.
- [62:33]
Natalie
With an engine, they're, like, ready to go, ride it and all that good stuff. So. So, yeah, that's pretty much, you know, we haven't started much of it. We have, like, a tiny grass area with a trampoline. So this spring is lots of grass and hopefully a garden. So. Because we've definitely missed that. Last summer we were moving, and so we, you know, we sold our home with my garden, and so. And, you know, you're you soldiers as.
- [62:59]
Leanne
Well, and so we'll experience that problem this summer. We got through the whole summer at our property.
- [63:05]
Natalie
Okay.
- [63:06]
Leanne
Yeah. So we didn't move until November. We didn't sell our house.
- [63:09]
Natalie
Okay.
- [63:09]
Leanne
Our house closed in December. So. Yeah, next summer is when I'm gonna. I don't know if we'll just put one in at the farm and just, you know, go over there every day. I think that's probably what we'll do. Like, I'm not gonna. It's not gonna work out for me to not have, like, my own homegrown produce at all.
- [63:24]
Natalie
Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so you had chickens, right? So where did you. Where are they now?
- [63:29]
Leanne
So we. I gave several to a friend, but we actually kept about a dozen. We just. Right here in town, we have a dozen chickens, and so we're still getting eggs and all of that.
- [63:38]
Natalie
Yeah.
- [63:38]
Leanne
And then my parents have property, so we brought the pony there. And the dog's just an inside dog now, which he's a farm dog, so it's not, like, ideal at all, but he just lives in the house. And our dairy cow died a little over a year ago because everybody's like, where are all the animals? Like, we actually didn't have that many animals when we sold it. We only had chickens, the pony, the dog, and then some cats. And the cats just are here? Yeah, they're just running around. We were maybe not going to be able to catch them. It took a couple times, and I was like, I think they're about to inherit some cats because we cannot get them. And then we ended up getting them.
- [64:09]
Natalie
Okay.
- [64:09]
Leanne
So.
- [64:10]
Natalie
Yeah, we could not leave Texas without our two cats. I don't think my kids would. They were. They would not. So we actually had to catch them the night before because, you know, they're out hunting, and I'm like, we're not gonna catch these.
- [64:22]
Leanne
I was gonna say those cats, they're hard.
- [64:24]
Natalie
I know.
- [64:25]
Leanne
Yeah.
- [64:25]
Natalie
You're pulling out last house.
- [64:26]
Leanne
When we sold it, they just inherited them because we tried and tried and you weren't gonna get them. They're cats, you know, so. Yeah.
- [64:33]
Natalie
So. But these cats, they. They do come around a lot. They love my kids. And so we did catch them, but we didn't dare. It was a two day drive out here with all of our stuff and we didn't dare, like, you know, let them out right at the Airbnb say.
- [64:47]
Leanne
If you open the door.
- [64:48]
Natalie
So we put a litter box in.
- [64:49]
Leanne
There and they're gone.
- [64:50]
Natalie
Oh my gosh. They were in my husband's truck and he said they meowed for two days. So all the way out.
- [64:56]
Leanne
Yeah. When we finally caught our cats, we originally caught them, we had them in a little kennel. And then when we picked the kennel up, like the door open and then, and so then we're like. So then the next time we came back is the final time. Like if we don't get on this time, like, we're not, we're not getting them. We like caught them and they're like, you know, it was. They were sitting on my lap the whole drive because we weren't going to risk that again. And so anyways, we have our cats, we have our dog and our chickens.
- [65:20]
Natalie
So you have the cats, you have the dog. Chickens. Okay. Yeah, we left our chickens. But it was a little bit too hard. You know, we moved. It was a 14 hour drive. We weren't going to move.
- [65:29]
Leanne
Right. You moved far.
- [65:31]
Natalie
We moved far. And so not as far as California to Houston. That was a three day drive.
- [65:37]
Leanne
Okay. I'm not answering that in my head, but I guess that makes.
- [65:40]
Natalie
It's really far. It was. It's three days. If you do three, like nine to ten hour days from California to Houston, Texas is just massive. It's like one whole day is in Texas.
- [65:50]
Leanne
Right. And then just in one. Yeah, Texas, Yeah.
- [65:53]
Natalie
And then Texas to South Carolina is. It's only 14 hours, so but it's two, you know, full days. So when you're pulling two trailers and you know.
- [66:03]
Leanne
Yeah.
- [66:03]
Natalie
All the children and all the things, so.
- [66:05]
Leanne
Oh, it's fine moving. It's great, man.
- [66:09]
Natalie
We moved three, three times last year from.
- [66:13]
Leanne
Oh wow.
- [66:14]
Natalie
Our house to our. We moved from our. So our property in Texas had two houses that had a rent house on it. And so we weren't ready to move away from Texas yet because my husband had to like get his business kind of like going there. He has a lot of clients there. And so we moved into the rental house. The buyers let us live there for a few months and then we moved to the rental house in South Carolina and then from the rental house.
- [66:38]
Leanne
And those are all like legit moves because if you're going to live somewhere for two or three months or whatever. To me, it's worth just fully getting settled in, because I just wouldn't want to live in that halfway even for more than a couple weeks. I feel like. Ma'am, you really have me thinking about this. I'm like, man, I wish we just could be on our property right now. It's winter, so it's not that exciting, but come spring, I'm going to be like, can we just get a tiny house? How do we. What. What can we live in? Can we get a tent?
- [67:06]
Natalie
Yeah, well, and I think you could actually get. So we have a 48 foot. And I want to say some companies make them up to maybe 52, 54ft, but you could get creative and you could. I've seen them with two bedrooms and the loft, you know, or there was originally a loft over the kitchen. Like, I've seen a family, they're in Texas, they have a loft over their living room. And like the bedroom, like one for boys, one for girls. You can get creative.
- [67:35]
Leanne
Yeah, yeah.
- [67:36]
Natalie
Designing a floor plan.
- [67:37]
Leanne
I can't. I cannot wait to be out there again.
- [67:40]
Natalie
So.
- [67:41]
Leanne
All right. Or not again for the first time. It's just. It's pretty.
- [67:45]
Natalie
Yeah. Well, hopefully this summer you can have your garden and at least kind of get that. Get that going out there.
- [67:51]
Leanne
Yes.
- [67:51]
Natalie
Because I know that's so important for just your family and how you live your life, so.
- [67:57]
Leanne
Absolutely. All right, well, tell the listeners where they can find you, where they can follow along with you and all that you're doing and get the plans and your design guide and all of those resources.
- [68:09]
Natalie
Sure. So on my Instagram is home of Hollands. I have all the links on there for the design guide and a lot of the questions have been answered. And then also I just started YouTube. I'm very new at it, but that was something people requested, was longer videos. And so also home of Holland's on YouTube and I've shot. I didn't realize that I. I'm very new at it. I don't know. I don't know that I'm very good at it. I did post one video. I got some feedback. I recorded another one, which hopefully is better quality. And so I will be in a little bit more details. So I'm posting that soon because that I really go through and I show them, like inside my pantry and inside my closet, all the spaces that people really want to see. I don't necessarily want to show, but I did. Yeah. And so that way you can kind of See all those details, though. I showed the loft and then it will show the outside. So for a longer video. Is definitely on YouTube, but Instagram has a lot more of like my leads to where I've got things. And then also the plans. And the plans are on my website and they're. Yeah. Available to download.
- [69:24]
Leanne
Jademagnolia.com.
- [69:27]
Natalie
Yes, it's jademagnolia.com I know. I. I had a creative business. I was in the wedding industry and then I kind of shifted just to like being home with my kids and so I need to rebrand my website.
- [69:40]
Leanne
Oh, no, that's okay. I just was making sure we get to the right spot. I was over on your YouTube looking at your shed tour. That seems like people are just as interested over on YouTube as they are on Instagram. So that's awesome.
- [69:51]
Natalie
It's very interesting. I'm so new to YouTube. My kids know a lot, lot more about it and they're like, they're like, mom, you already have subscribers. I'm like, oh, my gosh.
- [70:01]
Leanne
Okay, we're doing this.
- [70:02]
Natalie
I do what I'm doing, guys.
- [70:04]
Leanne
Yeah.
- [70:04]
Natalie
And so I will try to be better over there on posting little more detailed videos because, you know, Instagram kind of caps you at however long or whatever.
- [70:14]
Leanne
So.
- [70:14]
Natalie
So yeah, I will hopefully share more on there as well.
- [70:19]
Leanne
Awesome. Well, we'll leave that down in the description box or the show notes below as well. So thank you so much for sharing.
- [70:25]
Natalie
Natalie, thank you so much for having me. This was so fun and it was so nice chatting with you.
- [70:30]
Leanne
Yes, you too. Thanks as always for listening to the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast. My husband Luke and I and our eight kids work together side by side on our little homestead and use our blog, podcast and YouTube channel to reach other homemakers, home cooks and homesteaders with practical recipes and daily family life. For everyday sourdough recipes, make sure to check out our blog, farmassomboon.com and to dig deeper, we do also offer a course called Simple Sourdough over at Bit Ly Farmhouses. That's all one word. Bit Ly Farmhouse Sourdough course. If you're looking to learn how we earn an income online, check out my free blog success masterclass at BIT lynch forward slash farmhouse blogging school and my YouTube course at BIT Ly farmhouse YouTube course. All one word.