Baby, It"s Cold Outside! Getting Into Your Shelter Or Cabin
I have often wondered why I did not specialize in the things I write about more.
For instance, I could have written solely about solar power and probably had more information to write about than I have time to live.
Yet, the realization hit me that solar power is not everything my audience wants to learn about.
You are the self-reliant, the do-it-yourselfer (or want to be), the recluse, the hippie, the good old boy, the rebel, the hermit, the green thumb, the green ecologist, and just a family who wants a wholesome life in the woods without the rudeness and vulgarity of the city.
Folks, I will not apologize for this: Cities are diseased places that, while sometimes convenient, were never meant to build decent human beings.
You are reading this because you ARE a decent human being, and you feel this overwhelming yearning to get out of the city.
There is a reason for that.
It is the right thing to do.
People were never meant to live in hives, tracks, lots, or any property that only resembles a grave plot in bigger dimensions.
We may have to do this sometimes, but we also realize that we were made for bigger and better things.
We deserve more.
Oh yes we do, but it gets awfully expensive, does it not? Today we address our huge itch for a cabin in the woods, or a home, or a shelter.
Honestly, there are more ways to build a home with your own two hands today than you can shake a pointed stick at.
You can build a home with adobe, from bricks you make yourself.
You can build what is called a rammed earth home, a construction of old used tires, that are packed with earth and then stacked.
There are straw bale homes that are gaining increasing popularity.
You can get on Craigslist (and other places) and find full 3 and 4 bedroom mobile homes that need a little work anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 (you move it).
It has only happened once, but I saw a house that needed to be moved.
The sign out front said, "Free House - You get the equipment and come get it.
" Then we have my personal favorite, the log home.
If you live on wooded land, logs are probably plentiful, growing in the trees all around you.
You can count on backbreaking work, long hours, but a really solid home that will not blow away at the first gust.
I will not go through the links, because they are too many, but I would suggest getting yourself a Google account.
I am not trying to be lazy here, but there is a URL for books.
google.
com.
At this URL, there are free books galore.
If you do a proper search, you will find instructions on how to build cabins and shelters that are now in the public domain because they were written anywhere from the 1800s to the early 20th century.
Friend, if you have a little grit, know how to evaluate what tools you will need, a lot of determination, the right information, and the land to put it on, you can build yourself a home for a fraction of the cost that you would otherwise mortgage your life away for.
Why just the other night, I saw a step-by-step book that had a picture of a two-story log cabin on the front.
The title was something like "Build This Cabin for $3,000.
" Imagine that! Apparently most of the costs involved were simply from acquiring the correct tools needed to do the job, because the wood was already on the property.
See, I have a fiance, and she wants all that neat stuff like 2,000 square feet, a fireplace, running water, indoor toilets, electricity, and the world wide web.
I confess, I am sort of partial to these things too.
Some of you will have much simpler tastes.
Some of you will be happy with a cabin like Thoreau lived in, which was something like 10 feet by 15 feet, in total square footage, that is 150 feet! That is kind of tiny, but many of you will be able to find an RV or a 5th wheel on the net or Craigslist, or a local classified, for as little as $9,000.
If you are not too incredibly choosy, you can live independently, debt-free, and with the freedom to do what you want.
Most of us have, at one time or another, been practically jailed by a mortgage note that imprisoned us in our jobs, our cities, and never gave us room to breathe.
This is a way out.
I am telling you that you do not have to go into debt to have a decent place to live.
Many will, but if you are willing to do the sweat equity, save a little, hang on a just bit longer than most, you can make it.
You can have your place in the country.
You can breathe deep and free, have a clear conscience, sleep well at night, all in the silence of your wilderness retreat.
This has not exactly been a how-to kind of article, but there are so very many ways to get started.
Almost everyone simply goes "house-hunting.
" That is the most expensive way to get into a home.
Investigate.
Look for alternatives.
They are out there.
And, through a lot of research, I have found many of these alternatives.
It is an unbelievable sense of freedom that is almost like a drug.
I find that I HAVE to do this! You will see what I mean.
How bad do you want it?
For instance, I could have written solely about solar power and probably had more information to write about than I have time to live.
Yet, the realization hit me that solar power is not everything my audience wants to learn about.
You are the self-reliant, the do-it-yourselfer (or want to be), the recluse, the hippie, the good old boy, the rebel, the hermit, the green thumb, the green ecologist, and just a family who wants a wholesome life in the woods without the rudeness and vulgarity of the city.
Folks, I will not apologize for this: Cities are diseased places that, while sometimes convenient, were never meant to build decent human beings.
You are reading this because you ARE a decent human being, and you feel this overwhelming yearning to get out of the city.
There is a reason for that.
It is the right thing to do.
People were never meant to live in hives, tracks, lots, or any property that only resembles a grave plot in bigger dimensions.
We may have to do this sometimes, but we also realize that we were made for bigger and better things.
We deserve more.
Oh yes we do, but it gets awfully expensive, does it not? Today we address our huge itch for a cabin in the woods, or a home, or a shelter.
Honestly, there are more ways to build a home with your own two hands today than you can shake a pointed stick at.
You can build a home with adobe, from bricks you make yourself.
You can build what is called a rammed earth home, a construction of old used tires, that are packed with earth and then stacked.
There are straw bale homes that are gaining increasing popularity.
You can get on Craigslist (and other places) and find full 3 and 4 bedroom mobile homes that need a little work anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 (you move it).
It has only happened once, but I saw a house that needed to be moved.
The sign out front said, "Free House - You get the equipment and come get it.
" Then we have my personal favorite, the log home.
If you live on wooded land, logs are probably plentiful, growing in the trees all around you.
You can count on backbreaking work, long hours, but a really solid home that will not blow away at the first gust.
I will not go through the links, because they are too many, but I would suggest getting yourself a Google account.
I am not trying to be lazy here, but there is a URL for books.
google.
com.
At this URL, there are free books galore.
If you do a proper search, you will find instructions on how to build cabins and shelters that are now in the public domain because they were written anywhere from the 1800s to the early 20th century.
Friend, if you have a little grit, know how to evaluate what tools you will need, a lot of determination, the right information, and the land to put it on, you can build yourself a home for a fraction of the cost that you would otherwise mortgage your life away for.
Why just the other night, I saw a step-by-step book that had a picture of a two-story log cabin on the front.
The title was something like "Build This Cabin for $3,000.
" Imagine that! Apparently most of the costs involved were simply from acquiring the correct tools needed to do the job, because the wood was already on the property.
See, I have a fiance, and she wants all that neat stuff like 2,000 square feet, a fireplace, running water, indoor toilets, electricity, and the world wide web.
I confess, I am sort of partial to these things too.
Some of you will have much simpler tastes.
Some of you will be happy with a cabin like Thoreau lived in, which was something like 10 feet by 15 feet, in total square footage, that is 150 feet! That is kind of tiny, but many of you will be able to find an RV or a 5th wheel on the net or Craigslist, or a local classified, for as little as $9,000.
If you are not too incredibly choosy, you can live independently, debt-free, and with the freedom to do what you want.
Most of us have, at one time or another, been practically jailed by a mortgage note that imprisoned us in our jobs, our cities, and never gave us room to breathe.
This is a way out.
I am telling you that you do not have to go into debt to have a decent place to live.
Many will, but if you are willing to do the sweat equity, save a little, hang on a just bit longer than most, you can make it.
You can have your place in the country.
You can breathe deep and free, have a clear conscience, sleep well at night, all in the silence of your wilderness retreat.
This has not exactly been a how-to kind of article, but there are so very many ways to get started.
Almost everyone simply goes "house-hunting.
" That is the most expensive way to get into a home.
Investigate.
Look for alternatives.
They are out there.
And, through a lot of research, I have found many of these alternatives.
It is an unbelievable sense of freedom that is almost like a drug.
I find that I HAVE to do this! You will see what I mean.
How bad do you want it?
Source...