Tick, tick, tick… that’s the rhythm I hear in my head, as if my life is playing a relentless game of beat the clock. A millennium ago, I made a solemn pledge to liberate myself from the clutches of this soul-siphoning corporate existence and dive headfirst into my own passions. While I am still a ways off from reaching that dream, at least I have started.
My wife and I have finally begun the journey into living a life of self-sufficiency. The poor thing made one questionable life decision about two decades ago, and well, she’s been stuck with me ever since. Together, we’re like a dynamic duo of ADHD enthusiasts darting from one shiny thing to the next.
I guess the best way to describe us would be as generalists. It might be easier to list the things we haven’t tried rather than what we’ve actually attempted. We’ve dabbled in everything from running a cosmetics business to globe-trotting (lived in three countries and counting), and we’ve been die-hard beekeepers. Oh, and don’t forget our roller derby phase.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve ventured into woodworking, pottery-making, gardening, sewing, selling skating gear, brewing our own booze, mastering the art of kombucha alchemy, and preserving food in every way possible – drying, pickling, bottling, smoking – you name it.
However, there’s one tiny, minuscule problem: We’re fantastic at starting things but, uh, not so great at finishing them. Hence, the birth of this blog – it’s our way of staying brutally honest with ourselves and attempting to stay on the straight and narrow (well, most of the time).
We have a strong interest in being as self-sufficient as possible, but to be honest, that is less than unique in the times we find ourselves in. I guess we more strive to do varied and interesting things on a daily basis and strive to break out of the “Groundhog Day” routine we find ourselves in.
In moments of reflection, there’s no point in pointing fingers – the blame for this modern-day misadventure falls squarely on my own shoulders. It’s really hard to motivate oneself to get things done. But as we age, we have improved and hope to share some ways that may help you if you suffer from the same fate. To chase our dreams of being self-sufficient, self-reliant, and emancipating ourselves from the monotony of daily life.
We had been looking for some land to start our adventure but money was a big sticking point. We managed to find a really nice acreage cheap but unfortunately, it had no real water supply and lousy rainfall. We get a whopping 350mm of rain a year, which, if you’re keeping score, is about 14 inches. Not great, but we figured we could drill a well. Our neighbours had one that produces pristine water at only 20m.
The land is practically a desert-loving, mallee bush gum paradise at least. Sure, it’s as flat as a pancake, but it’s teeming with surprises and beauty. And honestly, when I’m out there, in the midst of all that wild wonder, I can’t help but feel truly alive.
So, we’ve decided to dive headfirst into this adventure, even though we only get one precious day or two a week to make it all happen at this stage. Having two kids in high school and no place to live on our land meant a temporary pause in living on our land full time.
This blog? It’s going to be a hilarious rollercoaster ride through our quest for self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and scratching our ADHD-fueled itches. We hope that it will be informative to others making the journey and connect us with people who can help us along the way.
So, welcome to the show, let’s hope we can make it a good one.