I live with no electricity or running water in tiny home that pays its own bills – it took practice but n... - The US Sun

I live with no electricity or running water in tiny home that pays its own bills - it took practice but now it's perfect | The US Sun

A FAMILY has taken living off-grid to a new level with their own cabin with no electricity or water, but their lifestyle pays for itself.

Julianne posts content on YouTube sharing how she, her husband, and her two children make money off their 1.5-acre farm and their tiny home.

The off-grid farmer posted on her channel @dirtpatcheaven showing how her family makes off-grid living work for them.

Filming on her land on a winter day, the mom-of-two explained in one video that "temps [are] in single digits at night and maybe getting into the teens during the day."

For a home without electricity, this is a challenge to keep warm so they use a rocket stove which needs regular feeding to keep running.

Julianne added that any water being used has to come from outside.

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After much practice, the family realized that they could keep their space warm by redirecting the heat into the bench.

"It means the cabin doesn't warm up as quickly but it means the cabin stays warm into the night instead of having the heat all dissipate," she explained.

"We treat this cabin as something of a school teaching people how to truly live off-grid instead of being dependent on electricity coming in, even if that electricity comes from solar panels.

There is a hand pump that is used to collect water from outside which can then be brought back in.

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This is all part of the true off-grid living experience, according to Julianne.

The cabin allows people "to truly understand what it is to live off-grid with pumping water, with lighting candles and oil lamps, and arming themselves with a wood-burning stove," she said.

"I think it's just a good skill to have and a good mindset to understand."

In order to ensure that the farm is profitable and that everyone pulls their weight, the parents have brought their young daughters in to help out by doing "basic chores."

"Our farm does pay for itself, it pays for the mortgage on our house, it pays for our food, electricity, etc," Julianne explained in another video.

"As [for] finances it pays its own mortgage and none of the seeds or feed or anything have to come out of pocket."

She added that her children can even get some kind of salary for their work on the farm.

"They have a certain amount that they make and then we have money left over for big projects that I need to have done that I can't do myself," she explained.

Her children will help sell livestock such as bunnies and goats, which are especially profitable.

The rabbits are used for manure, sold for meat, and used for breeding so the family can sell the offspring.

In addition to this, the majority of the bunnies' food comes from the garden, meaning that they pretty much live off the land.

Julianne explained: "The girls sell the baby bunnies for $15 each when they wean, if older they're for $20, and then if we have a breeding goat that we're selling we sell them for more than that and it adds up very quickly.

"This doe has 12 babies so somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 for the kids to earn after they have them weaned."

The family also sells plants and fruit including crabapple starts that can be sold for up to $10 apiece.

In addition to this income, the family rents out the basement of their family home to long-term tenants who stay for months at a time.

They also rent out their cabin on Airbnb for $600 a month and they offer off-grid living classes.

The YouTuber explained: "With our cabin, we like to offer people classes on how to do what we do, how to butcher, how to melt, how to make cheese, how to wash your laundry outside, how to start a fire, etc."

Viewers were inspired by her videos online, with one saying: "What you and your husband are doing is so wonderful.

"Everyone should take notice and learn from what you're doing, to do it themselves."

"We have 10 acres of land and are working on ways to help make the farm pay for itself," another added.

"Thank you for the great tips on the starts for the plants to sell."