Returning to our homestead after 1 year away.

Twelve months have passed since we left our small scale homestead in the Pacific Northwest. The gardens have weeded over and the grass is out of control. Will we be able to bring the property back to life?

Who are we?
We are Slowsteading, exploring what it means to live the good life on our small scale homestead in the Pacific Northwest. Sharing videos from our life focused on chickens, DIY building projects and slow living.

Why we left our homestead 1 year ago:

Tour our 480sq ft Japanese apartment:

Build our chicken coop! DIY building plans and more:

My filming and camera setup:

[truthgardener]

Glad you didn’t sell your homestead. Smart move. Welcome back. I’m sure you’ve enriched your life. You look revived, happy & contented to be home.

[ellyne]

Trying and attempting = winning. Way too many people are complacent never changing much of anything throughout life, never following an urge or dream. You actually went for it. Winning! 🥇

[BadBreath]

Just a note from someone who worked with packaging production: corrugated cardboard has toxic contaminants that you really don’t want in your soil... Not sure its best thing to lay down for weed control and letting it break fown into your soil.

[Marjan-]

Omg. I just saw the notification that you were back! Wonderful and welcome back. Sounds like you made some beautiful memories. I think I'm going to plant me some garlic. Happy sliving!

[simpleperrydiselife]

Welcome back. Im pretty sure you archived lots of amazing things in Japan and had an amazing time as a family there, and that's what matters the most, so no failure!

[bentonhomestead]

Happy to see what y'all have been up to. Wishing you the best, wherever that may be! It was a pleasure meeting your family, and I hope our paths cross again one of these days.

[Skolzerx]

Cool watching your journey. I returned to the US from Germany and found it a bit hard to readjust. Took about 6 months to feel normal again. Hope the reintegration goes well for you all

[FlyTheCoopFamily]

Welcome back! You’re right, perspective on life experiences is everything. There are no failures. You all added memories & moments to your human experience. That’s what it’s all about!
We “failed” a similar venture but it wasn’t a fail in our eyes. We built a camper van from an empty cargo van, we traveled full time for half a year, made unforgettable memories as a family & really expanded/enriched our human experience… but now we are back to a more tradition life/home trying to be a little more rooted & self sufficient. For us it’s all about balancing both a traditional life & a more adventurous one. We would have never learned that balance is what we needed if we hadn’t “failed”…
now we have new experiences, new skills & new memories that we would have never had if we hadn’t taken that leap of faith to do something different.
Plus there’s always that possibility go on another year long adventure again in the future now that you know it’s possible! Take the time you need to rest & recoop! Keep enjoying the journey together.

[moonafarms]

Oh my gosh!!!! This is so great to watch, congratulations.

[SouthPaw_]

Welcome back! Can't wait to follow along your journey, all the best.

[ross-smithfamily]

I'm aggravated with the renters for not taking better care of the property for you - grass high, beds overgrown with weeds, etc. 😤

[vladdi]

I've used cardboard as mulch once around the house and ran into a big termite issue later in the year. Coincidence? Perhaps. After doing some research cardboard is one of the food sources of termites.

[TwoBecomeOne]

This was a very inspiring video especially cause we been watching since before you guys left to Japan!

[nicolaallen]

I'm happy to see you back as I wondered how you all are doing away from the farm❤

[impocketsize]

Welcome back! Looking forward to hearing more updates ❤

[braishantiart]

Hi! I’m curious about how and where you learned to get your roosters ready for eating (the gentlest way I can word it, haha!) and how to get over the fear of ending a life?

[prodnus]

Welcome back. Look forward to the relaunch of the homestead!

[christinaannabel]

My impression is that, during your first year of homesteading, you made an enormous change in a short amount of time. Instead, you may have benefited from making gradual changes, allowing yourselves to adjust to the learning curve. That way, you become knowledgeable and comfortable with some things before adding more things to your plate. Also, prioritize the important stuff. Lastly, , consider raising your vegetable bed so you can garden in an upright position most of the time.

[skullrose]

Life is a journey, it's about experimenting & learning..
Go where ever life takes you, enjoy the journey & what it brings ✌️☮️🍄🌱✌️☮️🍄🌱

[GaganUluvaru]

Soo good to see you guys bacl home. Hope you are all doing great...💙💙💙🫂🫂🫂