Building Alone and Off Grid: Snake-proofing my Bedroom

I'm renovating my loft bedroom! This abandoned art studio build has had a lot of challenges; this week I got bitten by a spider, made a lot of mistakes but I finished building the bedroom alone and I'm feeling very proud!

We are sisters, Julia and Anastasia Vanderbyl. A few years ago, we began a journey to live a life in perfect harmony with nature. A life of caring for animals, growing fruit, planting trees, gardening, cooking, creating, building and learning to live with the land.
In this time, nature has taught us more than we could have ever imagined.

Our environmental films document the landscape, the lessons we’ve learnt and our work as regenerative farmers here on Bundjalung Country.

We live on the land of the Arakwal and Minjungbal People of the Bundjalung Nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Country we live on and recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters. We thank them for protecting this rainforest and its ecosystems since time immemorial.

Chapters:
0:00 Building a loft bedroom
1:56 Facing challenges building alone
5:44 My morning routine, cuddling goats and ducks
8:33 Noggins and lining boards
11:07 It's flooding again
13:36 The hardest project yet
16:07 I got bitten by a scary spider

[sayitaintslw]

I love watching you navigate this process as you go and make discoveries that are successful along the way. My dad was also a builder, but as the youngest child by ten years and a girl, I didn’t receive the experience my older brothers did. Still, I love using my hands and creating. My partner and I bought a house that needs so much work and it can be so intimidating to even know where to begin. I installed a new faucet the other day, but somehow made the sink unstable in the process. Two steps forward, two steps back. Also, I am impressed that you are making cuts with a hand saw! You must be jacked after this build! Lol

[equiinay]

I also have ME, and your videos are something that have brought me comfort in the times when I’m feeling unwell & can’t do the things I want to. It’s a dream of mine to live amongst nature and animals, at one with the land. I hope Julia is feeling a little bit better now ❤️‍🩹

[huggybear]

Strong smells repel snakes. Ammonia can be sprayed around the perimeter and where they congregate to send them scurrying. Also strong smelling herbs and spices like clove and cinnamon oil in a diffuser or incense. You can use smells like lavender, marigold, wormwood, peppermint, etc. Look up smells that repel snakes. Those same strong smells will also repel spiders as well, so win win.
Love your show, best of luck to you guys and your mom.

[adrianpritchard]

Anastasia.
Your comments on the video of over coming problems and how you got so excited about working them out was so good to watch, all the best.

[completedharma]

Your patience and techniques of learning the process are astounding - to a degree of meditation and awareness. Thank you, Anastasia, for your delightful experiences.

[Bluebottiglia]

Well done! The art studio will be amazing! And Julia, hope you will be feeling better soon...

[vicbartel]

Your enthusiasm for tackling new projects on your own are very inspiring!

[tomw]

I'm sure your dad would be so proud of the work you girl's have done on this building. You girl's are hard core builders!! Love the beautiful forest and mountains you live in. Just received your book the other day. Awesome photos and writing inside it. Happy holidays and all the best in the New Year. 👍 😊

[ryanbosak]

Its been too long since ive seen these awesome videos. Ive been overworking and my body needed rest and i remembered you guys. Exhaustion is no joke and sometimes life forces you to slow down . I LOVE YOUR BEAUTIFUL CONTENT. you all are so great and doing what you do is miraculous .

[ksaw]

Thank you so much for sharing! WD-40 and a wire brush is a great start for rusty hand tools. Best of luck with the rest of the build, and wishing you and your family all the best for the future!

[grahamallen]

Hope Julia is ok. I’ve had ME for the past 20 years and I really know what she is going through. Hope she gets better soon. Love the job you are doing . Anastasia . Wire wool and a drop of old motor oil can help you get rid of rust. As for sharpening a good metal file is always useful. Graham ❤❤❤

[DouglasBlanchard-fm]

❤Love you beautiful ladies always working hard hope you’re sister feels better. Never miss a show. 💘🌹🥰

[michaelhightower]

Great video! The progress being made is monumental. Very sorry that Julia is not feeling well, best to her recovery. Anastasia you are the strongest, most talented and energetic positive person I have ever seen. And on top of all of that, you're more than extremely Beautiful. Thanks for the emotional clip of my favorite dog Clover getting a nose rub. The sky is the limit for a determined, intelligent woman like you. Thank you for sharing this experience. Love you always.❤️💘🧡💜💚

[parry]

Congratulations on the great job done 🎉
I send my best wishes for the well-being of you and your family.
Thanks for sharing your time and your energies of love and generosity of heart and soul. Your own wisdom and intuitive understanding of what is possible is a delightful experience for all of us. You inspire ❤🍀💜🪷🕉🌱🫶🕊🙌☮️💫💐💚🌈

[NazmulHaque-ov]

A very beautiful house, pleasant environment. I joined from 🌐🇧🇩Bangladesh and watched all your videos and I really like them💕💕👍🤳

[G-Man]

I LOVE when You think of things all on your own! You are So Amazing and fun to watch 😊💖

[LaverneLovatt]

I adore how you think. The solution you found for using the level shows intuition of a task many would have to be taught. Taking the back of the groove off was also a solution many would have to be taught. Keep up the wonderful work.

[keithburch]

I'm always amazed at the beauty of your home and land there. The food you prepare I would absolutely love to try. I live in North Carolina, USA. I've lived in Iowa, the middle of the USA, and Texas, south middle of the USA, but I've never been outside of the USA. We have lush beautiful mountains in North Carolina. I live it the foothills of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Piedmont area. I've always came back here. There's no place like home, and this is home. We have brown recluse spiders, black widow spiders, rattle snakes. There's also lots of black bears, even near my home, but they never bother us. We camped about 10 miles of my house and my son slept in a hammock and he saw the mom bear and her cub dig through our food. She stood up to look into my truck and slid her paws down the side of the door, leaving scratch marks all the way down it. I'm amazed at your talent to figure things out as you go. I follow a dozen or so families on Youtube, and all the young girls at some point will date or introduce her boyfriend. Neither of you girls, nor your mom are ever seen with a male friend. Yes, there's groups of friends with guys in them visit, but always as a group. What's the deal? Are you not interested in having a family continue owning and caring for your farmland? You have to have a boyfriend before you have a husband and start a family. Why no interest in men? Mom not interested in remarrying? I don't understand. I love your channel. I pre-ordered your book back when it came out and I've passed it around my family to let them enjoy it also. Thanks for sharing. I'm so glad that spider bite didn't harm you.

[skylinevspec]

I will admit, its wonderful to see someone learning a solution to a problem they never dreamed of encountering. Ive followed for a while. Its a great channel. Keep it up, this is a rewarding life

[Pops-sd]

💐⚘️🌷🪻🌻🦋💖☺️ great job honey it looks fantastic❤ I hope your sister gets well soon it's a bummer being sick