Family's DIY Tiny House Adventure in Off Grid Living, NZ! | GridFree Living

Jo and Josh are a fantastic example of how off grid living in NZ can allow a young family to create a more fulfilling lifestyle in DIY Tiny house. Working in the medical industry through 2020 left Josh and Jo feeling burnt out, so they took stock of what they wanted out of life, so evaluate what was truly important to them. Jo dreamed of being a hands-on stay-at-home mum, and Josh dreamed of living off the grid and being self-sufficient. To begin their off-grid journey they travelled around NZ in a tiny housebus, searching for the perfect place to call home, and they fell in love with land on the Tutukaka Coast. After purchasing the land they were left with quite a tight budget to complete their off-grid build, and they used some good old Kiwi ingenuity - getting crafty by finding materials to repurpose. They've learned some great lessons and have found peace in their tranquil valley. We had the pleasure of visiting them recently to learn all about their journey, their love of off grid living in NZ, how they built their tiny house, and how they've created this amazing life for their family.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:21 - What off-gridding means to them
01:11 - Tour of the Tiny House
02:22 - What has living off-grid enabled them to do
02:45 - The decision to move off-grid
04:03 - Working to a tight deadline
04:57 - Research
05:21 - Tour of the worm sewage system
06:25 - Budget & Costs
07:00 - Jo's daily routine
07:27 - How their plans changed
08:27 - Tour of the playground
09:20 - Advice
10:46 - How solar has enhanced their life
11:34 - The Bach Kit/Managing Solar
12:28 - Why a generator is a great investment
13:10 - GridFree Recommendation
13:26 - Tour of where the house site was first going to go
14:19 - Tour of the chicken coop
15:09 - Being able to be a stay a home mum
16:08 - Their most important values
16:35 - What they love most about the Lifestyle
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GridFree Living is a monthly series in which we go and visit one our customers to see how they live off-grid! We ask about how they use the solar, as well as how they tackle all the other challenges of off-grid life, and dig into why they chose to go off-grid and how it's improved their life. Subscribe so you don't miss a video!
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[@lsdevenie1426]

A true Aotearoa family 🖤🤗

[@gideonporter537]

Awesome. I shall remember you guys. 🙂

[@nigelhorrocks7592]

Those guys are inspirational .I am onto my fourth system and I got from grid Free for the first time . Set it up and have lived happily ever after in the shadow of Mt Ruapehu - snow has had little impact , just wipe off gently . But the change in lifestyle and reduction of stress are a major shift and those kids have some very cool parents . I wish them well .

[@GridFreeStore]

They are seriously inspiring - we felt it meeting them too!
Wow, that is awesome, we are so happy to hear that your system is working well for you. We would love to see some photos of your solar set up if you'd be happy to share - especially in the snow?

[@Frank-rx8ch]

Yep typical diy Kiwi attitude 👍👍👍

[@GridFreeStore]

Totally! You can do a lot more than ya might think if you're willing to try

[@alisonshanahan1237]

Family time is so important for kid's mental health, especially when they are teenagers. We chose to live in a small house on one income when the kids were little. It didn't pay for me to work. The cost of childcare was more than I could earn. A girlfriend, who is a chartered accountant, worked out that with 2 kids in childcare, she would be earning $10 a week. That's without petrol, office clothes, make-up etc. They decided to have a 3rd child instead.

[@GridFreeStore]

We totally agree! Having the time for 'present' connection is so important for children and adults. Which is really hard to achieve these days with the cost of living stresses. It looks like more and more people will be racing toward an off-grid lifestyle for a simpler life.

[@michaelhill2275]

Awesome place and lifestyle for those boys to grow up 👍

[@GridFreeStore]

So good aye! It's easy to see that whole family is thriving there.

[@janeyoung4844]

Thankyou for sharing
Such a cool lifestyle
Simplicity is freedom ❤

[@GridFreeStore]

It really is

[@meatavoreNana]

Im a nana, a bit worried about that decking 😮.. Neat lifestyle though. KIWI CAN DO

[@GridFreeStore]

Don't worry, the deck was finished not longer after we filmed this video, nice and safe!

[@haleykopeke7431]

What's the size of the house

[@GridFreeStore]

I believe it was around 50m2.
It actually felt huge because of the in door, outdoor flow. Stepping out onto the deck with the gorgeous view - it was incredible.

[@kelesanele7665]

How much was the house build?

[@GridFreeStore]

Josh estimated around $50k for the house build, which is so impressive!