What I’ve Learned From Modern Cabin Life

We never planned on owning a cabin. It’s funny, as I look back on our journey to home ownership (which was 10 plus years in the making, a story for another day), we always dreamed of a home like we have now but we didn’t realize at the time our path would lead us to a modern cabin.

Now, after four years of living and maintaining Pine Daisy House, this summer I can stand with sure footing on the things we’ve learned. There are so many lessons, and most of them aren’t exclusive to cabin living. But a few of them have to do with the cabin lifestyle we choose to live.

Embrace the Seasons

Nothing drives the chores and way we live like the seasons. It’s a beautiful, cyclical dance we do every year. I have never been so in tune to the weather and seasons in my life. Perhaps it’s that we average 9 feet of snow each year. Or maybe it’s because we don’t have air conditioning in the summer and we know the pine pollen flies for 10 days in mid June. No matter the reason, living close to nature is what we love most about our modern cabin lifestyle. We love embracing every time of year and the anticipation each season holds.

The outdoor maintenance at our cabin seems like a never ending process. Add to it all the living and normal maintenance we do INSIDE… Embracing the abundance of each season has now become an expected rhythm for us.

Cabin-Owner Maintenance

We have learned (thanks youtube) so many skills and have problem solved our fair share as well during the last four years. We now understand that, no matter the home, cabins especially take a large outpouring of energy each year to maintain.

One area in particular for us has been the exterior and the decks of our cabin. They are all wood and take a beating from the weather. We have reconciled ourselves to maintaining our decks on some level each summer and commit a few days to the work. We regularly monitor the siding and foundation of our home. When you live in the forest you need to pay close attention to bugs, roots, and larger critters.

It’s a myth that exterior cabin maintenance (even log home maintenance) takes a lot of man-hours. With a little planning and preparation, time and money can be saved. Early each spring we plan our summer maintenance around the kids activities and family travel schedule. We afford ourselves weeks to budget, save, and educate ourselves on what’s ahead. This year we worked hard and finished all our summer chores by June 15th. It felt great to get it done so early!

Less is More

Our modern cabin is 3100 square feet. It’s a four bedroom and is roomy enough for our family of four. It was built in 1979 and does not have an excessive amount of storage or a shed. So over the past few years we’ve learned how to maximize the space we have. We are always finding ourselves purging and thinking of unique ways to save space and fill our cabin with less.

This has as much to do with the size of a home as it does with our active choice to live smaller. On a deeper level, we intentionally pay attention to how much we “have” in our cabin and focus on not acquiring excess.

Layers of Effort

One of my favorite homesteaders has helped me realize that living intentionally, close to nature, and with purpose is about embracing layers of work. As a cabin owner I now understand what this idea means. Through the past few years of slow, steady, purposeful work in and around our cabin I’m beginning to see the fruits of that labor.

Living close to nature and in tune with the seasons has forced me to slow my pace dramatically. When I think about my garden, I’m reminded of the power layers of effort have overtime. I can’t rush time, I have to be patient. I have to be present in order to maximize the growing seasons and the bounty around me.

Blizzards remind me of this slow pace too. After the firewood has been brought in, and the snow shovels are positioned strategically by each exterior door, there is nothing left to do but wait for the storm to arrive…and leave. Maybe a batch of cookies can get made in the meantime too.

Embracing this idea of intentional slow living in many ways is counter cultural. But in our modern cabin, with a little extra space to breathe amongst our trees, just a hop from town, it’s the only place I want to be.

With hope for you and your intentional home,