A new way of living: Durban family swap home for bus
A Durban family decide to leave their traditional brick and mortar home for something a little more unconventional...
One of the things that we have learnt since 2020 is that no amount of material items could ever fulfill us in comparison to being around our friends and family. The importance of human touch, a simple hug, is invaluable... that whole concept of absence makes the heart grow fonder has stumped us when it comes to appreciating all those things that we may have sometimes taken for granted.
COVID-19 has allowed us to appreciate time with family, our health, our state of mind, access to basic amenities, and, of course, the roofs over our heads.
For the Jooste family, it meant taking things a step further when it came to living light and changing homes.
You are what you make of life and just like how we make lemonade when life throws us lemons (or we bring in the tequila - whichever you fancy), we think the Jooste family did what they felt was best for them.
Liezel and Jacques Jooste and their two kids decided to make the move from a traditional brick and mortar home into a bus. The decision wasn't taken lightly, they first joked about it then realised that a house that they were paying huge amounts of money towards wasn't really serving them as a family. They hardly spent any time in their house, all they had was a place to sleep and eat.
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Some of the things that motivated them to pick up and change homes included; saving money, spending more time together as a family, reducing their carbon footprint (this was very important to Liezel as she was brought up loving nature and she wanted to do her part in helping the environment), and they wanted to have more freedom and be stress free.
It's crazy how having to make your rent payments monthly can create stress, but it is the reality of life and many people have had to readjust their lifestyles to meet their monthly expenses.
We have raised our children to be open minded and have involved them in the decisions and processes since the beginning. And each step has been met with a lot of excitement. The children did not have to adapt too much as, as long as we explained everything to them properly, they embraced it. It really is all about one’s mindset.
Liezel and Jacques' parenting style is both endearing, respectful, and admirable. They are teaching their kids what the pillars of family really are, what being kind to the environment really means, and also what living minimally means in a world that is filled with 'things' that distract us from living a fulfilling life.
She added the below, which really brings things into perspective when it comes to the important things in life.
“I choose not only to live in a tiny house, but have a home full of love and a life of freedom and joy.”
Image Courtesy of Facebook