I’m ancient, and recall the early days of Villa when he was trying to demonstrate cheap ways to get jobs done, before companies used him to advertise their products. Both approaches have value.
I'm a remodel/renovation contractor. First and last thing I do every week is make sure the site is cleaned up and organized. I makes all the difference in keeping focus on the project.
I’m a former contractor who works a desk job. Same applies to my desk. If I don’t know what to do, I clean my desk and everything becomes clearer. A cluttered desk (or job site) is a sign of a cluttered mind.
I guess the same can be said for inside a house (especially after a busy weekend). I good reset and clean does wonders for peace of mind for the weekdays. When Dave spoke about the half done projects, that summed up my partner. Tasks that turn into work, and work that's no longer enjoyable and become a burden. Especially when they are the bottleneck to other tasks to be done. Love ❤️ your videos. I'm glad you are making them again after your time away from posting content. I'd love to hear your short, medium and long-term goals. Where would like to be/doing, in say 10-20 years time?
I totally understand everything you are saying. I started thinking about what I want to do with this new chapter in my life. My husband just passed away from a very bad work accident. I cried and I have been sad but now I must parent our 3 kids and make a whole new life for us 4. We will all be ok.
Aww , I'm so sorry . It sounds like you have the right mindset. Can't imagine how hard it is for all 4 of you. Many prayers and blessings to you and your kids , hope you have a nice Easter with more positive remembrance, honoring his memory and less sadness. God Bless You
At 76 now I too have learned the power of being a turtle and taking time to enjoy the peace I find on my woodland property. Sitting still and just listening to the creek and birds between doing some more hauling of firewood makes for a great day. As always I love your videos and narration. Great job Bushy!
My dad was the ultimate do yourselfer. He renovated all the houses we lived in for his family of nine. At the end of every work day he cleaned up the job site, swept up the saw dust, piled his tools in the corner, trashed the scrap wood and left it ready to go the next day. It keeps you from being overwhelmed.
This is life-changing advice. We are living in our very first fixer-upper, our family of six and this house was formerly uninhabitable. It's taking a lot more time and imagination that we expected but that's the most important aspect to keeping momentum. Tidying up at the end of each day.
Man let me say this, from the moment I found this channel I was hooked. Nobody and I mean nobody makes me think and dream as much as Dave does. Hes like my favorite celebrity from RU-vid. This guy is amazing his voice and personality makes you just feel like you are right there enjoying the journey. I don’t know how I found this channel but I thank God I did, cause he inspires me every video. I leap for joy every time he uploads a new video. You keep these coming and blessings to you for the experience of a thousand lifetimes
Dave has the voice of a story teller. I simply love both he and Brooke and watching them build or clear land, burn fires, camp, takes me to a good place in my elder years indoors now. Thanks Dave, can’t wait to see what you and Brooke do with this place. 🌷🌸🌷
"... and this is a good way to burn hair off your arm" LOL nice man. I've probably commented this on old videos before, but you give an average guy the confidence to attempt a simple cabin project and for that I thank you.
In High School I was hired by a general contractor building a 60 home sub division with a 100 condo complex! He hired us for the full framing project after school and on the weekends, with only one order CLEAN! We removed all scrap wood and sorted it by size for reuse or disposal. It was amazing how much the framers could get done in a day and how much waste they could produce! This contractor had been a Del Webb Executive and learned how to squeeze every cent out of a project. Hint 10th grader slaves are far cheaper than keeping carpenters around to clean a job site. This was 1992 and the pay was like $5 hr with the perk of using the "soon to be finished" Swimming Pool! The Pool was never built during our employment , LOL
150% correct. Worked remodeling for years. At 3:30 everything stopped and we did site cleanup. Every single day. That habit actually carried over to everyday stuff as well. Having a clean area makes all the difference. As for that flat bar - go big or go home. Lol!
Yet again thanks for taking us along for the ride. I am hopefully nearing the end of my health struggle. I will just come out and say it finally; cancer sucks. Your videos have helped me get through my second fight with it more than you probably realize. I can't do any of the things I love to do, so coming along with you on your journey has given me the ability to at least live them vicariously. Hopefully soon I will be able to sit around a fire and just relax again. In the meantime thanks for doing it for m.
hey Dave, that would make a great song when you were saying a little bita work , a little bitta pole sawing, a little bitta blue sky and a little bitta snacks.
I agree with your work philosophy and turning hobbies into drudgery. So at 68 I do what I can do on my list that makes sense for that day. Find some joy in it. A fire and thought has created the world we live in.
This video was so, so good. I've watched yours and Brooke's channels for a long time. I've followed the Yukon and the Alone adventures. The best part of watching the incredible life that you've lived is the authenticity of you both. You are the real deal. You've kept it real. You don't need all of the fancy unrealistic things so many RU-vidrs are doing these days. You work hard, appreciate what you have. This gave me a lot of inspiration. I have a tendency to start too many things and get distracted to do the next thing, only getting frustrated by what's undone. Getting older has really brought clarity to this. Cannot wait to see how this sweet cabin progresses.
Hi, my wife use to say that she recons that I spent more time planing the jobs I had to do and the gear I need for each job, rather then getting on with it. I recon that if you prepare your tools, clear the ground where you will do your work is the most important thing I could do. I usually work on my own on the farm and my safety is the most important thing for me. If things go wrong, guess who has to fix it? Take your time mate, its your body. Cheers & Harera
Well, have had a rough few years, been locked up for screwing up, wrong place at the wrong time. I'm right with my faith now, I just appreciate everything good so much more now, you helped with that! This! A new, peaceful, grateful life. Thank you for your efforts, just know you have helped thousands of people Sir. Thank you. Jesus is Lord, peace from a Georgia hillbilly :)
Love this guy's common sense advice!!! As he started talking, my whole body started relaxing as I have also experienced listening to Brooke. The closer people get to nature, the better people they become. Their wisdom taught to them by nature's lessons is nothing short of a gold mine!!! Sad that city life drains the crap out of people,!!!
Every spring I start my project list by going through my woods and cleaning up the downed trees. It's always nicer to go for walks when you're not tripping on branches and logs.
Good advice, Dave. Take it slow, and make sure the hobby and passion of the project stay just that, and not drudgery. I'm gonna try to take that to heart. Thanks, man. :)
Clean up makes you plan & think. It gets you close to your project but not buried in it. Thats why its a good idea to start and end each day with a clean up hour.
As a new house owner. I understand what you mean. The house i bought last summer was a rental house at the time. And boy they did not take care of the yard. A lot of over grown plants. Dead Trees, Leafs, Vines, and Garbage left behind. My parents have been helping me clean it up on good warm days. i am so close of it being done! Two piles of that crap left. Then i can get grass seeds and straw in the back yard. Then it will be a good get away for me. Plant some new trees and flowers. Enjoy my creek that i can see now. I can't wait to see the remodel you and Brook will do. I look forward to it.
I’ve always found cleaning a good moral booster. It’s so easy you grab stuff and toss it in a garbage bag or a bon fire, and bam you just got something done. Makes the harder stuff easier to start
You and you lovely wife are one of the reasons we moved to Michigan and built a cabin in the woods. 14 acres with state property on two sides. Not totally roughing it as we have power and starlink internet. Thanks for the inspiration.
After watching your video, I realize I am making my clean-up a major chore. I have become a snail (haha) so, I decided I will become a bit more of a turtle with training wheels. Taking small sections at a time, and eventually it will be cleaned up. I like when you all talk on how to do things, Brooke does it also. That is nice because we can get ideas from your video's. So, stay safe, warm/cool, and blessings.
You could use those mossy old logs to fill raised beds or pile em and toss dirt on em and plant in there! Hugelkulture. Beautiful property. I love spaced out pine forests.
07:15 Man, I feel that. It always comes down to time to me. I can do a lot of stuff, but I can't afford to pay people to do it for me. So between property, farming, ranching, vehicles, all sorts of stuff, the projects are never ending and I feel like I have 0 time, ever. Kinda like you said, I heard this the first car I restored: Try to do a little thing every day, eventually it stacks up.
@1:42 I think this is good advice for life in general. When I feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start, sometimes this is what I do. Find a simple problem/small mess that's close at hand and start there first.
It's good to see you again Dave! I believe we have the same philosophy when it comes to seperating work from what one enjoys as a hobby other forms of enjoyment. Hang in their my friend. Say howdy to Brooke & your brother Ryan for me. Sincerely, the old Montana cowboy, Frank Scherping😊
Dave! Love your videos, and Ryan's. Dont wait so long to make the next one. Would love to see a trip back up to Alaska, so you can check up on your son and your cabin.
As i'm in my 60's now I do the math. I see that finishing up my lifetime of partly finished projects will take what time I have left. I could not decide what to do first. Last year I came to the same conclusion you did and have been cleaning up my workshop. There is over 3000sf and to just clean up the shop to make it a beter place to work, will take the better part of a year. I figure. When I retire I won't lack for things to do.
What a great sharing. What you said about cleaning up the site also can be applied to life. When we are lost or confused, we can either take a break to figure out the direction first, OR just focus on doing what we can do at that moment and do it correctly but by bit, such as keeping house clean eating healthy try the best at work…etc. Somehow we might find the energy and path from those basic everyday things we do.
You said clean up the site, then think about what to do next that’s a really good idea . I didn’t know you had Aldi in the usa 🇺🇸 got one round the corner from where I live it’s cheap and cheerful, like you said that she wasn’t that brilliant that you ate it all the same ☺️ . Like you said, take things nice and slowly and see how things progress. Love your channel. DSM from the Uk 🇬🇧
Nice! You'll be whippin' that property into shape in no time bud, looking forward to seeing the project unfold. I was looking at a property in Price county, but it needed way more work than a VA Home Loan would approve to buy lol.
So much great advice here, Dave. And you deliver it in such a laidback manner that it's easy to take in. That's wisdom. Regards from Glasgow, Scotland. 🥃 🏴
Brilliant monologues in this one, Dave. The one about “too many irons in the fire” really resonates with me. Having so many projects that are half completed is such an easy trap to fall into.. but it feels amazing once you get out of it. I’m working through that myself with cars, carpentry, renovations, businesses etc…
Absolutely true about getting overwhelmed with a big renovation project. I've been there myself. You eventually get so locked up you can't think what to do next. "Clean up the site" is some golden advice.
You hit the nail on the head with the list! That’s something I have struggled with for years. Completing a project is gratifying but keeping the list trimmed down is difficult.
Yes, well said, That is the story of my life 40 projects.None of them are done. I just finished my daughter's desk, which I started back in 2022. I finally finished it and uploaded the video for next Sunday. Thank you for this video.
Dave your voice is so calming I could listen to you all day but stuff always needs doing so I'm working at keeping my hobbies; I'm retired; fun as you suggest. Keep radical. From sunny Scotland.
I was wondering when you were going to get around to this David. Here we go with the project hopefully. This will make for a great series of videos. The finished product should be quite exciting to see.
Always so excited to see you post a video I can’t stand to watch listen or even see any news or current events these days so these videos are very welcome 🤗 thank you Dave. ☺️
Enjoyed watching this. Love your laid back and enjoy the Journey philosophy. Also love the tip for how to burn the hair off your arm. Works wonders for eyebrows as well. 😂
You and Brooke always manage to snap me out of my funks when I need it most, thanks for that. I’ve been doing my off grid, alone, for 5yrs now. I THINK Mr. Right is out there but I’d hoped he’d have arrived before now, lol. Alas, here I are, overwhelmed. Two years ago we had a pine beetle problem now I have trees everywhere and couldn’t do much of anything the last little bit thanks to a broken sternum thanks to a chunk of ice and an ill fated snow scoop. Now, I’m feeling way behind in where I needed, WANTED, to be. Thankfully I can start my chainsaw now, last year just focused on my firewood but this year I have a bunch of trees I want to drop and clean up. All the criss cross fallen X shapes in the trees here, pretty sure I’ve invaded Bigfoot’s territory, lol. I just left a comment on Brooke’s about one of my favourite camping trips too many moons ago. Since I made the off grid switch, I don’t have time for fun anymore it seems. Because any nice days that are available, I’m bettering myself and my own habitat. When you live in Eastern Canada, you only have half the year to do these projects in, as you guys also know in Michigan and Alaska. And yup, future projects abandoned and woodpiles for future projects lay in waiting. I’m sure it looks like a crackhead lives here but that’s ok, helps keep the vermin down because they don’t think I have anything to steal, haha. Thanks for the inspiration, time to get ‘er done!!
Nice video. That overwhelming feeling when there’s too much to do creeps up on you this time of year when you can see the landscape so clearly and it’s looks it’s brownest. Teaching how to approach the site and tackle it is helpful. I’m year two on my cabin build (year three of you include the foundation). There’s so much to do, but considering I have a well made gravel road leading to a two-story 16 x 16 structure now under a roof-and this time last year there was nothing but concrete plugs in the ground and a dirt hill, I’m looking forwards to how much this build will progress by this time next year. I really enjoy the videos you & Brooke put out. Best.
