Life in a Yurt

As this will be my first post of the new month I wanted it to be a special one. So I got a lot of messages after my previous post on the yurt, asking all about the practicalities of making home in the forest and how to actually make things happen - I decided to have a sit down with my mum and step dad to ask them all of these questions, so here are your most frequent queries and the direct answers! Here is how to make life in a yurt possible! Enjoy.

1) How do you wash?

This is obviously one of the first things that comes to mind when I mention my parents are living in a teepee in the forest, I wasn't quite sure of how they would manage this either to be honest. I figured a bucket of cold water would have to be the answer, but they actually have a bunch of cool ways to do these basic things..

Shower

The shower is a copper pipe wrapped around the chimney of the indoor fireplace, it works by pouring cold water through the pipe which is then heated by the fire. There's an area behind the yurt covered by curtains where the copper pipe will run into a shower head and can be turned on and off with pre heated water ready to go.

Sink

This is the sink. It has no tap, just basic plumbing running from the plug to the outside of the yurt, the water runs underneath the floor and then down over the plants to water them. The sink is filled up using water collected in the water butt. So it's not your average running water kind of deal. Use water must be a pre-planned task!

This is the water butt I mentioned, it sits behind the yurt and collects the rain water to then be used for washing, showering and drinking. It has a little tap at the bottom to pour the water.

2) How do you get Light?

Lighting is another one of the basics of modern life that we actually take for granted, flicking a switch seems so simple.. But what about when there's no electricity? Another thing that again, doesn't come easily or naturally to the forest.

Indoor lighting

The inside of the yurt has a skylight in the centre that's covered by a transparent plastic sheet so that during the day all the lighting is natural (it also comes with the perks of laying in bed and still stargazing!) There's solar powered LED lights (fairy lights) draped around the walls, so in the evening they automatically turn on.

There's a couple of gas lamps that give off light as well as heat. A yurt will never be as bright as your average house would be obviously, but you don't need all of this - As long as you can function day or night.. Then it's perfect!

Outdoor Lighting

The lighting outside is a lot more important considering the location. It's in a very overgrown forest-like area, surrounded by trees and plants e.t.c. so there's a lot more to be careful of, therefore a lot more lighting is needed.

All of the pathways through the forest leading towards the yurt and away, are lit by solar powered fairy lights and ground LED lights. They're placed in lines as a sort of guide. At night they're not only insanely helpful, but so beautiful - All you can see is miles of trees laced with lights, and a spriral of brightness leading off in to the distance.

3) How do you Cook?

Kitchen

The kitchen is a handmade outdoor wooden transparent shed. It's framework is all branches and treetrunks, this is draped with a see through plastic cover (not yet been put on!) The reason for it being outside is because it's way too hot to store any cold/frozen foods inside the yurt, also it allows for much more food storage. The fridge is called an 'earth fridge' - It's dug in to the ground and kept insulated in order to keep it at a low temperature. It's sealed to also be waterproof!

Cooking

There's a majority of different ways to cook out here, there's a gas camping stove (powered by gas cylinders) this is good for when there's no fire lit!

You can also cook using the wood burning stove which is the fireplace inside the yurt - Perfect for rainy days and quick meals. There's a fire pit outside so that's nice for a campfire BBQ - There's also an actual BBQ as well. So as you can see they're not short of ways to cook!

4) The Garden!

There's a garden area around the yurt that's been hand built. There's a patio and an area where crops are growing.

Crops

The greenhouses are growing things like cucumber and tomatoes, it's good to have a reliable source of fruit and vegetables without having to get to the shop everytime! The garden is growing things like spring onions, lettuce, marrow and strawberries. There's also a wide selection of fresh herbs. All the foods you need to live self sufficiently!

The Handmade Patio

The yurt sits on a patio that my step dad built himself, it's made from large cable drums (huge cotton reels) that are sitting on car tyres filled with earth. It's not your average base! There's a lovely little area out the front where we sit in the evenings, it overlooks the entire forest and miles and fields.

5) Is there enough storage?

As they had moved from a house, you would expect them both to have a lot of 'stuff' to have to take with them, but fortunately as they had been in the Alps for the previous 5 months, they'd got used to living out of suitcases and had put all of their stuff in to storage, so the yurt isn't filled with house trinkets and gadgets!

All of the clothes are stored in under-bed containers so they aren't in the way. My mum went second hand shopping and bought and bunch of these chests and cabinets and together we handpainted them using mongolian style colours and designs!

Due to the style of the walls, you are actually able to suspend items from here, they use this space for tools and accessories. These are hung using bungee chords!

This is the 'cupboard under the sink' - The beaded strings have been used as a sort of door, they're also at the front door to prevent any bugs getting in to the yurt.

What have you used for decoration?

The decorations were definitely the most fun part!

- Mongolian style rugs.

- Wind chimes

- Bunting

- Fairy lights and lots and lots of cushions!

6) What do you actually do there?

Due to there being no electricity therefore no TV, no phone signal - They've actually had to learn to just exist, instead of filling every minute with an activity, it is totally possible to just be. There's always little things to be done like gardening and preparing foods. There's board games and card games so it's impossible to be bored really!

"Everything takes a lot longer, you have to gather the wood and pre plan everything you're going to need for your meal, so that takes up time"

- Mum

"We just sit by the fire and chat for hours"

- Mum

So there's a bunch of the ideas and ways that my parents came up with to make life in a yurt easy and enjoyable! I hope you liked this post and were able to gain a deeper understanding of a totally different way of life.

Anything is possible if you want it enough and no idea is too far fetched or unrealistic!

Namaste, Brooke x

#lifestyle