The Kluck Family’s Story

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Hello and Welcome!

Being modern pioneers, to me, is more than just a lifestyle; it’s about finding creative ways to live debt-free, adapting the use of some technologies to aid in our day-to-day life, and rediscovering the pioneering skills that our convenience-driven world has relinquished.

It is about innovation — exploring endless possibilities and turning them into a reality.

We are set on building a strong foundation of family values, instilling hopeful purpose for the next generation, and being an example of steadfastness and persistence in achieving our goals.

This blog is a window into our family’s world – a place where I share our family’s experiences, victories, and challenges as we navigate the rewarding avenue of modern pioneering.

Let’s Sell our Home!

Our family began our pioneering journey at the end of 2020, after seeing the housing market in the rural region of southern Ontario soar to historical high records.

We knew we could list our house on market and sell for a decent amount. Our goal since we’ve been married in 2009, was to live a life completely debt-free — without a mortgage, and on one spouse’s income.

We thrusted ourselves forward to finish a major renovation project we had started a year prior, knowing this step would significantly increase our house value — just the amount we needed to pay the remaining balance on our mortgage and reap in a good profit to start a new project: purchasing a fixer-upper on a few acres of land near family — renovating the house and making it our forever home.

Unfortunately, since the prices of real estate climbed sharply, we quickly became priced out of the market where purchasing was concerned.

A Grand Possibility on the East Coast

One day, Michiel happened to have seen a random advertisement for a property for sale on his Facebook feed, drawing his attention to the untapped real estate market in Nova Scotia.

We jumped on-board, with all hands and feet in, for the hunt for a fixer-upper in our budget, in the South-West region of the province.

The sad news is that we wouldn’t be moving closer to family — it was a difficult reality our family had to accept, and a choice we had to commit.

While we actively searched for a property, we laboured tiredlessly for three weeks straight, finishing the large garage-turned-family-room into a livable space.

While the unknown of which property would be ours loomed in the back of our minds, we plowed through our realtor’s to-do list of recommended tasks in preparation for house listing, and ultimately for the showing of our property to prospective buyers.

A Fixer-Upper in Nova Scotia

We had finally found a small, former grocery store sitting empty for years, in a quaint lobstering community of Nova Scotia — where we had put in an offer, and had it accepted.

By God’s grace, our listed property in Ontario sold two weeks after we moved to the east coast. It was all in His good timing! We are so thankful for His provision and leading!

Within a month’s time, the sale of our newly purchased property would finalize, and we would be on our way, in two vans — hauling four kids, a dog, a cat, and the rest of our belongings that wouldn’t fit in the already fully packed UHaul boxes, on a three days’ trek to the east coast.

First Three Months in a Camp Trailer and Bunkie

However, we did not move into the new property right away! Michiel had to first build a bathroom, kitchen, living room, and bedrooms, before we could move in. There was one hole in the ground inside the building — ready for the toilet to sit on top. We rented a Porta-Potty, which was our family’s main bathroom until the toilet was installed. Our camp trailer had a wonderful shower attached to the outside, which we used on warm days.

A Second Fixer-Upper on the Horizon

During the following six months of our life-changing move away from family and into the new Maritimes province (and into the tiny 750 square-foot former grocery store), we stumbled upon an opportunity we couldn’t pass: a beautiful, large century home for sale within the same municipality — needing significant restoration, but accommodating for a family of six.

We loved the location — at the dead end of an old bridge, with a rushing creek running by, under the bridge and opening into the vast Atlantic Ocean!

The home had character and we were thrilled to be able to preserve some of the architectural elements prevalent in its time.

Renovating and Living Off the Grid

We would soon be thrusted into another house renovation adventure … this time with a twist! We would be moving into a quarter portion of the newly renovated home while relying solely on solar panel and battery banks for electricity — and renovating the rest of the home!