Kirsten Dirksen @[email protected]
2M subscribers - no pronouns :c
Videos about simple living, self-sufficiency, unconventional
Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Alright, itâs BOOK GIVEAWAY day! đ
But firstâa message to EVERYONE:
To the winners, the participants, and even those who just liked, read, or shared the Giveawayâthank you. We truly believe youâll love LIFE-CHANGING HOMES, and we hope it becomes a book you keep close, flip through often, and find useful over time. This book was made for Y'ALL.
Why do we think LIFE-CHANGING HOMES is relevant?
Because itâs built on some of our (and your) favorite storiesâ10 thematic chapters, dozens of homes, over 250 color photos, and thoughtful textâall designed to spark ideas, take you on a journey, and maybe even nudge you closer to your own dream space.
It took a while to make... but we think itâs a keeper.
Now, about the Giveaway:
We asked you a two-part question:
Which of our stories inspired you the most, and how did it influence a change in your dwelling or everyday life?
Your answers blew us away.
They reminded us why we do what we do: to share stories that inspire, teach, and remind us weâre not alone in trying to live a bit more intentionally.
Honestly, every single comment felt like it deserved a book.
đ ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS đ
Weâve selected 10 responses that really resonated. Youâll find our replies under each winning commentâlook for a heart and a personal response from Kirsten (under her nickname). Weâll also be linking directly to those comments in this post as we go.
đ© TO THE WINNERS:
Please message us through our contact form here:
đ faircompanies.com/contact/
Include your YouTube nickname in the message.
Weâll then reply with a specific word for you to post as a comment under this announcement, just to confirm itâs really you. Once thatâs done, weâll coordinate delivery privatelyâno need to share any personal info in public.
Itâs been a joy reading your responses and turning this milestone into a real conversation. We hope LIFE-CHANGING HOMES becomes a companion for your own journeyâand that we get to keep learning and growing together.
With gratitude,
âKirsten, Nico & kids
The book is out on May 27, BUT you can already preorder it at your bookstore of choice. Let's make it climb the lists! www.abramsbooks.com/product/life-changing-homes_97âŠ
WINNERS' LIST & LINK TO THEIR COMMENT:
@impossiblemel7 (link to comment:www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
@scoutdatdog842 (link to comment: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
@FanOfTheEarth20 (link to comment: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
@ChaosandFlow (link to comment: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
@shaldonberndt (link to comment: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
@theendlesscompassion (link to comment: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
@thepyropaladin8608 (link to comment: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
@alexandermichev4116 (link to comment: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
@spencers-adventures (link to comment: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
@kayelyward8714 (link to comment: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...)
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Wow, wowâwhat a response!
Just a week ago, we invited you all to join our BOOK GIVEAWAY to celebrate the big milestone: 2 MILLION subscribers (huge thanks again đ). And⊠you really showed up!
If you missed it, here's the original post with all the details (as of now, 810 likes, 97 comments):
đ Previous Giveaway Post www.youtube.com/channel/UCDsE...
The comments have been INSPIRINGâso many thoughtful stories about which of our videos inspired you the most and how it sparked change in your home, your project, or your life: sometimes, little changes make a huge difference. Reading them has been heartwarming, and honestly, a little overwhelming (in the best way).
Weâre now getting ready to choose 10 of those responses to receive a free copy of our new book, LIFE-CHANGING HOMES.
(P.S. It hits stores on May 27, but you can already preorder it here:
đ www.abramsbooks.com/product/life-changing-homes_97âŠ)
đ If you somehow missed the previous post but would still like to participate, thereâs still a 1-day grace period! Just comment on the original post or right here with your answer to the giveaway question, and weâll count you in.
REMINDER:
On Thursday, May 15, weâll reply directly to the 10 selected comments, congratulating the winners and sharing instructions to claim your book.
Thanks again for being part of this communityâit means the world to us.
Letâs keep building, dreaming, and rethinking âhomeâ together. đĄđ«
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Two weeks ago, we shared a message celebrating 2 million subscribers (THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!) and asked for your thoughts on the best way to do a BOOK GIVEAWAY for our first official book about the channel: LIFE-CHANGING HOMES, coming later this month via Abrams NYC.
Thanks to your votes, weâve decided to keep it simple and meaningfulâwith one question, right here in the community tab:
QUESTION:
Which of our stories has inspired you the most, and how has it influenced a project or change in your dwelling or everyday life?
(Mention the story and the change it sparkedâin one single comment below.)
We'll keep the giveaway open for one week, to give everyone a fair shotâregardless of time zone, schedule, or circumstance.
After that, weâll pick 10 responses, and weâll ask those folks to email us with proof of their username + postal address to get a copy of the book, fresh off the press.
WHAT YOUâRE GETTING:
A high-format, carefully curated edition with 250+ color photos and 10 chapters highlighting some of our favorite storiesâdesigned to spark ideas, take you on a journey, and help you dream (or build) your next version of home.
As we said in the survey, LIFE-CHANGING HOMES is about transformation in all its formsâand we really think this book lets you travel and return with something useful. Guaranteed. www.abramsbooks.com/product/life-changing-homes_97âŠ
Alright, letâs get this going!
We canât wait to read your stories. â€ïž
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Sandor Katz experienced a "dark night of the soul" when he became chronically ill, but the crisis (physical, spiritual) led to a renewal annd flourishing that has benefited people around the world for years. He left NYC and landed in rural Tennessee with no planâjust a garden and a love of pickles. A bumper crop of cabbage led to kraut, which led to a global journey in fermentation. Now Sandor Katz is the go-to guru of microbes and old foodways. This video repost will show you the many ways your garden and kitchen can heal your gut, immune system, AND SOUL. Have a great rest of the week y'all, and never underestimate humble, hard-to-spoil pickled food! đ„Źđ„ https://youtu.be/7VaTHYt7Ezc?si=ARXE7...
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We just hit 2 million subscribers â and weâre still in awe! đđ Thank you to every one of you â from those whoâve been with us since the beginning to the newest members of this growing community: itâs been 15 incredible years together. We timed this celebration with the legendary NYC publishing company of illustrated books, Abrams Books, to bring to you something special: a big-format book that gathers our most celebrated adventures in-depth, with rich photography and original writing. This one is for keeps, a reference book to help you escape to a nice imaginary place, inspire your next home revamp, or help you with your new build. The book covers any possible pivot in life, and we honestly think it's a book that lets you travel and always come back with something useful. It's called LIFE-CHANGING HOMES, and you can pre-order it here: www.abramsbooks.com/product/life-changing-homes_97⊠It will hit bookstores across the US on May 27, 2025. We are also planning a book giveaway! So, here's the question for you: How would you like that book giveaway to happen? We could ask you something like: "Tell us which story from the channel inspired you most and why." Leave more ideas in the comments!
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We endure harshness and healing in different ways, though opening a new, brighter chapter in life is always possible. George Suyama spent his early years in a Japanese American internment camp. Later in life, when he became an architect, he realized that the experience led to his love for simplicity. "Maybe because there was nothing there, that I wanted to make everything as simple as I could." His tiny home outside Seattle is a testimony to a life inspired by endurance. We hope you find this repost as inspiring as we did when we were watching it again this morning. Thanks George!
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Even when we feel we're stuck in some life situation, all we need for things to change is to try. Lewis and Laura left the city temporarily to live in Villa Slow, the rural home that Laura had renovated in the mountains of Cantabria (rural Northern Spain), and the temporary shift became permanent. Rather than returning to the city after a while, they built a small workshop and home annex nearby. Their setup is an example of right-sizing for the life you want to live. We hope you enjoy this repost. Take care of yourselves and each other.
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In 1958, James and Anne Hubbell stood on a patch of untamed land in the Cuyamaca Mountains and saw something others couldnâtâa home shaped by nature, not by convention. With their own hands âïžđ ïž, they carved shelter from the hillside, using boulders as walls and timber milled on-site. No straight lines, no rigid anglesâjust the flowing curves of seashells đ and the organic embrace of the land. The children of James and Anne Hubbell may be the only people who can claim to have grown up in a seashell-like dwelling ;-) We hope you enjoy this inspiring repost.
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âI left behind a good life for a better one.â Matt Swarbrick had traveled the world filming ecosystems for the BBC series Planet Earth, but he realized he didnât know the birds in his own backyard. So, he and his wife Jenny left city life to, in his words, âgrow cabbages and childrenâ on 80 acres of former quarry land in Wales. đđ„ â đđ±đ¶! With nothing but a dream (and a big loan), they restored the soil with no-dig gardening, turned pastures into thriving agroforestry, and built homes straight out of Middle Earthâone a Celtic roundhouse, the other a Viking turf cabin. Now, their farm feeds 100 families, and their land tells a new story: that a regenerative, self-sustaining life isnât just a fantasy. We hope you enjoy this repost. Welcome back, Matt & Jenny!
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Here's a humble home reborn with care and vision: Alfredo Vanotti saw more than decay in the crumbling walls of his family's barnâhe saw the bones of a home. With a tight budget and his own two hands (and his fatherâs), he transformed the former cow stable and hayloft into a warm, elegant home for himself and his daughter. Even the garage became his studio, where he now designs for the future inside the past. "My grandfather built this barn a century ago. It was falling apart, like much of the old town center. People left, but I stayed." We hope you like this repost of our friend Alfredo from the Italian Alps area of Sondrio đĄâš
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Videos about simple living, self-sufficiency, unconventional (and unique) homes, backyard gardens (and livestock), alternative transport, DIY, craftsmanship, and philosophies of life.
Also produced/filmed by NicolĂĄs Boullosa faircompanies.com/nicolas-boullosa/