A WOMAN living in an abandoned dairy farm has shared how she keeps warm even in the winter.
Amanda Schmidt lives in a “drafty” abandoned barn in -20 degree temperatures so she can have financial freedom while renovating her £488,000 ranch.
The 31-year-old has been living in the 50ft by 100ft building for the last six months.
She bought the 72 acre ranch with an old abandoned dairy barn and main house with the dream of creating a horse training facility.
To make her dream a reality Amanda has been renting out the main house so she can put that money into renovating the barn – which has cost her £44,000 so far.
She hopes living uncomfortably for six months will be worth to see her dream come to life.
Amanda, a horse trainer, from Alberta, Canada, said: “It’s an old abandoned dairy barn – it hasn’t been used in decades.
“There were snakes living in the walls and pigeons in the barn.
“It’s really drafty. When it gets down to minus 20 it is really cold in here.”
Amanda shared two tricks she used to keep warm even on freezing nights.
“If you sleep with enough blankets it’s OK. I used a hot bag and heat it up a couple of times a night,” she added.
“I make do with very little and don’t mind uncomfortable living situations in the name of keeping living expenses and my overhead low.”
Amanda grew up in the city but had always wanted to pursue ranch life.
She is used to “living uncomfortably” after spending a year living and travelling in a horse trailer from July 2021 to July 2022.
She said: “I had renters and instead of kicking them out and losing income I decided to travel.
“I was living like a gypsy – the cowgirl experience.
“The trailer had no water at all. It had a bed, mini fridge and microwave.
“I showered in buckets.”
Amanda sold her old home with five acres of land in June 2024 and bought the new 72 acre plot.
She said: “I wanted to transform it into a training facility.
“I had to raise the roof. It was 9ft before and IS now 20ft.”
Amanda decided to rent out the main house – which was in a good condition – so she could make a a couple of grand a month to put towards her renovation.
She is living in the freezing barn – where the box stalls would have been – while her new home is worked on.
Amanda has power to the barn so she can have an air fryer, microwave and fridge and cook.
She uses an outhouse with a toilet and goes into the main house if she needs a shower.
But Amanda feels it will all be worth it and is hoping she can move in by Christmas or New Year.
She said: “I’m most excited for the arena riding space.
“I want it to be a place where people can bring out their colts that they wouldn’t have had the confidence to ride elsewhere.
“I want it to be a horse camp for women.”
