My name is Feli and I started Green Cottage Joy to help people transition to a more joyful and sustainable lifestyle.
In 2016, Luis (my husband) and I moved into a tiny green cottage built in 1904 named The Bunch House, located a few miles from Disneyland in Southern California.
Shortly after moving into the cottage, I knew something about it was pecuilar. Besides the haunted happenings, the house had a mysterious magic that begun to seep into us and change our way of life. We started living a simpler, more old-fashioned lifestyle and with that, more joy crept its way into our lives.
Now, you should know that me and Luis didn’t start out this way. We were just a couple of first generation Americans that were raised in the concrete Latinx suburbs of Los Angeles. I’m talking a greaser and a bookworm. Living a green lifestyle wasn’t something that anyone around us was doing.
Yet here we were.
- We started going zero waste.
- We grew our own food, spices and tea in the backyard.
- We composted.
- We became minimal-ish.
- We shopped just once a year apart from the trips to the thrift store.
- We made soap. Well, we made everything really, from rose water to bread.
- We made most of our food from scratch, even some ingredients.
- We even started canning our own food.
Was it was because the cottage couldn’t accomodate a modern lifestyle? Or did the Bunch family teach us something about how to live better?
Maybe you don’t believe in magical happenings. But after seeing how this house has shaped us over the last three years, I sure do.
We have changed profoundly as people.
We stopped consuming and started creating. We went after those buried dreams that adults forget about as soon as they’re made fun of for having them. We worked less and stayed out of debt. We spend more time with people who we can be our true selves with, instead of those we need to impress. Hell, I even got the courage to quit my corporate job and do something I love.
Throughout this journey I found that if I lead from my fears and insecurities, I’ll never have enough to feel whole. I’ll always be chasing something just out of reach that I have to get before I can be happy.
Only by letting my heart lead and creating my life intentionally and authentically, can I find the love and joy I’ve been missing.
As a byproduct, we also happen to be living a much greener lifestyle. Which is so necessary right now.
That’s why I started this site, to help others live a more joyful life. We’ve been on this path for several years and I can now tell you what it looks like from the inside, once you get through the weird transition phase.
I can show you how to get here. To this new abundant mindset that is open and free and green.
