Minimalize the house and spend time with my gifted 7-year old son in Giethoorn, Netherlands

Details

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  Description

  Hi beautiful WorkAway community!
  
  We're an unconventional but loving pantheistic family in need of support. My son Jake is 10 years old, is a gifted energetic kid with a big heart & I am a 35-year-old workaholic single parent trying to do it alll: I have a day job that pays for all the bills & comfort, and I own a website which is relatively new, and still in the start-up phase. The goal of the blog is to help overachievers & overthinkers with a thought organization system in the software Obsidian, something I am currently working out for my own personal life, and one day can teach to others. I hope to turn this into a business one day, but current estimation is around 2 years before money will come in and I can start hiring help :) Work for the blog will stay on my plate until I have the money available for hires. This is a long-term goal to combine with WorkAwayers tho!
  
  My boyfriend 'The German Giant' is around a couple of times a week, one weekend a month I go to his apartment, and one weekend a month, his sons come over to our house and we have a big part-time family situation going on. My parents are also around here and there, and they also need help in their house. For the rest, we live very isolated, don't have a large network, and have trouble achieving our new missions.
  
  
  The house is divided in 2 sections, I live downstairs in my own apartment. I share the living room & kitchen with the kids & you lovely WorkAwayers, but ask for privacy after 20.00/8PM, until 10.00/10AM. The bathroom is also shared, but always available. There are 2 rooms upstairs, one for my son, and one big one for all three girls. I wouldn't mind hosting a man, but my preference is to live with girls.
  We are into MBTI, so would love for you to send over your personality type (if you do I consider you always FIRST!). I am an INTJ, so very direct, goal oriented and analytical & my boyfriend is an INFJ, the big friendly giant. My son is ESFP and extremely extraverted and clownishly funny. I am also a bit of a nerd, a major bookwurm and I love puns, talking about ideas, philosophies, history, cultures, emotional intelligence & family patterns. However, I seriously am a workaholic, despite also being able to have a good time and taking time off. Therefore it's very important for me to avoid people who half-ass their work, or work extremely unorganized. Hard work & organization are key factors in my life, and I can not take distance from them.
  
  We live in a cute little town on the countryside, the Nature here is stunning, but the locals are a bit closed, so we do live very isolated. I do tend to need loads of time for my work and thoughts, so even though I am a lot at home, you'll have enough time for yourself.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Language practice

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  Interests

  

  Technology

  

  Events & social

  

  Videography

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Culture

  

  Fashion or beauty

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Hitchhiking

  

  Writing

  

  Blogging

  

  Languages

  

  Music

  

  History

  

  Books

  

  Astronomy

  

  Nature

  

  Camping

  

  Sailing / Boating

  

  Dancing

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking

  

  Cycling
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  I am no 'real' teacher, but as a writer, I have learned how to be a good listener and bring an open mind to any story or problem. I'm a very rational personal and will always offer help in finding solutions. For instance, in case you want to start a company, I can logically explain the double entry bookkeeping system, but personal finance in general is also a field I understand well. Wherever you are on your path of life, I am sure I can help you with something as well. We are also really into self-development, consciousness, manifestation, MBTI, trauma theory & shadow work. We prefer to work with individuals who are also already on their journey, so if you are, please tell a little about it.
  
  We have a lot of warmth to give, and hope you feel at home in no time. We value authenticity, nature & efficiency and always respect new perspectives and opinions. Don't worry about being a guest and not allowed to grab things out of the kitchen. You're an immediate family member as soon as you walk in the house. We practise Mi Casa Su Casa. If you want to keep something for yourself, you'll have to hide it in your room haha ;)
  
  We have a keyboard and guitar in the house if you're musical, and a shed full of tools in case you need to repair anything.
  Oh, and before I forget, if you like reading, I have quite an excessive library of English/Dutch books (and even more e-books if you're into that), mostly non-fiction and classical literature. But I also have a small international library, with some French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese books.
  
  You can watch some of my downloads, listen to audiobooks on your own laptop upstairs if you don't want to hang out, use your own bike to cycle around the National Parks or attend something fun you found on MeetUp (also, traveling with a bike in the train cost only € 7.50, and you can make way more of your citytrips if you're on a bike) or hang out with us in the library/lounge, kitchen or garden.
  
  The front garden is just big enough to sit and read, but always has sun and people walking by. The backyard has a small fruit garden and lots of birds, lots of shade for the hotter days, and lots of privacy. The gardens are also a good place to smoke in case you have that need.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  We have trouble achieving our new missions, which we would like to fill with the following positions:
  
  1) Family & help around the home
  Basically, this function takes over most of the momming chores off of my plate. It's important to me that you have a driving license, because Jake needs to be brought to his sports. It also includes cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning multiple households (think, ours + my parents' place for instance), keeping up with simple gardening chores, and with time to spare, some computer work. It's extremely important that you have a good eye for detail, that you work hard & efficiently when you're on the clock, and that you are trustworthy regarding driving my son around. Please send me a message why this position fits you & we'll be in touch soon :D
  
  2) Personal Data tasks
  The role of this function works almost fully in the software Obsidian, which is my PKM-System. I need someone discreet to help me with my literature notes (all the research from books read etc.), personal data like photos, diary entries & wayyyy more. It's currently a mess, and I need someone very organized to help me work out all the manual stuff. It's important that you can bulldoze through dull & annoying work, while at the same time being able to keep the big picture in mind, stay organized and mindful of everything that is in the software. Please send me a message why this position fits you & we'll be in touch soon :D
  
  And lastly,
  3) Workflow tasks & Obsidian Plugin Developer
  As Obsidian holds all the notes to my personal life & book research, I need someone with knowledge of TypeScript to develop the plugins needed for my thought organization system. It's important that you know how to optimize, for instance, my workflow of daily notes, so I don't have to keep manually typing over (for instance, which movies I saw, or which YouTube videos I want to import/ have on my 'watched today list')
  
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  WHAT WE WOULD ASK FROM YOU
  
  Working days are MON-FRI, but these are very flexible. It's more important to me that the work gets done, than on which time that gets done. Taking days of for holidays & travels is always a possibility, and we might even be able to help you out with it.
  
  Checks you need:
  - Speak English at a comfortable level
  - Have a driving license (not a must, but I would say, prefered)
  - Bring your own laptop
  - Good eye for detail
  - Very organized person
  - Strong work ethic

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  German: Beginner
  Spanish: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  If you speak German or Spanish, please let me know, as I am currently on a mission to master both of these :D
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  Accommodation

  WHAT OUR ACCOMMODATION HAS TO OFFER YOU
  
  Our house is very comfortable, it has large rooms and should (hopefully) feel as a home to anyone who enters. Mi Casa Su Casa is very important to us, because we're lucky to be born into a rich country, and being aware of it, we love to share it with as many cultures and friendly travelers as possible. This is why we also host on CouchSurfing, but the Surfers sleep downstairs in the livingroom on air mattrasses and won't come in your room. Laundry and dishes are done by machines :)
  
  Downstairs is where I live (and work), but as long as you return objects back in it's original place and leave everything tidy as it is, there aren't a lot of houserules to learn there. Don't worry, upstairs is for you to decide how you want to live :)
  Upstairs we have two bed-rooms; Jakes bedroom & the WorkAway/Girlsroom.
  
  Days in the house (especially in the winter) are usually spent behind screens. Jake spends lots of hours behind the PlayStation, and I spend a lot behind my work desk. If you are judgmental of this, our place is not the right environment xD
  We do like to play board games, or watch something together, and in spring/summer we could do some fun activities. Winter and fall however, is time inside, mostly behind screens or inside of a book. We do have multiple movie nights a month, and also often just watch Friends on the couch during the dinners. Dinner is according to Dutch convention around 18.00, but we are not too strict about this. Between 19.00-20.00 I usually set the house straight, send Jake up with an audiobook, and take time for myself.
  
  You can use your own bike to get yourself around, and since we're in the middle of the Netherlands, nothing is 'really far away', so a lot for you to explore in your free time. We live between two National Parks and love to cycle there ourselves as well. If you like camping trips, we have loads of glamping gear for you to make your weekends off extra special with.

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  What else ...

  - Visit the cultural capital of Europe; Leeuwarden,
  - Explore student-city Groningen,
  - Walk & cycle through the many National Parks in the neighbourhood,
  - Visit Hanzesteden Zwolle, Hattem, Zuthpen et cetera.
  
  Don't forget to walk often in the magical Giethoorn, it has a special vibe if you get up early and walk 'Het Binnenpad' when there aren't any tourists yet. Go to Amsterdam! See Europes biggest harbor in Rotterdam, or cross the borders into our neighbouring countries like Germany, Britain, Scotland, Belgium, and also, not very far away by train or Flixbus: France, Spain, Luxembourg, well, you know the map ...

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Upstairs you will have your own room (3 beds available for 3 WorkAwayers),each has their own desk and the room has it's own fridge, cooker, waterboiler and coffeemaker. Even though your room is set up for working there as much as you can without having to walk down, water access and a bathroom are downstairs and shared. Internet is very good and 24/7 available.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There are two large parking area, one in front of the house, and one on the side of the house. Parking is free :)

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Our dog Pepper died in the summer of '24. We love, love, love doggies, but aren't too much into cats. Both are always welcome tho :D

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

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