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Living in a Van Full Time!??!! I have to say those words out loud, again and again, to solidify we’re getting back into that lifestyle. How long we’ll be back in the van and where we will go is up in the air… But boy, oh boy, living in a van full time again couldn’t bring any more excitement than it is right now!
This morning as I got dressed, I had a total epiphany. Maybe it’s the fact that we’re so close to finishing the van build that I can taste it. Is it the jazzed feeling and confidence boost I got yesterday that this is how we’re called to live? Maybe it’s the long-time coming anticipation that’s built over the past year of having the Previa parked in the driveway. Or heck, maybe it’s just the realization that we’re about to get out after feeling “restricted” for so long.
Who knows what it is.. but getting dressed this morning this list just started coming, and I had to write it down — 25 Things I’m Looking Forward to When Living in a Van Full Time Again!
**I wrote this post months ago, but never published it. After seeing it in my drafts again, I knew it needed to be shared… especially after the past few weeks I’ve had of just feeling no direction and clarity for my life. Could you say this is a sign from the Lord, I might just say that… I think I’m ready for full time van life again.. not just the two month trip we did in October!
Living in a Van Full Time | All the Things I’m Looking Forward To
1. Having a staple of clothes
I’ve downsized my clothes so many times. Going through them probably about once a month, donating and selling clothes I just don’t wear often enough to keep. And yet, I still have an overwhelming amount of clothes that I rarely wear.
There’s a staple wardrobe mixed with all the extras that I gravitate to. It’s the clothes I pack when we travel anywhere, and the clothes I’ll bring when living in a van full time again. Honestly, I can’t wait to have only four shirts instead of fifty.
2. Ice Showers in Streams
If you’ve never taken an ice cold shower before, you’re missing out. Likewise, if you’ve never bathed in an ice cold stream, you don’t know the true definition of the word refreshing. Getting the courage to get in literally freezing cold water is half the fun. It’s a true test of how bad you want to be clean.. and boy, there’s nothing like the moment you finally have the courage to get in the water!
I’m getting the chills just thinking about the cold water! haha
3. The feeling of shaving my legs after not shaving for a week
Okay ladies, hear me out here. When you get to the point where your leg hairs are so annoying because anytime something touches them they itch, and then you can shave them and feel so smooth and fresh… I mean, come on.. is there anything better?
Literally just swiped my hand up my leg for that feeling, but realized I need to shave the prickles already! Shaving in a river, boiling water and shaving from a pot, shaving in the camp shower.. never thought I’d miss those times, but here we are — I’m actually looking forward to them!
4. The way a hot shower makes me feel
This may be confusing.. I just said I’m looking forward to ice cold showers in streams, and two points later saying how I can’t wait for a hot shower! No, I’m not indecisive.. I mean, sort of, but that’s another deal.. It’s the feeling of an actual real shower.
And a hot one at that after weeks, or dare I say months, without one that I’m looking forward to.
I still vividly remember my first hot, indoor shower at our friend’s house after two months in Northern Italy and Switzerland without a proper shower. Legit, I can picture taking that shower, and it was good! That’s the feeling I’m looking for here jumping back into full-time vanlife!
5. The freshness of a towelette on the face
When we were living in our van in Scotland we found these tea tree face wipes and they were straight heavenly. I maybe wash my face like once a month when in a house, but when on the road.. every day I “wash” my face with a face towelette. The way one face wipe can make me feel like a whole new person will never get old!
6. Less stuff
If I’m being completely honest, having the amount of stuff we do to furnish a three-bedroom home stresses me out! The fact that we have so much stuff everywhere is straight overwhelming.
When living in a van full time, every little thing has dual purposes.
The couch is the bed, the chair to the kitchen table, and a box for storage.. that’s the kind of thing I’m 100% on board with. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a furnished house, I just can’t wait to have less stuff!
7. Smaller area to clean
Spending over an hour to vacuum the house?! I’ll gladly say no to that and hello to a quick two-minute sweep of the van! It’s insane how much time is saved when you have such a little space to clean and take care of!
8. Waking up on the water and taking a morning, mid-morning, afternoon, and night swim
Just the other day, Jay and I were up at sunrise, went for a run, came back and took cold showers, then sat and had our coffee on the porch before diving into work. And as I was thinking it, Jay said.. “I can’t wait for this to be our every day in the van. For work to not be the van build, but actually producing content.”
I added to that, showers being morning lake swims, working until it’s too hot and going for a swim again, and then swimming again at night to cool off and get into bed feeling clean.
That was our life while living in the van full time in Europe, and ahh.. I can’t wait for it again!
9. Not having a mirror to look at all the time
If you’ve been to our house, you’d think I’m insane saying that. From where I’m sitting right now, there are nine mirrors in my view.. And that’s not counting the three in our bathrooms and bedroom. Nine mirrors??? And I’m looking forward to not having one!?
The mirrors in our house aren’t really for looking at ourselves, but instead, reflect natural light and make the house not as dark, but that’s beside the point. I’m looking forward to not looking in a dang mirror every day — multiple times a day, every time I wash my hands after going to the bathroom, every time I brush my teeth.
Not having a mirror and not knowing what you look like for days on end is freeing in the strangest way.
10. Fewer shoes
Jay and I both admittedly have shoe obsessions. It’s the first section we look at in any store, and the clearance area we go crazy in! A good shoe deal is easily one of the ways we spend our shopping money. With that said, just like my clothes, I have a set of staple shoes I would always wear back in our old van, and I’m desperately looking forward to those staples again!
11. The pinch-me moments of publishing posts from coffee shops
We took the van out last month on a short trip down the Oregon Coast. The van wasn’t even close to being done, but it was nice to get out in the van nonetheless. We needed to get some work in one morning, so we popped into a small coffee shop in Lincoln City, and busted out work over a couple of hours sipping on some amazing Stumptown coffee.
Hitting the publish button to a post when sitting in a cute coffee shop always gives me that pinch-me moment feeling. The, “I can’t believe I get to do what I love for work, and literally work whenever, wherever I want.” feeling. Coffee shop publications will always give me that feeling, and I can’t wait to get more of those feels when living in a van full time again.
12. The simplicity of only living in a van full-time can bring
My sister just gifted me a sticker she brought back from Hawaii that says, “Live Simply. Love Boldly.” I saw it and immediately knew it had to go in the dash of our van. That motto, and just living a simple life is easily the best part of living in a van full-time!
13. Reconnection with nature, which always brings me closer to the Lord
Every time we’re out in nature, I have this deep conviction from the Lord that this is where we’re supposed to be. That life is supposed to be filled with gorgeous views, less stress, and time just being, enjoying what’s before us. It’s so easy to get caught up in the everyday tasks of things that need to be done, but connecting with nature is something that always fills my cup, and I can’t wait to have that on a daily basis again.
14. Reading without distractions
Getting into a rhythm of reading is so easy when living in a van. It’s so hard to find the time to sit and just enjoy a good book when there are dishes to be done, things to be cleaned, or laundry to wash. Getting lost in a good book, sitting on the edge of a lake, or even snuggled up in the van is something a legit daydream about all the time!
15. Sound of birds chirping in the morning
We’re blessed with the place we get to call home right now, to be able to wake up to gorgeous views and the sweet sound of birds chirping in the trees out our window. We currently have the fan in the window blowing full blast all night too, so I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to waking up to the birds in the morning instead of a buzzing fan!
16. Watching the dew turn to mist at sunrise
Sunrise photography.. need I say more?!
17. No neighbors
When living in a van full time, you get to choose your neighbors. We’ve had sheep, cows, and goats as neighbors on the road, and boy oh boy, I’d take animals as neighbors anytime over neighbors that drive by too fast creating dust, leave their bright lights shining bright on our house, have dogs that bark for hours on end… You get the point.
No neighbors is the way to go for us — and full time living in a van grants us the opportunity to choose our neighbors more often than not!
18. The comfort of isolation with the one I love
Totally disconnecting from the problems of the world and being in total isolation with the one I love brings a sense of peace and calmness that nothing else can ever give. Call me crazy, but I find comfort in isolation with Jay, and shoot, it can’t come soon enough!
19. Nothing extra, only intentional items
Moving into the van full time, we get to purposefully and intentionally choose each and every item down to the pair of tweezers we bring in the van. You can bet your bottom dollar that everything we load into our van before living in a van full time again is going to be meticulously thought out. We don’t want to have anything extra in the Prev!
20. Chats with the husband on long drives
Jay and I love to talk.. spoiler alert.. that’s why we’re starting a podcast!! Long drives filled with meaningful conversations instead of everyday worries and stresses we’ve been feeling lately literally makes me want to cry just thinking about it!
21. Being totally naked in nature
Hopefully not a repeat of Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but being naked in nature is my jam… and I can’t wait to jam on! haha
22. Smiles, true joy filled smiles, that only travel in the van has brought us
Looking back at photos of us in Izzy, there’s a joy in our smiles that we’ve only got when being in the van. It’s the simple life, and basically everything in this list of what I’m looking forward to living in a van full time again that paints joy across our faces.
23. Release from stress and pressure
I’ve touched on it a few times in this post, and it’s something we haven’t really talked about or shared, but the stress and pressure we feel being in this house in Oregon is real. Whether we put it on ourselves, or we feel it from other people, it’s real and it sucks.
Every time we’ve left this house to travel, we’ve literally felt the release of stress from our bodies. Being back to full time vanlife, I’m sure those same pressures and stresses will be released again. This time for a longer duration!
24. Following the weather we like most
Yesterday, we did a waterproofing test on the van to make sure all the new holes we put in the roof our watertight. And I nearly cried sitting in the van as Jay showered it with the hose. The weather in Southern Oregon has been extreme this summer. Temps of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, smoke that hurts the lungs, and lows of 75, is not the weather for us.
Life on the road allows us to bring our home to the weather we like most, escape the heat and smoke, and maybe even find a little bit of rain!
25. Reliving our days of living in a van full time in Izzy
Izzy was our baby. The first van that we lived in and certainly not the last. Though we gave up a lot to live in a van full time, what we gained doesn’t even compare. While I know we won’t be living the exact same life we did before, we will be back in that lifestyle, and the moments that make that lifestyle so great are the ones I’m dying to relive.
I cannot wait to be back living in a van full time again. And, I’m so excited to share this journey with you!
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