Coming up on two years!

Vanlife has proven a spirit expanding experience for me on many levels. I restored and built this vehicle for three years to be my home and do not consider myself homeless. I cannot speak to the experience of those for whom devastating circumstances forced them out of their home and into living in their vehicle. Though I have met many for whom that is the case, I know I don’t have a clue how that feels. So please, keep my very privileged situation in mind as you read on.

My vehicle choice was driven almost entirely by my heart. I had dreamt all my life of owning a rig like this and fulfilling that dream was worth living with it’s space constraints. I knew her tiny living space would provide room for little more than a safe place to hang out in bad weather, sleep, space for food, clothing and tools. My interior is 60 square feet with an interior height of 4.5 feet, which is 270 cubic feet of interior living and storage space. By way of comparison, a modern micro studio is 1800 cubic feet. I have storage for a maximum of two weeks of clothes, food and water. Since I am rolling in a vintage vehicle, (not a giant Sprinter van like most people use for this endeavor), a quarter of my storage space is occupied by tools and spare parts. I have a tiny fridge for protein and condiments. A small kitchen out the back door and a single burner stove on my desk for when weather won’t allow cooking out back. I have just enough solar to keep all my devices fully charged. Literally every nook and cranny of my tiny home is utilized for storing something that fits perfectly in said space. I have achieved an entirely new level of organizational skill when it comes to managing space! And because I only carry what I use, there is still a remarkably comfortable amount of space to hang out inside. It is not at all cluttered or stuffy. It’s much like being inside the cabin of a 24’ sailboat, only a lot less curvy! And yet, despite this diminutive living space, my world is more vast than it has ever been.

This lifestyle has forever clarified for me the difference between wants and needs. I literally do not have room for a new tee shirt until one that I have wears out. I can’t bring anything new aboard without eliminating something of equal mass or dimension. The only unnecessary thing of awkward size that I have in here is a wind chime. It’s beautiful deep tone makes it worth putting up with! I have no collections anymore, except for stickers and magnets from places I travel and friends I swap stickers with. It is truly a life of acquiring experiences rather than things, which is something I have always aspired to. I’ll never forget the feeling as I began selling off everything I owned that would no longer be needed when I launched. I had no idea how much all that stuff weighed upon my spirit, and even my body. I felt lighter and lighter with everything I sold or donated. That lightness of spirit has only persisted and grown. Having so little has made me feel so rich! The gratitude I now have for the most basic of needs is a daily reminder of how blessed I am. Less truly is more.

As I close in on two years of full time vanlife, it has become crystal clear that I have the heart of a nomad. I deeply love both the purpose this lifestyle is serving as well as the lifestyle itself. In mid November I will be rolling south to spend the winter gifting portraits in the Southwest. It will be my first experience traveling extensively without a sense of having a home base like Seattle has been for the last two years. It will undoubtedly bring about new opportunities for me to grow, which is exactly what I’m interested in collecting for the rest of my life!