Day 50: Reflecting on Van Life Learnings

I wrote about my learnings after one week of van living in another post. Instead of writing about new learnings, I will react to those initial learnings. In bold is what I said I learned after one week of van living, and what follows is a comment about whether I still believe this learning to be true.

Pay to stay at places overnight to sleep well. I was referencing cities and suburbia here and still pay for Hipcamps in these areas over staying in parking lots. But I have found some free, government-run parks that are comfortable and close to suburbia.

The Hipcamp I stayed at where there were ten acres of forest and ten acres of horse ranch between a small town and state forest. It cost $25 to stay at the state forest and only $10 to stay here. That’s the moon in the sky.

Don’t rush to upgrade your van. Yes, I still practice this. I have even given up on thinking about upgrades until I can park somewhere that’s spacious, comfortable, and has most of the tools I need. I accept that this may mean waiting until I return to Pennsylvania.

Clean dishes in the evening. I was rarely do this anymore. The sink was becoming too full, especially with the Chemex-like pour-over glass and skillet used for omlets in the mornings. I mostly clean as I go now and it works well.

Clean before entering the van, and on Sundays. I don’t have cleaning rules anymore. Somehow I clean less but still keep things clean. I have an intention to keep the van clean and life takes care of the rest.

The van is clean enough and I haven’t deep cleaned it for three weeks.

Everything will find its place. I still believe this. At this point, everything in the van has mostly found its place. Chester even has a den under the bed when the full bed it set up. Also, I bought velcro straps and S-caribiners to hang my backpack, toiletry kit, dog leashes, hats, and hoodies on from the van’s headliner shelf.

Ask to travel together. I did this and am traveling with someone great now. Chester and I are van camping with her and her coonhound in the Osceola National Forest.

You don’t need hot water. I stil believe this and took a shower with the sink hose recently. It was very cold. But the engergized, calming feeling I experience after a cold shower makes the short term discomfort worthwhile, especially if you are traveling in warmer climates like I am. I will get rid of the hot water system upon returning to Pennsylvania in April.

Working remotely without proper internet equipment sucks. ObviouslyI still agree with this and it’s why I bought a T-Mobile hotspot device. I would recommend a hotspot device to any remote worker who is thinking about traveling in a van. It picks up signal much better than my phone and adding the line was affordable: $50/mo for 100+ gigabytes.

Staying clean is simple without a van shower. Yes. I still believe this and continue to use Planet Fitness showers, washcloth scrubdowns in the kitchen sink, and ponds. I also took my first outdoor shower using the kitchen sink hose in the van. I opened the rear and front passenger doors to create some privacy and shaved and bathed outside at a Hipcamp.

Taking a plunge in a pond in Osceola National Forest, Florida

Morning routines are so important. I still believe this but have been falling out of my morning routine. I have been missing meditation and exercise and trading writing time for work time. This resulted in me getting irritated last week about a work project and feeling stressed. This week I will return. It’s always there to return to.

Remember to reattach the drainpipe to your gray tank. I forgot to do this again just recently!