Van Life: Routines

I have always prided myself on being organized and careful and thoughtful and dependable and tidy; all good things when in a job interview. Most of these I can attribute to the routines I've set for myself. Now that I am living in a van, that orderly structure to my day has "whiffed out the window."

Pre-van, my ideal day started off at 7:00am, morning maintenance, a leisurely breakfast, and sitting down to work by 8:30. Around 10:30 I would have a snack, then lunch (last night's leftovers) at 12:30ish, and then back to work until about 2:30pm. The rest of my afternoon would be dedicated to chores, errands, and typically a 30-60 minute walk. While Cameron was finishing up work, I would cook dinner, we'd eat around 6:30 or 7:00, and then spend an hour or two watching Netflix or working on the van. Bedtime was by 9:30pm. 

Now, not a single one of those elements is unchanged. 

Let's start with the mornings. Since we left Utah, we've mostly been in the Eastern and Central time zones. Cameron and I both work with teams on the West Coast, so we've tried to start work a little later in the day to help keep our schedules aligned with our coworkers. That means no morning alarm clock, but waking up at inconsistent times (for me it ranges from 6:00 to 8:30) and in inconsistent places is disorienting. 

What happens next varies on a number of factors. How late we can stay at our sleeping spot, how accessible a bathroom is, how far we need to drive for the day, when our first work meetings are, what the weather forecast is, and if we have internet access all play into the decisions of what we eat for breakfast, as well as when and where we eat it. Some mornings are leisurely, but others are mad with activity.

Typically, once we've arrived at our working destination, things settle down for a few hours, but there are still day-to-day challenges. If we both have meetings at the same time, typically one of us will go outside (either to sit at a park bench or inside of a nearby café). If that's not practical, we create as much space between us as possible (Cameron sitting in the passenger seat while I go to the far end of the bed) and are strategic when using the mute button. 

For lunch, we still eat last night's leftover's when available, but our cooking habits have changed. Making elaborate meals is difficult on a one-burner camp stove, so dinners are often smaller (meaning no leftovers) and we're eating out more frequently (which also means no leftovers). I'm having to adapt to food I used to scoff at, like cereal, sandwiches, and ever-frequent couscous salads. 

After I finish work for the day, I'm looking for any excuse to get out of the "house." We've learned to look for spots that have interesting walking trails nearby so that I can come and go without interrupting Cameron's afternoon. We have plans to hike the John Muir Trail in August (a 20+ day backpacking trip with many miles and lots of daily elevation gain) so I would like to be training for that. Training should involve long hikes with a heavy backpack, or at least going running, but because we're limiting our showers, I'm doing very little strenuous activity.

Despite trying to avoid breaking a sweat, I'm sure I appear grubbier than I used to. Partially because I am – showers get pushed to every three or four days and I tend to re-wear the same outfit for at least three days in a row – but I'm also losing some basic daily habits that I thought were set for life. My toothbrush and floss are kept in separate parts of my toiletries bag, so I sometimes forget to floss in the mornings. I'm not putting on sunscreen as often as I should, and I'm definitely not washing my face every day because it's cumbersome in our setup. I think I've remembered deodorant every day so far, but there's an odor that tells me otherwise. 

Like the mornings, evening schedules vary. When we find someplace pleasant, we tend to stay a few days, but we occasionally have to get to a particular place within a constrained timeframe. Those days, we'll start driving as soon as reasonably possible given Cameron's afternoon meetings schedule. We try to keep daily drive times under three hours, but that's not always practical, and our dinner options change. More than once I've wished our 10'+ van could fit through a fast food drive through, but since it can't we find alternatives. I'm usually the one driving so that Cameron can finish up any last minute things at work, but once he's done, I send him to the back of the van to gather a hodgepodge of snacks. Sometimes those snacks are substantial enough to replace dinner, but even when they are, eating while driving is rarely satisfying. 

More than once, we've pulled into our final destination after 9:00pm (which I used to consider my bedtime). Even if we're adequately fed and dead-tired, we have at least 15 minutes of evening prep that needs to happen. Additionally, lately we’ve been driving through the Dakota plains region, which is regularly hitting 100°+ highs, so if we want to do anything outside, we have to do it early in the day. Twice in the last week we’ve woken up at 3am to hike in national parks (Theodore Roosevelt and Badlands). With the irregular sleep schedule, I am noticeably crankier (although Cameron thinks that my crankiness is because of the small space) and I am drinking coffee on a far more regular basis (this last week I drank coffee at least thrice!).

Maybe this is TMI, but I think the change in sleeping habits, diet, exercise, and bouncing between time zones have changed my bathroom habits. I can't predict if I will want to be near a public bathroom in the morning, the afternoon, evening, or all three. We have used the van’s toilet more in recent weeks, and I have started to notice a smell. One day (while working in 95° degree whether atop a ski hill in the Black Hills) it stunk so bad! I wasn’t sure if it was because of the toilet’s recent usage or if the heat was stirring up the stink, but I was about ready to quit van life altogether. By the end of the day, Cameron discovered we just hadn’t sealed the toilet properly the last time we emptied it, so thankfully we were able to fix that and get back to our normal neutral (at least I hope!) odor.

The one daily routine that we’ve developed is very van-specific. Every evening, we transition the van from driving mode to sleeping mode. At a minimum, we pull out custom window covers from their daily resting spot (typically under the bed, but evermore frequently we’re keeping them more accessible to block out sun while we work) and attach them to blackout the windows. We move all of our backpacks from the bed to the floor or one of the front seats. The bench seat and pillows also get moved to the front, and we typically also put up the table, so that the toilet is easier to access in the night. And lastly, after pushing it to the last minute, we lock up Pancake in her cubby so she doesn’t jump on our bed and wake us up. In the morning, everything is reversed.

This last week we had a little reprieve. For five days, we were at a family reunion where I met many of Cameron’s relatives for the first time. I know two months of van life probably did not set me up for the best first impression, but after multiple days of regular showers, washing laundry twice in the same week, and working every day in a strongly air conditioned space, I felt far more presentable. Of course they were all understanding, and mostly impressed and intrigued by our newfound lifestyle. Despite the luxury conditions, I still re-wore the same shirt three days in a row. Perhaps I should start preparing for the likelihood that some of my newfound van habits will stick with me long-term, even after the Goldilocks Project is over.

Got to start off with a glamor shot of the van. This was our boondocking site in Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

Early morning birthday hike to beat the oppressive heat in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. We're trying to integrate hiking into our routine as much as possible.

The daily routine includes replacing our window covers and piling up the pillows. Pancake likes investigating the new configuration. 

Our window covers are black on one side and reflective on the other. We can choose which side faces outside based on how warm we're trying to keep the inside. 

Typically, if we are not under tree cover, we are also setting up the Starlink, our satellite internet connection. We used to only have a ground mount (as seen here), but Cameron recently installed a rooftop fixture for it.

The roof mount still requires reaching outside, but it is more accessible than before and it also gives us consistently better service.

We've attempted multiple methods for keeping Pancake off of the bed, but nothing's worked long-term.

 

It's tempting to let her up there because she can be so darn cute when she's sleeping! She just doesn't stay sleeping through the night. 

An element of van life that I didn't talk about here is laundry. Although typically cumbersome, laundromats can be kind of fun. There's a lot of people watching and typically some arcade-type activities.

This is a pretty standard look for me these days: a non-tank top shirt (to hide my armpit hair) that won't be embarrassing to be seen in if I have an unexpected video call at work, sunglasses around my neck, earrings (also to look more workplace-presentable), and hair pulled back (to camouflage the greasiness). 

No surprise, but another regular part of our routine includes gas station stops. In addition to fueling up, we have to regularly clean the windows (it's buggy out here!) and replenish our diesel exhaust fluid (something that apparently reduces the pollutants from diesel vehicles).  

We try to eat and cook outside as much as possible, but wind, bugs, and heat all affect the feasibility of that.

While staying in the family rental, it was fun to make a multi-course meal (I was able to use the oven and have two burners going at the same time!). In the van, this is bout as gourmet as it gets – huevos rancheros for Cameron's birthday breakfast. 

Despite the constraints, Cameron managed to "bake" himself a birthday cake. He layered up crepes, lemon curd, and Italian merengue.

Some of the mild frustrations about living in the van: not having a place for semi-clean clothes, so they end up on the counter; our cabinet latches not being strong enough, so we have to bungee the drawers closed; and no defined spot for the newly-purchased rabbit tunnel. 

Additionally, we're lazy and often let dishes pile in the sink. We also regularly forget to put the sink cover away before driving, secure the internet router, and find a spot for the tissues and toilet paper.