diary of a nomad

water

water is so key to life. no one knows this better than a car camper. when you step away from living in “sticks and bricks”, the vanlife term for a house, you leave behind magically ever-accessible water on command.

can you imagine walking up to the faucet in your kitchen or bathroom, turning the knob and nothing comes out! you’d freak! i know i would. the idea of getting by without running water is almost paralyzing.

yet. it is possible. because water is everywhere. at least in the current state of civilization, water is everywhere. i know that is not true on every corner of the earth and it might not be the case in the future even here. who knows. but for now, in the US, pretty much no matter where you are, there is water to be had. you may have to pay for it. you have to store it and you have to deal with it without drainage. but it's there. and like everything with car life, there are tricks.

water’s uses

i bet you never stopped to think of all the things you need water for. but it is something you have to consider if you live in a car.

i’ll list them.

a lawn needs water, if you happen to have a lawn. and a toilet needs water, if you happen to have a toilet. but if you don’t, then it ’s pretty much down to the list above.

did i miss anything?

in addition to meeting all these water needs, you have to have a way to keep water on hand in a vehicle. without it leaking or spilling. and without it getting disgusting and moldy.

for that purpose i employ this very cool 5-gallon squishable container that has an on-off spout and has yet to eat or spill. i keep it on my passenger front floor. i try to keep it full-ish. 5 gallons is actually a lot of water. every now and then i clean it out with a long skinny bristle brush and bleach.

drinking water

must stay hydrated! of course the most essential need for all living things.

i keep two wide-mouthed thermoses in the cup racks in the front cabin. they have a top that seals closed, so whenever i’m somewhere with a water-fountain, i’ll fill one or both up. i should filter that water, but i have’t figure out how to do that with any consistency, and I don’t have room for a big filter in my small SUV. a filter of some kind is on my lists of things to get one day. in the meantime, i have chosen to trust that water fountain water (from the library, gym, etc.) is fine to drink as is.

i do have a nalgene container from a company called Epic – thank you to Andrew for the recommendation – that has a straw built in to the top that you suck on and it forces the water through a filter. so if i was dubious about a water source, i could put it in that water bottle and it would be filtered before it hit my mouth.

i have two metal small-mouthed water bottles that i don’t drink out of because i can’t clean them properly, although maybe i just haven’t figured out how to clean them. but i keep water in them for cleaning tooth brushes, etc.

an elaborate color-coded system of spray bottles

i keep a number of different small spare bottles in my vehicle for various purposes. they all close tightly at the bottle neck and turn on and off at the nozzle. at first i thought i would try out different formulas – one with 50:50 white vinegar:water, one with peroxide and water, one with diluted camp-soap, one with pure water, one with diluted ethanol. i actually use them all for different purposes – they all kind of won the audition – so i have this collection of spray bottles at different spots in the car.

i really like cleaning dishes with vinegar – you just take your dirty spoon or whatever, spritz with the vinegar solution, then wipe with a cloth or paper towel and then spritz with pure water and dry. if it’s my favorite bamboo spoon (feels so nice in the mouth compared with metal), i tuck it into a pocket to dry before stashing it back in its holder.

there is no sink to leave things in for later, so you become a ninja at cleaning things right after using them.

small space living forces you to have good habits, there is not much wiggle room for being lazy or sloppy. i think instead of joining the military to learn discipline and travel the world, people might consider living in a car. i’m betting its similarly effective and a lot more pleasant without all that fighting.

showering

i belong to a gym with nationwide network. so i can shower there and also work out. this is essential actually. i love anytime fitness. because you literally don’t have to plan when to arrive, you have 24/7 access at all their locations. and the gym is nice, well equipped with rubber bands and bike machines, and the showers are private.

some people join planet fitness, but planet fitness is very very purple. they all feel very cookie-cutter and obnoxious to me, especially the ones that play fox “news” on their enormous string of televisions hangin from the ceiling that are inescapable. so i hated going there when i was member. i would go a long time without showering i hated my gym so much. switching to anytime fitness has served me well. i enjoy working out and showering there. there is no enormous collection of TVs scrambling your senses.

one thing most van lifers will tell you is that daily showering is over-rated. i have found that i really only need one every three days or so before i start to feel gross. especially if my bedsheets and clothes are clean, which they generally are.

washing the car happens at the car wash

washing the clothes happens at the laundromat. i use the restroom at cafe’s, libraries, gas stations, grocery stores, etc. i have accommodations in my car if i need to pee in the middle of the night. i’ll spare you the details, but it works great. there’s truly zero issue with that after you get the hang of it. especially since i took out the back seats and turned my RAV into a tiny van.

i think we’re raised to think urine is problem. it’s really not. it’s just part of having a body. everything that goes into and out of the body is just something that goes into and out of the body. yes, there is maintenance involved. yes there are things to think about. but having a body, a wonderful beautiful occasionally needy body, is not a reason to spend 400,000 dollars on a house. or even 25 dollars on a camping spot. at least not in my calculus.

conserving water

you learn how to conserve water when your supply lives in a 5 gallon container on the floor of your car.

you learn how.

that’s the point. we can learn how to do these things.

we can conserve our resources on the planet.

we just need to see – with our eyes – that our bottle is running low. we just need to feel thirsty and not be able to turn on limitless water. then you do what you have to do.

i’m no eco-warrior. i’ve got so much to learn. and i’m not advocating we turn off the water (or am i, hmm?). but i can tell you that many of the home-based conveniences we are so acclimated to have the side effect of turning off the innovative, resourceful, free-thinking side of our brain. and we might just need that part of our brain in years to come.