In no particular order... Long showers under the rain fall shower head. Mainly just the ability to stand under the hot, luxurious streaming water without worrying about water consumption because I know this will soon be changing. In the van we will have very limited water which we’re hoping we can live off for up to a week at a time - as we want to be able to get off grid as much as possible! So we’ll be implementing military style showers. And hair washing day will become one of life's absolute luxuries! The abundance and beauty of my cottage garden. It’s a gorgeous time of year right now where the gardens are filling out, brimming with produce ripening and flowers blooming as the food forest turns into its annual lush jungle. I’m going to miss this backyard so much. The hens chatting away to me whenever I step outside, the bird song and all the colours as they change with the seasons. I’m trying not to think about just how much work, sweat and love I have put into this garden as when I do I get a bit emotional to be leaving my young trees behind knowing I won’t see them grow tall and that I won’t witness the garden mature and evolve. I’m so dang proud of what we’ve created in our backyard which was all just lawn when we first purchased the property. I thought we’d be here forever and I have loved seeing the progress each year as we developed more and more of the backyard. To think we won’t be here to enjoy the fruits of our labour has been one of the biggest hurdles for me to commit to full time travel and it’s something I am still processing. A piece of my heart and soul is attached to this place. My well stocked pantry and storeroom, because I know I’m going to struggle to fit my ingredients and whole foods into the van storage, let alone the limitations I will have with hardly any bench space and no oven! It's not that I'm dreading this part of van life, it’s more that I just want to go into it with realistic expectations rather than some romanticised version of #vanlife and I am so grateful for this chapter of life we created here at Devon Cottage. I will always have the memories of this perfect little homestead. Being able to walk a few steps outside and harvest seasonal fruit and vegetables for a meal. This is probably the biggest part of our current life that I’m going to miss - the control and the self sufficiency we have with our garden produce. Never running out of power, water or other utilities. Gosh we take it for granted that we have power for anything and everything we turn on with a flick of a switch! That when we turn on a tap, clean drinkable water will flow out endlessly. Consumption of these basic resources is about to become front of mind for us and I’m kind of thrilled by that; to be even more mindful about our footprint on this earth and it’s resources. Just how well we designed and built this house. The small details. The intention behind our design choices. This space feels so home-y, comforting and cozy to me and I really hope this home will become a sanctuary to someone new like it is for me right now. Space to spread out. While Matt and I love each other's company sometimes it's nice to just be in your own space. Matt sometimes watches TV late, while I curl up in bed with a book. On a rainy day we can sit out under the porch and often still have the bi-fold doors open. Matt has the freedom to go work on projects out in the shed no matter the weather and everything is set up out there for him. I am appreciating all these small things about our life here knowing they will soon change and we'll have to adapt. However we're not choosing to live in a van to live in the van - we are doing it to be out in the world & explore nature. Sure there will be rainy days where we're confined to 15sqm together, but we also have the ability to move on and follow the weather! I also need to make the most of the outdoor bath! I don’t use it often but it’s always such a luxurious treat when I do and baths are about to become few and far between, probably just when we’re travelling overseas and staying in nice enough hotels that have bath tubs. I am looking forward to the odd cold plunge in some beautiful remote spots when we’re travelling in the van though! Matt commented tonight about appreciating the dishwasher. Oh yes van life dishes are going to be a whole other story! We will have less dishes that are able to accumulate however even a small amount from one meal will likely takeover all the space in the kitchen so will need immediate attention. The convenience of being able to stack dirty dishes away into the dishwasher until it’s full and ready to turn on will be a luxury we will soon not have. I'm also appreciating how much freedom Teddy has to potter about our big backyard, to go visit his chickens in the mornings, to run through the wee pathways he's made in the food forest. Knowing he's safe within the walls of our fence. Teddy loves adventure and a good bush walk so his life is about to get just as exciting as ours, however it will mean a lot more time on lead and not being as free to roam all the time. Lastly I am appreciating community. I know we have loved ones all over this country to visit and we will always come home to family. I have no doubt we'll make friends and connections on the road too. But it will be a different kind of community to what we have here as we'll always be saying goodbye. I'll miss the rural, close knit community of Riversdale that I've been a part of since a child. I'll miss our beautiful neighbours and the ability to just walk over to a friends house for coffee. What have I missed? Let me know in the comments what you would add to the list if you were giving up your comfy home lifestyle for van life??
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