On the road: Why living in a campervan is excellent for self-care
There’s been a surge in talk of self-care in the past few years, and with good cause. We all live busy lives and if we don’t take care of ourselves, our carefully crafted realities will all fall apart physically, mentally, emotionally and logistically. I’ve burnt out a couple of times and had a complete health (physical and mental) collapse before because I’m very good at pouring my heart and soul into a project, or person, or idea, but I’m terrible at looking after myself properly, especially when I am time poor.
This year off is partially about travelling around and experiencing the glory that is New Zealand, but it’s also about having the time to reset and repair. A huge part of this is being forced to focus on looking after myself, which living in a campervan does surprisingly well. I realised today that living in a small space is going to train me to:
tidy up a little and often (because otherwise the van becomes unlivable),
put things away in the right place (because otherwise you can’t find anything),
plan meals and then actually cook them (because we are on a strictly limited budget and the fridge is VERY small),
regularly deal with laundry (because we don’t have the space to pile up dirty clothes),
get outside and exercise (because cabin fever is real in an enclosed space), and
sit outside in the sun (because it’s two metres away and I love the sun).
In addition to this, having more time means that showering and other personal ablutions become more of an enjoyable ritual, rather than a time-consuming chore. There’s nothing quite like living in a campervan to teach you to enjoy a hot shower when you’ve got one.
Although it would be tempting to let it all go and become one of the great unwashed this year, I am looking at this year as the perfect opportunity for really boring but essential self-care. For me, pedicures and spa days are lovely, but they have always glossed over the underlying issue that I just didn’t carve out the time to really look after myself. Because, let’s be honest… we’ve got nothing but time!
