How To Stay Clean Living In Your Car
The vanlife movement has progressed way past short-term escape, turning into an actual way of living in a minimal and sustainable sense. Should you decide spending endless days traversing the country on four wheels sounds appealing, then this one is for you. We've put together a starter kit of essential tips and gear. Here's everything you'll need to stay safe, sane, and happy when living out of your car (or truck or van), whether you're trying to embrace the vanlife fully or just planning an extended road trip to get out of your house.
How to Get a Good Night's Rest
We'll assume that sleeping outside of your car isn't an option (if it is, then we suggest buying a tent). Maybe because you don't have the available space, you can't afford nightly campground fees, or you just really hate bugs. Unfortunately, the backseat of most stock vehicles isn't made to sleep comfortably or quietly. They're bumpy, lumpy, and the seatbelts are bound to dig into places seatbelts weren't meant to go.
Your best bet is to invest in a decent camping mattress. There are two main options: Air mattresses or sleeping pads. The former is best for saving space as you can deflate it and stow it out of the way during the day. The downside is that you'll need to reinflate it every night and it's about as comfortable as sleeping on a pool float. A foam mattress is often softer and more comfortable. However, they tend to sleep "hot" (which is even more of a problem should you need to sleep with the windows up), and they take up space even when not in use. No matter the time of year, don't forget a four-season blanket. The Rumpl Puffy Down Blanket is a duck-down-filled champ that's just as comfortable in the heat of summer as the dead of winter.
Spend any considerable time living out of your car, and you discover night-time ventilation is as critical to a good night's sleep as your mattress choice. Skeeter Beaters are vehicle window screens that attach to the exterior of your car's door frame and allow you to keep the windows down overnight. Just keep in mind that they don't protect against rain or theft.
Lastly, sleeping in your car can be surprisingly noisy, especially if you're not set up in a campground with quiet hours and the like. Unless you're a heavy sleeper, we recommend investing in good earplugs. Mack's Ultra Soft Foam Earplugs are a perennial favorite — they're inexpensive, comfortable, and reduce ambient noise by up to 32 decibels when worn properly.
Tips for Cooking on the Road
Your camp kitchen is the one area that can quickly get out of control if you let it. It's tempting to pack every conceivable pan, dish, utensil, opener, tool, and appliance that you might need. But it's best to keep it simple. Take only one of everything, focusing on items that can pull double- or triple-duty. A decent mug, for example, can be used for soup, cereal, and coffee without the need to pack a separate vessel for each. Sporks are versatile and can replace a handful of utensils and other plasticware. The Titanium Spork from Light My Fire is lightweight, indestructible, and non-corrosive.
For camping cookware, we recommend two all-in-one sets. GSI Outdoors' entire line of camp gear is ultra-portable and well-made. The Gourmet Kitchen Set 11 includes all the cookware — spoon, spatula, cutting board, scraper, whisk, and condiment containers — you need to cook almost any basic meal. The two-person Pinnacle Backpacker Cookset includes just about everything else. The compact nesting set features a two-liter pot, a Teflon-coated frypan, a strainer lid, insulated mugs with sip-through lids, bowls, and a folding pot handle.
Even more important than clean clothes and hot meals is access to a cup (or six) of morning coffee. We've covered a ton of portable coffee-making options. For pure convenience, we like Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee. The single-serve packets require only hot water and a vessel to serve it in. Stir and enjoy. For a proper cup of espresso on the go, the Nanopresso Personal Espresso Machine is the closest thing you'll find to homebrew. It does require a bit more work and maintenance, but the payoff is a good cup of espresso. So, there's that.
How to Stay Clean on the Road
Showering is even more important when you're living out of your car than at home. Not only is it key to, you know, staying clean, but it's a simple way to refresh and feel human again. Yakima's Road Shower is hands-down our favorite portable shower solution. It's a 4-gallon, powder-coated aluminum tube that mounts to almost any automotive roof rack. The clever design relies on solar power to heat the water, while the attached hose delivers a pressurized stream wherever you need it. It's ideal for showering, washing dishes, keeping your pets clean, and more. The downside? It's over $300.
For a cheaper option, invest in a solar shower. The Advanced Elements Solar Summer Shower holds five gallons of water and hangs anywhere that's reasonably sturdy like off your roof rack or an open hatchback. The gravity-fed hose doesn't deliver the same ultra-cleaning blast of water as the RoadShower. But, at less than $35, it's a solid alternative.
How to Keep Your Drawers Clean
Doing laundry while camping at a full-service campground can prove challenging, let alone keeping your drawers clean while living out of your car. The best solution we've found is Scrubba. It's a purpose-built dry bag with a built-in washboard designed to give your laundry a machine-quality wash in less than ten minutes. As you might expect, it takes a little elbow grease (think Little House on the Prairie), but it's a small price to pay for not smelling like an old-timey railway hobo. For go-anywhere, biodegradable laundry detergent, check out Campsuds (Bonus: the concentrated solution is safe on dishes and skin as well).
Stow Your Essentials
Even a full-sized car will start to feel cramped when you're living in it. Storage becomes difficult, but keeping everything organized is the only way to ensure you don't spend hours every day trying to find your snacks or socks.
The MaxWorks Collapsible Storage Organizer from MaxxHaul is a simple solution to keep all your essentials right where you left them. Each soft-sided section allows you to sort, for example, clothing, kitchen, automotive supplies, and toiletries/first-aid gear into their own space. The cheapest alternative — and one we've found surprisingly effective — is to use a few milk crates. They're sturdy, ubiquitous, and stack neatly. Plus, they're virtually free if you know where to look.
Get Some Fresh Air
If you have the outside space, setting up a makeshift "living room" makes all the difference in your car living experience. We love Thule's Overcast Awning. It collapses down into a tight roll that attaches to almost any roof rack. Once unfurled, the 4.5- and 6.5-foot models both provide ample room for a couple to relax in a campground or even a parking lot. The lightweight nylon canopy is also sturdy and waterproof, so it's just as useful in light rain.
The Neso 1 from Neso Tents is another great alternative. While they're primarily billed as beach tents, the lightweight, stackless sunshades set up easily just about anywhere. Plus, they stow inside a compact, 19.5-inch carry bag and cost less than half as much as the Overcast.
If you're planning on roughing it off-grid, it's worth investing in a decent hatchet. Everyone's favorite tool is often more versatile and useful than a traditional multitool.
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How To Stay Clean Living In Your Car
Source: https://www.themanual.com/auto/how-to-live-out-of-your-car/
Posted by: aguilarproself.blogspot.com
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