I look back this time two years ago and we were doing the exact same thing, preparing to live the nomad life. I actually get a bit of the giggles thinking about how naïve I was to the caravanning life. I literally thought I was going to be without any normalities for weeks on end, isolation at its finest no Coles, no power, no doctors and at times this was most definitely the case, however for 90% of our travels I had a Coles down the road and most importantly A doctors just a phone call away.
So what am I going to do different this time around, well I definitely won’t be packing a years’ worth of morning fresh ( I packed 5 bottles on our departure last time) and due to weight issues Dereck removed 4 of those bottles. Also, I won’t need a year’s worth of toilet paper especially after living through a pandemic, I have now gotten over my phobia of running out of toilet paper.
Living on the road you certainly learn the things that are most important in life and keeping it simple is the perfect answer, if you have to much in a small space it becomes cluttered and hard to function. BIG TIP, Make sure everything has a place.
Inside the van packing essentials check list.
Bathroom
• 5 micro fibre towels that I paid $10 from BigW they are light weight and massive space savers.
• Hair dryer
• Shampoo/conditioner
• Sunblock
• Toilet paper
• Tissues
• Toilet chemicals
• Cleaning products I only use eucalyptus oil for cleaning, so this 1 bottle does all my cleaning
• Washing powder
• Face care
• I always have a foot scrub ( I hate dry feet)
• Moisturiser
• Deodorant
• Body wash
• Shavers/shaving cream
• Bathroom floor matt
• Tweezers/eyebrow tint (DIY becomes your best friend on the road)
• Hair colour (need to keep the greys at bay)
• Laundry basket
• Toothbrush/dental floss/toothpaste
• Insect repellent
• Rags
• Lady sanitary
• Broom
• Cloths line
Miscellaneous
- Uno (card games are a win in our family)
- Phone chargers
- First aid kit
- Medicine box (always have a spare antibiotics on hand in case f an emergency)
- Laptop
- Drone
- Camera
- Go pro
- Essential oils and diffuser
- Deep heat
- Toys
- School items
- Sanitiser
- Gloves
- Head torchers
- Batteries
- Fire extinguisher (which should be fitted in the caravan) fire blanket
- Extension cord
Kitchen
- 1 morning fresh
- Sponge
- Again, I use eucalyptus oil to clean everything
- 1 frying pan
- 1 large pot
- 1 saucepan
- Cutlery we only have 1 per person
- Can opener
- Rubbish bags
- Toaster
- Tea towel
- Thermomix
- Storage containers
- Glad wrap/foil
- Chopping board
- Cake tin
- Baking tray
- Peeler
- Cups
- Mugs
- Tongs
- Spatula
- 1 large bowl
- Potato masher
- Wooden spoon
- Streamer
- Scissors
- Lighter
- Bottle opener
- 1 sharp knife
Dinner ware last time we used melamine items from Kmart when I got home I didn’t realise how much I missed a normal plate so we Brough Corel diner ware and I will let you know how these go they are meant to be chip proof.
Bedroom
- Fitted sheets on all beds
- 1 extra fitted sheet for all beds
- We don’t use flat sheets as its hard enough to make a bed in a van as it is
- 4 season Doona from Adairs
- Kids have a thin blanket that we store under their mattress and pull out only when the doona is too hot.
- 1 Pillow each for the kids
- 1 Pillow for me, however Dereck both needs 2 pillows to sleep.
Mattress protector on all beds
Packing can be over whelming sometimes not knowing where to start but my advice is find the fun in it, enjoy the process as this is the start of your new journey, whether it’s a holiday or a lifestyle commitment your about to embark on, and keep it simple remember less is the best.
Cheers Lapping The Island
Have a great and safe trip second time around.
Derek Jayde and kids.
Clancy and 😍 I love your posts.