After selling a house, van life tests hygiene

van life – Living full-time in a camper van has been a financial and lifestyle reset for Haley Young and her partner—one they chose after selling their house in 2023. Over more than three years, she says the hardest questions haven’t been about freedom, but about space a

For more than three years, Haley Young and her partner have lived in a van—and the questions keep coming. People see the lifestyle growing more visible. even among those who wonder whether they “do the YouTube thing.” But once the details land—two adults. one dog. and life measured in less than 70 square feet—curiosity turns practical fast.

Young says the first reaction is often disbelief at the basic setup. “Can you actually fit two adults and one dog in less than 70 square feet for years on end?” she says is the real question underneath the hype. Her answer is yes. The harder part starts right after: what it means for belongings, routines, and hygiene.

She and her partner don’t frame van life as a temporary detour. One major shock for new acquaintances. she says. comes when she explains that she sold their house to move into their van. “Oh!. You don’t have a house yet. ” a new acquaintance told her when she asked where their home was. and Young replied that it was just the van. In truth, she says they owned a house before, but sold it to afford their conversion build in 2023.

That choice can sound backwards to people who still picture property ownership as the default path. Young describes why it made sense to her anyway: as property prices moved beyond their generation’s grasp. she understood the assumption that full-time van life must be a stop on the way to a “real American dream.” She says living on the road gave them the time and location flexibility they didn’t have in a stationary neighborhood. along with lower monthly expenses. They plan to keep living this way for the foreseeable future.

Space, she says, is the daily reality that forces trade-offs. Limited storage space has pushed her to think harder about what she really needs. She says it’s not easy to fit everything they own. and that she literally can’t buy new clothes unless she gets rid of something else. Even the pantry becomes a problem: after stocking up on dog food. she says the too-full pantry might spit kibble bags on her foot whenever she opens the door. When they’re cooking, she describes how their kitchen “hallway” turns into a bottleneck.

Still, she says the constraints changed her relationship to possessions. Being forced to decide what stays has made her “more thankful” for what they do keep—and more convinced they don’t need more. She also points out a practical upside: everything is always within reach. making it nearly impossible for things to get lost. And for her, the closeness doesn’t feel like deprivation. She notes that her spouse. dog. and she spent most of their time within laughing distance. even when they lived in a four-bedroom house.

Cleaning is where the surprise often sharpens. Young says one challenge of van life is having to use their kitchen sink to brush their teeth. She explains that even though they have a shower in the van. limited access to water fill-ups means they don’t rinse as often as they used to before hitting the road. The van’s floor also takes the hit—she says it gets muddy with two people and one dog going in and out.

To manage it, she says they rely on routines and workarounds rather than the comforts of a traditional home. They use washcloths and wipes. They only go in and out through the side door. which has a dirt-catching indoor mat. and they often set up camp with an outdoor rug on the other side. When they open the back doors, she says it quickly airs out cooped-up smells, and a ceiling fan helps too.

Laundry, she adds, is another friction point without disappearing for long. They don’t have a washer or dryer in their home. but she says it’s never hard to find a laundromat every couple of weeks. The practical challenge is making enough room to clear surfaces so they can drape clothes that can’t go in the dryer.

Even their personal hygiene becomes part of how they stay disciplined. Young admits it can feel “weird” to brush her teeth in the kitchen sink, especially because it’s their only sink. But she frames it as a motivating reminder to keep up with dishes and routine cleaning.

She also pushes back on what “healthy” is supposed to look like. She and her partner have started challenging the idea that “healthy” has to mean “super scrubbed.” Her skin, she says, is clearer than it was before the van. Her hair has adjusted too: she now shampooes less frequently.

Not everyone, of course, is living the same version of van life. Young emphasizes that different van lifers prioritize different things. and not every van has a full bathroom—she says not having one was a dealbreaker for her. She’s also clear that her particular setup shapes what the day-to-day feels like: fewer showers. messes of laundry spread on the dashboard. and “painstaking decisions” about which belongings can fit.

But for her, the trade-offs are not framed as a compromise on freedom. “Ultimately, van life looks different for everyone,” she says, and she wouldn’t trade her van-life experience for anything—because the lifestyle they built has become, for now, their steady reality.

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