Little Hair Experiment

Over the past couple of years I have become really disillusioned about the beauty industry and its advertising and I have gone from using dozens of products on my hair and skin to hardly anything. And using less and less products is definitely more in line with the low-maintenance, low-stuff, campervan lifestyle I am aspiring to. I also think it is better for you, your body and the environment.

As part of this I have decided to stop washing my hair. The theory being that your hair will eventually self-regulate its natural oils after about 6 weeks. Shampoo washes out the hair's natural oils, and then conditioners filled with artificial lubricants are slapped on in their place, and therefore neither of these products are as important or necessary as big beauty companies would have you believe. I'm currently two weeks in and have only washed my hair in water during that time. It is still oily at the roots but the rest of it is becoming very soft and smooth so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. I'll put some photos on in a couple of weeks.

Apologies to my brother James who will invariably call me a big hippie.

Hayling Island

We have just spent a sunny couple of days down on the sea front at Hayling Island with the van. On the sea front there is one car park where motorhomes are allowed to stay overnight (for £8) and you can park right next to the beach so we thought we'd try it out.

As it was a Monday night when we arrived the beach was practically empty.

The south coast of Hayling Island looks out over the Solent and the eastern most point of the Isle of Wight. It's quite an interesting stretch of water to watch, as ferries, cruise liners and cargo ships continuously drift back and forth between Portsmouth and Southampton and the continent. While we were watching on the first night we saw a massive portion of an aircraft carrier glide past. The waters are also full of wind-surfers, canoes and paddle boards. In fact we had to call the coastguard once as one paddle-boarder got into trouble off shore and couldn't get back in. Eventually he got himself back to shore but he was exhausted.   

There are loads of beach huts at Hayling Island. We parked the van along side and it became our portable beach hut for a few days.

Our first glass of wine in the van. Very enjoyable.

What a beautiful day it was on Tuesday, and a great view to wake up to.

About lunch time we were joined by a few more people on the beach and the temperature started to climb.

We went for a drink at the nearby pub and looked back over the beach to the van. Compared to the other motorhomes and vans our little Vdub looked tiny! When it is nice weather it doesn't matter as you can sit and cook outside, but when its raining I think it will be a challenge living in it. I think being tidy and organised is going to be essential and again we have come away with a list of tweaks and modifications to make life easier. 

To Kindle, or not to Kindle?

I love reading, I love books.... but books take up precious space. Some books I read over and over. Others I read once then never again. I've been giving all the books I know I will never read again to charity, but I'm still left with a large library of books I love. And no doubt I will want to buy more. I'm currently sitting on the fence over getting a Kindle (or similar).

Advantages:

Space saving.

All your books instantly accessible

Ability to download new books on the go

Light and easy to read in multiple positions.

Disadvantages:

Initial cost of the unit

Potential to get lost, damaged or stolen

Not the same 'feel' of a paper book

Unnecessary consumerism and use of precious resources?

Those I know with Kindles absolutely love them and I really can see the appeal. But deep down I can't help thinking I could easily go without. It's true I won't be able to take many books with me, but rather than buy all my favourites again on Kindle, second hand bookshops and libraries are everywhere where I could buy and exchange books as I go. 

Still can't decide.......!

'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful'

This William Morris quote makes a lot of sense. I never thought we owned that much stuff but when you start trying to get rid of it all it really adds up. I can't believe how many times we have moved home and lugged around boxes of stuff we never look at. Having limited ourselves to a couple of suitcases of stuff to take to Oz, we are really having to be ruthless. What do we really need to be be happy? Very little I believe.

This massive pile is bank statements from the past ten years! All are going in the fire!

Our loft is now empty, and our garage is getting there. And it feels so liberating. I blame advertising for our love of useless stuff. Recently I have noticed how many Queen's Jubilee products are being advertised on TV and in shops (cups, tableclothes, bunting, plates etc) and all I could think about was how it was all going to go into a cupboard to be forgotten (or worse, the bin) the day after. 

First Breakdown!

On Saturday we broke down in the van for the first time! We were in Waterlooville and Nick and I were driving in convoy, me in the car in front. I noticed after a while I couldn't see a big yellow bus in my rear view mirror......

The problem was the engine wouldn't idle, it would stall whenever Nick took his foot off the gas. The AA man came nice and promptly and had a laugh at the engine. There was a hole for which neither Nick or him knew what the purpose was and he bunged it up with an old spark plug. Job done! Looked like whatever had been previously plugging up the mystery hole had come out! I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have worked on a modern car. We later decided it was the vacuum pipe for the brake servo; but as our brakes aren't servo assisted, the pipe is redundant.

Breakdowns used to be a pain in the arse - they invariably happen on the way to or from work, or when you are on holiday, cutting into your free time. The strange thing with the van (and being unemployed) is that you can just sit back and put the kettle on so it doesn't seem so bad. Obviously as long as you can get safely off the road and it doesn't cost a small fortune.....

First Camping Trip

We got the brakes fixed yesterday, turned out it was just the calipers that had seized so was a lot cheaper than we were anticipating. The sun had come out for the weekend so we took the van down to Southsea Marina for its first proper outing (well, with us anyway).

A bit of research had told us that this was a bit of an unofficial motorhome stopover and we were surrounded by other, larger motorhomes. You can see why people come here, it's perched on the end of a spit surrounded by water with lovely views all round.

We cooked our first meal in the van!

That bright star in the sky is Venus.

We only stayed one night, as we had stuff to get back for, but it was a tantalising glimpse of what our life will be like in the months to come! We have come away with a list of jobs and little tweaks to do as well.

Hopefully we will be able to get away like this quite often now the van is roadworthy.

Sew Organised

My trusty Singer sewing machine will be one of the last items I sell. I've only had it a couple of years but I can't imagine life without it! Even Nick uses it from time to time. Sewing by hand can be therapeutic but it's sooooo slow.  

I've been trying to use up my box of fabric off-cuts on various projects for the van as it seemed a shame to waste them. Here are some of the results!

I made some canvas seat back organisers for us to keep maps, pens etc. in. Very easy to make. We decided to put the headrests back on so I hung them off these.  

Bunting! Slightly addicted to this stuff..... I have metres and metres of homemade bunting now so if anyone wants some please let me know! Nick has put his foot down and said I'm not allowed any more in the van. 

I've also been madly making little fabric flowers out of tiny fabric scraps, and then attaching velcro to the back so they stick to the blue lining of the van.

Here's a little canvas pouch for keeping cutlery tidy.......

....and this is a canvas case for keeping our barbeque skewers in. Are you starting to think perhaps I have too much time on my hands?!

Finally here are some placemats and coasters I made. As you can see I've tried to keep everything to the same blue/white/red theme I've used throughout the rest of the van.

I've still not finished sewing... I've got a couple more projects to finish off. But it's all coming together! I have been giving lots of thought to what we are taking in the van and how it will all be organised. Everything has to have a place otherwise we won't be able to find anything when we need it.....

Starting from where you are now

When you have things all planned out it is easy to get disheartened when things don't go to plan, for whatever reason....  it's too easy to say 'what if this or that had happened' and dwell on what you can't change. I have been guilty of this myself over the last couple of weeks. What I need to do is focus on what is happening now, and how can I make the most of that. 

So for the past week we have been forgetting about the house and getting outside despite the rain and wind and making the best of our time here in Hampshire. 

This is Boris, our 91 year old friend who is kindly letting us store the camper on his drive!

It's amazing how getting outside improves your mood and helps you think much more rationally. You can feel how much happier society is when the sun is shining and everyone can get out and about. I think that is part of the appeal of Australia to us, hundreds of days of sunshine!

So even if it pours down with rain, we are going to be seeking out new walks, new festivals and new experiences to help us focus on the future, not the past, and start from where we are now.