hygiene on the road
When your life is on the road and access to basic amenities isn’t as simple as taking a few steps past your bedroom to the bathroom in your home—that ‘unclean’ feeling can sneak up quickly. Being able to incorporate a clean routine on the road not only makes your body feel better but also keeps your mental health at ease.
Navigating a new routine outside of your norm will take some time and a bit of trial and error. A great place to start is by taking note of the aspects of your current routine that you like and prioritizing those in your new routine on the road. Do you change your pillowcases every two days at home? Great—it’s easy to do that on the road. Do you wash your face nightly? There are a dozen ways to incorporate doing this in your van. The point is, you don’t have to compromise your routine but so much when switching lifestyles.
Below are a small handful of things that help me feel clean even when life feels like it never stops moving…
Laundry
I don’t wash my clothes frequently enough to have small loads to do in a dry bag or Scrubba Wash Bag, so I save larger loads for laundromats. Having a chore day isn’t all that bad. While doing laundry, I usually use the time to find camp for the night, call someone, or visit a brewery in town.
Tip: Change your clothes! For those not accustomed to a lifestyle on the road, this one may sound silly. It’s easy when living nomadically to stay in the same t-shirt and sweat pants you slept in last night, wore today while working, and continue to wear to bed again tonight. When no one is seeing you—why bother? Trust me. Changing your outfit from loungewear to day attire back into loungewear not only helps create a routine but makes you feel clean and keeps your clothes from starting to smell.
Dry showers
When showers aren’t as regular of an occurrence as when you’re in your comfy home—dry showers are a saving grace. Taking a dry shower daily or every other day will help you feel fresh & clean and there are multiple ways to accomplish this.
Wipes—Dude wipes, baby wipes (I like Honest water wipes), whatever wet wipes are your preference can make a quick difference in how you feel. A quick wipe down can help remove some dirt, oil, and funk.
Washrag & soap—a wet rag and Dr. Bronners can make all the difference on really funky days or after a long day on trails, especially if you know your next shower is still days away.
The bucket bath—mentioned in a previous post about showers, a collapsable bucket, and a few cups of water can act as a make-shift bath for the days you need to wash your hair, shave, or need a deeper body cleanse.
Van cleanliness
Your van harbors all of your belongings. A clean van means that your things have a clean home, and so do you! When in such small quarters, daily cleaning is a given. Items get out of place easily and can start to junk up your surroundings. Additionally, making a habit of wiping surfaces down regularly with a multipurpose cleaner and a rag or wipes will keep your space feeling fresh.
Tip: Burning incense or having a room spray can help create a homey ambiance for your space. I like to burn or spray after I do a good deep clean :)
Clean face
Shameful to admit, but the first time I traveled, I solely cleaned my face with makeup wipes. Awful, I know. Not only do makeup wipes not clean your face, but they’re also full of nasty chemicals that disrupt the pH balance of your skin and strip the skin of natural oils.
As my skincare routine has evolved, so have my habits while on the road. If your rig has running water, washing your face should be a breeze. If you’re traveling without a water hookup, it’s time to get creative. I found a spray bottle with water very useful. I spray my face, cleanse and rinse. It’s not enjoyable by any means but gets my skin feeling clean. Another option I frequent is micellar water, a cleanse, and then rinsing with water on a cotton pad.
Tip: Change your pillowcases frequently! Your pillowcase harbors so much bacteria from the dirt, oil, and sweat from your face. Whether you live in a van or at home, this is a big one for me.
Bonus tip: I keep my toothbrush with me in the bag that I carry everywhere. This comes in handy if you forget in the morning and happen to be at a coffee shop later or in general when you feel that you need that fresh mouthfeel.
