I live in a van, shower at the gym and shelter in Wetherspoons – and I feel totally free
So what happens when you have to dramatically downsize? Charlotte Bradman knows all about that: after a relationship ended and her house was repossessed, she was forced to find an alternative way of living.
It was only after getting rid of the clutter in her life – both physical and mental – that she found her way again. Her solution? Moving into a van with only life's essentials.
'Getting rid of everything was really hard initially because you feel like a failure,' says Bradman, 42. 'You've had your house repossessed and society teaches us that we are successful if we own our own home. I had suddenly lost my sense of self and self-worth.
'I'd bought the three-bedroom townhouse in Keighley, West Yorkshire, with an ex-partner in my 20s. After a while he didn't want the responsibility of a mortgage any more and the relationship broke down. He left and I was on my own paying the mortgage. I rented all the rooms out in order to keep the house.
'After eight years, he wanted to sell the property,' says Bradman, who was working as a housing litigation consultant at the time. 'We couldn't sell it as it was in negative equity, so I gave the keys to him, he moved back in, and after two months it got repossessed.
'Once I had come to terms with it [the repossession], I started getting rid of all the things that I had collected over the years: vintage furniture, clothes, books and art. It was the most liberating experience I have ever had.'
Then, just over four years ago, fine art graduate Bradman upped sticks and moved to Cornwall, a place she'd holidayed in and loved as a child. She drove down in a grey Citroën Relay van, which she customised herself.
It had the basics of just a portaloo and hob – with no shower, oven or fridge. And she took to life on the road with gusto, moving around and working along the Cornish coast.
Growing up in Keighley, Bradman says she watched her parents – mum Julie, a medical secretary, and dad Stuart, a builder – work six days a week so they could buy material things.
'My dad very much subscribed to your worth as a human being measured by material things. He wanted to keep up with his peers. He had a Range Rover, a speedboat and a big detached house. But we didn't really own any of it. It was all loans, none of it was real.'
Bradman's parents split up when she was 14. But she too succumbed to the idea of material things equalling success, getting herself into debt buying designer clothes and cars.
'Was I happy? No. Because I was working hard to try and keep up with the payments for all these things.'
Now everything she owns has its place in her van. Recently, Charlotte has upgraded and treated herself to a white Vauxhall Movano but in her Citroën Relay, she had just a hob to cook on.
'I had a lot of one pot stews then,' says Bradman. 'And I've got this really brilliant contraption called a Bright Spark, it toasts bread really well on a single hob. But I probably wasn't eating as varied a diet as I should have been.'
Breakfast would be granola, and meals would be dishes like chickpea curry. In winter she'd sometimes go to a Wetherspoons for a treat.
'They would often have an open fire and I could get a hot chocolate or a refillable coffee. I could charge my phone and my laptop. In my first van I didn't have anywhere to do that.'
In the Vauxhall, she has an oven and a small fridge, but still no shower. The van is insulated and thankfully Cornish winters are not as harsh as Yorkshire ones, she says.
'I've expanded my diet and eat much more healthily now. But I've never had a shower in any of my vans, because they take up too much space. And you can get a shower anywhere – leisure centres, gyms, friends.
'I swim in the sea most days. It's so good for you. The sea is full of minerals and magnesium, which your skin absorbs.'
Her clothes are all kept in three IKEA baskets under her bed. 'There's one with trousers, jeans, leggings and jumpers; one with knickers, socks, T-shirts and long-sleeved tops; and one with skirts, dresses and what I class as my fancy clothes. Those are the things with sequins that I never get to wear, but I keep them because I have had them years.
'Even now when I am shopping in a charity shop, I never get anything new. I stand there and think: 'Will I still be wearing this in five years' time?' And if I don't think I will, I won't get it.'
Bradman's story is captured in her book The Happy Nomad, which has been described as Raynor Winn's The Salt Path on wheels. 'I like that analogy,' smiles Bradman. 'I met Raynor at the Bude Literary Festival. It's a wonderful book.'
Bradman is currently working for the company Saunas By The Sea, mainly around Harlyn Bay, near Padstow. When we talk, she is parked at Fistral Beach, outside Newquay, and the birds are singing in the background.
'After meeting all these wonderful people at the sauna and on the beach, I go for a hike on the coast path and nearly every day I'm overwhelmed with where I am in my life, to have access to all this beauty. I have the sea about 100 yards from the van and all the pink sea thrift flowers covering the rocks. Yesterday I went for a swim, the sea was warm, beautiful and clear. I kept thinking, 'Oh my god, this is my life', but it can be anyone's, that's the thing.'
Has anyone been rude about her unconventional lifestyle? 'No one ever does it to my face. I'm working and I'm still spending in the local economy, in the independent shops. I'm contributing.'
And does she ever get lonely? 'No. When I was younger, I couldn't bear being on my own because that meant confronting a lot of difficult thoughts and feelings that were quite traumatising. But now I've had therapy, and because of the lifestyle I lead, I don't have the same, if any, level of stress at all. I don't have financial stress. I'm really happy on my own.'
At night, she parks in public spaces. 'Maybe twice I have felt a little bit uncomfortable. It's always when I have been parked in lay-bys or away from built-up areas. I usually park in a built-up area for safety, so you are never far away from another human being. I really like industrial estates because there are things going on 24 hours a day.'
Her van has a full solar panel system which powers her lithium battery. And when she drives, a split charge relay powers up the battery too. 'It's really efficient for my laptop, phone and lights,' says Bradman. 'I don't have a television – even when I lived conventionally, I didn't have one in a visible space.'
What about trips to the loo? 'I've got a little compact composting toilet by Boxio. It's brilliant for disposing of your waste in a way that is environmentally friendly. It's just under the bed and has got two compartments. There's a compostable bag for solids, and I use sawdust as it's really hygienic and there are no bad smells. If I'm out and about I make use of public toilets, or supermarkets and cafés.
'I've learnt where I can park next to toilets. It's usually in little villages, more out of the way of touristy areas. In places like Newquay, St Ives and Falmouth, you have to pay for a lot of the facilities, some places it's 50p, and the public toilets in Looe are card only. It's a bit of a bone of contention for me that public toilets aren't free.'
Bradman also knows the best places to fill up her water bottles. She reckons she uses up to four litres a day. 'I fill up where I can – as I'm based on the coast, harbours are really good as there are always fresh drinking water taps. And, it's a bit macabre, but graveyards have them too.'
Bradman's enthusiasm about her peripatetic lifestyle even stretches to the launderette, which she visits every fortnight with her bedding, towels and clothes.
'The launderette is like a mini meditation retreat. All you can do is sit there and watch your clothes go around!
'I don't think I would ever go back to living in a house. But if you are ill, it can be difficult. Recently, I had an operation and I went to a campsite in Keighley while I recovered. My mum, who lives in Keighley, had to come and empty my portaloo. I was there for a few months and there were wild deer roaming around. Being surrounded by nature helped with my healing.'
It's clear she relishes the freedom life in a van brings her. Her evenings are spent swimming in the sea, doing yoga or hiking. Bradman, who is currently not in a relationship, will sometimes park the van in a lay-by and walk into town to meet people or go for a coffee. 'I don't really drink – a plant-based chocolate milkshake is my addiction at the moment.'
Bradman's outgoings are very low. She has no council tax or mortgage, but does pay for road tax, insurance, fuel and MOTs. What's the main lesson she has learnt?
'That material things weigh you down. It's a burden... and when you start getting rid of these things, you are not just freeing up space physically, you are freeing up space mentally, as well.'
'I remember being close to breakdowns so many times in my life because I didn't know how I was going to pay the bills,' she says. 'I didn't have a penny to rub together. Now I need to make a fraction of that, not just to survive but to really thrive.
'Anyone can lighten the burden of financial stress just by being happier with less, by recognising that things are not going to make you happy. I realised how little you need.'
'Think about what you really need. Ask: 'Is it useful, will I use it?' My rule of thumb is if you haven't used something or worn something in two years, then get rid.
'Similarly with books – I have two in the van. One that I'm reading, one to come after. Once I've read that one, it goes to a charity shop and I buy the next book.
'When it comes to food, buy what you need. We over-consume. Have a store cupboard of basics. When you have got a small space, and you don't have a lot of storage, you are more aware of the resources that you are using.
'That goes for water, too. I don't have a tap that I can leave running. I only fill the kettle up for one cup of tea.
'You don't need to own a lot of paintings or art to appreciate it. I can go into a gallery, exhibition or even a local craft shop to inspire me.
'Get out, go for a walk and live in the moment. Own the moment, not the thing.'
The Happy Nomad by Charlotte Bradman is out in paperback on June 19, £10.99, Yellow Kite
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