Grant and I spent the last 12 years on this treadmill. While aware of its pitfalls, we struggled to get off of it. We kept reaching for solutions that would allow us to slow down and start to live our lives more calmly, more fully, to enjoy our family and to lead by example as parents. 

Then, six months into the global pandemic, while paddleboarding after work with Grant one afternoon, I stood on my board in the middle of the Rivanna Reservoir in Charlottesville, Virginia and suddenly experienced what’s best described as a knowing: we were to sell our home and travel the country on a bus. The moment was so visceral, yet made absolutely no sense. Why would we sell the home we love and move our teenage kids on a bus at a time when they are the most vulnerable to a change like this? 

After discussing the idea as a family, we decided to go for it. 

Still, we were left with two storage units packed to the gunnels. On moving day, I moved everything I thought we’d need onto Thelma the Bus and surprisingly, it all fit.

Very quickly, we realized that minimizing did not actually mean compromising. We didn’t feel like anything was lacking. There were plenty of clothes to choose from, plenty of dishes to eat and drink from, a shower that worked great and a bathroom that rarely had a line. 

At first, I was intimidated to cook in our tiny kitchen. But Thanksgiving and Christmas came around and it was important to me that I make our traditional family feasts. So I stood in our little kitchen on Thanksgiving, mindfully making one thing at a time while Grant cooked the turkey on the grill outside. All I could think was that this was just like my mom and grandma cooked when I was little. In truth, their kitchens were not that much bigger than mine and they cooked daily without any qualms. 

Also, I am never alone in a kitchen now since it is not a separate room. I’ve gotten so used to the space and my process, that I don’t feel any sense of compromise. If anything, I feel closer to my roots and often find myself thinking of my grandmother and her Sunday dinners. She was an amazing cook.

Another unforeseen consequence of our big downsize was the sense of freedom I felt from day 1. For the first time in a very long time, I felt like I wasn’t overwhelmed by the responsibility to maintain my space. Having had a relatively big home with four people and three large dogs, I always felt like there was a “mess” everywhere I looked. I’d clean and dust and 2 hours later I could see the new cover of dust and dirt that had come off the dogs almost instantly. 

The dogs’ dust and dirt are still present, but I vacuum the bus at least once a day since the whole thing takes less than 10 minutes. It generally takes about 20 minutes to get the bus picked up and superficially cleaned and about an hour to get it deep cleaned, including the bathroom. The sense of overwhelm when it comes to a cluttered, messy house is gone. Everything has its purpose and function and there are no closets that need to be re-organized or pantries that are full of expired cans of beans. 

What’s more, the addiction of materialism and constant buying is broken with this kind of lifestyle. We have become far more thoughtful about what we really need when our space does not allow for frivolous purchases. Living a nomadic lifestyle also takes away a fixed address, which makes it more difficult to get Amazon deliveries on the regular.

We are constantly fed the idea that more is more. That more is success and that in order to “fit in,” we must have this, that and the other. These programs have become such intrinsic parts of our culture that many of us lack awareness of their existence. 

Taking away the stuff and replacing it with adventure also teaches kids about what truly makes humans happy. We are not here to accummulate things, we are here to evolve and grow through the experiences we expose ourselves to. We don’t own this planet, we are a part of it and have a responsibility to live in harmony with it. To do so, we must realize the impact our personal choices have on the wellbeing of our environment.