How to create your van life minimalist wardrobe

Dia duit agus fáilte – that’s Irish for hello and welcome – to my blog about van life and thriving with rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic illnesses. Today, let’s talk about your van life wardrobe – what you need and how to store it.

Living in a van is wonderful, better than I had imagined, if the truth be told. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t compromises. We both had to let go of certain aspects of our lives in a house in order to make van life work for us. Tom had to give up some of his volunteering and learn how to stay organized. I had to set aside some of my hobbies, like sewing and house plants, and change the way I cook.

Something neither of us struggled too greatly with was a smaller minimalist van life wardrobe. We rarely go anywhere fancy so we each had only two “dressed up” outfits, neither of which made the cut!! Also, most of our clothes were already outdoors related, meaning quick dry fabrics, utilitarian and versatile.

This post is for those of you interested in van life but uncertain or worried about how few clothes you might be able to fit in your new van life wardrobe.

What are your priorities for living full time in a conversion van?

If you’ve read any of the other van life posts on this blog, you will have heard me mention priorities before. And here again, priorities will help as you begin to cull your clothes and create a van life minimalist wardrobe list.

If you haven’t already, write a list of why you are moving into a van, what dreams are you pursuing and which goals are most important to you for your new life. Check out this post if you’re thinking about van life but can’t decide if it’s right for you.

In many ways we lived a minimalist life before we moved into our 84sqft tiny home on wheels. We had half empty rooms, closets and drawers that served no purpose and, as mentioned, pretty minimalist wardrobes. And yet, we still had to be very clear about our priorities. We wanted our van life to revolve around our hobbies – hiking, skiing, cycling and exploring. Knowing this made it obvious which clothes we would need and which we could donate or store.

How to choose the right clothes for your minimalist/van life wardrobe

Chances are if you have to work while living in a van, you will need a work wardrobe. Even if it’s only tops because you’re on Zoom meetings! At the time of writing, Tom still works so we brought along one pair decent pants and two shirts in case he has to travel. He stores them in their own packing cube and has never used them. Can you do something similar?

There are several criteria for your minimalist/van life wardrobe:

• Clothes must be comfortable and practical. Unless you are planning lots of city stay, chances are you won’t need dress shoes, an LBD (little black dress) or suit jacket.
• Clothing items should be as versatile as possible. We like to go to the gym so I have leggings and shirts which I also use for hikes.
• Choose clothes that are as low maintenance as possible. Avoid dry clean or delicate/handwash items. Instead go with color-fast fabrics that allow you to do an all-in-one laundry load.
• Select items that coordinate with more than one other item in your minimalist/van life wardrobe. This is a challenge for me as I love bright colors and end up with clothing items that clash. I’m learning!
• Select clothes you love to wear. Wearing clothes you love makes you happy and who doesn’t want more happy in their lives?

We visited Death Valley National Park in February. When we woke to watch sunrise at Zabriskie Point, it was close to freezing with strong winds. We needed our winter puffy jackets, gloves and hats. Just a few hours later, we walked Badwater Basin (the lowest point in North America) and the temperature had risen to 75F/24C. Knowing ahead of time what types of weather to expect will help you create the right versatile van life clothing list for your lifestyle.

5 rules for your minimalist/van life wardrobe list

1. You can’t bring any “just in case” clothes. I always had a pair of “just in case” pants in my house wardrobe. They fit, were good quality and, who knew, I might need them for some event. Of course, they sat dutifully in my closet, year after year, collecting dust on the hanger.
2. If you cannot bear to donate or sell certain items, consider putting them in storage. And then you can decide if they are worth the monthly storage fee. I have a box of “city life” clothes with timeless items I love and will want to wear again when the time and our lifestyle is right.
3. Don’t bring an item you don’t love just because it is perfect for van life. I recently gave away two pairs of hiking pants that converted to capris – I just didn’t feel great wearing them and life’s way too short to feel less than fabulous.
4. Pack enough underwear to get through at least seven days without doing laundry. It’s easy to find quick dry knickers you can easily wash out each evening if space is especially tight.
5. Don’t pack wishful thinking gear. I really wanted to bring my wetsuit but it did not make the cut this time; spending time surfing is, for now, a dream rather than a probability. If you’re a climber, pack the gear. If you’re a wannabe-climber, don’t bring/buy the gear until you’ve rented a few times and know you plan to pursue the sport.

Hobby wardrobe needs

When we began packing clothes, we knew we would also need to find space for all our hobby gear. Skiing apparel takes up tons of room – think insulated ski pants, bulky jackets and gloves, not to mention the boots and helmets. Hiking gear intersects with our everyday wardrobes except for the boots. If you plan to cycle longer distances on a regular basis, it’s definitely better to have the appropriate padded shorts and cycling shoes.

Once you have set aside the necessary space for your hobbies wardrobe, you will know better how much room you have for your everyday wardrobe. Next, figure out which seasons you will be dressing for.

We are full-time van-lifers and began our journey with 4 seasons of clothing. After we spent our last ski day of the season with Kidlet #4, he kindly agreed to take all our ski gear back to the storage unit. We will return to the PNW later this year and can retrieve it then.

How to create a minimalist/van life wardrobe list

Now that you know your priorities, have the list and space you need for your hobbies apparel, you can begin the process of building your everyday wardrobe van life packing list. Some questions to consider:

• What seasons will you experience while living in your van? Will you need full winter apparel as well as tropical shorts and sunhats?
• Do you plan to go off grid for long periods of time? Will you have enough water to rinse out some of your clothes when needed?
• What is your style of dressing? Try to honor your own style while making it work for van life.
• How can I mix and match as many items as possible to create more outfits?

6 tips to stretch your van life wardrobe without building more storage.

Suggested minimalist/van life wardrobe list

Here is what Tom and I have in our packing cubes. I tend to feel colder and need more sweaters. Most of our clothing comes from outdoors shops and are quick dry, utilitarian, “smart” fabrics and/or multi-functional.

Bottoms

Tops

Gym & yoga gear

Underwear

Outerwear

Footwear

Looking after all your clothes

Now that you have created your minimalist/van life wardrobe list and set aside all the clothes you plan to bring on your van life adventure, it is time to learn how to store and maintain them.

We store all our clothes by category in packing cubes. It is simple to pull out a single bag to find a top, another to grab a clean pair of socks etc… And we each have two places for our packing cubes – the wardrobe boxes I designed that run the length of our queen-sized bed and two overhead cabinets above them. And we still have room in the upper cabs if needed.

Our shoes are stashed in three locations. We have two kitchen cabinets with spaces below them that were useless for most items except shoes and sandals. Turns out they are the perfect size for our shoes, sandals and slippers. And we leave our hiking boots and cycling shoes in the garage beside the other gear we need for both activities. We allow wet shoes to dry beside the heater when necessary; so far, this has not been a big issue.

As we built our DIY conversion van, we discovered all sorts of nooks and crannies that served little purpose so we got creative. The space behind the ski box near the driver-side wheel well works as storage for the camera equipment and binoculars. And on the passenger side, the space beside the water reservoir and wheel well is a perfect size for our dirty laundry bag and other laundry supplies. We use a large mesh bag, and can easily fit a week’s worth of two people’s dirty clothes.

Kidlet #1 lives with his family on a boat (read their blog) and have learned how to manage mold and other small space challenges. They gifted us charcoal bags that hang in all the cupboards in the van and we have two in each of the clothing spaces and laundry “room.” They are a great addition to our low-key maintenance plan.

Final thoughts

There is no single right way to live and dress in a van. And there is no right minimalist/van life wardrobe. It is great to do your research ahead of time and consider certain aspects of van life that may surprise or scare you. But there comes a time when you have to take a leap and decide to go for it. Even if planning out your minimalist/van life wardrobe concerns you, please don’t let it halt your progress.

As you navigate the design of your van and begin your DIY build, there will be time to figure out how daily van life will work for you. And that includes your clothing needs. Consider paring down your current wardrobe so you get a feel for what fewer clothing options looks like. One of the health benefits of a minimalist/van life wardrobe is fewer daily choices which leads to less decision fatigue.

In three months living full time in the van, our only clothing challenge happened after a wonderful hike in the lashing rain. We were in Great Smokey Mtns National Park and hiked Grotto Falls trail with Maggie, my service animal when the rain came in and drenched us all. Of course, the van was now full of wet clothes, wet people and a wet dog.  

Drying humans is much easier than drying an Old English Sheepdog so the van had the aroma of wet dog for a few hours (or maybe days!) We drove into Gatlinburg, found a laundromat and solved the muddy wet clothing problem. Two out of three ain’t bad (as Meat Loaf would say!)

I’d love to hear any thoughts or suggestions in the comments below. If you found this article useful, please consider sharing it.