For most of us, a weekend away in nature is enough to keep us going through the work week in the city, but for James and Steph, they wanted to live a life that wasn’t just about living for the weekend. Their solution? To move into a 1979 caravan and simplify their lives. 

Can you introduce yourselves and tell us about the amazing little place you live?

We’re James and Steph — a young married couple who live in a 1979 caravan in Brisbane, Australia. Our 14-foot caravan is based on 5 acres of beautiful land about an hour from Brisbane city. We decided to switch-up our lifestyle in July 2015 and made the transition at the end of January 2016. The space is simple and includes a queen bed, lounge, kitchen, little wooden table and that’s about it!  It’s all we really need to live comfortably.

What prompted the move to a smaller abode and how has it changed your lifestyles? What are some of the biggest things you’ve learnt from living small? 

Living in a mountain cabin for a week in 2015 changed our perspective entirely. It was winter and freezing when we visited the cabin. We did very little the entire time we were there! For that week, we lived with no electricity or plumbing — our shower was run off rainwater and our toilet was compostable. We used an outdoor kitchen and a wood fire to keep warm throughout the night.

We gazed at the clear view out to the Byron Bay lighthouse. We spent time in silence. We watched the cows and horses nearby. We spent our week truly unwinding. I think the experience facilitated a realisation that we could live with almost nothing and be 100% content. It sparked hope in us, which perhaps we hadn’t allowed ourselves to feel before.

Your home is parked up on a small plot of land – what’s it like to have your own little private slice of nature?

The part we love most is being surrounded on all sides by nature. When we wake up we are greeted by a view of trees swaying and the soft low hum of insects and animals waking up too. At the moment, we have 13 resident ducklings that live on the property. Naturally, they are gorgeous! They love nibbling the grass in front of our caravan, which we adore.

What’s your top advice for someone considering making the move to living small?

Firstly, we would suggest it is absolutely possible. We openly admit to friends that we felt somewhat trapped in our old lifestyle. We often felt like there was no way out of renting and (in future) having a large debt from a mortgage. And although that’s a happy reality for some people, it’s not the only way to live. Secondly we would highlight that, from personal experience, I’ve been amazed at what we have easily been able to do without. We love a quote by Marcus Aurelius that says, “Always bear this in mind, that very little indeed is necessary for living a happy life.” On all accounts thus far we’ve found this to ring true. Lastly, we would encourage those seeking to live small that the process can look messy and the solution can be wildly creative (and unconventional!). We searched for a creative solution to our desire to live with less, and found that living in beautiful little caravan was right for us. The outcome will look different for different people and this is okay…perfect in fact! Heed your desires and listen to your gut.

You must’ve culled a lot of possessions to fit into your new little home, was there anything that you just couldn’t part with?

Getting rid of endless possessions was a huge part of our transition from renting a house to moving into our tiny home. And yes, it was tricky! We were ruthless. We gave away, donated or tossed 90% of what was in the house. We had two reasons — 1) everything we owned before physically couldn’t have fit in the caravan (even with our handy under-the-bed storage!), 2) we simply didn’t need or use most of the possessions. We realised during this period that we were holding onto possessions with the mindset that ‘maybe we will use this one day’. During the process of downsizing we changed our mindset to ‘which of these belongings makes us feel good when we interact with them’. Automatically this shift allowed us to let go of things we didn’t really need.

Your favourite adventure to date?

We’ve just come back from a 10,000km trip through (and around) Australia. It was breathtaking! We drove from Queensland to the Northern Territory and then through South Australia and New South Wales. We were astounded by the vast changes in landscape throughout the middle of Australia — from scrubby bush lands, to farmlands with cows, to wide-open plains, to green pastures with baby goats.

The trip was not all ‘perfectly edited Instagram pictures’. We almost hit a cow while driving at night (lesson learned!). We lived in a van and cooked meals on the side of the road (we left our caravan to rest at home). We drove through Northern Territory without air conditioning, which even in winter is a stretch. The trip was an adventure where we learned about the beautiful country we live in and more importantly about each other.

Have you got any adventures away from the caravan planned?

At the moment we are blissfully content where we are. However, we do have a list of places we’d like to explore in future. There are two locations at the top of our list —exploring Iceland and travelling around New Zealand in a van during the summer. A local trip we’d like to do soon is visit a beloved beach camping spot in Northern NSW. The spot is just north of the Byron shire and is so small there aren’t even any shops in the area. Perfect for a long weekend away camping with friends!

Take a visual tour of James and Steph’s caravan on Instagram (@our.tiny.home). 

Follow their life and creative work on Instagram (@ourlifeblood) or connect on their website (ourlifeblood.com).