Van Life Week 1: Expensive Mistakes & Clever Mobile Office Hacks

Life With No Anchor

Join us for an honest look at our first week of van life in Australia! We're sharing the real ups and downs of transitioning from house living to life on the road - including some costly mistakes and clever solutions we've discovered.  The not-so-great news first: we broke our MSI extender screen! We'll show you exactly what happened and share the lessons we learned about protecting tech equipment when you're constantly moving and reorganizing in a small space.   If you're planning your own van life adventure, this expensive mistake could save you from making the same error.  But we've also discovered some brilliant solutions! Our multifunctional desk setup has been absolutely fantastic.   These interlocking desks store under our mattress, work perfectly both inside and outside the van, and even include slide-out sections that double as picnic seating. We'll give you a complete walkthrough of how the system works and adapts to different weather conditions.  We're also documenting our ongoing journey toward true minimalism. Spoiler alert: we thought we were minimalists before this trip - we were wrong! Our recent stop at Nimbin Craft Gallery shows just how much we still needed to let go of.   We placed nearly 100 travel artifacts from our Southeast Asian adventures on consignment, including pieces from Nepal, Myanmar, and other countries we've visited over the past decade.  Currently traveling from Glenrach Bridge toward Nambucca Heads, we're meeting fascinating people and learning something new every day about mobile living, efficiency, and what we actually need versus what we think we need.  This video captures the authentic van life experience - the challenges, the creative problem-solving, the constant learning, and the incredible freedom that comes with choosing a different way of living.  Chapter Timestamps 0:00 Van Life Week 1: Expensive Mistakes & Clever Mobile Office Hacks 1:21 The Tech Disaster That Cost Us Money 3:26 Amazing Multifunctional Desk Setup Tour 7:59 Minimalism Reality Check & Letting Go of Possessions  Follow Our Van Life Journey: 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifewithnoanchor/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LifeWifNoAnchor 🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/LifeWifNoAnchor  Travel Resource: Get 25% off Trusted Housesitters membership: https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF582519/?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=refer-a-friend&utm_campaign=refer-a-friend

Transcript

00:00Good morning, beautiful people. It's a sunny day, which is nice. We've been

00:05rained out for a few days. We can dry off a bit. Yeah, and as you can tell, we are on the road.

00:13Yes. And we are

00:16Glenbrook, Nana Glen,

00:18Glenark, Glenark Bridge. There's Glenark Bridge or Glenrach Bridge.

00:23It could be Scottish. I might be saying it completely wrong.

00:26Glen Road?

00:27Glenrach Bridge.

00:29It's 1918. Nobody can pronounce it since 1980.

00:33Yeah, the world has been struggling since 1918 to say Glenrach Bridge.

00:39We pulled over to set up and do some work this morning because we are on our way towards Nambucca Heads.

00:45We're going to go and catch up with a friend of ours who has had a very interesting career in,

00:51I suppose, government public relations and dealing with Indigenous communities and

00:55helping negotiate certain situations. And yeah, she's had some really interesting experiences.

01:02Oh, there we go. Chris is helping with the camera tilt.

01:04This is how not to do it on YouTube.

01:06Yeah.

01:06Yeah. We're doing it anyway.

01:08Yeah, we're doing it anyway.

01:09You're watching. So you're proof that the algorithm is wrong.

01:14So what have we learned so far?

01:16Chris, we've been on the road now for a bit over a week.

01:19Yeah, a bit a week.

01:20Well, I guess when it comes to tech, you really need to be very careful about how you're storing things and moving things around.

01:29So yeah, what happened?

01:31It's an expensive mistake, but I'm not entirely sure how we did it.

01:36So I can only assume that it's happened when we've been moving stuff.

01:40Let's show you what happened.

01:42We have an extender screen.

01:43End of the world as we know it.

01:44Oh, look at that.

01:46There's a lot of problems here. Check it out.

01:48Ouch.

01:48So this is my extender screen for my laptop.

01:50And as you can see, there's been an impact point.

01:52It's coming closer.

01:54Impact point.

01:55Oh.

01:56And it's just gone.

01:58It has.

01:59So look, it's still usable.

02:01Clearly, you need to be really careful about how we place things going forward.

02:06We have, it's very early days, so we still have a lot of things that we're moving and juggling and stuff like that.

02:14So figuring out the rhythm.

02:17So a little bit of an expensive mistake.

02:21I suppose the good news is we've had these extender screens for three, four years.

02:26So we have got some really good value out of them.

02:30It's a shame that it's broken.

02:32Officeworks, if you want to sponsor us, chuck us a free screen.

02:36Unlikely.

02:38It's an MSI extender screen.

02:40I want one of these.

02:41They are cool.

02:42They are cool.

02:43This is not a sponsored video.

02:44This is, I suppose, yeah, just a reflection on our learning.

02:49It is a learning.

02:50So, yeah, if you're hitting the road and you're trying to juggle things like we are and trying to find your rhythm,

02:57be mindful how you're putting your technology down because you might damage it.

03:02What we're going to do is I'm going to spin the camera around and Chrissy's going to give you a bit of a talk through

03:06on how we have these multifunctional desks that we've used to be able to configure our workplace setup

03:14to, I suppose, deal with different opportunities and challenges

03:19because some days it's wet, some days it's not.

03:22And we can work pretty much anywhere, how we want.

03:25Yes.

03:26Okay.

03:26So how it currently looks is multipurpose.

03:31There are actually, believe it or not, two desks here.

03:37Let's have a look underneath.

03:38Let's show you these two desks.

03:40Ready?

03:41Hold on.

03:42Hold on.

03:43Oh, look at that.

03:44See how they interlink and they just connect?

03:47Got to get closer for you.

03:48How they interlink and connect under our slide-out drawer there.

03:52So what you can see is we've got a slide-out drawer, which the purpose of that slide-out

04:01drawer initially was, and I'll show you on this side so you've got a better view.

04:05Yeah.

04:06The purpose of this slide-out drawer is that we've got a picnic set up.

04:10As you can see here, this is our table.

04:12It comes all the way out.

04:13And here on both sides, we've got picnic drawers that slide out, and that's now your bench seat.

04:21Yeah.

04:22So it holds 120-odd kilos, but you don't want to be bouncing on it.

04:28So the drawer is only as strong as its weakest point, and so we need to get some telescopic legs

04:33to stick under it before we start using it officially for sitting on.

04:38But it's actually come in really handy just for, like, as you can see here, placing a few odd

04:43pieces on and trying to work things out.

04:47And so what we've done is we've pulled one of the one on that side out, and we've placed

04:53our tables and interlock them into one another.

04:58And over here, we've got another brace just to give it a tiny bit more security and support there.

05:05Yep.

05:05So that clamp attaches underneath.

05:08I'm going to spin around behind you there, Chris, and I'm going to show the world how we've done it.

05:12See?

05:13That just clamps underneath there onto the timber.

05:19So what it really does is just takes that seesaw effect out of the back end there,

05:22because if you have a look under here, you can see that a large portion of this desk,

05:28probably two-thirds, sits further forward of that drawer.

05:32But look how these arms are interlocking.

05:34They provide, I suppose, a means of supporting each desk.

05:40So back to the main host in the show.

05:43Ta-da!

05:44So these desks, once they've been dismantled, they are stored underneath our mattress,

05:50and these little black bits that you would have seen underneath,

05:54which are currently interlocked into each other,

05:57they fit into the slats underneath our bed.

06:01And then if it's a yucky day, so it's a beautiful day today,

06:04so we're going to set up outside, as you can see.

06:07If it's a yucky day like what we have been having,

06:09we have a sit-up at the front, inside of the van,

06:14where those black arms hook onto the cage.

06:18And so then we've got our green sit up there,

06:22and it's adjustable for us as needed.

06:25And so it's been really fantastic.

06:29In the last week we've had, or a couple of weeks nearly,

06:32we've had beautiful sunny days,

06:36and we've had rain, which, I mean, that's nature.

06:40And, yeah, it's been really versatile,

06:42and quite good to see how much value we're getting out of this so far.

06:46So stay tuned, because those are going to be painted up

06:51to look really funky in time.

06:54Not quite sure when yet, but we'll get to it.

06:56Probably by about March, I think.

06:58It'll be when we're in Bathurst looking after Millie again.

07:01And so, yes, that is where we are at.

07:04The desk configuration's been what they are, versatile.

07:07We thought this through,

07:09and we're quite fortunate in how we've been able to utilise the space.

07:14And, yeah, you'll see a little bit later on today,

07:17the weather forecast is that apparently this area

07:19is going to be hitting storms in about two and a half hours.

07:22So we're going to migrate into the van.

07:25And we will show you how that configuration looks,

07:27and you'll get to see the versatility of what we've achieved

07:31in such a tiny space with our Aussie van life adventures.

07:35It's our tiny home.

07:37It is.

07:38It's been really cool, really practical.

07:40Yeah.

07:40I think the biggest learning has been about,

07:43like we thought we were minimalists before.

07:47Wake up call.

07:48We're learning how to downsize even more.

07:51So this has been quite an interesting journey.

07:54And there are other videos about that process

07:57when you look through our channel.

07:59On the topic of downsizing,

08:03we recently pulled in via Nimbin,

08:05and we stopped at the Nimbin Craft Gallery

08:07and had a bit of a catch-up with Jess and Narelle there,

08:11two lovely ladies.

08:12And they have on consignment about 100 different items

08:17that we've left with them of, I suppose, different...

08:20Artifacts.

08:21Artifacts and different things of historic significance,

08:24which really vibe with Nimbin,

08:26as Nimbin's sister city is Kathmandu.

08:28And a lot of this stuff is from Nepal

08:30and that sort of Nepalese footprint.

08:32A little bit of Bagan,

08:33a little bit of Mandalay,

08:34some Myanmar stuff in there too.

08:36So, yeah, they're very kindly helping us out

08:40by displaying a lot of those things

08:42in one of the beautiful glass cabinets there.

08:44And we'll split whatever they go for,

08:47and they've taken the weight of our van

08:49so someone else can enjoy the ownership

08:52of these amazing little bits and pieces

08:55that we've collected along the way

08:56and the stories and the connections.

08:57Yeah.

08:58We, as much as we love the items,

09:01we've recognised that it's not where we are right now,

09:04and we're going to gift it to someone else to enjoy.

09:07We've had the pleasure of those items

09:10for about a decade.

09:12And look, if they don't sell, they're still ours.

09:14We can go back and collect them at any point in time.

09:17So it's a potential win-win

09:19if they're still there and we want them back.

09:22Yeah, for sure.

09:24Better get cracking.

09:26Yeah.

09:26We've got work to do.

09:27Both got to get on.

09:28All right.

09:28Buenos tacos.

09:29See you guys.

09:30Yeah.

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