Back in our Vanlife days, people asked us the same question over and over:
“I want to live on the road… but I don’t know where to start.”
And now, as a mother, I hear a nearly identical sentiment from women stepping into pregnancy or early motherhood:
“I want to do this consciously, intuitively, aligned… but I don’t know where to start.”
And here’s the truth in both journeys:
There is no single right way.
There is only your way.
Vanlife taught me that.
Motherhood confirmed it.
Both experiences are deeply symbolic of something much bigger:
our ability, as women, to write our own story,
choose our path,
and take courageous action toward the life that calls us.
Whether you’re building a home on wheels or building a home within your body…
you are stepping into a chapter that will change you.
Here are the lessons from beginning Vanlife that translate beautifully into beginning motherhood.
1. Begin Where You Are
When people asked where to start with Vanlife, my answer was always simple:
Start right here. With who you are. With what you already have.
The same applies to motherhood.
You don’t become a “different” woman the moment you conceive or bring a child home.
You evolve from the raw material that’s already inside you:
✨ your passions
✨ your instincts
✨ your strengths
✨ your cracks
✨ your creativity
✨ your longing for something more
Whether beginning life on the road or beginning life as a mother, you start by asking:
What do I want this to feel like?
What matters most to me?
What kind of environment nourishes me?
What version of me do I want to meet along the way?
Start with what’s already in your hands.
That’s enough to move.
2. Know Your Why (And Let It Change You)
People come to Vanlife for a thousand different reasons — freedom, adventure, healing, simplicity, creativity.
People enter motherhood with just as many reasons — love, desire, curiosity, destiny, a deep inner YES that can’t be explained.
Your why is sacred.
It will guide your decisions, your boundaries, your energy, and your direction.
And just like on the road…
your why will change.
You think you begin vanlife for adventure and end up doing it for peace.
You think you begin motherhood for love and end up transforming through surrender.
Both journeys evolve you.
Knowing your why doesn’t mean forcing a rigid identity —
it means staying connected to your inner compass as it shifts.
3. Explore Your Needs + Wants (Simplify to Soften)
Before we hit the road, we had to radically simplify our lives:
Let go of the clutter.
Let go of the unnecessary.
Let go of the things taking up space but giving nothing back.
Motherhood asks the same of you — internally and physically.
What supports you?
What drains you?
What rhythms elevate your mood?
What stuff, routines, expectations, or relationships only clutter your mind?
The less excess you carry into motherhood — the smoother your transition becomes.
You can always add later.
But starting with spaciousness lets you feel yourself.
4. Make a Plan (But Stay Fluid)
To begin Vanlife, you need some structure — a plan for work, savings, timing, responsibilities, logistics.
Motherhood is no different.
Not in a “perfect nursery and rigid schedule” kind of way…
but in a conscious, supportive, aligned kind of way.
Ask yourself:
✨ What will help me feel supported?
✨ What routines nourish me?
✨ What resources do I want available?
✨ What boundaries do I need with family, friends, or work?
✨ What date, ritual, or turning point marks the beginning of this new chapter?
And then — like Vanlife — remain open.
Plans shift.
Moods change.
Unexpected detours become part of the story.
And the magic often happens in the flexibility.
Beginning Motherhood Is Beginning a Journey — Just Like Vanlife
In the end, the question of “Where do I start?” always leads back to you.
Your intuition.
Your desires.
Your vision for the life you want to live.
Your willingness to take the next small step.
Vanlife taught me that.
Motherhood deepened it.
Both are invitations into:
🌿 courage
🌿 presence
🌿 self-discovery
🌿 simplicity
🌿 and writing a life that feels like your own
Whether you’re hitting the road or stepping into motherhood —
you begin by trusting that the next step is enough.
And it is.