Many people were curious about our daily routine. Every few days, we wake up in a new place, a new bed and with new adventures. There is no settling anywhere. Everything we own is in a backpack and a suitcase (and our friends’ basements).
How could we possibly have any sort of daily routine? Let me explain. After three weeks in New Zealand, there are just certain things that we do every day. We didn’t set out to have a routine, but we are creatures of habit.
Justin was surprised that there was interest in any of this. Not me, I love this kind of stuff. I like to know what a normal day looks like for different people. It’s one of the things I love asking people we meet in our travels. Let me give you a little glimpse into what that looks like for us.
Coffee & Breakfast
We never really ate much breakfast when we were working. In the winter, we would sometimes bring oatmeal to the office and eat it mid morning to warm up. That has changed a bit. We have time in the morning now to eat something. We’ve been lucky enough to have fresh eggs at many of the places we are staying for free. Occasionally, there is fruit or muesli as well. It’s always something small, but just something to go with coffee.
Speaking of coffee, that is definitely different. We have avoided all to-go coffee cups. Any coffees we have bought on the road, we’ve requested “to stay” and we sit and enjoy them slowly. It is one of things I’m hoping will follow us back to working life someday. We have also learned that they do not use coffee pots like we are used to. Everywhere we’ve stayed has an electric kettle to heat up the water. With the hot water, you either use freeze dried instant coffee (which we cannot get behind) or you use a plunger. It makes me laugh every time. You know how coffee is supposed to get your stomach moving things through? They call the French press a plunger. I hope I’m not the only one laughing at that.
Getting Ready
This includes all the usuals – teeth brushing, quick showers and getting dressed. All of those things are easy and quick for us on the road. The hot water is limited at a lot of places. Our clothing options are very limited so there is no more standing at the closet trying to figure out what to wear.
“Chores”
We have chores to do everyday (or every few days). It is nothing like the list we had at our house in Minneapolis, but it’s part of our daily routine nonetheless.
Laundry
This is the obvious one. We planned it out to have a washing machine at least once every ten days in New Zealand. We still haven’t really figured out how long it takes to line dry items however. Twice so far we’ve had to drive around with clothes laid out all over the car to finish drying. We haven’t seen a single clothes dryer here. It’s awesome because it saves so much energy. We just need to figure out a better strategy for drying.
Budgeting
We log every penny we spend each day in a big google tracking sheet. It helps us see how we are doing compared to the plan. We also use this time to check any bills that may be due and talk through any bigger ticket items that may be upcoming.
Clean Up
Order is important for our sanity. While staying in AirBnBs, motels or anywhere, we like to keep things tidy. We clean up every day and make the bed, wipe down the surfaces and put all the dishes away.
Reading Time
The amount of time we both spend reading has been a huge treat. It’s like Sundays at our house every single day. We are able to read for at least an hour a day no matter where we are. Amazon had a sale on these e-readers (link shows the newest version that is waterproof)right before Christmas and we knew we needed something for the trip. We are able to use our Hennepin County library cards to check out e-books from the library so we don’t have to purchase anything additional.
If you had to know our favorite books we’ve finished so far, Justin picked this one and I would have to pick this one. BUT, I’m almost done with Michelle Obama’s book and I’m sure that one will take the top spot when I finish.
Exercise
I debated adding this section, because it really isn’t a huge focus. We are moving a lot more just because we don’t have a desk to sit behind anymore. There are a good amount of days where we do yoga or some really good stretching. There are also occasional push ups and planks when we remember that we will be on a beach nonstop in a few weeks. Hikes are the most preferred method of exercise. We have seen pretty much any waterfall that we found on google maps.
Fresh Air
We have been outside every day. I’m not talking a few minutes when we walk to the car. I’m talking about hours every day. That is one of the coolest parts about moving around so much – everything is new.
We have stayed at places with some of the most wonderful animals. There are days that we just hang out with the animals. I like to make up names for them (most of them Game of Thrones related).
Main Meals
Cooking in a different kitchen constantly has presented a fun challenge. We never really know if there will be an oven or a good skillet. It’s made us pretty flexible when it comes to meals.
We go to the grocery store every few days. We only buy exactly what we need. If we need something and it comes with more than we need, we find a way to incorporate that ingredient into the next few meals so nothing is wasted. The only food we’ve tossed was four tortillas from a pack of six. They were disgusting and we just couldn’t make it work.
Restaurants are a luxury for us on the road. We never eat more than one meal “out” each day. If we can totally avoid it, we do. It’s a balance between sticking to the budget, but also enjoying our time.
We have gone back to the days of packing lunches. The biggest difference is that we get to eat them at picnic tables overlooking the Pacific Ocean instead of a lunch room. We prep the backpack each day with veggies, PB&J sandwiches (because we have yet to get more creative), nuts and granola bars.
I could probably write a whole post on eating, so I’ll cut it off here.
Planning
We spend a little time after dinner each night looking ahead. We check in our flight prices that we’ve been watching. If there is a drive the next day, we plot out our route and any spots we want to stop at. This part of the day also involves a little daydreaming which is always fun.
After Dark TV Time
Our only TV is watched when the sun sets on the nights we don’t feel like reading. We have snuck in a few movies and documentaries too. The Hate U Give was a great adaptation of the book. We have also watched 2/3 of the Lord of the Rings movies. Monday nights are reserved for Game of Thrones, but there are a few other shows that we have in the rotation (see below). We will probably add another drama to the list soon. Send any recommendations our way.
Sleep
Because it’s important and I love it. We have surprisingly been sleeping pretty good even with the constant changing. I give credit to the amount of fresh air and movement each day. I guess those thousands of online articles I read about improving sleep weren’t lying.
Wow, that was a lot.
If you made it to the end of this post, you deserve a pat on the back. I probably gave you more detail than you wanted or needed. It will be interesting to revisit this after a few weeks in Bali and see what has changed.
Time for me to get outside for the day. Let us know if you have any questions.
