When they hear about someone living out of their car, most people assume they’re either homeless or having domestic problems. But 26-year-old Edward Mjelde doesn’t have financial problems nor is he married. The high-earning regional sales manager has been living out of his 2014 Ford Escape for the past 12 months simply because he enjoys the minimalist lifestyle.
Edward used to live in a conventional home up until two years ago, when he wento on a 5,000-mile backpacking adventure across America. He loved the new-found freedom so much that he decided to keep on living on the open road. So he moved out of his old home and into his SUV. He kept his new minimalist lifestyle a secret for the past year, but recently took to Reddit to post some photos of his humble abode and show other like-minded people that living out of a car was not only doable, but quite practical as well.
“All of my belongings fit and are easily accessible in the trunk of my 2014 Ford Escape,” he wrote. “I do not store anything on my passenger seats or in the floor space of my vehicle. I store housekeeping items and hygiene products discreetly in the side door storage pockets and extra shoes under my front seats. Showers are taken at the gym and the bathrooms I use are public. Everything I own is in my vehicle. No storage unit. No side apartment.”
To keep his food fresh, Edward uses a Yeti Roadie cooler that he stores in the trunk of his car along with his camping stove. With food taken care off, he’s able to sleep quite comfortably in the car, by moving the front seat forward and putting the back seats down. But on most nights, he prefers to camp out outdoors in a sleeping bag.
It’s evident from the photographs that Edward has mad organisation skills – he hardly ever loses anything in the super tidy drawers of the storage unit in his trunk. “I decided to upgrade from my plastic drawers to a locking office drawer that I purchased from Ikea,” he wrote. “It is a lot nicer to work out of and it provides an extra layer of protection for my belongings in the event of a break-in.”
Most of his belongings fit in three drawers, with the top one reserved for hobbies. “The top drawer is my Hobby Drawer. I love motion memory type activities (juggling, poi, butterfly knife, lock picking, harmonica). Here I store various other fun items.”
“In my middle drawer I store all of my clothes,” he continued. “Using a technique to roll my shirts allows me to keep my clothing organized. Work clothes for the next day get hung up. In my bottom drawer I store all my cooking supplies and food. I also have a small case with basic utensils stored outside of the drawer. I have two stoves, a Jet Boil and an MSR Dragonfly.”
Edward even has a compact folding chair and table for the perfect office set up if he ever needs to ‘work from home’. “I have a car outlet in my trunk where I plug in an inverter to charge devices,” he said. “When I park outside of a location with a WiFi hotspot, I have the perfect outdoor office.” He also uses his laptop as a TV for entertainment.
Responding to questions from Imgur users about night-time parking, he wrote: “It’s illegal to camp a vehicle in a lot of places. I try to find locations that people don’t go often. Google Earth helps a lot.”
Although the arrangement is temporary, Edward says that he would like to continue living from a car even if he gets into a serious relationship. At that point, he might consider upgrading to a full-size SUV. “I chose this lifestyle,” he said. “This is what gives life meaning to me. I spend most of my time outside and sleep most of my nights out too.”
“Why should I have or feel a need to run home? I am home.”
Photos: Edward Mjelde/Imgur
