‘I can’t imagine ever living in a house again’
Mum-of-six Lizzie George tells us why she ditched bricks and mortar to live the green dream in a motorhome
Lizzie George, 58, and her husband Pete – aka “the axe thrower” – swapped a six-bedroom house for a motorhome in 2021 and they’ve never looked back. Spurred on by David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, it was all part of their mission to live a more sustainable life.
After spending winter in Spain, the couple, who have six children between them, are back in the UK for the summer. But Lizzie, who runs an online green cleaning business, and Pete, who coaches people to set up axe-throwing venues, are already planning their next adventure.
Here, Lizzie tells us that – despite brutal winters and menopausal cabin fever – the simple life is the way forward for her.
Lizzie says…
My husband Pete is always coming up with crazy solutions. So when, in September 2020, we found ourselves with a dilemma, he had an idea that would change our lives forever.
Pete worked for a bank at the time and had been offered a new contract in Brussels. “Would you and the dog like to come too?” he asked me.
When the flat his job provided wouldn’t allow the dog, he wasn’t put off.
“We’ll get a motorhome,” he declared. “I can go to work and we’ll travel at the weekends. It’ll be fantastic!”
It didn’t seem like such a crazy idea. By then we’d already started our sustainable journey. After watching David Attenborough’s Blue Planet I’d been thinking about the singleuse plastic in my home, as well as what I was eating and how I was travelling.
We’d loved caravanning when our kids were little, but the Land Rover Discovery we used to pull it wasn’t environmentally friendly. So we decided to sell it and get electric bikes. We knew we weren’t going back to a caravan because we had nothing to pull it. So in September 2020, we went for it and bought a motorhome.
At first we rented our house in Cheltenham to our two adult sons, who still lived at home, while we tried out motorhome living.
Downsizing from a six-bedroom house to our van was really hard. There was an incredible amount of decluttering. I had to think about the life I wanted to lead and what I needed to keep to lead it. I didn’t need all those clothes. And I had a cabinet full of china I had to let go. I kept some precious items, like Granny’s teapot. And, in a real role reversal, I still have a box in my daughter’s attic!
I struggled with the lack of space at first. If we’d bought a small camper van, I probably would have killed Pete by now because I was menopausal, too. But we bought an 8.21m motorhome, so there’s enough room for us each to have a bit of space when it’s pouring with rain outside.
Unfortunately Covid scuppered our travel plans. I had to stay in the UK in a local campsite, while Pete commuted to Brussels by coach – that’s how green he wanted to be. He didn’t want to fly any more. He would travel overnight, shower in a local gym and then go to the bank.
Having to adapt
The first winter was hard. One day we were chipping away at the ice on the tap because the standpipe had frozen and I thought, “What are
we doing? I don’t think I’ve got enough jumpers to live like this.” But it was an adventure and, despite the snow and frozen pipes, we loved it.
In March 2021, we told the boys we were selling the house and by that September we were officially full-time motorhomers.
After those tough early days, we started to adapt to our new life. It’s about finding ways of doing things that everybody else takes for granted. The kitchen is the size of a cupboard, so I don’t bake like I used to – but then I don’t have the family to eat it any more.
You also have to live much more seasonally. One winter I got into crocheting to make the most of our small space but in the summer we live outside.
We’ve just spent our first 90 days in Spain and it was fabulous. The weather was incredible and everything was so cheap compared with the UK. We biked everywhere. It was so flat, I would cycle a 48km round trip to get my hair cut. It enabled that sort of lifestyle.
Shopping for plasticfree groceries was much easier, too. We both eat a plantbased diet and visited local fruit and veg markets as much as we could. We attempted to grow our own without much success, but I’m going to try with a pot and hanging basket this year. We struggled with food composting too. We tried with worms but managed to kill them!
In the evenings, we cooked outside under the awning using our nine-in-one air fryer and cooking pot. I loved washing up in the campsite kitchens because you have so many conversations with people from all over the world. We’d often sit round a big fire pit in the evenings, sharing a glass or two and trying to play cards in the wind!
Because we’re not wild camping we have never had any problems with the locals. In France and Spain they’re much more encouraging of this way of exploring the countryside and putting money back into the local community.
But for now we’re back in the UK for the summer. I had a new grandson while we were away, so we’re spending lots of time with him and our families.
What I don’t miss
Selling the house meant we could help our kids with deposits for their own homes. Although none of them have bought one with a drive big enough for us to visit, which I’m a bit miffed about!
I can’t imagine living in a brick house now. I wouldn’t want the expense and I wouldn’t have anything to fill a house now. I never appreciated the impact on our planet of accumulating all that stuff.
I don’t want to live in that sort of environment.
I don’t miss my old life. Our work/life balance is so much better now. I’m lucky we can work remotely and I only work a couple of days a week because we’re not financing a huge house and the lifestyle that goes with it. We live so much more simply.
Things I thought I’d miss, I just don’t. One year Pete took me to Scarborough and we stayed in a flat overnight for my birthday because I wanted a bath. But it didn’t live up to the memory. I was too hot!
This summer, we’ll be touring the UK as part of my work with Mums in Business. They run networking meetings where I’ll be speaking about my sustainable journey and sharing five tips for a greener life and business.
Then we’re looking to go to Morocco next. That won’t eat into our 90 days’ allowance so we can have a longer winter in the sun. After that, who knows? The best thing about our new lifestyle is the freedom. We never know what’s around the corner and I love that sense of adventure.
‘I had to do an incredible amount of decluttering’