I felt it was the right thing to do to return to Erie a year ago because my father and his wife were both having serious medical problems. For 6 months I didn't have a bed to sleep in, I slept on the floor. I'm still uncertain about the future, so I keep the van equipped to live in as my safety net. (I'm actually quite happy and content in the van. It's my little oasis.)
June 20, 2009 Sink for my van
At Home Depot, Lowe's and other places, I was pricing sinks I could install in my van for washing dishes and bathing, but all I could find were both expensive and took up so much space in my tiny 45 square foot van. I looked at laundry tubs, lavatory sinks and even bar sinks. So expensive. All I wanted was a small sink I could put under my hot water dispenser that could drain into an empty, clear plastic water jug.
Well, I found a
large
blue plastic beverage bucket for $6 at Target that fits
perfectly under the spigot of my
countertop hot water dispenser (once the cup holder is
removed) that I received from someone. (She didn't want it
because it didn't chill water. But it does heat water with
electricity.) Perfect size and perfect price. The "bucket"
is my onboard sink. It doesn't drain - although I suppose I
could drill a hole, put in a piece of plastic pipe leading
to the jug; but it would probably leak. But really, how
hard would it be to simply toss out "grey water" where it
wouldn't harm anything? And this way, I can hang up the tub
on the wall by a handle to keep it out of my way when not
needed.
July 30, 2009
Furniture, appliances and food from Maura in Northeast
PA
I'll
elaborate on these shortly.
August 30, 2009
Solar shower and shower curtain for my
van
There
will be times on the road when the only way to shower will
be outside. I can attach this camping shower (purchased) to the
van's roof rack to use after heating the water in the
sun on the roof as I drive. The shower curtain was
received from Delly. I love it, but especially for its
practicality. It's opaque so people won't be seeing my
silhouette as I shower. I fixed the tears, replaced the
missing hook, and all better.
August 30, 2009
Squash and zucchini from Karen in East Springfield
PA
Sept. 11, 2009
Gas company credit
I was checking my online statements for my gas heating bill
and discovered that I've had some credits. To the tune of
at least $360. I know I had a $300 credit which I had
applied for, but there are additional credits which aren't
described. I can only assume the gas company had sent me
estimated bills for earlier months based on the previous
tenants' consumption, and was now giving me credit for the
overcharges. I know that there were 5 people living here
before me, and they likely used more gas for cooking and
showers than I do as a single person. So I have several
months ahead of
no gas bills.
Bed
for my van Before, I slept on the
floor of the van on a yoga mat; but I now have a camp cot
which fits beautifully over the wheel bases, and I can
store things underneath. You can see two of the sleeping
bags on the cot, and two more rolled up underneath. I won
those in a hospital lottery years ago, along with a tent
and cook stove.
This cot is surprisingly comfy... certainly compared to
sleeping on the floor.
TV for my van
Through a local yard sale I was able to buy a good 13"
color TV for $20. (I have a converter box and antenna,
too). If people are willing to share a little electricity
(I'll pay) when I'm on the road - $.14 a kilowatt hour - I
can keep up with the news. For now I keep it in the
kitchen. There's no remote. I have to push the button
repeatedly to get from channel 3 to 72.
TVs for upstairs
Through Freecycle I received two older 20" color TVs. I
keep them side by side because they don't receive all the
channels. One TV is missing channels 2-6, so I can't add my
VCR to view my exercise and yoga videos. The other TV
receives only
channels 2-12
and does allow me to add my VCR. So between them I have a
TV that serves my purposes.
Food from Jenn near Ashtabula Ohio
Kitchen
items from Rachel
Sept. 19, 2009
Piggy Bank from PNC Bank ("Feed the Pig")
When I went in to make a
$50 deposit to cover this month's home and auto insurance I
had a chat with Chris, the investment/retirement guy. While
I had nothing to invest, I did spell out my retirement
intentions, and he gave me this blue plastic pig.
(Apparently pigs no longer have to be pink. Must be a
fashion statement.) I immediately filled it with pennies
that were sitting in a small flower bowl.