Here Comes March!

As February comes to a close and the warm days, no minus days or fewer anyway, it’s nice to feel the warmth of the sun. There is still snow on the ground and a chill in the air but the bite is gone. I hate it when the air hurts your face! Lol! Today is low single digits (2C) but the birds are singing and it gives me a chance to open the door for a little while and air out the van. Just like a house the air gets stale. It is nice to open the doors and windows and let the fresh air blow through.

This week I have been getting ready to take the bed apart and make a seating area. As mentioned in my last blog I really have no comfortable place to sit and write. I have discovered I have LOTS of blankets! Like lots! No worry about freezing. Lol.

I also discovered that I have way too much stuff. I am going to have to de-clutter if I want to make this work.

Along the drivers side of the bed, between the body pillow and the wall I would keep some bulky items like paper towels. It kept them out of the way and also added a little more insulation.  Where am I going to put that stuff? The only logical place is the closet behind the driver’s door but that was also full. After pulling everything out, getting rid of extra boots, I have 3 pair of winter boots, why I have to ask myself? Lol! A little rearranging I could fit the paper towels in the closet. A few other small items that could be rearranged to fit in the electronics cupboard and it was clear.

What do I do with all the blankets?? I had been also using them for along the wall insulation so along with the 6 that were on my bed there are 4 more along the wall not counting my small 12v electric blanket. 3 of the blankets would normally lay on top of the mattress for extra cushion but in the winter time I will crawl under them for warmth. 2 of this blankets are HUGE and heavy! They are what I call Norman’s blankets. I got them at this great little warehouse store in Northern Michigan. Unfortunately it is no longer there. They had the coolest stuff at great prices. They are great blankets but really hard to maneuver around. I will keep the one with the tiger (it was my Mom’s) and put the other in the 69 Econoline (my other van) along with a couple of others. The older ones I will donate to my daughters vet clinic for the cages to keep the animals warm.

I also discovered I have a lot of pillows. Some will be dropped in a charity box and some I will also put in the 69.

There are also a couple of items under the bed. I bought a 12v shop vac because yes 12v appliances make me excited.  I do not use it so I may put that in the 69 as well or drop it in drop box. It works OK but I find that it’s to small to actually vaccum with.

Deciding where to put stuff was one thing, pulling the memory foam out along with the mattress cover and all the blankets was another. I will need some room for that. The memory foam is also heavy and hard to maneuver and I was going to have to cut it to size.  Time to call for some help. Off to Tom and Kim’s for a delightful but working afternoon.

Arriving on Friday morning and after a quick coffee and chat we set about to working. Pulling the large blankets out and hanging them on the fence to air we set about pulling the mattress out and the boards and table that were making up the bed. To tell you the truth I did not even remember what it looked like with the bed down. I had put the bed up when I first got it 4 years ago and it has not been back up since.

I decided that I did not want a table in the middle of the aisle. There is a hole for a table support but it was too high and the rectangle table was too big. I also decided the beige cushions will need a cover but just on one side. There were also back cushions but I really did not like those either. I cannot throw them out as they are an essential part of the putting the bed back down. I have not really had anyone else sleep with me or go away with me so moving it down to a single bed and giving myself more room seemed to be the best choice. The only person that goes anywhere with me is Kim, for days at a time anyway, so we decided we would keep the bed making materials at her house. Wow what a difference it made opening it all up. I even discovered another storage area under the drivers side bench seat. What a bonus!! Now I have a basement inside the van too. Haha! Woohoo!

Along with the beige cushions needing to be changed, I also needed another purple carpet for the floor to cover the beige carpet. Oh way too much beige and not near enough purple. When the weather gets nicer I am looking at also fabric painting the beige fabric. That should be an interesting adventure. Paint and I are not beat friends! Lol!

Finding a clean, dry place to cut the mattress was a puzzle as it is still February in Ontario. We took it into the house and onto the kitchen floor. Good news is we did not cut the floor but the bad news is we did take out a nice candle decor Kim had in the hallway. Dam! Sorry Kim! Wrapping the cushions in a fitted bed sheet to keep them together then tri-folding the big blanket to act as either another blanket or adding cushion for sleeping with my purple blanket on top and my bed was complete.

The other side I made a sitting area in the corner. That left the bench part near the back doors between the sitting area and the bed empty. A nice small table in between would work. Somewhere to put my coffee when I am sitting and writing. Tom came up with the idea of the the small round table that came with the van and a short pole mounting. What a great idea. After calling the parts place at Outdoor Travel and talking to Troy in parts we discovered in only comes in 27″ lengths and I needed a 12″ length to make it work. After a quick discussion he said even if we cut the one we have the tube should fit in the coupler. Woohoo! Ok let’s do this!

When it was complete I had a beautiful little bistro table between my bed and my new sitting area!

Oh I was liking this! The sitting area I put a seat pillow in the corner and put my wolf throw blanket on top to cover the beige for now. What a great comfortable little area of my home.

Sitting here writing this blog in a comfortable spot I really like the change I made. I so needed some sort of change in this never ending story of what our country has become. My van feels more open and a little more like a home!

Do you know what else comes with March? Running water!!! Haha! Woohoo! Almost there!

Thanks for coming along on my Chipmunk Adventure.

See you next week.

🐿