The van, décor and stuff. Part 1

I thought you might like a closer look at where and how I am living during my time in the van. Rather than giving you an overview and then zooming in, I have decided to begin with the detail and then end with the whole. The back of the van contains the ‘kitchen’ and ‘bathroom’ as a strip across the van that is just under two feet deep. Next is a strip that houses the wardrobe on the left (standing facing the rear), with space right across the van to a step and back door on the right. This strip is roughly the same depth. After this is the table plus two bench seats (which deconstructs to form the bed) on the left and the fridge plus one side bench seat on the right. These fill the rest of the van other than the cab space, and the over-cab bunk area (which I use as a big store room).

I have a lot of visually pleasing stuff to cover (and distract from) the set of ‘kitchen’ cupboards that run in two strips down the sides of the van, overhead. There are two good-sized windows under these cupboards and one smaller one on the back wall, above the cooker. The cab is also fully glazed, but I tend to cover these windows with reflective insulating covers while I am parked up, both for privacy and for warmth. Actually, the windows in the back aren’t glazed at all, as they are plastic!

Right – Cupboard 1. Overhead and butting onto the side of the wardrobe. Covered in rattie pump clips from The Rat Brewery. The end wall (side of the wardrobe) house:

• a rat clock
• a thermometer
• a carbon monoxide alarm
• the controls for the two on board batteries and the water pump
• two plastic hooks
• pump clips: Titanic – Iron Curtain, Allendale Brewery – Wolf, Weird Beard Brew Co. – Mariana Trench.

This area is also home to a run of net flower fairy lights in mixed colours. These plug into the mains and provide my ‘mood’ lighting when I am not working.

Cupboard ‘one’ itself houses two plastic lidded tubs (I have a lot of these), a beautiful deer tin that Karen gave me biscuits in at Christmas and random small containers for hair bobbles and jewellery.

Tub 1: Electricals, such as my digital SLR camera, USB stick, card readers, iPod charger and headphones. My kindle and external hard drive also live in here when I am not using them.

Tub 2: 20 school-type exercise books each of which pertains to a different area of interest that I am looking to research and write about this year. Everything from the somewhat obvious Custom Canine Care and Stuff, to the eagerly anticipated dog friendly pubs in the North East.

The tin: Make up.

I’m not a great jewellery wearer and I have nothing of any value in that regard. I think this is one area where I am going to have a purge in the future.

Speaking of purges, some of you might be wondering how I got on, on Monday? Well I managed to clear up a bit and decided that my essential oils were better kept at Pete’s, along with a spare hairdryer and extra blanket that belongs to him anyway. I moved a jumper  – destined for a charity shop – and a small freezer bag that I can’t imagine using until the summer (if at all), to the garage at my (rented) house. Still some way to go, but baby steps.