It was a slow, hard slog through the morass of my belief systems before I finally got it. I knew that something was causing me pain in my life and sensed that it was the sheer falseness of getting and spending. Even during the past two years as I went through the process of getting rid of debt and downsizing I mostly didn't get it. I was still wrapped up in all my stuff.
Lately I haven't posted as much because I'm not dwelling on things anymore, but I want to post about my daily life living out of my van. The van is a nice sized, extended body vehicle with the two bench seats removed. I have a very heavy board over the wheel wells where I keep an SUV sized air mattress. Underneath I keep a crate of gallon water jugs, and bins with cooking equipment and food. The rest of the bins contain clothes, toiletries, a bathing kit, books, and paperwork.
Right behind the driver's seat there are two large plastic containers with three drawers in each. The drawers are latched so they don't open while I'm driving. There is a drawer devoted to quick food and drinks, with coffee, creamer, tea, and hot chocolate. I use a 12-volt smart mug to heat water in the van. Another drawer holds toilet paper, trash bags, port-a-potty waste management items, cleaning supplies, and all manner of paper/kitchen/household things.
A bottom drawer holds batteries, and a battery charger, plus various electrical items like my weather radio and flashlights. Another drawer contains current paperwork items, envelopes, binders, stamps, tape, stapler, and the usual office clutter. The two remaining drawers hold cups, plates, utensils, and condiments. The drawers are to quickly get to things I need. The bins are for when I stop and camp out.
My ultra-lightweight backpacking items hang in an ultra-lightweight backpack from a hook in the van. That holds a Katadyn water filter, solar shower, camping cookware and stove, and basic survival gear. A plastic bin under the "bed" holds extra backpacking gear.
For cooking I've found the simplest solution to be the best. A couple of fold-out wing stoves hold pots over any found fuel such as twigs, paper, and sticks. Some heavy duty aluminum serves as a windbreak. Titanium cookware serves to boil water or saute found veggies. A sharp knife and a cutting board serves as a food processer.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
New Holland, Pennsylvania
I've been working hard, helping little bird clear clutter (more on that later), and babysitting my granddaughters. Not where I want to be but I'm comfortable getting some things accomplished.
Today I'm working at the home office of a colleague, who is in New Holland, PA. He was amazed that I could stay so cozy and comfortable in the van at night, just using his shower in the mornings. Heck, even the port-a-potty got some use in the middle of the chilly night. I've stayed a few days now and expect to finish a major piece of the project before heading back to little bird's house closer to Royersford this evening.
Little bird got an "intervention" from her son and I earlier this month. EVERYTHING MUST GO!!! She is finally letting go of stuff. I made it clear and her son made it clear that WE are NOT going to clean it up. SHE must CLEAN IT UP and LET IT GO! There is a pathological clutter problem, really a hoarding problem and she's too great a person to allow this to go on any longer. Every word she says about hopes and dreams is about "one day when my house is clean". Yo! Clean it today, one square foot at a time.
I posted a bit about the issue earlier in my blog. I'm a minimalist, neat freak, with delusions of simplicity. For awhile I allowed myself to suffer as her roommate, freely "helping" by cleaning entire rooms only to come home from work to see them trashed. I finally told her how it made me feel. Her son confronted her on her belief that the clutter and mess came only from the time she had hand surgery. I had believed that, until he pointed out to her that this problem has been around since he was small. He cried as he told her that the way they lived hurt him and made his early life difficult. He was pushed to a tiny area of a cluttered room with barely enough room for his bed. He showed her pictures of it before she would accept what she had done to him. I showed her pictures of the kitchen as it would look to me after a hard day at work, then coming home to food leavings and dirty dishes everywhere, when I had cleaned it up before leaving for work! Never again!
I only spend my energy giving her moral support now, because she asked for help. Help can only be moral support. Nobody else can clean up her life and expect that the lesson will take. She simply has to do the inner work to ensure that happens.
So, I'm finishing up here at work, then next week I'm headed back to Missouri for the winter. I want to winterize my tiny trailer and settle in with my new kittens. I'll travel again when the cold season is nearly over, taking a kitten or two with me.
Today I'm working at the home office of a colleague, who is in New Holland, PA. He was amazed that I could stay so cozy and comfortable in the van at night, just using his shower in the mornings. Heck, even the port-a-potty got some use in the middle of the chilly night. I've stayed a few days now and expect to finish a major piece of the project before heading back to little bird's house closer to Royersford this evening.
Little bird got an "intervention" from her son and I earlier this month. EVERYTHING MUST GO!!! She is finally letting go of stuff. I made it clear and her son made it clear that WE are NOT going to clean it up. SHE must CLEAN IT UP and LET IT GO! There is a pathological clutter problem, really a hoarding problem and she's too great a person to allow this to go on any longer. Every word she says about hopes and dreams is about "one day when my house is clean". Yo! Clean it today, one square foot at a time.
I posted a bit about the issue earlier in my blog. I'm a minimalist, neat freak, with delusions of simplicity. For awhile I allowed myself to suffer as her roommate, freely "helping" by cleaning entire rooms only to come home from work to see them trashed. I finally told her how it made me feel. Her son confronted her on her belief that the clutter and mess came only from the time she had hand surgery. I had believed that, until he pointed out to her that this problem has been around since he was small. He cried as he told her that the way they lived hurt him and made his early life difficult. He was pushed to a tiny area of a cluttered room with barely enough room for his bed. He showed her pictures of it before she would accept what she had done to him. I showed her pictures of the kitchen as it would look to me after a hard day at work, then coming home to food leavings and dirty dishes everywhere, when I had cleaned it up before leaving for work! Never again!
I only spend my energy giving her moral support now, because she asked for help. Help can only be moral support. Nobody else can clean up her life and expect that the lesson will take. She simply has to do the inner work to ensure that happens.
So, I'm finishing up here at work, then next week I'm headed back to Missouri for the winter. I want to winterize my tiny trailer and settle in with my new kittens. I'll travel again when the cold season is nearly over, taking a kitten or two with me.
Monday, October 13, 2008
October Mornings Interrupted
Here's another October morning interrupted by everything but what I want to do. It's my own fault because I stayed an extra few weeks to help my friend little bird clear more clutter and get her life in order. The job was quiet and I spent a few weeks doing nothing. Now the job wants some deadlines met lickety-split and I need to get cracking. I'd rather spend the morning under the covers in my van, snuggling with a kitty cat. I just got a new kitten and she's definitely a snuggler.
Instead I am slaving over a hot computer with nary a hot chocolate or a snack in sight. I am cold (obviously) and I'm bored of this work. Ok, smacks head and gets focused again. I'll finish up some magstripe encoding then I'll go to Giant and pick up some Rice Dream or something vegan for a snack. Then I'll nap, and then I'll work on the item to be delivered tomorrow. And the documentation of it all.
I have to remind myself why I'm working like this. To pay 2008 taxes and save up some money to invest in a stock photography business. And a new career making vid's for YouTube. And because I like what I do. Computers are my life!
Yeah, right!
Instead I am slaving over a hot computer with nary a hot chocolate or a snack in sight. I am cold (obviously) and I'm bored of this work. Ok, smacks head and gets focused again. I'll finish up some magstripe encoding then I'll go to Giant and pick up some Rice Dream or something vegan for a snack. Then I'll nap, and then I'll work on the item to be delivered tomorrow. And the documentation of it all.
I have to remind myself why I'm working like this. To pay 2008 taxes and save up some money to invest in a stock photography business. And a new career making vid's for YouTube. And because I like what I do. Computers are my life!
Yeah, right!
Friday, October 3, 2008
A Long Cold Winter
It's going to be a very long cold winter for 2008-2009. With petroleum based product prices going up and the economy tanking we who live the alternative lifestyle of thrift and frugality need to prepare ourselves for the coming hard times.
At this time I have both a van to travel in and live out of, plus a small mobile home in Missouri. The van is warm enough for camping, really. My plans to outfit that small space are not as extensive as my plans to prepare the mobile home for this winter. The trailer uses propane for heating and cooking. Ordinarily, using heat like it's water, the propane tank has to be filled up approximately three times during the year. I would like to get that down to only two times per year.
The issue is the fluctuating price of propane, and the fact that you need quite a bit of cash to fill the tank each time. The cost was about $550 per fill-up last winter. I plan to set things up so that I rely on electric heat and other measures to avoid using the propane furnace as much as possible. The 10 year old furnace needs service to be sure it is most efficient. Then the water pipes need heat wrap, to allow the trailer temperature to be kept lower. If I set the heater to 50 degrees, then I can use electrical appliances to provide comfort heat in areas where I most need it. The electric company is cheaper than propane now, due to the economy of scale. The electric company can obtain power from many sources, not only petroleum based sources.
Some of the windows are like sieves, while the rest are good quality storm windows. I'll tape up the windows from the outside, then fill the insides of the windows with filler of any kind. Then I'll hang heavy quilts and blankets on the walls and behind curtains, to provide a bit more insulation. Of course I'll leave a few places for the wind to whistle through. The idea is to keep my heat inside the trailer. I may add some insulation boards inside the skirting of the trailer, depending upon the cost and what I can obtain. Of course I'll research the concept to be sure it is "safe".
To use supplemental electrical appliances for heat means ensuring that I don't overload any wiring. The wiring is up-to-date, and I would space the appliances carefully. For instance, I would use a fan heater in the bathroom to use while in the shower and dressing warmly. Two forced oil heaters would go into the living room and the one bedroom I use, to be used singly. I'm in one room or the other, not both at the same time. Generally, only one heater would be used at a time.
I have a second bathroom that isn't being used. I want to make that room a storage area. If I can get someone to pull out the plumbing and cap it off, then I can keep that room unheated. We aren't allowed to have wood stoves in the trailer park, for safety reasons. If I could have one it would be great for keeping warm and for cooking stews. But I can put one in my empty storage shed for emergency warmth. If the electric goes out, we are kind of screwed, even with a propane furnace. I'd need propane heaters for backup. Or something. It's the water pipes that scare me in the winter. I don't need an expensive plumbing problem. I know, I can run the water. What fun! Pipes bursting or water flooding. There is are several cold snaps to look forward to.
In any case, whether I use my propane furnace or not, my total living expenses are expected to be no more than $300 for land-locked needs. Including lot rent, electric, cable, and propane deliveries. I wanted to just live out of the van but I have interests in life that make having at least one permanent homesite more convenient.
At this time I have both a van to travel in and live out of, plus a small mobile home in Missouri. The van is warm enough for camping, really. My plans to outfit that small space are not as extensive as my plans to prepare the mobile home for this winter. The trailer uses propane for heating and cooking. Ordinarily, using heat like it's water, the propane tank has to be filled up approximately three times during the year. I would like to get that down to only two times per year.
The issue is the fluctuating price of propane, and the fact that you need quite a bit of cash to fill the tank each time. The cost was about $550 per fill-up last winter. I plan to set things up so that I rely on electric heat and other measures to avoid using the propane furnace as much as possible. The 10 year old furnace needs service to be sure it is most efficient. Then the water pipes need heat wrap, to allow the trailer temperature to be kept lower. If I set the heater to 50 degrees, then I can use electrical appliances to provide comfort heat in areas where I most need it. The electric company is cheaper than propane now, due to the economy of scale. The electric company can obtain power from many sources, not only petroleum based sources.
Some of the windows are like sieves, while the rest are good quality storm windows. I'll tape up the windows from the outside, then fill the insides of the windows with filler of any kind. Then I'll hang heavy quilts and blankets on the walls and behind curtains, to provide a bit more insulation. Of course I'll leave a few places for the wind to whistle through. The idea is to keep my heat inside the trailer. I may add some insulation boards inside the skirting of the trailer, depending upon the cost and what I can obtain. Of course I'll research the concept to be sure it is "safe".
To use supplemental electrical appliances for heat means ensuring that I don't overload any wiring. The wiring is up-to-date, and I would space the appliances carefully. For instance, I would use a fan heater in the bathroom to use while in the shower and dressing warmly. Two forced oil heaters would go into the living room and the one bedroom I use, to be used singly. I'm in one room or the other, not both at the same time. Generally, only one heater would be used at a time.
I have a second bathroom that isn't being used. I want to make that room a storage area. If I can get someone to pull out the plumbing and cap it off, then I can keep that room unheated. We aren't allowed to have wood stoves in the trailer park, for safety reasons. If I could have one it would be great for keeping warm and for cooking stews. But I can put one in my empty storage shed for emergency warmth. If the electric goes out, we are kind of screwed, even with a propane furnace. I'd need propane heaters for backup. Or something. It's the water pipes that scare me in the winter. I don't need an expensive plumbing problem. I know, I can run the water. What fun! Pipes bursting or water flooding. There is are several cold snaps to look forward to.
In any case, whether I use my propane furnace or not, my total living expenses are expected to be no more than $300 for land-locked needs. Including lot rent, electric, cable, and propane deliveries. I wanted to just live out of the van but I have interests in life that make having at least one permanent homesite more convenient.
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