New Closet Drawers

I've made a change in the clothes closet of My Way. I used to have one of those three-drawer plastic storage bins in there, but that left about a foot of space between the top of the unit and the shelf of the closet. I would store my toaster oven and George Foreman grill in that space, but every time I was underway those two items would crash against the closet door. I figured it was only a matter of time before I did some damage to something so I bought a taller, seven-drawer unit. It has the same three larger bottom drawers and four smaller upper drawers all in one unit. It was 41" tall, which was a bit too tall for the closet, so I took the top drawer section off and reattached the top cover (the whole thing comes apart and goes back together). I was actually able to use just that extra top drawer to store my spices and squeeze that drawer on top of the whole unit. For extra security I use a bungee cord to hold it all in place.

Now I've got a real junk drawer for things like my utility knife, duct tape, zip ties, etc. and two more drawers that I can use for miscellaneous papers and who knows what else. The toaster oven and George Foreman are now on the shelf with my coffee grinder and two cookbooks. The stuff that was on that shelf is packed into the old TV cabinet. Somehow, it all fits and much better so than it did before.

TV Table/Clothes Hamper

The TV tray table that I rescued from the trash at my old apartment and used for a TV stand in My Way has been replaced. It had been getting wobblier and it was a pain to fold up and stow every time I wanted to move the van. I had been trying to find the right setup to replace it when I was in Walmart the other day and saw a clothes hamper that seemed like it would fit the bill. It's lightweight, it's color matches the rest of my decor, it's big enough to hold the TV, and it stays right in place when I pack up and drive away. I still have to stow the TV, but I just put that on the bed and cover it with a pillow. Now that I have a real hamper for my dirty clothes, the passenger side footwell is freed up for my inflatable kayak.

The blue roll in the background is my Travasak sleep system rolled up for the day. And yes, that's an ashtray in front of the TV. It's vintage Anholt melmac.

Red Tootsies

I'm still getting used to how convenient it is to live in a tiny home on wheels. Last month when I was driving to a rally I was thinking, "Gee, did I remember to pack {something, who knows what}." And then I remembered, oh yeah, everything I own, pretty much, is right here in this van.

Today I went to Walmart and did some grocery shopping. As I was checking out I saw the nail salon and remembered that I had planned on getting a pedicure. Oh well, I thought, I'll just have to do it another time since I have all these groceries that need to go into the refrigerator. After I checked out and got to the van I realized I could just stay parked right where I was, put away my groceries, then go back into the store to have my pedicure. Done deal.

Walmart camping

After reading so much about Walmart camping, I finally decided to give it a try. This isn't really "camping" so much as it is just overnight parking. It's for those times when you just need a safe, convenient place to park overnight while catching some z's. With camp sites in private campgrounds and even in state parks costing $25 and up per night, the opportunity to park somewhere for free just to sleep a few a hours sounds like a good deal.

Turns out, it's great. For example, yesterday I worked an extra shift from 11 am to 7 pm. This gave me enough time in the morning to pack up My Way and drive it to work. After work I drove to Seffner to gas up (Flying J over there has the cheapest gas in the area) and then drove down to Arcadia, FL, about an hour and a half drive. The Escapees Chapter 15 is having a rally down here and I wanted to come down and join them for a couple of days. But at $29 per night for a campsite at the rally campground, I really didn't want to pull in at 10:30 pm and pay that much money just to fall into bed and sleep. Walmart camping to the rescue.

The Walmart Supercenter in Arcadia is right on SR 70 and has a nice, big parking lot. There's a Subway sandwich shop right next to it, so I grabbed a $5 footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sub and parked in the back of the parking lot near two other RVs who were obviously parked for the night. I closed the curtains, turned on a little light and ate my sub while listening to the radio. Then I hit the rack. It was very quiet at this Walmart; they didn't even have a noisy parking lot cleaning truck come by at 3 am, like some other Walmarts I've stayed at. At 6:30 this morning I awoke to the sweet sounds of birds chirping in the trees. I got up, got dressed, walked over to the store and bought some veggies for tonight's pot luck dinner. Then I drove over to the campground where the rally is and joined the group just in time for coffee and bagels.

This is now the third time I've camped at a Walmart and every time has been just great. I agree with suggestions I've read at online sites to try to be as unobtrusive as possible, meaning I don't put out any chairs, put up my Winegard or run my generator. I don't look like I'm camping, because I'm not. I'm just parking for a few hours. I pretty much show up after 9 pm and am up and at 'em by 7 am. With a Class B, it's even easier for me to blend in, but I do park right among the other, larger RVs, so it's obvious I'm not just parking while shopping. I didn't check with this Walmart's manager for approval to park, but I did so with the first one I stayed at. I figure if there are already a couple of rigs there, it must be okay to park overnight. And I do always go in and spend money in the store the next day. It's not something I'd do every night out, but for those times when I really just need a place to sleep for the night, I'm all for Walmart camping.