Ruby's Getting a Makeover

It seems like months since we were at Cape Disappointment and it's only been  a few weeks.  I would love to be on the road or at a campsite somewhere,anywhere , it doesn't matter.  Instead, I'm camping out in the alley behind our house working on projects for Ruby our Sprinter van.  Ruby is in the process of getting a makeover.  Since we plan on being on the road for at least 2 years we decided we needed a little more storage than just the cabinets that came with Ruby.  I don't know about you but I just feel happier and more content when everything is organized and put in its place. Nothing worse than waking up in the morning and seeing the counter littered with a coffee pot,dishes and pans ,food,you get the picture.  If you are laying in bed at home the kitchen usually isn't 5 feet away from your pillow.  But when you are living in 125 square feet it can't be avoided.

This is what our Roadtrek looks like with the 4 seats .

 We removed the seat behind the front passenger seat and that will be replaced with a cabinet that will hold folding bicycles and our Cobb Grill. The seat behind the driver's seat will be replaced with a 2 door cabinet that will house a total of 6 pull out drawers-wahoo. Our friend Dave is in the process of building the cabinets for us.  He does custom work for boats so I'm really excited to see the finished product .  And I can't wait to organize the drawers  with all my cookware and bakeware. I've been inspired by Monica,over at Just 5 Minutes More.  Her organizational skills are amazing-you need to check out her gorgeous blog too.

 It feels so good to see everything all neatly organized !

 I have already converted the hanging closet to a storage closet. I got the idea from the Class B forum for RV owners here.  And I found a wonderful site called Organize-It -they will cut the shelves to your custom dimensions-love that !  I did leave a little room to hang 2 jackets-remember we are downsizing,so we won't be carrying a different jacket for every season or whim. I'm sure my fashionista friends are gasping for breath right now and can't believe it. Now that I've finished putting up the shelves , I'm just waiting for the label maker from Amazon so I can go crazy labeling everything in the containers. Are you sensing a little OCD here ? Maybe just a little.

Photo from TheMotherHuddle.Com

My next project is to make these cute fabric storage baskets that I spotted on a blog called The Mother Huddle.  Click here to see her fabulous tutorial and to get an idea of what my finished product will look like. I'm not putting all 3 baskets on the same rod,each one of mine will have its own rod. I found some very cute beach motif type fabrics at Sew Fabulous Quilt Shop.

Fabric combinations for my hanging baskets

Ruby has a little beach theme going, since one of the first things I bought to make her our home was a darling flip flop quilt from the Company Store.

My favorite quilt

Next on my list of projects, is to finish the bathroom. Storage in there is very very limited .  One little slide out drawer and that is it.

See what I mean ? No bathroom storage

 So I found this great little wall organizer at Land of Nod.  I had planned on spray painting it a high gloss white but I liked the aqua color when it arrived,so until I get tired of it,it will stay aqua. Hanging it was definitely a challenge .  In an RV you don't have walls like you have at home so you really have to adapt and have a large collection of very short screws !  Now to keep it from clanging around while we are traveling, I'm going to put some heavy duty Velcro on the back of it,and more Velcro on the inside bathroom door  and it should be fine.

Land of Nod

Another small project that won't take long at all, is my plan to attach this cute little shelf I got from Urban Outfitters right below the TV.  When we wake up in the morning we like to have our coffee in bed and I'm always looking for a little place to set my coffee-this is perfect.

Urban Outfitters

And finally today I finished cutting up some material for place mats-I love this Glamping fabric I found at the West Seattle Fabric shop.  I'm in the process of making the place mats this week so I'll update you with pictures when they are finished.

West Seattle Fabric Shop Glamping !

My family thinks we are crazy for taking off in our little Ruby.  I think it's the beginning of a  marvelous adventure.  We have just about as much space as someone living on board a small boat. We've always lived in small houses so we've never been used to having more space than we know what to do with !  In Ruby, we have enough space to give each of us our own personal space when we need those quiet moments away from each other.  And when the weather is nice,well the entire outdoors is our kitchen,living room and dining room .

Hailey has her own little bed in the front of Ruby when we settle in for the night.  And the back doors are fully screened so we can sleep with the doors open if we choose.  We started our life together camping and and that's how we plan on celebrating our retirement. Come follow us on our adventure-our target to hit the road full time is December 2013 ! Fingers crossed that the house will sell this summer. We will also be looking for a place to settle down in when we are ready. In the meantime we will still be doing some trips -Oregon in May and back to Lopez Island in August and Montana in September.  Maybe the Methow in October-depends on the weather. One day at a time !

“One’s destination is never a place,

but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller