Vandwelling 101 - Mornings & Comfort

I'm in my van and even in New Mexico it's really chilly in the morning.

Tip # 1: park facing east. Passive solar helps heat the van in the morning.

I always wake up having to pee in a cold van. No problem, my windows are covered at night for privacy and it helps keep heat in.

If I've parked at Wal-Mart or another business, I move the van to a daytime parking spot. It can be a park, Starbucks, McDonald's, or even a non residential street parking spot.

Next my Chihuahua goes out on her leash attached to the van.

Now, time to warm up van. I pull out my two burner Ozark trails propane stove and put coffee on. I always unscrew the propane canister from the stove. I've had one leak in the travel trailer from movement. It only takes a moment to take it off or put it on. I always stow my stove before moving the van. It literally takes about one minute.

While my coffee heats, I make breakfast for Mona the Chihuahua. My breakfast is usually a pastry or empanadas.

I leave the stove on, a window cracked half an inch.

This morning I'm being lazy. Most mornings I've already made bed and neatly folded the lap quilts I use to cover/insulate windows.

Trash bag gets tied shut, potties next to the door. Next is go to a park with vault toilet or portapotty.

Trash gets taken out, potty jugs emptied. I'll cover safe sanitary methods of dealing with human waste in a separate blog post.

I love the difference in pace that vandwelling offers me. I'm sipping my coffee, Mona is enjoying her sun nap and it's a good morning in Van Land.