Yesterday I visited Val and Sundara and saw my minivan K again after more than a month. The year-end, me being away for 2 weeks in Istanbul and the recent floods have limited what they could do, but they laid the foundations for what can and will be done over the next two weeks. I had the brilliant idea of putting the fridge behind the driver's seat below the sink top counter instead of behind the passenger's seat, which was a bad idea. So yeah, back to the drawing board!
I also decided that the I needed to level the floor instead of having it slope downwards towards the front. This would give me less vertical space in the van when I sit, but hey, I'm only 173cm and I can sit and work with my knees bent, and it won't have an impact when I turn the sofa into bed-mode and lie down to sleep.
The elevated flooring will give me extra storage space below the floor, and a recessed area at the side where I can place my dirty shoes and trap mud and dirt instead of getting the whole floor dirty. I like things to be clean, and I can already imagine dust, mud, snow and dirt clinging onto my shoes and I don't want to spend too much time sweeping, wiping and cleaning the floor each time.
The initial draft physical build by Sundara and the boys for the sink counter gave the basis for reimagining and changing the design to be more in line with what Eric Enjoys Earth did (please check his channel out - he is awesome and he shares so many good tips), and I need more drawers and storage areas, plus an extended L-shaped extension that would allow me to put the water filter, a mini-rack and drawers that can be opened from both inside and outside the van, which would kinda look like this.
Yeah, and the fridge needs to be moved back where it belongs, behind the passenger's seat. We are going to try to see how far we can lift it up so I can have an additional open cubby/storage space below the fridge for stuff too.
Once this is sorted, the next would be the side cabinet, and finally the sofa/bed mechanism. Thereafter, the cushions and electrical. I'm going basic on the electrical - USB rechargeable lights, in-built inverters from the EcoFlow River Pro, charged via the 12V outlet at the back and via solar panels on the roof. The installation should be by February, and then March for testing and final servicing - changing the brake disks, new tyres and such. Meanwhile, back in the Bat Cave I will start packing my stuff and putting them aside for a yard sale and to be given away, and only keeping only things that I will be bringing with me and all that I can't leave behind.
It will be interesting - Marie Kondo-ing not only my house, but everything I have accumulated and built my life around so far. Letting go will be hard, but one day we all have to, don't we? This is just good practice, and practice is always good!
Warbaby
5.1.2022