RVing

by

New Stovetop Cover and a Cleaning Arsenal

Miranda came with a really ugly and useless stovetop cover made from what I presume is a piece of countertop:

You can’t set anything hot on it, nor can it be used as a cutting board. I used it as a surface for my cutting mats until I added the new counter. Since then, it’s been available as an extra surface ‘just in case’, but it’s usually in the way and not even stored on the stove unless I’m traveling.

Tonight, I was clearing out one of the new cabinets in search of space for the rice cooker when I came across a big cutting board I just about forgot I have:

A light bulb went on and all of two minutes later I had this:

I cleaned the cutting board well and then rubbed mineral oil into it to hydrate it. I’ll do this once a day until it looks healthy again. It’s important to use mineral, not vegetable or olive, oil because mineral oil doesn’t go rancid.

End result:

Finally, I wanted to share my new, pared down, cleaning arsenal. I’m still working my way through bottles of commercial products, but, with one exception, will not be buying any more.

The white bottle holds a mixture of water, vinegar, and a drop of dish soap (Dawn) for cutting grease. That’s really all you need to clean. For scouring power, I add baking soda (not shown). I will be adding a blue bottle with a straight water and vinegar mix for washing windows when I get through my bottle of commercial window cleanser. The yellow bottle holds Nature’s Miracle, an enzymatic cleanser that eliminates pet odours. I use it to clean the cab, where I have carpet that is sometimes the victim of cat accidents.

For years now, I’ve heard about the wonders of microfiber cloths, but never found any that worked for me, until I stumbled on some in the automotive aisle at Walmart. The green ones come in packs of two and are finer, meant for glass, and I also use them for electronics and mirrors. The blue and white ones come in packs of eight (four of each colour). I use the white ones for the kitchen, including  the dishes, and the blue for cleaning, including the floors. I really like these cloths because they not only absorb water, but also really trap dirt and fur.

Reducing the amount of cleaning products, rags, and dishcloths I have is giving me a lot of under counter space in both the dressing room and the kitchen, and the money savings are phenomenal, what with a huge container of vinegar being about a buck, a box of baking soda about fifty cents, and dish soap a buck and a half on sale (just don’t buy it in Dawson–$6!).

by

It Sucks!

I took the new shop vac out of the box tonight and it took a half hour to get it going. I’m so brain tired that the instructions might as well have been in Chinese! I finally figured out how to open it up and install the filter and then I had it pick up saw dust and kitty litter. WOW! That thing is super powerful!

The shop vac comes with a crevice tool and a wide pick up tool. You can also buy accessory kits for it, one of which has a furniture brush. The basic tools were good for my needs, but I liked the micro accessory kit for electronics. So, I got the shop vac and the accessory kit for just a dollar more than I would have paid for the shop vac only in Canada.

micro accessory kit for shop vac

My only complaints so far are the same ones that all the reviewers have–the cord and hose are very short and the unit is tippy.  I also discovered that you can go from dry vacuuming to wet, but not vice versa because the filter has to dry out. I’m glad I read instructions. 🙂

I also found a place for it. It’ll fit in the loft at the head of the bed. Not ideal, but storage in a motorhome rarely is!

by

Walmart Run

Donna needed to go to Omak today, so I agreed to chauffeur. I took the opportunity to pick up a shop vac I’d seen at the Walmart in Penticton. There, it was $35 (plus 12% tax) and I found the same one in Omak for $24!

It’s a small (one gallon) wet-dry vac. My hand vac died recently and I knew why–I’d been using it like a shop vac. So, replacing it with a normal vacuum cleaner didn’t make sense. I debated whether or not to even replace the vacuum, but considered what I need to clean up from the renos I just did and realised that having a vacuum on hand was a good idea.

The reviews for this machine are excellent, which is great since it only comes in at 720 watts, making me wonder how much sucking power it really has.  I just hope I can find a place to store it since it is about twice as big as the old hand vac!

by

Loft Improvements

This is a before and after post, but I’m not calling it that since I was more focused today on insulating the windows than getting the curtains finished. Otherwise, the space is DONE!

The loft was another area of the rig that completely justified doing renovations. At this point, I estimate that my interior renos, including furniture and appliances, will end up costing me about $1,800. I’m at about $1,500 right now, not counting the Eternabond and the dehumidifier. That’s not very expensive when you consider that a) my space is more functional and b) ripping things out enabled me to find leaks that might not otherwise have been detected until they turned into major structural problems.

The end result for the loft was to have it be less damp and to add a mildew-resistant paint to the walls. That was it. I wound up having to put in a new floor, too, but it was still a pretty easy reno, regardless of the delay, and Eternabond not withstanding, I didn’t bust the budget getting things fixed.

It’s still damp up there, but it’s a different sort of dampness because it’s just window condensation rather than stagnant water from a leak. I will have to do more on the windows if I spend another winter in a cold, damp climate, but I wouldn’t consider that I have a problem at this point.

So, the loft at purchase:

Make a note of the too short, hospital-green curtain pushed in at the right there.

The loft about a year ago, after I added the pallets:

The loft after I emptied it at the start of the renos:

Same corner of the loft after I started to pull away wet material:

And that corner again with new flooring and the wall dried out:

And now…

The new quilt was a complete indulgence. I badly wanted something that would tie in all my colour choices and started looking at about the same time I moved into the rig. It took two years to find the ‘perfect’ quilt, and it was just $20, and at the Walmart in Omak of all places! At that price, I decided to indulge.

The fleece over it is, of course, for the kitties! 😀

The ugly and too short hospital green curtain has been replaced by three dark green insulated curtains, the gorgeous colour of which doesn’t photograph well.

The instructions on them say DO NOT IRON, so I apologize for creases. 😀 I’ll try to steam them in the shower one night. These curtains were an amazing find by Donna. There is no way I could have made insulated curtains for $11 a panel.

This is what I intend to do for the other two windows:

Just a cheap polyester shower curtain (ie. something that can get wet without mildewing!) that I cut, hemmed, and added snaps to. I’ll be redoing that one; it was a test. Polyester is VERY hard to work with!

Notice the shelf above the window?

All I did was:

1) flip a window valance around so the top became the bottom and secure it above the window;
2) cut a piece from the big window valance to fill in the front;
3) glue and nail the front piece to the valance.

I’ve always had a shelf for storing things at night, but had to remember to move the things when I hit the road. Now, I don’t have to worry. Easy mod that will really increase the livability of the space!

My only disappointment with the redo is that to fit the dehumidifer in a practical location, I had to relegate the suitcase to the foot of the bed, so I lost my headboard and now have an item that is purely ‘stored’ instead of being used actively. And, no, sleeping with my head at the other end of the bed is not an option because of the ladder placement. And, no, moving the ladder is not an option because of reading chair placement. 🙂

Here’s the dehumidifier:

How perfect a place for it is that? It’s space that I never used and I will never have to worry about the dehumidifer when I’m traveling. I have plenty of room to pull out the bucket of water, which I can empty out the window! I did consider the option of making a hole in the wall for attaching a drain hose, but I don’t see any reason to do that when I can empty the bucket so easily.

You may notice the less than crisp edge on the yellow in that last picture; it’s so that there will be a less obvious delineation between the paint jobs in the library and loft.

Both kitties are thrilled with the new space and happy to lie on their fleece blankets:

I’m really happy with this reno and cannot believe what a burst of colour can do to my mood.