pockets writes

The next six steps

Step 1: Design all the furniture for inside the van (started, incomplete).

Step 2: Build all the furniture for inside the van (started, incomplete).

Step 3: Get all my stuff into the built furniture (started, incomplete).

Step 4: Get rid of the stuff that doesn't fit (started, incomplete).

Step 5: Get rid of all of my non-van furniture (not started).

Step 6: Wait.

Step 1: Design

So far, I've designed:

I still need:

Step 2: Build

So far, I've built the bare bones of:

They're not finished, not yet structural, and still only held together by friction-fit joints.

Step 3: Stock

So far, I've stocked:

I'm still waiting on buying, cutting, and assembling a couple missing pieces of my document storage before stocking it, and there's an issue with the original design that means my hanging file folders won't fit inside it... so I need to decide what to do about that. (Most likely, I'll just skip the folders and use makeshift dividers cut to size instead, but I haven't made that call yet.)

Step 4: Purge

The purging has been going on for more than two years now. For all the books I've gotten rid of, none of my bookcases are empty yet.

Step 5: Purge more

This hasn't started yet, because I don't have any empty pieces of furniture yet.

But I'm getting close.
All that remains in my dresser are my short sleeved shirts.
Once I have their new home designed and built, my dresser will be freed up for adoption.

Two of my bookcases (out of four) are still cluttered with things which are not books, and I have one bookcase which is down to one shelf of books that I still need to make final judgments on.

The fourth bookcase is currently holding books and non-book things that will go into the van, just as soon as I design and build the place to put them.

Step 6: Wait

One day, I will move out of here.
It may be because I finally buy a van.
It may be because I'm moving into some other structure.

Unless I die before I can afford to live somewhere else and before my parents do, I will at some point move out of this house.

At which time, I'll need to move all my belongings out. If I don't have to pay someone or some company to haul out massive pieces of furniture, load them into a moving truck, drive the truck to the furniture's new home, and unload the truck, that's a decent hunk of change that I don't have to spend.

If I'm not moving into a van, and I build my van furniture to be disassembled, all I need is to rent a moving van, put all my furniture inside (it's fairly lightweight), put all my stuff inside, and move it to the new location. As long as that moving van is at least as large as a 1500-class Ram Promaster, everything will fit inside it just fine.

And from all my research into other folks' experiences with building vans, the largest delays are felt at two stages: designing and resupplying (figuring out where everything will go and waiting for the pieces you need to be available). Furthermore, the biggest regrets seem to stem from not thoroughly thinking through their design choices, not having some "trial period" before bolting everything down.

I won't have those issues.
I'm building now before I buy the van. I will have time to "live" in and with my design choices before I bolt anything down, which means I'll have the freedom to change anything that doesn't work for me.

In theory, I could even build a hammock stand that will allow me to literally live inside my design choices (though most likely it would be a wood frame instead of steel or aluminum).

I have the freedom right now to have the forethought.
To do things "out of order".
But to allow me to do them right.
To minimize my regret.

Leave a comment or continue reading: more vanlife.

Written by a human, not by AI

#[date-d friday] #[date-m 06] #[date-ym 202606] #[html b] #[html br] #[html hr] #[html i] #[html li] #[html ul] #date-y 2026] #vanlife