What's In Your Broom Closet?

Before and now pictures of my broom closet.

The one on the left was taken in late 2009 when I bought my 1994 motorhome.

Behind the window valance is a rollup shade. The soap dish is falling apart, but I found a new brass one at a thrift shop for cheap.

The toilet seat (beneath the lid) never looked clean no matter what I did to sterilize and clean it. The sun had randomly yellowed it.  My dear sweet friend accidentally broke the toilet seat hinges while we were on a trip together. I was thrilled to have an excuse to replace it. Now I had a nice white seat and lid that came clean and looked appealing with sturdier hinges.

One day for $1.00 I found the fluffy toilet lid cover at Dollar Tree. I also paid $1 for my blue broom. They didn't have the color I wanted, but I guess for $1 one can't be too picky about such matters.  Now it looks kind of cool next to the patriotic star emblazoned scarf.  Actually the scarf was another $1 find. I've had fun wearing it to tie up my long hair, riding my red bicycle with it blowing out behind my back.

Eventually the original 1994 window shade broke. It wouldn't spring up anymore.  It was stuck in the down and dark position, making the broom closet very gloomy by day.  Instead of replacing it, I removed the shade and valance.  The valance has been repurposed as a shelf on the wall underneath my dining booth.

Waste not want not.

The stained glass window is a unique film that is very realistic. You can buy it in assorted patterns at this link  then cut to size. It can be easily removed because only static cling holds it in place. Every time I open the door to the broom closet, that beautiful sun filled window makes me smile. I have both privacy and beauty.

At night, when the bathroom light comes on, the window shows up colorfully on the outside but still affords privacy inside.

The little black box that sits on the brass soap dish is actually a cute little 200 watt ceramic heater.

I added this to the bath because mostly I can't afford to use the forced air propane furnace that has a nice vent in the bathroom to warm it up. Electricity is included at most all camp sites, but propane costs extra. The furnace can suck up a lot of propane in a hurry. My tank is built-in so I would be driving every few days to go top up the propane for heat, so I use electricity for heat. But when it's below 40F degrees, I have to supplement the electric heat with the propane anyhow.

I use a small cylindrical 1500 watt ceramic heater to warm up the rest of the motorhome. I can only use one because the 30 amp electrical situation in my motorhome won't allow two.

This left the broom closet very cold and chilly until I found this magical heater. At only 200 watts, it won't trip any breakers. The bath is so small that it works well to keep it quite toasty when needed.

I've never been able to rip out the old carpet in the broom closet though the rest of the motorhome is minus carpet now. I have cleaned it up as best I can (it's 19 years old) and added more rugs on top of it. These I am able to wash, dry and replace, so at least they are clean. I figure this helps keep the bathroom warm too.  No cold air coming through the floor in there.  It's on my long list of things to do, to one day take out the carpet and replace with new something. I fear the toilet has to come out first.  That just doesn't sound like much fun so I constantly find reasons to put it off.

Overhead, unseen is the standard fart fan provided in most all motorhomes. Mine died last year and had to be replaced. It also removes steam or moisture from the shower, so it really isn't an option but rather a necessity.

My compact washing machine (not shown) hooks into the sink faucet. The sink faucet was ill designed and apparently installed by the factory in the wrong place.  Somebody didn't measure very well! It's too far away from the tiny sink. It made it hard to wash hands without making a big wet mess all over the counter.

The old faucet would never clean up pretty. I found an RV bar faucet with a U shaped faucet (right picture). It's still too far from the sink, but I put two swivels on the end of the faucet, that enables it to aim the water towards the center of the sink. A huge improvement! There is a quick-connect fitting for the washing machine added to the faucet so I can hook or unhook the little clothes washer in 3 seconds.

The washing machine sounds like a lavish luxury, but it has saved me a huge bundle of quarters and gas money. My workamping doesn't provide access to any laundry services. Many of the campgrounds I go to do not have this either, so being able to wash my clothes is a huge money saving bonus. It also means I can own fewer clothes so that my 14 inch wide closet and 3 small drawers are adequate for my summer and winter wardrobe.

Living efficiently can snowball into big savings.

Once the carpet was ripped out of the rest of the motorhome, I put down vinyl tile and bought a broom. The only place to store the broom was in the bathroom, so I renamed it the broom closet as a joke.

When non-RV friends visit and ask where the bathroom is, I gleefully tell them it's in the broom closet.

Living compactly in a little old motorhome has been surprisingly fun. A friend once told me it took about 2 years to settle into a home and feel cozy.

Well, time flies when you're clueless. I've been in my little old wheel estate for three and a half years. Amazing!

And I still love it.

Life is goof!