Homer – Fall Nesting

Fall has traditionally been a nesting time for me. Back in Minnesota, I would always spend some time purging, cleaning and getting ready for the long, cold winters. It was also a time to remove all my summer/fall decor and clutter and change over to a more neutral pallet prior to the big Holiday decorating time. For me, this is no different even when living in a tiny home. Since we consider St. Augustine our home port and spend the majority of our time doing our annual health appointments, this is a perfect location for me to do my yearly “nest”.

I typically focus on neutralizing my colors throughout homer and then adding layers for warmth and that cozy feeling that I love during the winter months. I use this pallet in the fall and again after the holidays. In addition to the softness, if there are any of the basic/hard items we need to update, that takes place during this time as well.

One of the big things that drove me nuts about this camper, was the quality of the sheet vinyl flooring that came installed. No matter how many times I vacuumed, swept, scrubbed, stripped and waxed it, it always felt gritty and held onto all those little paw prints of dirt. After having already replaced all the carpet I could in the bedrooms and slides with an adhesive vinyl plank that closely matched the existing sheet vinyl, I decided it was time to just swap it all out.

One special note – If we were going to still use our camper only part time and let it “hard freeze” back in Minnesota, I would have selected a different type of flooring. For whatever reason, the adhesive on these planks doesn’t hold up so well to freezing temps. Since we live in Homer full-time, there’s no reason not to use a good quality adhesive vinyl. In previous RV’s, I had swapped out existing flooring for a floating floor, which was fine and looked good, but did have a tendency to move on me whenever we moved the camper.

The other two items I updated, were my hanging lamps in the living room for a softer, more diffused light, and my curtains. My previous curtains were put together with hem tape, which works great until you wash them and then you have to iron them and add tape again. I opted for a gauzier material this time that when closed, we still get the light but it does make it a little harder for the pups to look out and bark at squirrels when we aren’t around. I was fortunate at the last park we stayed at, they had a sewing/quilting room and was able to use a sewing machine to hem them up. For a winter look, I also cut down a shower curtain I found in a gray pinstripe and added side panels that I can remove for spring/summer.

Going Neutral

Homer does not have enough storage to carry items we will only use once or twice a year. Unfortunately, that means there is no carpet steam cleaner to clean my rugs when the pups have issues. Spot cleaning works well, but at some point, you just have to call it and replace the rug. This is exactly why I use area rugs and inexpensive ones at that. I thought about moving towards a washable rug, but then I would have to search out a washing machine large enough to clean it. Besides, swapping it out yearly, gives me a chance to add some new color or neutrality to my homer.

Nesting for Fall

Going to neutral for me is easy. I do a few swap outs of items we use daily, and bingo, bango, bongo, I’m completely changed over. The items I usually focus on for my big switch are:

• Pillow covers
• Throw blankets
• Table mats/doilies
• Bedding

These are also the same items I carry with us all the time as they fold flat and weigh next to nothing. The bonus is no cost to make these changes each year and yet, Homer feels completely different. I talked about how when you sit in one room, you can see all the way through Homer, so whatever I do in the living area, I also do in the bedroom

Now that I have wrapped up the changes to the “pretty” part of Homer and feel like I am ready for a happy holiday season when it arrives, I can also work on the items that broke during our last few trips. The inside fridge ice maker, the awning arm and the dryer. Sigh, just like a regular house, there’s always something that needs to be done to keep it in tip top shape.

Enjoy your fall season and remember to neutralize before the big holiday decorating season, It certainly makes it go smoother for me.

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