Sweeten the Sleep Space in Your Camper with Thermal Blackout Curtains (How to Pimp Your Pop-Up #2)

Too much light when trying to sleep. That's a conundrum. And it applies in my current situation of living full-time (albeit temporarily) in a RV. I cannot complain about our lot in the park. When the sun goes down, it's pretty difficult to see your hand in front of your face. But! My work schedule requires me to sleep some during the daylight hours. And the number of those hours increases with the coming of long summer days.

Just today, I took a nap from 2 - 3:30 p.m. in full 80° sun. No worries, though. I was in comfortably cool semi-darkness. (We were having highs in the fifties just a couple of days ago. Is this not the weirdest transition into spring ever?)

My solution? Thermal blackout curtains. To be more specific, a set of these solid thermal insulated blackout curtains in navy. Each panel is 84 inches long and 52 inches wide -- a perfect fit for each side of the queen-size bunk end of the camper.

Here's a before pic of one side:

And here are a couple with the thermal blackout curtains up. (Taken before the back was covered to compare and show how no light is getting through the curtain.)

Please forgive the mismatched pillows and such in this one! I won't be winning any prizes for interior decorating anytime soon.

The best thing about this idea is it's not permanent. We tucked one end of each panel behind the bunk end braces, and the other ends were simply clipped in place with 2 in. spring clamps like these, described as having "strong gripping, spring-action jaws".

I got the curtains at more than 50% off retail, and the clips I already had. Minimal expense for a sweeter sleep space!

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Shared at The {Not Just} Homemaking Party, the Making a Home - Homemaking Linky, Teach Me Tuesday, Tuesdays with a Twist, and some of these fine hops.

We Got Blinds! (How to Pimp Your Pop-Up #1)

When we first got Destiny, I started scouring the 'net for ideas on little cheap improvements I could make to spiff her up a bit. But the first idea was all my own (though I'm certainly not the first to have it): I wanted to treat the "windows" with blinds.

I chose to leave the curtains up just for added insulation, though it's obviously quite minimal. They also provide a nice pop of color behind (or beside) the blinds. I could have opted for colored blinds, but, well, they cost more so I didn't.

I think the blinds made a nice, inexpensive upgrade. It's a cleaner look inside and out. I also have more control over the light coming in, as well as how much someone (from the outside) can see. The black screens are neat in that you cannot see in from the outside at an angle. With the blinds, we are controlling what can be seen straight on. (I hope that makes sense.)

B simply attached the blinds to the same rail that holds the curtains.  (And I helped!)

Cool, huh? Do you have any camper hacks to share?

Shared at Homemade Mondays, Monday Funday, and some of these fine hops.