Using Things For An Unintended Purpose

If it doesn’t serve multiple purposes, it is worthless!

DIY-ing is one of my favorite hobbies -- you get to build the coolest things for the lowest price.

A key part of DIY is using items for unintended purposes. Thinking outside of the box at its finest.

In case you’re unfamiliar, I live in a sprinter van that I converted myself.

The great thing about living in this 108 sq ft van is that EVERYTHING inside of it serves multiple functions.

I literally don’t have the room for unnecessary things, so the more functions per item the better.

Just the other day my battery bank became too cold and stopped working. 

But here’s the thing, since I spend a ton of time chasing the snow I have plenty of tools to dry out my boots and gloves.

So I put my boot heaters next to the battery bank and let them warm it up. 

Nice!

This one was a last-minute use that was unplanned. 

Another function that the van serves is working out. I never thought I would work out on the floor of my van so frequently. But sure enough, it makes a convenient place to get exercise.

This is an unintended purpose of my van because I never thought the world would go into a global pandemic. And once all of the gyms shut down, I still needed exercise. As much as I love the snow, working out in single-digit temperatures is miserable. 

So I used the only space I had available, inside of my van. 

Another great function of my van is that the driver and passenger seats will turn around and provide additional seating. 

Although they are not complete right now, I planned for them to turn around in the building phase.

All in all, the more functions something serves, the more value it has to me.