My Morning Routine

This morning I woke up a little after 6am. I had set my cell phone alarm for 7am but my bladder had other ideas this morning. It was still dark outside and the birds hadn't started their morning songs yet so I knew it was still pretty early. I poked my arms out from under my blankets and was happy that it wasn't too cold this morning. I'm not burning my wood stove yet because it gets the tent too damn hot this time of year. Instead, I'm using the kerosene heater, which means that mornings are cold in the tent.

I had slept well the night before. I always sleep well at my place, especially this time of year. I love the cold nights, just not the cold mornings. My bed is soft and warm and piled high with bedding. There's a futon mattress at the bottom, then a down comforter and a soft blanket. Then me. Then another soft blanket. Then two sleeping bags zipped together and stuffed inside two heavy fleece blankets that are also zipped together. Then a poly comforter, and finally another sleeping bag on top. I'm never cold at night.

My winter bed

But I sure get cold in the morning.

My morning routine takes about 90 minutes, but the first 30 minutes are all about warming things up. Warming up the tent. Warming up some bathing water. And warming up myself with a hot cup of coffee.

The first thing I do is jump out of bed, run over to the propane cook stove, and light both burners. That starts heating up the tent.

Propane cook stove puts out some quick heat in the morning

Then I go out onto the stoop and light the kerosene heater. It gives off a lot of fumes when it's first lit so I let it burn outside while I run back in and jump back into bed for a 5 minute snooze.

That's the coldest part of my morning. As I snooze and wait for the kerosene heater to burn clean out on the stoop, the propane stove begins warming the tent, so the next time I get out of bed it's 10 degrees warmer. This morning, that meant 50 degrees inside instead of 40, which wasn't bad.

After my first snooze, I get up a second time, run out to the stoop, grab the kerosene heater and bring it inside, and jump back into bed for my second snooze.

Kerosene heater in the early morning hours

That's it for the painful part. I snooze a second time for 10 minutes or so while the kerosene brings the tent up to 70 degrees or so. Then it's time to start getting ready.

The third time I get up, it's nice and warm in the tent. I put on a pot of coffee and a pot of bathing water.

Coffee and bathing water on the stove

It takes about 15 minutes to perk the coffee and heat the water, so I brush my teeth, use the toilet, maybe exercise a little, and wake up a bit. By now the sun has started to rise and the birds are singing. I check the temperature. It's still 40 degrees outside, but now it's creeping up toward 80 in the tent. That's bathing temperature.

Once the coffee is ready, I move the kerosene heater closer to the vanity and sit the coffee pot on top of it to keep it warm.

Keeping the coffee warm

Now comes bath time. I put the pot of bathing water on the vanity and start washing up.

Wash tub and warm bathing water

I take sponge baths, starting with my face and hair, then my underarms. Next, I put the wash tub on the floor and stand in it while I pour water over my entire body. Finally, I squat over the tub and wash my...other parts.

With my bath finished, my morning routine is about done. I get dressed, wipe up the vanity, and take the waste bucket from my toilet out to the tree bog. I take the kerosene heater back out to the stoop and shut it down as I leave for the day.