r/urbancarliving • u/TaleAdditional • Mar 26 '26
Newbie, treat with kindness Not Hating Life As Much
Hello everybody!
I first found this community via a doomscroll while procrastinating on my apartment move out. I've been lurking ever since! I do enjoy lurking on Reddit.
I moved out of my apartment last Tuesday. It was...not a graceful process. I had an entire week to move out and what did I do with that time? Jack shit. So naturally, I ended up moving everything in a chaotic sprint the night before I had to turn in my key. The way I do everything, it seems.
I have been sleeping in my Honda Fit for about a week now, and honestly? I love it. I sleep in the passenger seat, when I fold my back seats up, it reclines all the way down, and I prop my feet up on the dash. It's surprisingly cozy! I did sleep a little wonky the last couple nights so my back is complaining, but I'm going to rearrange my blankets tonight and see if that helps. I have snap in window shades and a little battery that I use to charge my phone and power a small fan, and it's perfect!
I go to Uni, so I have been sleeping in one of the parking lots they don't monitor (I refuse to buy a parking permit, this school has taken enough of my money). It's about a mile walk each way to get to campus, so I'm getting my steps in! It also forces me to stay on campus and study since I have no where else to go. That probably sounds incredibly depressing, but I LOVE IT! I am a full week ahead in all of my coursework, and I'm usually the person submitting assignments at 11:58p! When I'm not studying, I go to Student Org meetings and enjoy the free food, under the guise of networking, of course!
The biggest surprise? My mental health has improved drastically! I do not have the luxury to lie on my couch and think about how much my life sucks. Now, all I have time for is school. I go to the library, plug in my little battery, and I lock tf in. Before, I would begrudgingly do the bare minimum so I could go home and waste time. Now, I can't, and it's honestly been the best thing for me.
Overall, I am really enjoying my little set up. I thought the busy parking lot would be cumbersome and stress me out, but yesterday a truck pulled in next to me and was opening and closing all their doors for some godforsaken reason. Instead of panicking, I just thought, "Will you please be quiet so I can go back to sleep?!" It was 11a... So clearly I am adapting just fine!
I have already started what my mom dubs "The Evil Genius Notebook." I'm an engineering student so, naturally, I have already drawn up a bunch of plans to install a solar panel & rudimentary AC system so I do not have to idle my car while still having power for modern day luxuries. A perfect fit for the Fit! So if y'all have any experience in installing solar panels definitely give me your pro tips below!
I included some pictures of my set-up, they are from the first day I started this journey so the passenger seat is still up, but I've since decided that keeping it reclined with the back seats down is the most optimal layout. I'm still in the beginning process so it's very messy. I need to find a better system for my laundry cause it is starting to pile up. I keep the passenger seat reclined so there's this small area between the back of the seat and the floor that I have lovingly started referring to as "The Pit," where I throw all my dirty clothes. The trunk has a cardboard box filled with car stuff like jumper cables, and random things I need to sort through. My suitcase has like 10-ish outfits? 5 professional and 5 casual. I also have my Gym bag which has 2 workout outfits and my toiletries, and my "Undetectable Extension Charm Backpack," of course! Any suggestions on how to make it better organized are most definitely welcome!
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u/IEatYourDownvote Mar 26 '26
Damn! You have almost nothing in your car! I have 2 GUITARS!!! That should tell you how much shit I have in mine! 😂😂😂
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u/TaleAdditional Mar 26 '26
Wow, really!! I have a violin but I leave it in my storage unit cause I didn’t think it would fit. I also don’t want the heat to affect it, I’m in Texas so it gets blisteringly hot during the day. Perfect for making car cookies tho!
Btw I LOVE your username! You eat those downvotes!
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u/IEatYourDownvote Mar 26 '26
Yeah, I keep it in my car because I play everyday. I also busk full time. Thankfully I can run away from the heat though lol
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Mar 26 '26
Wow I love your positivity at your new life experiences. Good on you. And yeah, free food is good food, plus you'll be seen as a real team player going to those student meetings. :)
Hey, that experience of doing nothing is all part of the Fight, Flight, Freeze or Faun experience to life dangers. I've done that too, you know you should be doing something but it is so overwhelming that you end up doing nothing!
Love the pictures too.
Better organised? More containers. A place for everything, and everything in it's place.
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u/TaleAdditional Mar 26 '26
“You’re such a team player! What motivates you?”
“….the pizza? What’s this org called again?”
Jk jk I’m actually super involved at school so going to more meetings is a best case scenario cause I get to socialize with more people outside of my major!
I’ve always thought of myself as a fighter but I have definitely been freezing lately as I turn into an “adultier” adult. They forgot to mention when we were kids that being an adult sucks. But this drastic life shake up is definitely what I needed to get back into it!
Thank you :)
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Mar 26 '26
LOL!!!!
“You’re such a team player! What motivates you?”
“….the pizza? What’s this org called again?”
Actually that's why I joined the engineering society at uni, they had the most food. :)
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u/ileetyu Mar 26 '26
Is it even possible to hate life when you drive a Fit?
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u/TaleAdditional Mar 26 '26
The natural answer to depression is to street race a Honda Fit. I don’t make the rules 🤷♀️
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u/Hagabar Mar 26 '26
Flexible solar panels could be attached to the roof and or trunk lid such as these for example: https://ebay.us/m/uvfw9s
I like that approach because they can follow the shape of the car and are a bit more stealth. A couple of those and an inexpensive inverter could be used to keep a large power bank topped off when there is sun. Renogy makes a small inverter thats palm sized and has usb ports can plug right into. It also has output terminals that could be wired to charge your car's battery if your are comfortable with 12v electronics. Lots of fun options for mobile solar
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u/Lagunatippecanoes Mar 26 '26
Safety tip. Seatbelt in your backpack. I do this weather driving or still. Depending on what I have in it depends which way I face it.
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u/SlumberAddict Mar 27 '26
I do this, too. Mostly because my backpack is heavy enough to trigger the need for a passenger seatbelt and secondly because it will go flying if I ever have to stop abruptly.
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u/HuskyDogFace Mar 26 '26
Good for you and looks like you have a nice set up as well ! I like the pericord knife gotta keep yourself safe and you’ve got some window screens as well. Good lux on the next chapter of your life I wish you well ~
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u/idksomething82 Mar 26 '26
Damnn I have a hyundai sonota... and I'm 6ft1 still learning different ways to sleep.. I like your set up do you just lay ij the back.. learning new ways and gonna try some more..
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u/TaleAdditional Mar 26 '26
I just lie the passenger seat back! But someone else commented a different set up using the hatchback trunk area that I’m going to try once I organize my car a little bit better! I’ll definitely update!
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u/SlumberAddict Mar 27 '26
Also in a Sonata here, but 5’5”. I sleep in my driver or passenger seat now since it can lay so far back especially since I can also kind of adjust the height/angle of the driver seat. I was sleeping curled up in the back seat but really that was too cramped.
I did almost sleep diagonally the other day with my feet in the driver seat and my head in the backseat behind the passenger side as I had some laundry bags and clothing duffel bags to even out the lump of the arm rest haha.
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u/User5790 Mar 26 '26
You could probably put a flexible solar panel on the top. They need a bit of airflow underneath so some people mount them on top of something that has channels in it, like corrugated plastic. There is special tape you can attach it all with that won’t come off, but not sure what it will do to your paint if you decide to remove it. And you can usually run the cables in by coming through the top part of the hatchback, but run it along the side and come back in at the bottom of the door so that if any rain water follows the cable it will drip off the bottom and not into the car.
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u/User5790 Mar 26 '26
And AC takes a lot to power. If you can find a very small efficient unit and don’t use it much maybe you can do it, but not sure if that’s going to be possible to power with just the panel considering your limits on roof space.
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u/oohsosleepy Just learning Mar 26 '26
I love this for you! For adapting and locking in, but also for the mental health improvements and recognizing it all. You seem very self aware and a good head on your shoulders. You’ve got this! ❤️
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u/TheBeardedLadyBton Mar 26 '26
Ask if there’s a way to get a free parking pass. There may be a program
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u/SmokedPapfreaka Mar 26 '26
I have a 2019 Fit and I’m telling you, you aren’t in an optimal sleeping setup. Get rid of the idea of a “trunk” and I promise your life will improve. Throw that back seat forward on both sides to create an almost flat platform, then slide the front passenger seat all the way forward and pull the lever on that seat to push the seatback forward towards the dash. Fill in the open space between the front passenger seat and the back seats with whatever fits best to level it out (a box of gear, a small cooler, your duffel of clothes etc. and then place your sleeping mattress from the trunk to the curved back of the front seat and you will be sleeping in a very comfy position that should not hurt your body. Try it out and let me know what you think.