Mood Lighting

This is how we roll - - we like to hang out inside during a cold winter night in the desert, and we LOVE mood lighting. Off the grid - - warmth, music, low lights, good vibes! 

We bought these USB LEDs from Amazon, and really like them -- they're cheap, small, and put out a lot of color. These particular ones have a color selection switch on the side to match your mood, or they cycle through all the colors, reminding you of your last bender. We put them at all the USB ports in the van.

A moment of red in the front, blue in the back, apparently. (We also like the gold accent colors provided by LED candles, shown here.)

We find that the van is very dark at night, so we needed a night light. We bought another USB LED stick that is dimmable and puts out white light. (There is a surprising lack of USB-powered nightlights, by the way.) We use this one over the cooktop on its lowest setting, and it's just right. Sips power all night, provides lighting for the bathroom in the middle of the night, and remains cool to the touch in the morning.


One principle of usability is software is that you won't use a feature if it's not convenient, and the same is true with these lights. If we're always storing them in a packet in a drawer or cabinet, then it becomes an impediment to using them. I set out to solve that.

I gathered these materials...

And did this with the strip of elastic. I hated to put holes in the van, but they're very hard to see, and can easily be refilled with spackle at some later date. 

Problem solved - - they're always exactly where you need them, easily accessible for plugging and unplugging, and totally safe from being harmed. (This is the USB port over the cooktop, where we use both the color stick and the nightlight, so they're both mounted here, depending on the application.)