Favorite Camper Organization Tips and Tricks

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

There's some good stuff in this article...

http://tiphero.com/genius-ways-to-organize-your-closet-and-drawers/?pp=No

 

Have any of you tried any of these or do you have any tips and tricks of your own for maximizing space and keeping things organized in your RV?

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

So many good ones and many I do at home. Some things I like to do in the camper. I buy the long flat storage buckets for the under storage. I label the front with what is inside. This way I can cram a bunch of little things in and yet be able to get to it quickly.

I organize the childrens clothing by days and place in grocery bags. I leave out the shorts. When it is time to get ready I just pull that days bag and they are set. Make laundry eadt too.

I also store the sewer hose in the back bumper. Never knew that little spot existed and it just rocked my world once discovered.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Has anyone ever modified their dinette to take advantage of the storage underneath more easily?

 

We have a U dinette with a lot of storage under it, but it's a hassle to get in there (have to take cushions and plywood off), so I don't really use it.

 

We've contemplated adding doors to the side and maybe some sort of sliding tray or even just long plastic storage boxes that we could easily slide in/out, but I'm leery of cutting into anything.

[Travisma 1,317]

So many good ones and many I do at home. Some things I like to do in the camper. I buy the long flat storage buckets for the under storage. I label the front with what is inside. This way I can cram a bunch of little things in and yet be able to get to it quickly.

I organize the childrens clothing by days and place in grocery bags. I leave out the shorts. When it is time to get ready I just pull that days bag and they are set. Make laundry eadt too.

I also store the sewer hose in the back bumper. Never knew that little spot existed and it just rocked my world once discovered.

We tried that on our trip to NY (stayed in hotels) with our 2 GD's.  Kind of worked.  They would rather pick their own clothes out.

 

We were lucky in the fact that I had a lot of large zip lock bags I brought home that the computer accessories are packed in.  I save them to use for organizing camping supplies (not food though).

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Has anyone ever modified their dinette to take advantage of the storage underneath more easily?

We have a U dinette with a lot of storage under it, but it's a hassle to get in there (have to take cushions and plywood off), so I don't really use it.

We've contemplated adding doors to the side and maybe some sort of sliding tray or even just long plastic storage boxes that we could easily slide in/out, but I'm leery of cutting into anything.

Our dinette has doors at each end. I love it because I do not have to take the cushions off. I found this on Pinterest. If you look at the pictures you will see one of a dinette make over. http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/01/03/rv-sliding-storage-cargo-tray

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Has anyone ever modified their dinette to take advantage of the storage underneath more easily?

 

We have a U dinette with a lot of storage under it, but it's a hassle to get in there (have to take cushions and plywood off), so I don't really use it.

 

We've contemplated adding doors to the side and maybe some sort of sliding tray or even just long plastic storage boxes that we could easily slide in/out, but I'm leery of cutting into anything.

 

 

Our dinette has doors at each end. I love it because I do not have to take the cushions off. I found this on Pinterest. If you look at the pictures you will see one of a dinette make over. http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/01/03/rv-sliding-storage-cargo-tray

Mine is the same as Kristie - it came with doors and 1/2-size drawers at the front of each bench. We keep pots & pans in one and cooler bags in the other. Now that we've moved into the camper- we store more stuff down there:

- All of the extra paper plates, napkins, and plastic utensils go in a bin in one

- The ice maker in another

- We use the Ziplock vacuum seal bags for extra linens for guests and cold weather in the rear bench

- And currently have an open area (GASP!)

We use totes in our basement storage to keep things together. Most of my tools live in a tool bag (that is horribly heavy and terribly disorganized ). I recently upgraded fresh water hoses to those roll-flat hoses. I bought 3 x 10' sections and kept 1 section of regular 25' hose. For my black tank flush hoses (yes 2 because I have 2 sewer hookups and hate having to move stuff), I bought the shrinking hoses with metal ends (the metal end is important for longevity... supposedly). All told, I carry ~150 feet of hose in so much less space than before.

For sewer stuff, I made storage tubes out of vinyl fence post covers, caps, and a bit of gutter. I do this because I have to carry a good 40' of sewer hose. My "wye", 90-degree elbow for the campsite's sewer, and my sewer donut ride in their own little bin- though, I want to use heavy duty zip ties to tie down a battery box on the bumper and keep them in there. I use my rear bumper for my awning tie down poles.

We have something like this for our paper plates, plastic utensils, and napkins. It's convenient for taking everything in and out at one shot.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Metal-Wire-Picnic-Utensil-Flatware-Dish_1258619702.html

Bathrooms get lots of little bins for stacking and moving around. Everything in the shower lives in a bin that we move to the floor for travel.

Museum putty is showing up more and more to stick things down so that we don't have to move them for travel.

---

As for the article. The stacked t-shirts is great when they're all there. But start using them and they fall. Or am I missing something?

We do rollup our clothes for suitcases.

12. who has that many shorts??

15. hanging the suit cases is a great idea. I don't think any of my closets have been that tall- but still, a great use of space.

My wife's jewelry cabinet is about to become command hooks on the wall behind our door. We didn't bring one and right now it lives in a travel jewelry bag.

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

I was just thinking about adding doors to ours. I just need to find the right color to match.

 

Best Regards,

Norm

[Travisma 1,317]

 

12. who has that many shorts??

 

By the lack of material on the legs, a teenage to low 20 something skinny girl!

 

Living in FL, I think I have more shorts than big boy pants... but mine are close to knee length.

[keith_h 420]

We use plastic tubs to organize our food and to allow us to carry more of it since I can stack them in one of the cabinets under the sink. We also bought some of those restaurant utensil holders to keep our various kitchen tools easily accessed and organized in the back cabinet (it's about 8" deep).

 

We have a two person dinette and each seat is accessible from the the top but also has a pull down door. We load things we don't need often in the back through the top and our clothes through the door in the front. Again we use plastic tubs in the back or keep things like the portable heater and fan in their original boxes so it stays neat and organized.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Our dinette has doors at each end. I love it because I do not have to take the cushions off. I found this on Pinterest. If you look at the pictures you will see one of a dinette make over. http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/01/03/rv-sliding-storage-cargo-tray

 

Thanks Kristie!  That's what I'd love to do with ours.

 

My favorite bathroom trick is the shower curtain with the pockets. I hang it with the pockets on the inside.  Holds tons of stuff and as long as there's nothing too heavy in there, I just leave it all there when we're traveling.

 

I even leave the soap in there since the pockets are mesh and water doesn't collect in them so everything dries out pretty nicely.

 

Looks like they've got them on sale right now at JC Penney for $20

 

http://www.jcpenney.com/maytex-mesh-pockets-peva-shower-curtain/prod.jump?ppId=pp5005151536&selectedSKUId=74435310018&selectedLotId=7443531&fromBag=true&quantity=1&cm_mmc=ShoppingFeed-_-GooglePLA-_-Shower%20Curtains-_-74435310018&utm_medium=cse&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=shower%20curtains&utm_content=74435310018&gclid=CNLyo7-elccCFYMYHwod6y8J5w&kwid=productads-plaid^81646490018-sku^74435310018-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^45810122978

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Does anyone really have that much nail polish?

 

We have a freestanding dinette, so no storage space underneath.  But we are fortunate that the moho has lots of storage.  So much so that I don't think we will ever fill it all up.  At least not inside.  If we were traveling with children, that would be different.

 

But the bays are a different story.  David has them so stuffed that it's hard to get to anything.  He uses lots of storage tubs and, while they are probably necessary, they do take up a lot of space.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Does anyone really have that much nail polish?

 

LOL!

 

I probably have one kicking around the camper somewhere... and it's probably purple. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

LOL!

 

I probably have one kicking around the camper somewhere... and it's probably purple. 

 

I have two colors -- purple and pink.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Being in a small hybrid I have come up with a few ideas, one of my favorite was taken from a hint list for cruising.   The walls of a cruise ship are metal and magnets work wonderfully there.  I used magnetic hooks  to hold up a shoe bag, the kind with 12 divided  slots.  Was great on the ship and when we headed out on this last camping trip I used the over the door hooks that came with it to hang it from the bathroom door.  Yes, shoes did go in it, but also shampoo, and spray bottles for cleaning, pocket books, my phone charged in it just fine overnight, even had a few empty pockets.  I have a hanging shelf from Ikea for paper plates, cups etc.  That hangs on the edge of the back bunk.  Has to come down while traveling or it tends to fall down.

 

The shower has proved to be too small for our body types and we put that space to work as a closet.  We use 4 of the plastic drawer units to store our clothes. The drawers are various sizes.   If we need to bring 'fancy' clothes there is a closet rod installed the length our the shower above the drawers.  DH built a wooden frame to hold the drawer units in place and as we all know ... bungie cords are our friends!!   As long as they are not forgotten we are good.

 

Last year we took the cat, 18y at that time, for her first camping trip.  The dogs camp with us, she was always scared left at home alone and all the other cats had gone on over the rainbow bridge, so we figured, if she was going to be scared camping, at least we would be with her.  She did great!!!  But did look for hidey holes to 'camp' out in.  She showed us so much wasted space that I now have plans to cut walls, install doors, etc and make use of the space.  Of course now we find our floor is falling apart under our feet, good thing about the vinyl flooring, sorta holding it together.  Guessing some, if not all, the cabinets will need to be removed, so will give us a good chance to make it better storage wise.  Guess I better start looking for videos of floor repairs others have already done, maybe we won't make all the same mistakes.

 

We are back from a 2+ week trip to VA and the cat...btw her name is Danielle...had not forgotten the hidey hole.  DH had put some hardware clothe over her hole and she kept trying to get it off.  She would also go to each of the vents she had peeked out of last year.  We did give her the underneath of the kitchen sink area for hiding.  She is a good sport.

[FEARtheEERS 18]

We do a lot of hooks with dollar tree totes hanging from them, metal mesh baskets screwed onto the wall above the sink to hold silverware and paper plates. Over the door hooks. We also use sticker chalkboard labels to label what's in each door/drawer.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

My storage organization is plastic drawers in cabinets and closets and under the bed. My front closet has a 5 drawer unit for clothing. Under my bed I have a large drawer and two smaller drawers for clothing. In my kitchen I have a letter size set of drawers for silverware. In my upper kitchen cabinets, I have the really small drawers for oatmeal packets, hot chocolate packets, gravy, ink pens, crock pot liners, etc.

 

I have a very small shelf above some rear cabinets. I roll rain gear and hoodies/fleece and put them on that rear shelf. There is a cargo net in front of the shelf that holds them in place.

 

To get to the really hard to get to bench seats, I actually had outside hatches cut into the side of the trailer. I have a few command adhesive hooks in various places. I also put a rack in one of my kitchen cabinets for pots below and dishes above.

 

Shoes go in a tote that sits right outside the camper door.

 

If I need to bring work clothes that need hanging, I use a hang bar in the back seat of the truck.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I organize the childrens clothing by days and place in grocery bags. I leave out the shorts. When it is time to get ready I just pull that days bag and they are set. Make laundry eadt too.

I have done that with my kids as well.  When they were young, we would wear matching t-shirts each day to keep track of them.  I could just say find the bag with the yellow t-shirt and they would have the whole outfit.

 

When my 16yo was packing to go to Belize for a recent mission trip, he asked me to put together outfits with him and then we put each outfit in a plastic bag with everything he would need for the day.

 

When the 14yo was packing for the same trip, he just crammed everything he thought he might need in his suitcase.  LOL

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

When my 16yo was packing to go to Belize for a recent mission trip, he asked me to put together outfits with him and then we put each outfit in a plastic bag with everything he would need for the day.

 

When the 14yo was packing for the same trip, he just crammed everything he thought he might need in his suitcase.  LOL

 

And which one came back happier and with less laundry?

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

We are back from a 2+ week trip to VA and the cat...btw her name is Danielle...had not forgotten the hidey hole.  DH had put some hardware clothe over her hole and she kept trying to get it off.  She would also go to each of the vents she had peeked out of last year.

 

Too funny!  I remember you telling me about her prior adventures in hiding.  Apparently Danielle has an excellent memory. 

 

We also use sticker chalkboard labels to label what's in each door/drawer.

 

That's a cool idea!

 

I have a few command adhesive hooks in various places.

 

Shoes go in a tote that sits right outside the camper door.

 

We use quite a few of the command hooks in the bedroom.  We put shelving in our large closet to make better use of the space, but that means that we don't have any closet space long enough to hang coats and longer things.  The hooks fit the bill there.

 

Shoes in the camper are still the bane of my existence.  The compromise right now is that they go under the flip out counter in the kitchen, which is just a few steps from the door.  At least there I'm not tripping over them.

 

I'd love to get one of the spiffy storage solutions they have at IKEA like this, but I still haven't found a good place to put it...

 

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/hallway/10456/

 

Honestly when we're at the Fort, more often than not my shoes are on the mat outside. 

[TnBob 311]

Has anyone ever modified their dinette to take advantage of the storage underneath more easily?

 

We have a U dinette with a lot of storage under it, but it's a hassle to get in there (have to take cushions and plywood off), so I don't really use it.

 

We've contemplated adding doors to the side and maybe some sort of sliding tray or even just long plastic storage boxes that we could easily slide in/out, but I'm leery of cutting into anything.

I made drawers under my dinette, used the drop down doors as the fronts. Kathy kept her bigger pots and pans in them and they pulled out fully to access  all the way to the back without removing the cushions etc. I didn't have to cut anything or alter the look. Since doing that we have taken out the dinette and put in another sofa bed.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

Does anyone really have that much nail polish?

I'm fairly certain my 13 year old is working on it.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

I made drawers under my dinette, used the drop down doors as the fronts. Kathy kept her bigger pots and pans in them and they pulled out fully to access  all the way to the back without removing the cushions etc. I didn't have to cut anything or alter the look. Since doing that we have taken out the dinette and put in another sofa bed.

 

We've also considered taking it out altogether and replacing it with just a small table/chairs for 2 people and some extra storage space instead.

 

I don't think that project is happening this summer, but I'm still holding out hope for doors before we head south in a couple of months. 

 

I'm fairly certain my 13 year old is working on it.

 

:rofl2:

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

And which one came back happier and with less laundry?

Both came back seriously happy.  To tell the truth, neither of them had been thrilled to go.  They knew it was going to be hard work in 95% humidity and soaring temperatures.  All three of the offspring who went came back with injuries from working so hard.

 

But they came back thrilled with the friends they made in Belize and excited to go again next year.  My oldest, who you met at WWW, has been asked to consider moving there for a year or so to do an internship.  She just moved into her own apartment, so she is torn.

 

As far as laundry, they brought back a ton!  But I was so thrilled to have them home safe and somewhat sound that i didn't mind doing load after load of laundry for the next few days. :D

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

Both came back seriously happy. To tell the truth, neither of them had been thrilled to go. They knew it was going to be hard work in 95% humidity and soaring temperatures. All three of the offspring who went came back with injuries from working so hard.

But they came back thrilled with the friends they made in Belize and excited to go again next year. My oldest, who you met at WWW, has been asked to consider moving there for a year or so to do an internship. She just moved into her own apartment, so she is torn.

As far as laundry, they brought back a ton! But I was so thrilled to have them home safe and somewhat sound that i didn't mind doing load after load of laundry for the next few days. :D

Praying for discernment for her.

[Beckers 1,136]

We struggle with being organized when my family crashes my parents happy little home. Our past trip I left our clothes and bedding in my car and only got them out when we needed it. That helped but won't be an option when we are At the fort with them.