RV Organizing, Don’t Be a Hot Mess
One of the biggest challenges of living in an RV is organizing! The closets and drawers aren’t normal sizes so trying to find RV storage solutions can be super tricky. Not only are you trying to find a home for everything you have to also worry about what will happen if you hit a big bump going down the road. Will things survive and stay in place? Many broken glasses and clothing disasters later, we have finally learned what does and does not work for RV living.
Here are a few of the tips and tricks we have learned to organize our RV and we hope they can help you organize your traveling home on wheels.
Cloth Organizers
These things are amazing and work for all sorts of applications. Drink-ware, clothes, accessories, tools and so on and so on! They are not expensive and have lasted us for years. Available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PPVaPq
We like these larger bins for sweaters, tops and pants. We see them in a variety of stores but they are also available on amazon: http://amzn.to/1RVkSER
Clear Storage Bins
Of course standard shoe boxes are always a great investment for organizing, but make sure it’s clear and comes with a lid. Here are some on Amazon that come in different sizes: http://amzn.to/1PPWotW
Lazy Susan
A Lazy Susan with a lip and rubber to keep stuff from sliding around is surprisingly helpful in large cabinets, or in the fridge. Here’s the one we have: http://amzn.to/1RVlY3s
Litter Box
In our Vesta our litter-box solution was fine but hasn’t worked well for our other RV’s due to layout. We now keep the litter box up front in the passenger foot area and are thinking of upgrading to this litter box to reduce the never ending spread of litter: http://amzn.to/1PPXwhg
You may also want to check out these posts/videos:
- Simple Tricks to Make Any Dishes RV Safe
- Favorite RV Kitchen Gadgets
- A Day In The Life – Wild and Free Camping
Is your RV still a hot mess? Don’t worry, we’ll add more organizing tips as we find them. Tell us your storage issues or favorite solutions in the comments below and we will try and cover them in the next update of Don’t Be a Hot Mess!
Linda
I use a hanging bag for sweaters in my side of the closet. It has 6 shelves in it. I roll my pants and shirts up and can put 2 sets on each shelf. It works great. My shirts don’t get wrinkled the way I roll them. I can get more clothes on my side than when I was hanging them up. We were on a 23 day trip last summer and I only had to wash once. It also gave my husband more space also. We have very short closets. My husbands shirts just barely hang straight. It is crazy that we have such a small area for clothes considering we have so much storage space everywhere else.
Kimberly
Thank you! You are the first person to post anything about having a cat and litter box in your RV. We purchased our RV so we can travel with our two kitties. We currently put the litter box in the shower, after lining the bottom with pee pads to keep the litter out of the drain. This also means drying the shower every time we shower. I’m going to try the passenger compartment next time we travel!
Marie Alvarez
I trained my 16 year old kitty to potty outside like the 5 dogs do but I would be afraid to do that in an Rv. The cats won’t know the area. Unless you tie them up outside and mine won’t have that. I recently down sized to a smaller home and am afraid of the traffic here.
Here is how I potty trained my cat when he was a kitten. I put the litter box by the door for two weeks. The third I put it outside and Everytime I saw him go to the door I put him outside to do his business. Eventually he got into a routine like my dogs but he would go to my front door and they my back door. He learn all the peoples schedules and would go out with the people and come back with the people to get let in. Hope that helps for people who don’t like the kitty litter mess or bill. Cats are just as smart just have patience. I have 3 standard schnauzers, chow basset mix and a rottie. They cat is the leader and can do just as many tricks as the dogs. Just enjoy them, they may not grow up and leave like my kids but they are not here as long as us. ❤️
Sandy
I like glass stem ware for my wine. A plastic basket lined with half-inch foam and dividers made with the foam, like in a wine box from the store, keep the bowls of the stem ware snugly in the basket pockets and they do not bounce around when driving. The kitty litter box goes in the shower on a sheet of thick plastic (think good drop cloth, cut slightly larger than the shower pan) and gives Kitty privacy when needed.
Gina
Thank you for the tips. I put my litter box in the shower, with cut cardboard under to fit the shower. I also used the command hooks to hang my necklace holders. Purchased an over the sink dish drying rack it holds dishes, has cup hooks, holds knives, the cutting boards and has hooks for itensils, as well as silverware dividers. (Search over the sink dish drying racks there are many)I will be buying some of the dish holders.
I am new to full time rv living and live it. Parked on a friend’s property and hooked up all legal
Barb
We use the new litter box system by Purina…it is called Breeze. Check Chewy.com it works great and no gritty litter is tracked around.
Monica
Love this kitty liter! Finally no more stinky cat box or cat liter all over!
Sylvia
I store my spices in the midget containers from Tupperware and then put them in a holder for k-cups
Curious Minion
Brilliant!
Debra Bergmark
Great tips! Hubby & I have decided to hit the road full time with our 3 children (8, 5, 3) & 2 small pups. Yes we are brave. Although we have our big 5th wheel picked out I’ve been checking out our storage situation. I love your ideas & will put them into action in our rig. With 5 people it’ll be interesting & challenging getting all our necessities to fit. I saw someone use a mini towel rod above the bathroom sink area & put 3 small buckets with handles & hooked them on the towel rod then used as storage for toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, etc. That’ll be a space saver for us. Have you done any of those wire office shelves screwed under cabinets for extra storage? Just curious if it held up well. Thanks again & wish us luck!
Susan Goodrich
Has any turned their bathtub into storage. We don’t plan on using the shower in our rv but would like to put some kind of storage in it
Sharon
Hi there we have turned our tub/shower into a storage unit using tension shower rods and wire shelving
Nancy S Lee
We put a board over 3/4 of it and put two three drawer storage stacks to put towels and kitchen towel . We put bag for dirth clothes in the 1/4 space
Linda Tison
where did you do this at?
Terry D.
I also used a cloth shoe organizer that I tacked on the outside of one of my wardrobes. It holds everything from curlers to brushes to batteries and flashlight. I also use a tiered spice rack in my bathroom for everything for hairspray to saline, which makes my small counter space in the bathroom so much neater.
pat Dennis
Question more than comment.hsveyou ever reupholstered a cloth insert in a headboard?
Mary Berry
Thanks for the tips about the cabinets. I have strangely shaped cabinets over my bed – they slant in the back. With cloth organizers, I can alter them to fit if I need to and keep my clothes from slid—–ing down to the other end of the cabinet. Brilliant! By the way, a fish eating vegetarian is called a pescatarian. Go ahead and say so. Educate the masses, LOL!!!
Sheryl O
We use peach crates turned on their side in our closet of our 5th wheel ~ just stack them up! I wish I had a photo, but no such luck. I used a tool box for my makeup and found that it worked very well !
Michelle Pratt
Hi Nikki
I love your ideas on organizing your RV especially the silicon on the bottom of the dishes. I do have a question does the silicon put off any toxic fumes when you use those dishes in the microwave? And I also have a tip of my own we have a very small bathroom in our RV and it doesn’t have any room for hair brushes or anything to the kind so I hung up a over the door show organizer and cut it in half and hung it behind the toilet. Works wonders. I have hair brush, band aids, deodorant, and that sort of stuff.
Tracie
Nikki, how do you organize your makeup? I’m thinking of becoming a full time RVer and used to be in the beauty industry so have tons of makeup and skin care stuff. I’m working on scaling back but wondering what works best for you on the road? Love all your videos/blogs they’ve been SO helpful!!!!!!
Stephanie Yarbrough
Ha, the cloth organizer! That is what we use and my husband thought he was BRILLIANT for thinking about that. Looks like you beat him to the punch, though 😉 It works great for the glasses that I didn’t want to trade for plastic!
Louise Kynoch
Thank you Nikki, just read your tips & have saved for future reference. My tip is making calico bags for each pair of shoes and colour coding the ties. Eg red shoes, red ties. I live in a very small camper & don’t have room for shoe boxes.
Drummy
My husband and I just lost our home to foreclosure and decided to turn the negative into a positive. We are looking at it as the foreclosure has granted us freedom to truly live. So we found a 35ft travel trailer at an estate sale for $500 and are on our way to traveling the country.I gave up on the litter box having 3 dogs and 4 cats every inch counts so I potty trained my cats lol so much better than cleaning litter and saves a fortune. Thank god I found your tips, it saved me as for storing all our clothes, keep those fabulous tips coming. We are now followers of yours for life!
Celine
Off topic how did you potty train your cats. This would help with the litter box on the camper. .
Nikki Wynn
no training required for either of our cats. We put out a litter box and they used it.
Drummy
Tried replying for potty training cats but had issues. Hope this gets through. We used city kitty training kit worked so quickly and easy. Its $20 and can be ordered online.
Charmayne Robertson
I’d like to hear the top on potty training a cat also
Venice Scherer
My grandmother trained her cats to use the toilet.
Yvette hide
I am so sorry about the foreclosure. I went thru this also going on 7 yrs ago. Still not over it. However I LOVE your attitude and I feel it mightve helped me. Thank you !
Tabitha Tran
Hi Nikki,
I just wanted to say a BIG thank you for your all of your videos. My husband & I (32 & 27) started watching you both for about 6 months now & finally decided that we want to travel for a year. We purchased our RV about a month ago & are starting the organizing the RV now before we head out in March! Thanks again for all of the wonderful tips!
Nikki Wynn
That’s fantastic to hear! Congrats on taking the leap and welcome to life on the road!
Tabitha Tran
Thanks so much, Nikki! We are excited for our adventure & hope that we see you along the way!
Clarence Hosey
Good morning Wynns, my wife and I really find your videos helpful and funny. We have a few questions, my wife has tons of shoes and clothes. What’s the first step in down sizing to make the wonderful transition of becoming a full time RV er? I’m 43 and she is 44 we plan to start living out of a RV when I turn 50. Do y’all ever hangout in Dallas anymore? We would love to meet y’all in person. Have a great day and be safe!
Jason Wynn
Letting go of your stuff can be extremely difficult. When we left we purchased plastic bins and filled them up with our most important things and stored them in a spare closet at my father’s house. Each year we passed back through Dallas we went through all the tubs and eliminated. Now we only have 3 tubs left and I have a feeling when we pass through Dallas we’ll just get rid of it all.
If you don’t have a free place to store it then you’ll just have to do the math, is a storage unit really worth it? Most of the time the value of the stuff inside the storage unit isn’t.
I hope this helps get your brain going, it’s not easy, but once you let it all go the feeling is extremely freeing.
Carol Yakupcak
Nikki and Friends: We have camped in everything, tents, popups, trailers, and currently a 5th wheel ( We are considering a class A, but haven’t taken that big step yet). With each type of camping I have had to come up with different organization plans. Currently in the 5th wheel a few things that make a huge difference is: 1. Suspension rods in the plate, glassware and coffee cup cupboard. Used both horizontal and verticle to keep items from crashing to the floor. (we learned the hard way). 2. In the cupboard set aside for the instant coffee and tea is a picnic napkin condiments plate holder thingy to hold the coffee, sugar and instant creamer. It is also a holder for my tea bags and instant water drink mixes. It works great and can be brought down to gather the necessary ingredients for that very important morning drink.. 3. Using the containers that parmesan cheese, or romano cheese comes in makes great Sugar holders. You have your 3 round holes for sprinkling, and your larger hole for spooning. I use one color lid for regular cane sugar, and another color lid for coconut sugar or turbinado sugar, could also be used for instant creamer, and many other things. 4. In my very deep pantry where things get pushed back is a work in progress. For right now I use those plastic covered helper shelves to add a horizontal storage to the pantry. Makes for more stability while traveling down the road. And I can stack the canned goods and still get to the cans underneath.
Some must haves if you are starting to travel: VELCRO, COMMAND HOOKS (ALL SIZES), BUNJI CORDS, SUSPENSION RODS. hope these ideas help someone! Happy and safe travel!
karen
So weird. Here I am reading articles regarding living in an RV and the first article I come across today is yours as Go Rving is on and you both are on it. How ironic.
Laura Miller
Jason & Nikki,
Your website is great! So well done, and the way you present everything in print and in videos is so engaging and makes me want more. You have so much good information. I’ve been scouring your site for several days and pretty sure I still haven’t seen everything.
I am currently a full-time-RV-dreamer and virtual traveler. I don’t have solid plans to hit the road yet, but I have been dreaming about it for several years.
I’ve watched your video and read your tips about organizing, but I’m still curious about some other things. These may seem like “crazy” questions, but I tend to be curious about details. Can you describe your experiences in downsizing from the sticks & bricks life? Did you sell/get rid of everything that wouldn’t fit in your RV, or do you have things you store in a storage unit or family member’s home? If you did downsize to just what fits in your RV did you find it difficult and how long did it take to fully prepare to hit the road?
Also I am curious about storage in your RV beyond what you’ve touched on in your video. It seems you have several small appliances. I’ve never been in an RV, but I can’t imagine that all stores in your kitchen does it? Do you store some of that in your RV “basement.”
You obviously travel to hot and cold locations. I saw your video about preparing for winter camping, and also that you went on a snowboarding trip. That means having winter clothing, boots, coats, etc. along with warm weather stuff. It just seems like a lot to store in an RV, but then I’ve never had an RV, so maybe there’s way more storage space than I realize.
Can you give me a little more on the subject of stuff and storage?
Thanks!
Laura
Linda
We have those skinny closets next to the bed with a rod. Now they hold a lot of linens & folded clothing by using a cloth shoe hanger to create “shelves”. Also, I cut a shoe organizer with the pockets to length & hung it on the wall closet for sox &undies. And one more thing–those blue plastic IKEA bags work great for hauling dirty clothes to the laundromat, or loading/unloading for the “weekend warriors”. Love your site!
Nikki Wynn
Thanks for sharing your tips! With all of the different layouts and cabinet sizes out there you never know what will work best, so it’s nice to have lots of ideas and tips!
Jennifer
I’ve created shelves in my closets using the same thing. My problem is the depth of the closet. The shelves seem to get pushed back so far that I can’t seem to get to them really well and it’s a big pain.
I will definitely be using your idea on cutting the hanging shoe organizer on the door though! Thanks!
Lori
Hi! I follow y’all on FB, etc. Just re-visiting this topic of organizing. I could do a better job with organizing. I sometimes think I was NOT born with the organizing gene. I don’t have a lot ot contribute (yet) but if I think of something I will report back! lol. 🙂
In the meanwhile, keep these great tips coming — I saw several that might work for us. We live in our RV full-time for work and have a lakehouse about 5 hours away. We keep the RV pretty much in one spot, but moved it this last weekend and I’m feeling inspired to de-clutter and find homes for all the stuff I have! 🙂
Love your site! Thanks again!
Nikki Wynn
Well hello! You will have to let us know what you come up with. We all have such different spaces that it’s nice to hear what others are doing. We are at a spot where we need to de-clutter and re-organize this week too, so we may have some updates ourselves. Thanks for saying hello!
Becky
I love yr ideas. But we used the cloth storage totes in our closet and had issues with mold. So now I don’t want to use them anywhere. I bought stacking plastic baskets and med plastic shoe boxes.
Becky Jameson
HI, I just watched your organization skills in the RV. SOme really great tips! We are considering selling everything and RVing around the states for a few yrs. We are retired and after spending several yrs. taking care of many family members, we have decided we want to get out on the road.One of my bigger concerns is traveling with our 4 yr old cat. I noticed that you had a cat in your video and wondered if you could share some tips on Rving with a cat.
THank you, Becky
Jason Wynn
Becky,
You’re in luck, Singa wrote a post a few years back on this exact subject…although he desperately needs to update the post, it still has some valuable info: https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/traveling-cats
Hugh
Some great Ideas. we came up with a simple way of keeping our shower gels and deodrants in the cupboards and not falling out after travelling.
We used net curtain wire, this is a sprung wire which we cut to length and then sprung a length across the width of the inside cupboard, this stopped items leaning against the door
Diana
Love all the tips!
"A nice Man from Germany" - Bernard
Hi Nikki,
Why did you opt for those 12×12 storage thingies in the back above the bed at all instead of putting the clothes on the shelves? Any particular reason?
Bernard
Nikki Wynn
Yes, it helps keep them together so they don’t fall over and come flying out while driving down the road. I tried it without first and found that it was a big mess a lot of the time and when I switched to the bins, it made a huge difference.
"A nice Man from Germany" - Bernard
Great, thanks guys! Bernard
Jason Wynn
Everything slid around in the large cabinets, the 12×12 boxes kept the stacks of clothes from falling over and creating a mess.
TC Dunwell
Sooo love your fun videos and blogging you two! My husband Dunnie and I will be starting the full time rv life this September and I look forward to following you two! I see that you are in Goshen. My husband grew up in Warsaw…not too far away. If you get to Warsaw they have some incredible eats at Penguin Point and 5 lakes right in town!!! Just saying….thanks too for the great tips on organizing…soo needed. Happy Trails TC
Warren Holland
I know you guys are looking for cheap and great ideas and maybe keeping cool, I ran across this idea and the temperatures may say it all i hope this helps if not sorry !.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HxSLbpAwibg
Regards
Warren from the UK.
p.s love the video’s and omg wish i could do what your doing !
Sherene Bell
Great ideas :). We just bought our first travel trailer and I’m trying to figure out how to organize it. I like your idea of the dividers for cups and glasses with a handle on the box. I was just wondering where you got them and what they might even be called? Do you think they were originally designed for organizing small clothes? Thanks for the tips.
Jason Wynn
Sherene,
Sorry for the delayed response, I’ve updated the post above with Amazon links to some of our favorite RV organizing finds. Hope this helps get you started!
Sherene Bell
Thanks :).
Elizabeth
These ideas actually worked well on a small house boat and could be good for an RV.
Mount closet maid type “spice racks” or above shoulder height on the shower walls to hold shampoo, soap, etc. Some also have hooks good for wash cloths & scrubbies. If you do this carefully you can also store your cleaning supplies if they are in plastic containers. Be sure to take measurements with you when you shop.
Bigger hooks also do well inside the shower to hold towels when you are not showering. Also mounted above shoulder height – you don’t want to be bumping into them.
The same type of small shelves are wonderful on the inside of doors especially in deep cabinets.
Put plastic containers the size of the cabinet in deep cabinets. They slide in and out easily. You want the largest container that will fit. We have been know to trip the back lip of the container so the door will close. You can use the lids turned upside down in the “basement” to move things around easily.
Measure everything & keep the measurements with you especially as you stroll through Walmart’s plastic containers. Only you know your unique requirements.
I found plastic pet food containers from Walmart to be great for storing canned goods. They are small enough not to be too heavy and foods can be categorized (veggies, fruits, etc) by container.
Mandi Lynn
Thought I would share a few things I have done as a full time RVer to help save space. Starting with command hooks (an RVers best friend). I have stuck command hooks on the inside of two of my kitchen cabinets (2 each at an angle facing in towards each other) to hold my 2 universal pot lids. I have some inside other cabinets to hold, potholders, & stove lighter. I also have a couple small key hooks inside cabinets holding my measuring spoons. In the bathroom we have added a shampoo dispenser to keep bottles off of the tub floor. A small toy net for my four yr olds toys, and inside the medicine cabinet door we added a magnetic strip to hold, nail clippers, bobby pins and tweasers. We have also added hooks to keep our broom and Swiffer type mop off the floor and from falling over all the time. Just a few things, Im still trying to work some stuff out so far the hardest things to keep organized is food (we have no pantry), Clothes, since we moved into a bunk house RV my husband lost a lot of closet space and he has more clothes than me and our daughter together. And I attend college online so I have trouble finding somewhere for my laptop and school stuff thats easy to get to and put back.
Ray Snarski
How do you manage laundry? I know you have a combo unit in Roy but what about the years before? Of course it is nice when you stop at thousand trails. I used to drop my wife off at a laundramat but we are too old for that now.
Have you tried these small pressurized tanks? Are they any good?
Thanks, love your posts and video’s.
Ray Snarski
Hi Nikki,
How do you manage laundry? Have you tried these small portable tanks that you apply pressure to?
I know you have a combo in Roy but what did you do the years before that? I uised to drop my wife off at a laundramat and that is no longer an option at
Thank you.
J Van
I will try the organizing trip for glasses. Thanks
Lynne
Clothes hanging in our wardrobe always slid around and came off of the hangers when we traveled. So, we took out our smooth-surfaced wooden closet rod and slid it inside a section of pool vacuum hose (which is corrugated) and reinstalled it. We use the velour-covered hangers which hang perfectly in the grooves on the rod and keep the swaying clothes from coming off the hangers.
Jason Wynn
Lynne,
Your timing with this comment is impeccable! We are moving into our new home on wheels Tuesday and it has a hanging rod in the closet, so I’m guessing we’ll be swinging by the pool store on Wednesday. Thanks for sharing.
Barbie
Hi there. What a great site. We are planning to take to the road next August. My question is how do you pay your bills? And do you have any trouble if you do not have a regular address? We are planning to stay on the road for about 5 years. What do you do about Income Taxes. How do you file them? We are older and have no family. Do we need to leave our important papers with an accountant or a lawyer that we trust? Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.
Nikki Wynn
We pay almost every bill online! You should have a regular address and there are lots of mail services out there that will open scan and email you your mail. As for income taxes that is something you should talk to a CPA about. Ours makes our life super easy and is well worth the money of not having to worry. As for your important papers (not sure which kind of papers you’re referring to) we have ours stored with Jason’s mom and if we ever need her to pull a file, its easy for her to find (or so we think).
Ginger
Hi! Loved your storage ideas as well as the ones from your readers. My problem is my under-the-bed storage area where the entire bed lifts up, lots of space but hard to get to! Please help me organize this area since I use it frequently…
Karen
Hi Ginger. I have seen pins about this and some people have actually cut out areas in the platform, and installed rolling drawers so that there is access from the sides. No lifting the bed necessary. Good Luck and happy camping
Leah
Love the kitty litter under the dinette bench. Have been wondering where to put that where I wouldn’t step in it during those middle of the night biffy breaks.
LOVE your site. Have been pouring over it for a few days (I feel like a stalker) as we prepare to buy a TT and set out for a trip of a few months.
Thank you for all of the advice with humour and practicality in balance.
armando
Yes! Finally something about clothing storage solutions.
Jason Wynn
haha, there’s more where that came from:)
Judi Slingerland
Spice jars were a problem for me…solved with baby food jars. Glue, then screw the lid in place under a cabinet. Label and fill the jar and screw under the lid. Out of the way, easily accessible!
Jason Wynn
Thanks for sharing, Great idea and a total DIY project.
Nikki Wynn
very cool idea Judi! Thanks for sharing!
Mandi Lynn
I Built my own spice rack to hang on the wall space behind the stove. I bought some of those nice looking spice jars so it looked a little neater turned out great in our old trailer. Our new one has a thin shelf in the cabinet space right in front of the sink that our spices fit perfectly! and we have a knife magnet hung behind the stove now.
Thom L.
Just found your website today (Aug 2013) and read somewhere you were migrating to a boat… I’ve done both and they are fun lifestyles. One thing i’ve carried over from by boating days (Morgan 41) is the Froli Sleep System… a MUST HAVE bed system in your _home_ on wheels (we have one in our van conversion and also our full time 38ft Mobile Suite) and in any boat you end up in.
Beyond the amazing sleep (best we’ve ever experienced in ANY sleep system) the design also allows for air circulation under your bedding. We’ve never had any mildew issues on the boat or in either RV.
Happy Trails,
Thom from the Oregon Coast
Jason Wynn
Thanks Thom, this sleep system seems like a no-brainer…ventilation is so important especially when boondocking! I’m sure it’s even more important in humid climates like we’ll see on the water. Sad we missed you on the OR coast.
Holly
Great ideas and comments. Thanks for sharing!
Wendy Swann
Because mattresses in RV’S are never a true standard size, we found that Jersey knit sheets are a better fit because they stretch every direction.
Also because of the lack of drawer space I got a plastic tool-turn-about from Pampered Chef for larger cooking utensils. While traveling, it rides in the sink then on the counter when we have settled.
We have three kids and it’s hard to know who’s towel is who’s. I had the towels monogrammed with each of their names and mom and dad put on ours.
We also use a lot of plastic bins to corral goods.
Under our sink I used a wooden plate stand to stack baking sheets, cutting boards, platters, and splatter screens vertical.
Pampered Chef also makes amazing collapsible bowls that come with lids. Huge bowls that collapse to 2″ thick. Great space saver.
Jason Wynn
We had heard the same about mattress sizes not being standard however our current RV and our last RV both had true Queen beds in the back…which makes it easy to find mattress toppers and sheets.
Love the idea for the Tool-Turn-About, and as for the monograms, me being the slightly obsessed organizer that I am, I’ve been trying to convince Nikki to let me monogram all our towels, especially the dish and hand drying towels. HA. She just calls me crazy 🙂
Tori
How do you keep your food/drinks from spilling in the fridge…and your products in the medicine cabinet from toppling over?
Karen
Hi Tori, don’t know if you have gotten an answer. Try small tension rods in the fridge and medicine cabinet. They have worked for me. Just push all the items against the back and put the tension rod in place to tighten them all together..
Hope
Thanks for the tips! We won’t be purchasing an RV soon, but we do rent one often for vacations. On a side note, these tips would be GREAT for small closets or storage space in homes as well. Just bought a new home and won’t have quite as much closet space as we are use to, but you’ve just helped me with making the most of it. Thanks again!!
Margaret
Use small plastic baskets in your refrigerator. Use hooks on backside of cabinet doors to hold pan lids.
Nikki Wynn
Margaret, the hooks on the backsides of the cabinet doors for pan lids is a great idea! I have hooks on some for cleaning cloths and such but never thought of using it for lids. Brilliant.
Mandi Lynn
I do that too! Its perfect, I have 2 universal pot lids I use it for. Also have some for my pot holders, stove lighter and measuring spoons!
Ayasha
This was a great tip that I actually found in Motorhome magazine! We bought a couple of those over the door shoe hangers (the fabric ones hold up better than the plastic ones) and cut apart the rows so that we had a few individual rows of 3-4 pockets. We then screwed/stapled them all around the base of our bed and put our shoes in them! This keeps them out of the way and off the floor. We also hung a few individual pockets all over the RV (Bathroom, living room, etc) for remotes, hair brushes, other small stuff and knick knacks! Works great for organizing and you don’t have to try to cram the little stuff into drawers!
Nikki Wynn
Thanks Ayasha, that’s a great organizing tip!
Laura
If you go on Amazon.com you can find clear plastic shoe pockets that are actually boxspring mattress covers the go between your mattress and box springs underneath your bed skirt. I have one, I paid about $16 for it. It holds all kinds of stuff and slips right Underneath the bedskirt well hidden.
Laura
Oh and I use an over the door shoe holder with the clear pockets on my bathroom door. It hangs on the inside of the door itself and holds all manner of stuff so that I do not have to fill drawers or underneath the sink with all of that.
Nancy Bradley
If you are going on a short trip try putting ur spices in a pill caddy. The a small and large one. Worked very well for us.
Nikki Wynn
Great tip, especially for the weekend warriors!
Matt Horwitz
Great video guys, and super helpful!
I won’t be getting an RV for a few years, but I’ve learned a lot from watching your guys’ tips 😉
Just watched your other video with the Top 3 RVs for 2013. Tough choices… all have there pluses and minuses.
Well thanks again, you guys are awesome!
Keep on rockin’ !!!
Teri
We will be embarking on this journey next summer and wondering how you (Nikki) downsized your closet and drawers of clothing. Our TT is small, 28ft and has obvious limited storage space. I don’t have a ton of clothes, but I would hate to be somewhere and not have that particular purple scarf (ie) that I once had. I know it won’t all be necessary to keep, just curious as to how you did it. Thanks and enjoy Spain!
gonewiththewynns
Teri, I have a post coming soon on this. Keep checking in. It is a process!
Anita
Love your ideas! Here’s a tip for you or your readers: I was just wondering where you put your litter box….our friends put their box in the lower storage bin next to the stairs, then they put a pet door in the side of the stairway that leads to that storage bin…no litter box in the rv! The cats loved it & when they would stop, it was easy to just open the bin outside & clean the box. I thought that was a great idea! Can’t wait for your new adventures, we are in the process of selling our house & we are close to retiring, we will hopefully see you on the road by spring! Happy traveling!
gonewiththewynns
Anita, if you notice in the video we put the litter box under the dinnet. It keeps it out of sight and out of smell range.
Rob Bryant
Loved your tips. We found a great paper towel holder. That the towel
Slides on from the end. It is ratcheted to allow u to just pull off one sheet at
A time. We bought the free standing one and a screw under the counter
One as well. The screw on one is perfect in the sani dump bay.
And the free standing one goes in the cupboard over the mike. U can
Set it on the outside table as a napkin dispenser( will not blow away)
We use the half sheet rolls to conserve.
Cheers and keep the great videos rolling
Rob
Marta Martin
Great video! Thanks for the ideas. I’ve posted a few videos also on my YouTube channel that I’ve shown my orgazational skills too! Love the lazy Susan idea..
Peg
We were wondering how to keep the glasses safe yet accessible. Great tips. Keep them coming.
Alan Wheeler
One more item for you and your viewers. There are some great owner sites for most RV’s. The one we use of course is the Montana site at http://www.montanaowners.com. A lot of info for both full time and part time RV’ers
Alan Wheeler
A few items. Large clear containers from Walmart for the basement in our 5th wheel. Different container for water, sewer, electric, clothes,BBQ, etc. Smaller containers for the overhead storage inside, plus kitchen, and under counter items. Rubber mat (costco) cut to fit all inside units (keeps anything from slipping), Velcro for all handles on storage units inside (ours open to the side not up. Keeps the doors from opening while we are moving. These doors are great things to catch slides when going out or in. Box of exam gloves inside and outside storage areas when working with anything that might get the hands dirty. We bought the velcro on line from a company that sells various widths in 50 or 25′ rolls. A lot of uses around an RV. We also shift clothing into clear containers in the basement based on the season. Saves space inside and you are not constantly moving items you do not need. Off the subject but a headlamp is a must for any RV, along with a check list for both departure and arrival. We print one out each time and use a pen to mark off each item as completed along with a walk around before leaving checking hookups, lights and any items left on the ground. I am sure there is more but I would have to ask the master and she is not here.
Lyn Ayre
To a Wynning couple:
Yes, we have a tip to share with you. Norm installed two plastic double stack gliders for under the sink. One is for ‘tupperware’ and the other for saran, foil, wax paper, and garbage bags. There’s a baggie of twist ties in there, too. What a god-send this has been. Just pull them out and there you go – all organized. The doors sport two white racks on each one, which are used for wipes, SOS pads, dish soap, and plugs.
Happy RVing, you two. Can’t wait to see what you’ll end up in next.
Love Lyn
Melissa
Glad to know about the spice containers – I was thinking about getting some but will skip it now. Here’s a tip from my sis who recently started living in her RV fulltime – you know how new sheets, pillowcases and blankets usually come in plastic zippered packaging? She says they are great for storing clothing, like socks, underwear, sweaters, and the like:)
gonewiththewynns
Melissa, that’s a good idea! I will have to try that one out! As for the spice containers, I am going to try the nicer ones I have seen at other stores and see if they work any better.
Laura
Another tip for large blankets or comforters etc. Walmart has those Vacuum clothes bags that you put stuff in and then sit on them to get all the air out. They’re very inexpensive, about seven dollars for two large bags. I keep extra blankets and clothes in a couple of those here in my fifth wheel.
Nikki Wynn
Laura, sounds like you have had way better luck with those vacuum bags than we have. Most of the ones we have tried don’t stay deflated and blow back up…just becoming an expensive plastic bag. Which brand are you using? Maybe we should try again.
Julia Bach
Awww, love cleo getting her drank on in this video! Maybe i can use some of these tips to organize my new apartment, which is probably smaller than your RV. Love the new homepage, and love you guys!
Jason Wynn
Julie I hope the new digggs are working out as planned! Used any of our RV tips yet? At least Nikki’s shoe box organization….did you see how many pairs she crammed in that little cabinet in our video from the RV walkthrough?
anotherkindofdrew
Granted we only have a pop-up camper (in addition to our tiny house). We still need to organize though as not everything needs to come out when we get to our site. We have found that creating a “kitchen in a box” works well. Essentially we have a Rubbermaid 30qt. Clever Store box that we purchased a Clever Store tray for (http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?CatName=Storage&SubcatId=CleverStore&Prod_ID=RP092049). We put our skillet, griddle, sauce pan, and large sauce pan (along with a few odds and ends) in the tote. Then we put our collapsible stuff (collander, measuring cup, wooden spoon, spatula, etc) in the tray. Put on the lid and lock it. Instant “kitchen in a box.”
gonewiththewynns
Thanks for sharing Andrew! That sounds like a good idea to create an easy outdoor kitchen too.
Rolland
Good stuff! Always great tips and ideas….thanks guys.