Your RV is supposed to be a place where you can relax, take your mind off things, and let go. That can be hard to do if you’re surrounded by clutter and chaos. Because RVs are small and don’t come equipped with a lot of storage space, organization is key to keeping your home away from home a peaceful environment. Organize your RV with these 21 tips today!
The Fridge
When you organize your refrigerator, you should keep two things in mind: space and freshness of food. Inside your refrigerator, you’ll find different temperatures. The back of a refrigerator is usually the coldest, while the shelves in the door are usually the warmest. Help your foods last longer and stay fresher by placing them in an area of the refrigerator that is best for them. Also, if your drawers have temperature settings, use them. Fruits and veggies prefer different temperatures, so keep them in separate drawers. Once you know where to put everything, enlist the help of some accessories that will increase the amount of storage space within the fridge. Accessories such as tension bars and bins can add much-needed room inside a small RV refrigerator. Check out the full details here in our post about How to Organize Your RV Fridge.
Cabinets
The cabinets in an RV tend to have a small amount of horizontal space and a large amount of hard-to-use vertical space. You want to try and use as much of this vertical space as possible, but how? Installing wire closet shelves in the cabinets is an easy way to add extra shelves that aren’t too expensive. If you don’t want to install something, you can get small shoe racks and put them inside the cabinets for shelving. In areas where you may not be able to add either of these, such as a slim pantry, put things in reusable containers and ditch the original packaging. This way you can stack them and get rid of bulky, odd-shaped packages.
Bedding
If you have a pull-out sofa, you probably want to bring extra sheets and blankets to put on it when needed. These bulky items take up a lot of room and can be a pain to try and store. We’ve found a simple way to tuck them out of sight but have on hand when you need them. Begin to pull the sofa out and you will see that there is space under it where it folds in. Just pop the blankets and sheets in there and fold the bed back in. Then all you have to do is grab them as you’re pulling the sofa out for the night and you’re all set!
Toothbrushes
RV bathrooms are notorious for being small. Even a few toothbrushes can seem like a big deal in a small RV bathroom! A great storage solution for toothbrushes is mounting them inside a vanity cabinet. This quick and inexpensive fix requires only travel toothbrush holders and sticky Velcro. Stick the soft side of the Velcro to the bottom piece of the toothbrush holder and the rough part to the inside of the cabinet door. Then all you have to do is stick the holder to the Velcro and store your toothbrush, covered with the top, inside the cabinet. Then, if you need to use the toothbrush holders for travel outside the RV, you can just pull them off and take them with you! Not only are your toothbrushes hidden out of sight, but they’re protected from airborne germs that linger in a small bathroom.
Bathroom Clutter
Even if you’re going for natural beauty in the great outdoors, you’ll probably still travel with some of your beauty must-haves, like a hair dryer, curling iron, and other bulky tools. Give these tools a place of their own in the bathroom by creating holders with PVC piping. Using a Wye piece of PVC and some screws, mount it in the bathroom and put these tools in their place! You can paint it to match your decor if you desire.
Hoses and Cords
Your hoses and cords can become a tangled mess if you’re not careful. There is a quick and simple solution to this tangled mess so you never have to untie another knot in a hose or cord again. Head down to the hardware store and pick up some storage reels, one for each cord/hose. Then just reel them up and keep them in your storage compartment! The only hose this won’t work for is the sewer hose. It’s too big and you want to make sure to keep that thing away from all the rest of your hoses so there’s no risk of contamination.
Sewer Hose
To keep your sewer hose far away from your other hoses, build your own sewer hose storage area on the outside of the RV with PVC! This is a great solution to longer hoses that don’t fit in the standard manufacturer-equipped storage tube. All you need is a 4″ piece of PVC cut to the length you need for your hose. Then add caps on the end and mount it to the back or underside of your RV. This way all you have to do is open the cap and slide the hose in and out when you need it!
Command Hooks
Command hooks are perfect for RV use! They work like a permanent hook, but are easy to remove without causing damage. Use these hooks everywhere for everything to keep your drawers and floor clutter free. You can hang jackets, robes, kitchen tools, pots and pans, and all kinds of things from these hooks. They come in several sizes and colors to meet all your needs.
Storage Cubes & Baskets
For things you cannot hang, storage cubes and baskets can help you group things and get them organized. You can use these all over the place, such as for spices in the pantry, to hold hand towels in the bathroom, and in overhead cabinets in the bedroom to store extra clothes or shoes. If you invest in nice-looking, durable baskets, like these Spectrum Metal Wire ones, you can screw them to the wall for added shelving storage. They’ll look nice and offer great storage too!
Space Bags
If you have never used a Space Bag, you are missing out! These bags are amazing at reducing the amount of space clothes and linens take up. So if you have too many clothes for your drawers, or have extra blankets and pillows, you need to try space bags! Space bags compress the contents to 75% of the original size, so a large stack of blankets becomes a slim, manageable item. Simply put your items inside the bag, close it up, and attach your vacuum hose to the nozzle to suck out all the extra air. It’s that easy! And for full-time RVers, space bags make storing seasonal clothing in an RV easy and doable.
Ultra Slim Hangers
If you have a closet or wardrobe to hang your clothes in, you may find that the space goes really quick. This is generally because of the bulk of the hangers you’re using and not so much the clothes themselves. You can get ultra-slim hangers like these Huggable Hangers that will take up much less space than the original and you will find that you can fit a ton more in the closet. Because these hangers are slimmer, you will want to make sure you invest in high quality hangers so they aren’t going to sag or break on you.
Soda Can Tab Hangers
If you don’t want to spend the money on new hangers, use soda can tabs instead to consolidate clothes in your closet. Simply slip one ring of the can tab over one hanger and then hang another hanger from it. The second hanger will then hang lower than the first one, allowing you to basically stack your hanging items.
Bag/Purse Storage
Do you have a lot of bags or purses that you want to take along? Use shower curtain hooks to hang them in your closet. They’re easy to take down when you need them and simple to pop back up when you want to put them away. For added storage space, use the purses and bags as storage area themselves by putting small items in them!
Tank Tops
Tank tops can be hard to store. Because of their shape and size, they often end up a wadded mess in the drawer. Instead, use a tie hanger and hang them on it by the straps! Or try this Axis Tank Top Hanger that is designed specifically to hold your favorite summer tank tops! This keeps them neat and easy to search through so your favorite ones are always right at hand.
Counter Space
Counter space in a kitchen is usually pretty sparse in an RV, making meal prep and clean up a messy and frustrating ordeal. Luckily, you can do something about it! Purchase cooktop and sink covers to increase your counter square footage. They’re easy to install when you need them and easy to remove when you don’t! Check out this Camco Sink Cover for an easy and inexpensive way to expand your kitchen’s workspace.
The Drawers
Whether in an RV or at home, drawers (especially in the kitchen) can get cluttered. With so many utensils and gadgets, it’s not hard to end up with messy drawers. Invest in drawer dividers by Prepworks to transform your disorganized mess into a neat, easy-to-use stash of kitchen essentials! They are adjustable to fit almost any drawer and they’re dishwasher safe, so they couldn’t be easier to use.
Tension Bars
Tension bars are another way to organize areas. They can be used in cabinets or the fridge to keep things in place. You can create different spaces in the cabinets or fridge, or use them in the front to ensure things aren’t going to fall out once you open them. You can use larger tension bars for things like hanging spray bottles under the sink, or add an extra one inside the shower and hang baskets from it so that you can put things like shampoo and soap in them.
Triangle Plastic Bags
Plastic grocery bags come in handy as small trash cans, wet swimsuit holders, and much more. The best part about them is they’re free! What’s not so great is they take up a lot of room due to the air that gets in them. To store your plastic grocery bags, fold them up neatly into a little triangle and put them in a container or storage bin. If you’ve ever made a little paper football, then you’ll know exactly how to fold them. First, spread the bag out on a flat surface and smooth it out, getting all the air out. Fold the bag in half so that the handles match up. Then fold it in half again so you have a long rectangle. Next you need to make sure you start from the bottom of the bag so it will push any air out as you go. Fold the corner up to create a triangle. Continue folding until you get to the top and have just a little bit of bag left sticking up. Stick this leftover flap into the opening from the last triangle fold and your bag is nice and secure.
Collapsibles
Collapsible storage items were made with RVs in mind! You can find collapsible colanders, bowls, storage containers, measuring cups and spoons, dish racks, and more. They’re made out of plastic that folds down so they’re virtually flat and they stack well! They’re easy to find in big box stores or online.
Remotes
Remotes are crafty little things. They hide in the smallest spaces and always seem to disappear when you need them. Use Velcro to create a home for them that they can’t escape from. Simply apply a Velcro strip to the back of your remote and the corresponding Velcro strip somewhere in your RV, such as on a wall or on the side of the TV cabinet. Hang up the remote when you’re not using it so that you know where it is the next time you want to stretch out and watch TV.
Small Objects
Often clutter starts with just one or two small objects that lay around and attract more clutter. Put a stop to the spread of clutter in your RV by corralling the small things that bring you grief. Inexpensive tackle boxes are perfect for small items that don’t have a home. Use one for batteries of different sizes, hair accessories in the bathroom, and coins for the Laundromat. The box will make it easy to find exactly what you need when you need it! Getting your RV organized will reduce clutter and make your camping trips much more relaxing. When everything is easy to get to, and there’s not a bunch of stuff all over the place, your RV becomes a peaceful environment that will help you feel rested and ready to go the next day. So organize your RV with these 21 tips and create a retreat that helps you escape!
