I have mentioned that we have a VERY small RV. We went away for Independence Day weekend in it. We spent 6 days and 5 nights in what is basically, as my husband sometimes refers to it, a large metal can.
Life in this RV has to very organized or it becomes a giant problem. Items have to be stored in such a way that they will stay in place while we are driving. Roads around here tend to have lots of potholes and lots of repairs so it is a bumpy ride. While the cabinets and cubbys come with devices on them to hold them closed, we found that the drawer (notice I said “the drawer” as in the only one - technically there is a shelf which also moves like a drawer, but there is only one drawer) kept opening when we bounced. We would be driving along and we would hear different odd sounds than ones we normally hear and I would turn around and the drawer would be open. My husband finally figured out a way to install heavy duty hook and loop tape to keep it closed. The drawer holds an assortment of small items that might be needed to be at hand.
We all know the concept in organizing of items should be stored near where they are used. Sometimes this does not work in our RV. I have to fit the items to be stored to the size and location of the space. Once the bed is made up - and it stays so for at least an entire trip, if not two or three short trips in a short amount of time - we cannot easily access two of the cubbies both of which are located over the sides of the bed. Therefore while it makes no sense to store one’s spare shoes over the bed - that is where they are kept. In the back of this long cubby, which is on the “kitchen” side of the RV I keep a spare backpack (I forgot mine on a trip and need it when we are away from the RV and cannot easily get back to it during the day), some plastic covers for the bed and “car” seats, shower shoes (for using the showers at RV parks), a spare pair of slip on sneakers for me (in cold weather we can’t use the toilet in the RV and this way I don’t have to deal with shoe laces if I have to “run”), and the shoes we bring with us for the trip. Unless it is a longer trip I wear either a pair of sneakers or shoes (which can be worn in the rain) and bring and store the opposite pair. Husband will also wear a pair of sneakers or shoes and store the opposite plus another pair of shoes. We will put some of the plastic covers on top of the shoes to keep them from bouncing around and making noise. Generally if we need different shoes for change in weather I take them out in the morning before I am out of bed and put the pair each of us had been wearing away in the cubby so this space we cannot easily access when out of the bed is a good use of the space.
Over the opposite side of the bed I keep spare bedding in the cubby (on the “toilet” side of the RV) and there are the entertainment controls - cable/antenna connections and switches and related. They are at the front of the cubby right inside the door of it where they can be reached while standing at the foot of the bed (these came installed here, although we have added some additional items). The spare bedding is in further (these two cubbies, unlike other cubbies are long and extend further towards the rear of the RV) as if I need to access them I will be taking the bed apart and will be able to reach them.
In front of the cubby with the shoes (on the “kitchen” side) is another cubby - same door and opening, but it does not extend in any direction and is therefore maybe half the size of the rear two. In this cubby we keep items we need to be able to reach when getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. It is also located over the bed, but since it is at front of the bed, it is easy to reach without climbing on the bed. Our first night in the RV we had to keep taking things out, putting them away, taking out something else, etc. to get ready. As a result of this I came up with the idea of a plastic box each. We each have a flat plastic box with the personal items we need at bedtime and in the morning - hair brush, comb, tooth brush, toothpaste - I keep my cell phone cords in mine, husband does not keep his in his box, and such. These stay in the RV all the time. There is a third box which goes back and forth to the house each trip - our medications and small items which need to come out to the RV for the trip are in this box. At night I take out the 3 boxes. Husband’s box goes to the right side of the kitchen counter (on the glass of the stove) and all his needed items for preparing for bed will go on that side. My box goes on the left side of the counter (which is an actual counter top section and is on the side towards the bed) as does our checkoff list, refrigerator thermometer and some other items for the evening. I will take out the “day of the week” box marked with, of course, the day of the week which has our pills for that night and replacement pills for those used during the day and morning pills for the next day. (Sunday box, for example, has the pills which we will deal with Sunday night - Sunday bedtime pills, replacement pills for those used Sunday during the day and needed for Monday during the day, and Monday am pills.) I put the pills we are taking at night in two plastic bottle lids (because they are the right size and shape and they were kept for free when their bottle contents were used up and their bottles tossed) and place the lids on the counter. I get out my pocket pill box and get husband’s from him and replace the pills used. When we take our night pills the bottle lids are put back into the box and the box goes back in the cubby - while the other two boxes stay out to be used in the morning. Husband has the day of the week pill box for the morning on his side - he takes his pills and puts it on my side of the counter (did I mention the only sink in the RV is in the center of the counter, between our two sides?) for me to take my morning pills. The box is then put back into the box it came out of.
Also in this cubby is a SMALL plastic crate which holds husband’s electric shaver and some other items we need - including a very thin tarp, which folds down to nothing, to put on the bed if we have to get on it in our street clothes (including for emergency shoe changes) as we did not like going on the bed in street clothes before we had bed bugs, and certainly not after.. We keep a plastic shower curtain folded in this cubby on the top of the other items - when it is not in use it helps keep the other items in place. It is used when it will be raining during the day. I cover the rear end of the bed (which is the head of the bed at the rear of the RV/van) so that when we open the rear doors during the day the bed will not get wet.
Oh, my, an article already and we have only covered what is over the bed. I guess this will be Part 1.
Understand that everything in the RV has to be secured and in a specific spot so we can easily find it and then after being used it is returned to it’s spot (unless it is disposable) so we can find it again and so that it will not go bouncing when we drive - or flying around when we stop, start or make a turn.
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