Top 10 Tips toSave Space & Weight In Your RV

[catsR4me]

Attended the LOW conference here in Tucson, AZ. The above subject was one of the courses I attended and I wanted to share these tips from Adrienne Kristine (she also published this in Escapees Magazine):
1. Think square & rectangular. Your cabinets & drawers are square and rectangular so you want to take advantage of all the nooks & crannies.
2. Think plastic instead of aluminum, steel or glass. You can save weight by using square or rectangular plastic containers.
3. Think bags instead of boxes. A box of cereal has the notice "This package is processed by weight, not volume. Contents may have settled during shipment." Open the box, pour the cereal into a qt or gal size zip-loc bag, remove the air & stack the bag on top of other items in your cabinet or drawer.
4. Think folding instead of hanging. Triple your clothing space by folding the items hanging in your closet and place in stacking plastic tubs in the same space.
5. Think soft instead of rigid. Example: Instead of a hamper, place dirty laundry in a pillowcase with a shoelace threaded through the top as a drawstring.
6. Think individual instead of bulk packaging. Take the individual rolls or toilet paper or paper towels out of the package, flatten and stack them in available space. Use to cushion items when traveling.
7. Think multiple instead of single use. White vinegar & baking soda can just about replace all cleaning supplies. Plus it's cheap!
8. Think usage instead of volume. Do you really need a set of dishes that serve 8? Get rid of the extras! For the times you have company, use paper plates.
9. Think filler instead of folded. Instead of having a stack of extra towels, use them to protect your breakables when traveling and use when you stop.
10. Think dehydrated & freeze dried instead of liquid or canned. Excellent weight & space saver idea and good nutrition also. See: http://www.justtomatoes.com.

Cathy

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Lots of good ideas there!! Thanks

[NewFlyLady]

I had to laugh because my dishes are square and plastic in a set of 4. Even my glasses are plastic. One thing I found was kitchen stores carry collapsible bowls and colanders. I have the colander and I love it.

[TheCoachPotatoes]

Great tips! Thanks so much for sharing.

Nita

[Parrothead]

I've shared this before, but one way to keep your cupboards nice and tight so things don't move around is to use TP, paper towels or skeins of yarn. None weigh much and are usable. Also instead of storing socks in your drawer, store them in your shoes. Don't put empty cups in the cupboard, put something in them. A lot of ours have pill bottles in them. Use the space under and behind the sofa and behind recliners. Also when traveling, use the space under the table & chairs. Put things in the waste baskets when traveling. We put the coffee pot in the kitchen waste basket with a clean liner. Put bread, buns, chips, etc. in the microwave. This uses an empty spot and keeps the glass plate from moving. And of course, use your oven for storage. If you need to use it, it is easy to remove whatever is in there.
Happy trails........................

[Icehouse]

All great ideas. I am very much into the square thing. The furniture store we like to frequent calls me the right angle lady!

Also, against all better judgment (but we did it anyway because I even brought Waterford), when we decided to fulltime, I brought our real dishes and glasses. I use our winter socks and put a glass inside of each sock. Yes, I wash them when we get to wear we are going, but since we don't move so often, I don't have to go through it so much!

Many good ideas and reminders!
Tammy

[bob n pam]

Thanks! Many good ideas.
Pam

[Parrothead]

We have real glasses also. I made holders from garden kneeling pads for all the glasses. None have broken yet and it keeps the cupboard nice and tidy. My antique china is too valuable to take a chance. It is in storage.
Happy trails............................

[kwolff7]

I appreciate all the great ideas. I know you probably all know about putting the wine bottles under the kitchen chair seats. I love the idea about putting the coffee pot in the kitchen wastebasket.

[RC and Samantha]

Great ideas here and I will be trying to implement some of them soon as the blasted weather breaks and I can get into "Sky" to make some adjustments.

Thanx for sharing everyone!

Patty

[simonsrf]

We found that the Sterilite Clear snap-top boxes (1774) fit the Montana cabinets perfectly. We are able to stack them and label them. For example, under the bathroom sink we have 7 of them stacked with various labels to identify the contents.

They are very conveninet, with the single snap lid, and the clear composition.

Here is a link: http://tinyurl.com/2xtb32

We bought them at Wal-Mart and they were less than $3 each.

[eeoski]

Thanks for the great tips!

Square/rectangle, even in my stick house is my "mantra" when it comes to storage. Just purchased a set of square dishes and bowls in melamine at Target in anticipation of setting up the new unit. They were even clearance priced so, as I told Doug, I saved money spending money!

I have used those "milk crate" storage units in our Class A stacked on edge in one of the closets we had as storage cubes for folded items and it worked a treat.

Next trip is to Walmart for the Sterlite boxes for storage in the cabinets...thanks for saving me the need to measure Alice! (If Doug reads this he'll probably shutter (maybe even cry) as he has already dubbed me the "Plastic Queen"!

For dirty laundry I have used those collapsible, mesh and wire laundry baskets. They have handles and are great for not only collecting the dirty clothes, but taking them to and from the laundromat at the campgrounds. Light, easy to carry and store, AND they fit through the door of the unit without twisting, turning, folding, or mutilating!

Robin

[Dustytuu]

Those plastic tubs that ice cream come in for dry pet food.
Also use the quart zip lock bags for cereal and such.
Plexiglas in the medicine cabinet so things don't fall out.
Those empty "Johnnie cat" kitty litter buckets with lids for things in the basement.
I cook and freeze, a week before a trip so we will have food to heat quickly on the road. Breakfast burritos are a great one to make.

Lots of useful tips here.
Thanks to everyone.

[Snowhawk]

WOW! Talk about a load of great ideas!!! Thanks all!!! I'm also a "square saves space" queen (wish I could convince Rich of that!) Now, if we could only convince manufacturers to package everything in square containers, we'd have it made! I have a few more of your ideas to implement when we get home next month. Florida has been absolutely GREAT and we're coming back next year (besides... the Mouse wants me back... or so they say).

[Steve and Brenda]

At home we have a local store, Dollar Tree, and everything is a dollar. They have an abundance of square bins and storage containers, plastic bowls, glasses, plates, etc. We are not full timers, but weight is still an issue nonetheless. I have bins in my lower kitchen and bathroom cabinets to organize a few cleaning and hygiene supplies. When we camp, I pull the bin out from under the bathroom sink cabinet and place it on the floor of the shower. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. is all handy. When its time to go home I dry and replace back underneath the cabinet for our next trip. My kitchen bin fits under the sink in the kitchen cabinet and holds my cleaning supplies. I love my plastic bins and they make it so easy to check when its shopping time. We travel with our beagle "Scarlett". I store her food and water bowls inside the kitchen sink under the counter top sink covers. That way they are quick to set out when we arrive at our location, and are also handy when we stop along the way. I store my toaster, mini blender, etc in the oven and simply pull them out to the counter top when we arrive and set up. LOVE the idea of the coffeemaker in the clean liner in the trashcan. That will be implemented in our Monty immediately. Congrats on our new ladies forum, and happy trails to all!

[Parrothead]

Here is another tip, although you may have to convince your other half. Do not carry a bucket to wash RV or TV. Instead use your waste basket. If you use the rectangle kind in the kitchen, the brush to wash vehicles fits in the waste basket better than a round bucket. If you have a small job, use the bathroom waste basket. An added bonus, your waste basket gets cleaned!
Happy trails......................

[Wschep]

IKEA has a great hang in the closet cloth shelf that goes all the way to the floor (attaches to the clothes hanging rod). I store alot in those shelves AND they are very light weight. Also @ Home Depot you can purchase 1,2, 3 or 4 attach to the wall soap containers that in my shower I dont have to pick up loose shampoo bottles or shower gels. Its all right there on the wall and all I have to do is keep filled. We purchased the 3 unit one so I have my shower gel, shampoo and Wayne has his shower gel! Keeps it all really clean too!

[CasaDelSol]

I'm glad this thread got started up again. It has some great tips. I was in Camping World recently and asked a woman who looked like an RV vet how she keeps things in her medicine cabinet from shifting. She told me about the little tension curtain rods. I wouldn't have thought of that. I have also learned so much from this forum!! Joanie