RV Organizing and Storage Hacks {Small Spaces}

It all began innocently enough...borrowed an RV for a vacation that was "different" than we had before, and turned into our absolute love for RVing! So, maybe you don't own an RV or have never had any kind of interesting "glamping" desire, but keep with me here. I have come up with some small space - like an RV, too - organizing and storage hacks from our brief six months of owning our own RV. I think that these will definitely help you think outside the box. And, if you have a friend who RVs or you are thinking about it in the future, pin this post and pass it on! Here are my hacks for getting the most use of a small space in your {home or} RV.

Our borrowed RV didn't have this option, but our current Winnebago has a bed that is more like a futon and so there is a ton of unused space underneath it -- perfect for storing the bedding underneath the cushions!

We have cupboards over the kids sleeping area, so we use it for their clothes - they don't need to pack much - so I used old containers for them to organize their things {such as it is}. 

In both the RV that we borrowed and our current RV, the closet have loads of hanging space! But, honestly, when you're camping, you're not hanging up t-shirts and swim suits! So, I have a sliver of space left to hang things and used up the rest of the closet by using the vertical space to put in an old bookshelf and a plastic storage drawer set. The top two drawers we have as "junk" drawers full of little things we need for repairs and such, while the bottom drawers can hold the kids' things -- whatever they choose. The shelves can hold just about anything, but we use it for linens mostly.

We noticed in our bedroom in the RV that there wasn't much space in the tiny closets for shoes, so in the cupboards we used kitchen stacking shelves to make use of all that space for our shoes, but you could use them for anything to make use of all that wasted space. 

This was a really cheap way to corral paper goods. I found this magazine file in the dollar section at Target and put the paper plates in it. Making use of the vertical space, too!

It's not exactly "dark" in the morning when you're camping with those light shades in an RV and we usually stay up late together watching movies...we could all use some extra sleep! So, I made black out curtains by purchasing simple curtain panels, cutting them in half {I've since hemmed them since this picture} and using both bottom and tops to slip the tension rod through them. The tension rod fits easily under the cornice. You can open and close the curtains. Very inexpensive. One set of panels can work for two large windows or four small windows!

Here in California, many campgrounds won't allow you to burn wood in a fire pit -- bummer for s'mores! But, we found this great little fire pit that hooks up to our propane tank - and is actually REALLY warm. And, if you don't like smelling like burning wood, you'll love it too! It fits in the compartment under the RV easily. We can also use it at home in our backyard!

An RV kitchen has very little counter space and I usually have at least one other kid in the kitchen helping me to cut up stuff. So, I found this kitchen cart at Ikea for $30 and spray painted it to match my decor that I'm working on. It can roll around and be place in and out of the way while driving. We even use it as a nightstand for my daughter at night, since her bed is the kitchen table turned into the bed. She loves having a place to put her stuff at night!

This is the closet in the RV we borrowed. I used the same set of plastic drawers differently but it was great to have them to make use of that wasted hanging space. I also used command hooks to hang things on the back of the doors and a hanging basket I got from Zulily. This gave a ton more storage in a small closet.

Other RV closet in the "master" bedroom here I used a shoe organizer that hangs over the door I bought at Target for that closet. It was too long, since it's made for a regular door, so I simply pinned up the part that was too long with safety pins!

Under the kitchen sink is also wasted space. I used more command hooks to hang BBQ tools and other things. 

We have really learned to LOVE camping in our RV and here are more for you to see: 

http://organizingmadefun.blogspot.com/2014/07/small-space-organizing-rv-storage.html

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