March 1st... with some trailer organization tips!

Finally. It's here. March. The gateway to camping season. Well, for us anyway. Our first camp trip is planned for spring break this month.

In anticipation of spring and camping season I have been busy trying to organize the trailer and making better use of the space. Here are some great tips I have found in my Pinterest searches. I applied some of them to my trailer. So far, I am happy with the organizational results! :)

Something I don't understand is why trailer manufacturers continue to install closets with no shelving. I have a wardrobe by our kitchen and 2 closets in the bedroom - none have shelves. They all have a rod for hangers. What a waste of space!

So I changed that.

What I found:

What I did to add space:
This can be purchased at a dollar store. It is made of vecro at the top and wraps around the rod. This one is small but it's better than a giant heap of clothes in my bedroom closet. It's a work in progress :)

My handy honey also built us some pantry shelves in our wasted space closet. How many coats do these people think we need to hang anyway?! The first owner built the cupboards on the left. We added more on the right. He used no-slip pantry liner to make sure things wouldn't slide around and also added a lip so nothing falls on us or the ground during transport. Nothing hurts more than a jar of spaghetti sauce landing on your foot!

#firstworldproblems - small space for dishes in the cupboard above the sink. First off, I am too short to see what a mess it is. Secondly, after we stop and set up camp and I open the cupboard, it never fails. Some sort of dish falls on my head. I needed better organization for my plastic plates and coffee cups.
This is what I found:

This is what I did:
This is a magazine rack. Also an organization rack for creating "layers" of stacking. Both can be purchased at the dollar store.

This picture below reminded me that I am constantly looking for the trailer keys and my sunglasses. Best to hang the keys up as soon as we park and unlock. Then the sunglasses when I come in for the night so that I remember where I put them.

So this is what my honey did:

Then we took it one step further so we could hang up the broom and dust pan, dog leashes, plastic bags, sweaters of whatever else we need by the front door :)

I REALLY liked this idea too... mostly for the kids. My daughter is a teenager. At night she crawls into her bunk and has a whole bunch of stuff to unload. Her phone to take pics on, her ipod for music, sunglasses, hair elastics, chapstick and whatever else is in her pockets. My son usually has his camping treasures he found that day, the book he is reading, a couple lego men stashed away plus marbles, a hat and a DS game or two.

It never fails when we get home. Stripping the sheets and finding everything that my kids thought they lost while camping - gone forever. I needed a place for each kid to hold their treasures while they slept.

So this is what I came up with. also purchased at the dollar store.It worked out perfect when my son had a friend some camping and he wore glasses. He put them safely in here at night. Then he woke up and fished them out in the morning.

Here is something that drives both my honey and I nuts.... TOYS. How many toys need to come camping and how do we keep them limited and all in one place?

This picture got me to thinking.....

So this is what we did. We bought 2 large size green bins. We took measurements first for some wasted space we had under our fridge. With those dimensions, we bought 2 of these. Each child gets to fill "their bin" with the things they want to take. It get stored away in transport. When we set up, it comes out and goes outside. Then back in it's spot when we go home.

 We still keep a separate collection of board games, cards, books, crayons, craft supplies and movies for rainy days - for everyone's use.
Of course our teenager isn't included in the bin limit. As long as she has her ipod for music, her phone to take photos, and a deck of cards, she is happy for DAYS.


After these ideas were complete, I continued measuring unused spaces. I took my measurements to the dollar store and was shocked by how many little containers and holders and bins and hooks and gizmos that I could find!

Here are a few:

 A pencil/pen holder is perfect for toothbrushes/paste

Assorted desk organizers and a q-tip holder are awesome additions for keeping "small things" organized in our medicine cabinet.

Larger see-through container for keeping shampoos/body washes/sunscreens and bug sprays from falling out while in transport.

This was probably my favorite find! Small squeezable bottles which are much more space sensible in our fridge door. We never use an entire bottle of mustard or ketchup. We need tiny ones so we can fit more beer! haha.


One more space organizer that I haven't put up yet. I searched high and low for one of these! I finally found one second hand. I am just trying to decide on the best space for it in our trailer. We have SO many maps, books, RV magazines, kids coloring books etc. It would be nice to put this up to better free up some drawer space. :)

Last but not least, THIS is how organized I am and how serious I take this "camping business" Who else do you know that has a camping binder?

 In this beauty I keep a calendar of all of our trips planned for the year, copies of reservations, site maps, tips and tricks, first aid instructions - guides to poisonous plants, fun campfire recipes, camping games, copies of scavenger hunt lists for the great outdoors, lists for organization purposes and on and on.

If you see something in your internet travels that you think belongs in my camping binder, please let me know! :)

26 sleeps until our first camp trip! But who's counting? ;)