Getting creative with limited space

[Cubey]

I am about 5 months away from starting full timing. I have been slowly getting ready for over a year now. I am starting to realize just how tight it's going to be in my little ol' Class B motorhome. As such, I am having to come up with low cost but very effective ways of making use of every inch of space.

Yesterday I build a simple but effective hanging laptop holder that simply hooks onto the overhead cabinet when open. Ir doesn't provide a perfect straight on view of the screen when laying in bed, but it's better than nothing.

Photos here of it: http://cubey7800.blogspot.com/2013/04/laptop-hanger-over-bed.html

Today I realized that I need more shelf space since stacking things only goes so far, especially duffel bags of clothes. I looked around the house (which doesn't have much left in it now) and spotted a cheap plastic shelf unit that works GREAT in the bed area. I tied some strings from it to existing hooks to keep it from falling over and it works fantastic! I can unlatch the ends of the strings from the hooks to move it to change the bed sheet. It'll be a lot of hassle but it makes use of the space very well. I can store extra bedding to the sides. I may get plastic totes to prevent the clean linens from collecting dust. I may also go with plastic totes in place of duffel bags for the same reason.

Photos here: http://cubey7800.blogspot.com/2013/04/need-more-storage.html

[Cubey]

Coffee travel cups are also what I am going to use. Good for hot and cold, good for use when driving, easy to wash, not fragile.

I have a couple of wisk brooms with dust pants since I have carpet throughout. They store nicely under a seat or in a cabinet just about anywhere. They might be handy for large messes or larger debris but mostly I'll have to vacuum.

I figure 2 cups are enough per person. You can only drink out of one at a time. Really, one could be enough but in theory, if you needed a clean one and couldn't wash one for some odd reason, you'd have a spare clean one. Or if you somehow lose or it breaks, you'd have a spare without having to rush out and find another.

I will store my extra one in the passenger side cup holder instead of taking up valuable cabinet space.

[CincyGus]

A couple more suggestions.

Collapsable stuff is great. We have a broom and dustpan that isn't any bigger than a Sunday newspaper and 3" thick. ALso collapsable collender and dish tubs.

Minimize dishes and wash everything daily as needed. Wife had 6 coffee cups, 6 insulated cups, 3-4 other cups and a stack of solo cups in the camper. I asked when we were leaving for our trip to the desert to save people and then removed everything but the 6 tall insulated cups. We can drink anything out of them and they seal bugs out with the little closure lip on the lids. No we have room for the toaster she wanted to bring so I went from goat to hero.

The other big thing I've found is duel use items get high priority.
Claw framing hammer became my tent stake puller along with general hammer to repair things with. Got rid of the little wood one with the hook in the end everyone carries. Getting propane appliance hoses and a t adapter to hook propane stove and grill into the 20 lb tanks, eliminated me having to use the 1 lb bottles and store those.

Some of this may not apply to your camper but it's just a mind set about really minimizing to what you need and being smart about what you take.

Again, Good Luck

[rockhillmanor]

Cubey wrote:
I am about 5 months away from starting full timing. I have been slowly getting ready for over a year now. I am starting to realize just how tight it's going to be in my little ol' Class B motorhome. As such, I am having to come up with low cost but very effective ways of making use of every inch of space.....

I don't have a B but basically almost all RV's lack for storage space.

It took me a couple of months to realize that I was hanging on to old habit of grocery shopping like when I was back home. Buying a lot of staples for future use 'every' time I shopped.

What I did was change my grocery shopping ways. Since we are on the road and usually stop prior to getting to the next CG for fresh items I 'stopped' buying additional staples each time that filled up cabinet space. I now only buy what I plan on eating. This freed up 2 over head cabinets that I stored my staples in for other items.

[Darrah]

yep did the over the door rack already, did that last weekend and I think it took care of my needs

[Cubey]

If your bathroom has a physical door like mine does, consider an over the door hanging organizer. I put a hook on the inside of the (not very waterproof door) and hung a sorting thing on it I already had. It can be taken out and set elsewhere while showering. It might not hold everything but it'll hold a fair bit. I have a small backpack full of first aid and health stuff.. some if I need go go through again since I don't see how I need that much all the time. Every bit of it has been stored in that backpack for about 4 months now and I've never taken anything out of it.

I took some scrap wood and and made a free standing shelf for under the kitchen sink in the cabinet and it doubled the usable and easily accessible storage space. It's not very pretty and the plywood I used was a bit warped but it works as intended.

[Darrah]

Cubey, that's exactly the problem I'm having all the little extras first aid kit, TP and so on.
In my Class B there is only a 4 inch wide shelf and no cabinets of any kind in the bathroom area.
So most of the bathroom stuff will need to be stored somewhere else.
But I am looking for a door rack to help out with some of these items.

[Cubey]

There's not that much bathroom stuff you need at once. One bottle of shampoo (and conditioner if you feel the need), a couple bars of soap, shaving needs (for both men and women), toothpaste and tooth brush, hair brush and comb... and not much else really. A hair dryer, just get a folding travel kind.

First aid and health items take up a lot more space, I find.

[Darrah]

Ok, this has been idle for a little while.
I'm still trying to figure out a few things on how and where to pack stuff... A little each night and hopefully will be done before May 30th. (closing day on my house.)

Right now the bathroom stuff is really not cooperating.... But I'll get there, I only have about two weeks or less to get done.

Man how time flys!

[Cubey]

I have a small shop vac with a handle.. about a 1 gallon size or something. Sure, it takes 120v but I can fire up my generator long enough to run the vacuum if need be. For serious cleaning though, you can use the vacs at car washes.

[TMcArthur]

I am the same way about my feet and sleeping. I sleep across my van, which is a tick under 6 foot wide. I am just a tick under 6 foot tall so sleep diagonally. I slip my feet under my hanging clothes and all is well.

Yes, sugar can be bought in much smaller containers. And honestly, I do not think you need to worry about ants unless you are stationary for long periods. And, unless you throw food out your van doors to attract them to begin with, there is no reason why they will make the trek up your tires and into your van. I've never seen an ant in my van, but even if I did I could just drive off and the problem will be solved 🙂

PS - Yesterday I was browsing through Big5 Sporting Goods and ran across a tiny wet/dry vacuum. I have been considering buying a small vacuum for some time (all that damn dust while boondocking in Arizona) and finally did. $7 is all it took (I know right?!) and I came up with a 12v wet/dry vac that is small enough to not be in the way when not in use.

Basically, don't worry about getting it all, or getting it "right" on day one. The things you want or need will evolve over time and you will find those items in due time. It's the "getting there" that makes van dwelling so much fun eh?

[littlemo]

Cubey wrote:

littlemo wrote:
Get the half gallon bottles of Red Diamond sweet tea. It isn't any bigger than the pitcher, then you don't have to buy the sugar.

With as pricey as that stuff is and with as much tea as I drink.. I'd go broke.

LOL...........Yeah, you're right. You much drink as much tea as we do!

[RoadXYZ]

Cubey wrote:

littlemo wrote:
Get the half gallon bottles of Red Diamond sweet tea. It isn't any bigger than the pitcher, then you don't have to buy the sugar.

With as pricey as that stuff is and with as much tea as I drink.. I'd go broke.

ASk friends/family to save those Costco-like plastic jars of nuts or candy, we did and have gotten three that way. They sure are handy to put individual pkgs of cocoa mix, or store staples such as rice.

[RoadXYZ]

Darrah wrote:
I'm in the same boat as you.
I'll be moving into my Class B at the middle to the end of May... Wow it's coming fast.
So seeing how other people organize sometimes help me with mine.
Right now my biggest problem is there are a few books I want to keep and finding space for them has got me puzzled for the moment... And no there isn't a digital version of them, darn specialty books.... Lol

So good luck!!!!

We are fortunate that there is a shelf over the headboard which is perfect for stacking or lining up the books along the shelf.

But there are times when we spy books which we would love to have only to realize that we have no room for them ..

Am seriously thinking of getting one of those sweater/cube thingees which hang in the closet and have those cube-like shelves for the linens so would have room under the bed.

[Cubey]

littlemo wrote:
Get the half gallon bottles of Red Diamond sweet tea. It isn't any bigger than the pitcher, then you don't have to buy the sugar.

With as pricey as that stuff is and with as much tea as I drink.. I'd go broke.