RV Packing Tips bt Peggy Mcdonald


General Packing Tips
• Small hangers sold in the Dollar stores fit the less than spacious RV closets.
• In our previous motorhome, we drilled holes in 1” dowelling and attached long plastic ties to the ‘hanging triangle hooks’ in the RV closet. This round ‘rod’ made it easier to move hangers from side to side.
•When clothes hangers do not stay on the rack during transit, simply reverse the hangers so they hook from back to front.
• The ’S’ style plastic holder packaged with a new pair of socks makes a perfect tea towel holder. Hook one end on the hanging rack in front of the stove and a tea towel on other end.
• Empty, sectioned liquor and wine boxes make versatile storage spots for shoes, file papers, craft supplies, etc. They fit well within outside RV storage pods.
• Rectangular baskets (under-the- shelf-type or wicker style, etc.) sit on RV upper cupboard shelves to keep glasses and small stuff secure. Place plastic items between breakable items.

Shoes
• Small, round curtain rods attached to the base of the bed or just above the floor level of walls create a perfect place to store shoes.
• Our friends cut strips from a hanging shoe bag and stapled them to the bed support to keep their shoes out of sight under the bed skirt.
• Commercial-style bed frame shoe racks are also available with wide hooks to hang on the bed frame – again under the bed skirt.

Jewellery
• I keep earrings in small 2” zip-style plastic bags from craft stores. All bags of related colours are pinned together and store well in a flip-top box.
• Necklaces either hang on a hook inside my bedroom cupboard door, or I attach them with ‘S’ hooks to a sheet of plastic craft mesh – the mesh is secured with screws.
• Another suggestion to prevent necklace tangles is to insert one end of a chain-style necklace into a drinking straw and attach the clasp, then hang it on a hook.
• A flat fishing tackle box doubles as a good jewellery box and it travels well.
•A friend uses a round, flat splatter- screen to store her earrings. The handle has a hole for hanging the earrings and they are always visible.
• Another friend added a cork-board to her bathroom wall and hangs her chains, bracelets etc... on pushpins.

Storing Clothes
• Frequently, the space inside cupboards is high with a lot of wasted space. By adding an extra adjustable shelf the entire area can be utilized.
• Also, add 2-3 adjustable shelves to your RV’s short and/or narrow shirt closets. It definitely increases your closet space.
• A tip from a Florida park resident simplifies the task of adding shelves to the RV’s narrow bedroom shirt closets. To avoid the challenge of installing shelf supports in the limited space, her husband cuts two pieces of pegboard to fit the sides of the cupboard. Simply insert shelf supports into the holes and add plywood shelves. The good part of this is there are NO holes to drill and when you change units you take your installation with you.
• Rolled clothes eliminate creases. Lay your clothes flat, then fold and roll tight. Store them in a clear plastic bucket so the rolls are visible.
• Another friend places her folded clothes on a shelf, each separated with a sheet of cardboard so they don’t become rearranged when removing one item.
• She also stores bedding and towels the same way.

Liquor Storage
• Glass liquor bottles remain safe and secure when stored in the bottom half of a cardboard milk carton. Wedge plastic containers between the cartons for added stability and security.

(excerpt from RV Packing Tips & RV Life Lessons, published with permission of the author)