Small Space Living Tips For Weeklong Trips

Meals

For longer road trips, I find that meal planning is essential.  An over packed fridge is no fun especially when it’s full of items you won’t be using.  When you take the time to sit down and plan out what you will be enjoying for your meals day in and day out, you will find you’ll have more peace of mind and a “plan” rather than rifling through the fridge trying to figure out what to prepare.  

Tune Up and Clean Up

It goes without saying that performing basic maintenance on your vehicle such as checking wipers and fluid levels is an essential “to do” before any road trip.  Also I find it important to schedule any services such as oil changes or tune ups.  When your vehicle is in top shape, it will have a better chance of staying reliable and efficient on the road.

Deep clean your RV for a fresh start to your weeklong road trip.   Launder all bedding; dust the ceiling corners and baseboards.  Remove rugs to shake out.  Clean the windows and do a thorough vacuum of cushions and the floor.  Check to make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working. 

Snack Box

Because no one likes to be starving while driving down the road, be prepared with a snack box of treats that are easily accessible.  A plastic compartmentalized food storage box works exceptionally well as you can add a different variety of snacks to enjoy on the road.

Packing Clothing

Over the years I have struggled with the best way to pack our clothes.  We used duffle bags for the longest time lugging our clothes from the house to the RV, but then where to store those duffle bags once they’re empty?  I’ve come up with a solution that seems to have been working well as of late.  I basically give every member of the family their own “basket,” and it’s in that basket where the clothes go, nicely folded.  I took the time to measure out our closet space and found baskets to fit.  Now we simply bring the basket on board and place in the closet.  When we need something, we simply slide the basket out.

Of course the size of the basket will depend on your storage situation in your RV. Many baskets are even decorative and will brighten up the interior of your RV.

Dirty Laundry Bag

When it comes down to laundry, you want it put away and out of sight until you arrive back at home.  But where to keep the dirty laundry?  What we do is keep a draw-string laundry bag in the shower.  When clothes become soiled, we simply place them in the bag and keep the bag in the shower.  When it’s time to use the shower, we simply just pick up the bag and remove it.  Out of sight and out of mind.

Shoe Bin

On a weeklong road trip you are bound to have countless shoes:  hiking shoes, flip flops, tennis shoes, etc.  We have found that storing all of the shoes outside in a weather proof plastic bin keeps them all in one place and, more importantly, out of sight.

Under Bed Storage to Organize the Chaos

If you are lucky to have under bed storage in your RV, you know how wonderful that can be!  But it can also be overwhelming deciding what to store under there.  Here’s how I organize the chaos:

In the beginning, I put everything under the bed and it was a mess. Enough was enough I decided, so I removed everything, took a picture of the space and took a trip to the organizing store.  I picked up some plastic baskets and colorful round rubber bins.  I picked up a wicker container that had smaller containers within it as well as some mini drawers and got busy.

#1) A wicker container with smaller compartments within holds our napkins (contained in a plastic bag), holding tank deodorizer, trash bags, sponges, scrubs, laundry and fabric softener (small packets), mason jar lids and Brita filters.  This sits on a red acrylic tray which sits atop a set of miniature drawers that hold batteries, sticky notes, pens, Airstream parts (fuses, door latches, etc.) and other miscellaneous objects.  Since the side of the bed is open, the drawers are easily accessed through the opening.

#2) The red plastic hand basket holds two glass drinking bottles (for outdoor entertaining), kitchen tea towels and more napkins.

#3) TP

#4) Beach Towels

#5) Vacuum Storage

#6) Outdoor essentials — picnic tablecloth, lantern, woolen blanket, paper plates & cutlery

#7) This remains the same — Oliver’s hideaway.  He loves it.

#8) Over-sized platters for outdoor entertaining both enamelware and acrylic.  The big bowls are also awesome for washing dishes outdoors and store in here perfectly.

I hope you have enjoyed my post about Weeklong Road Trip Planning and Small Space Living Tips and Tricks.  I would love to hear from you if you have any tips and tricks you could share!  I feel like I am always learning.  Thank you!