Tricks We Have Discovered for Full-Timing Storage

Please please...no comments on our housekeeping from the peanut gallery but I thought I would post some photos of our storage solutions since we have some RV'rs following our blog. The first photo is our kitchen cabinet. It contains all of our glasses, cups, wine glasses, dinnerware, casserole dishes, and storage containers. In the bottom cabinet to the left sits three colorful collapsible mixing bowls from Target. They are great for mixing, storing, serving and microwave use. We also use the collapsible colander, measuring cups, loaf pan and muffin pan. Attached to the inside of the door is a gizmo that holds a few spices. We also use these "gizmo's" in the bathroom cabinet to secure our medicines. Our goal is to have to reposition very little when we move to a new destination! The second photo is our kitchen table. We use the toaster oven almost daily because it is actually bigger than our "Easy Bake" oven that came in the motor home. On top of the toaster oven is our spices and a trivet/basket. The trivet/basket is a homemade carved gift from our friends and it serves as a trivet for hot plates or a basket to hold produce or serve bread. On the bench seat to the left are two metal baskets for holding produce. I plan on buying another Ikea magnet to mount the produce baskets on the wall. There is storage under the bench cushions which houses our dogfood, juice boxes for the grandkids and our winter clothing in Space Bags! The third photo is of a little wooden table that slides under a chair or sofa to serve as an end table, sewing table, card playing table and serving table as well as a magazine rack. Sorry, it's a lousy picture. Under the front window sits two containers from Ikea which house the kid's toys when they are nearby. They both fold flat for storage when they are not in use. Next to the toy boxes is a hassock that I found at Target. We have two of these that we prop our feet up on, and they both open to serve as a tabletop and store games, cameras, batteries, WII controls, etc. The fifth photo is my Navigator chair. You will note that on the huge dashboard we have a rug with a rubber backing on it to protect the dashboard from the sun and to give Maggie something to grip when she tap dances across the front "picture" window. That is Maggie's bed up on the dash so she can watch the world go by. I chose to keep my Navigator's Chair facing out because I liked to watch the bears in Ocala. When we have company I turn my chair around so we have more "conversation" space. The three-shelved desk housing my computer and radio is called an Air Desk. We have two of these and they are MOST USEFUL without taking up much room. If you look closely at any of these photos you will notice that we have 3M Command Strip Hooks hanging everywhere. They hold keys, purses, bear whistles, hats, towels, coats, wash cloths, dog leashes, etc. The list is endless, and they do not leave a mark on the wall when they are removed. The sixth photo is a shoe bag that we have hanging by the front door. It is not the decorator's dream; however, it is extremely useful to hold umbrella's, hand sanitizer, bug spray, fire lighters, dog coats, whisk broom, etc. It is super useful when we are traveling or parked! The seventh photo is one of our under the sink cabinets. We found the cardboard magazine holders from Ikea and turned them on their side to use as foil, Saran Wrap, bag holders. We added extra racks wherever there was vertical space in a cabinet. The eighth photo is a magnetic strip from Ikea holding my knives and a few utensils. It is great. It freed up a drawer and it keeps the knives out of the reach of little hands. The magnet is strong and holds as we drive down the road. The magnet is attached to the wall with heavy duty velcro. Go figure. I plan on purchasing two more magnets for other spaces. They are great. Hanging from my Range Hood are three magnetic boxes that we purchased from Ikea. They have lids to hold some of that little "stuff" that goes flying when you are driving down the road. When I purchase the additional magnets I will use these metal boxes to store sundries in the bathroom. You can also purchase small metal spice containers at Ikea to hang on these magnets. The ninth photo is my side of our closet. I have all of my shoes in plastic containers and these are my clothes for the Spring/Summer season. The winter clothes are stored in a Space Bag under the dinette bench. The tenth photo is our "photo board" where we rotate photos on and off so we can enjoy current images of our grandkids. My laptop computer rotates through our photos while it is sleeping so we have an ever changing view of our family and friends. The next photo shows two crochet type door hangers that we bought at, you guessed it, Ikea. They house or bathroom sundries and they all stay in place as we drive down the road. The following photo is our Ikea clothes hamper and my sewing stash under our bedroom vanity. Following is a bedroom cabinet which houses a few plastic bins storing tools, wrapping goodies, bags, labeler, makeup and medicines. Again, the storage boxes keep "stuff" together and keeps small items from flying all over the place while we are moving. These are just some of our ideas that we are now using. More to follow....."Life Is Good Today."