"I have so many shopping bags."

"There's so much garbage all the time."

"Where is this all going to go?"

I hear these questions asked over and over from people already in the RV world, as well as from people wanting to start full time RV life. Here is a list of our RV hacks that have made life a little less...cluttered.

Shopping Bags

Before setting out we, like most people, had a ton of plastic shopping bags. To accommodate space in our rig, we switched to reusable bags and gave all of our plastic ones to a local daycare and food bank. They use a lot of bags to send home children's soiled clothing and to take items to families in need. The gratitude for such a simple thing was incredible!

Garbage

We have two children in diapers. The amount of garbage we had was astronomical! For a long time we could not keep up with it all! As I'm sure you know, there is very limited space in a rig, least of all for trash! That is when I turned to online videos, blogs, and communities for a solution. One couple had a terrific system that we adopted as well.

We strapped a trash can on the back ladder of our rig with a ratchet strap, and have a second, large garbage inside. When our inside garbage gets full, we transfer it outside to the back. When both get full, we find somewhere to dump it.

So did we find a way to pare down garbage, or just a better way to store it? Great question!

We found a way to pare it down! Because we do almost all of our grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, once we have purchased our groceries, we take them all back to the rig as any other person would; however, we don't just drive away. No, instead we open everything that we can.

I know what you're thinking. Is this person nuts? Well, maybe. I am one of the "4 Nuts" after all (hahaha), but it has saved us SO much space in our cupboards, freezer and trash can! We put all of the snacks into Tupperware containers in the cupboard, all of our meat is repackaged into Ziplocs so that it packs smaller in the freezer, items that are in bags, in boxes (ie. pizza, chicken fingers, cereal etc.) are taken out of the boxes and just stored in the bags they came in.

What about the cooking instructions though? Well, at this point, if you don't know how to cook what you buy, there's Google!

So what do we do with all the boxes, bags, and packaging? Wal-Mart is one of many stores that do not mind you using their garbage bins out back if you have shopped there. So we load the cart with all of it and dump in it the dumpster before we leave. This has cut our trash down by two thirds!

Diapers? Same thing. Out of the boxes, out of the bags and in the closet...dump trash, repeat in two weeks.

Just like that, you have hacked your full time RV garbage problem!

Where Do You Put Everything!?!

Another very common question is where everything goes. First of all, for those of you asking this question, I was there with you! However, I was baffled at how much actually fit into our rig. The best advice I can give is take only what is essential or necessary and leave sentimental things or appliances you have an attachment to that you barely use where it is. For more on paring down, visit my blog here.

I am not a woman who does my hair or wears makeup...ever. For anyone who knew me in a past life, you are currently sitting there slack-jawed and shocked, knowing I was a barber stylist for fifteen years. Because of this, I didn't have a lot of things to put into our bathroom, which was great because there wasn't a lot of room for a lot of bathroom stuff (hahaha).

Alright, so let's dive right in. We are a family of four, for those of you who don't know us or follow us yet--my husband, myself, and our two boys, aged 5 and 4. I have compiled a list of everything we have in our 34" motorhome, and we have a little room to spare right now.

Shoes

one pair of runners each
one pair of sandals for each of the boys
two pairs of sandals each for my husband and myself
one pair of rain boots each for our boys
one pair of winter boots for each of us

That's right...only what's necessary! So to sum it up, that's 16 pairs of footwear total for all four of us. To accommodate this, we went to Ikea and bought three shoe storage units that we love! This fits all of our shoes with three cubbies extra for other things.

Winter Wear

Here's where it got tricky, as my kids had a lot of hand-me-downs!

We currently have with us:

one winter jacket for my husband
two winter jackets for me
three winter jackets for my oldest son
two winter jackets for my youngest son
one pair of ski pants for each child
one pair of ski pants for me
one neck warmer for each child
two toques for each child
two pairs of mitts for each child

three scarves for myself
two scarves for my husband
two pairs of mitts for me
two pairs of mitts for my husband
two toques for me
one toque for my husband
six pairs of splash pants for the boys
three wind breakers for each child
one rain jacket for my husband

These are all kept on the roof inside vacuum-seal bags, inside of suitcases, inside of a storage area with the boots/rain boots/Halloween costumes until needed. At that point, we transfer them inside onto hooks we secured behind the passenger side chair, and two of our three extra shoe storage bins.

Clothes

I will start this by saying that we don't hang any of our clothing at all. Below is a list of what each of us have with us right now. The boys, again, have a LOT more than they ever use because they had a bunch of hand-me-downs and birthday clothes.

My Husband:

six pairs of pants
one pair of pajama pants
eight t-shirts
three golf shirts
one sweater
three sweat jackets
six pairs of shorts
sixteen pairs of socks
twelve pairs of underwear
two pairs of swim trunks

Myself:

seven pairs of pants
five pairs of tights (two are only worn under other pants for colder weather)
one pair of capris
six pairs of shorts
three long sleeved shirts
one t-shirt
eight tank tops
six dresses
two pairs of pajama pants
one pair of pajama shorts
four pajama t-shirts
one pajama long sleeve
six sweaters
seven scarves
one sweat jacket
nine pairs of socks
ten pairs of underwear
three bras (I rarely ever wear one)
one swim suit

My Oldest Son:

one pair of swimming trunks
nine pairs of socks
five pajama sets
one sweat jacket
fourteen pairs of pants
ten long sleeve shirts
twenty one t-shirts/tank tops
seven pairs of shorts

My Youngest Son:

one pair of swim trunks
two swim shirts
nine pairs of socks
four pajama sets
five sweat jackets
four sweaters
eight pairs of pants
twenty long sleeve shirts
twenty three t-shirts/tank tops
eight pairs of shorts

Kitchen

wash bin for sink
five coffee cups
six large plates
seventeen small plates
five plastic kids cups
six plastic adult cups
nine cereal bowls
two travel mugs
four water bottles
five frying pans (we only ever use 2)
four pots
two serving trays
large strainer
small strainer
four trivets
four loaf pans
two cake pans
barbecue utensils
two cook books
one drawer full of Tupperware (about forty five containers)
crock pot
coffee maker
convection oven
two counter top burners
toaster
blender
oven mitts
twenty four jars of spices
salt and pepper shaker
sugar container
cutting board
paper towel holder
cutlery
drawer full of cooking utensils/tongs etc
large garbage can
recycling bin
four dish towels
two drain mats
eight dish cloths
paper towel

Bathroom/Shower

three shampoos
one conditioner
two loofas
two pumice stones
bubble bath
shaving cream
nine towels
hair elastics
two combs
razors
Q-tips
toilet paper
bathroom scale
deodorant
six bottles of perfume/cologne
eight toothbrushes
three toothpastes
flat iron (never used it)
blow dryer (use it to defrost the freezer)
small case of hair cutting tools
two hand towels
four cloths
floss
mouth wash
pencil case of make-up
contact case and solution
glasses case
bath mat
tub mat
large wall art

Outside

inflatable boat
corn hole game
small case of Christmas/Halloween decorations
two tarps
rope
barbecue
foldable table
shoe tray
three backpacks
Halloween costumes
power tools
tool box
two sleds
painting supplies (that we have to get rid of hahaha)
fluids to top up while driving
two car seats (outside in storage when not driving)
large, wooden step (stored inside to drive)
large Rubbermaid of outdoor toys (stored in shower to drive)
four lawn chairs
collapsible wagon

Other Items

two rugs
one outdoor rug
two laptops
two phone chargers
two camera tripods
yoga mat
three purses
one large, one small outdoor mats
Filter Queen vacuum
two heaters
two fans
ten comforters
six throw blankets
eight pillows

four decorative pillows
sewing machine
diaper box full of fabric
iron
small ironing board
sewing supplies
knitting bag
reusable shopping bags
safe
three cameras
two tiered step stool
seven fitted sheets
eight pillow cases
first aid supplies
about twenty five CD's
ten scribblers
pens/pencils/markers/sharpies/highlighters/crayons/pencil crayons
two erasers
two sharpeners
two rulers
stapler
printer
laminator
printer paper/laminating sleeves/construction paper/art paper
seven coloring books
four binders

decorative boat
two willow tree ornaments
fridge magnets
two clear containers full of art/office supplies (ie. paint, glue, scissors, tape, thumb tacks, paper clips etc)
one clear case for school books
kids toys/books (seven shelves and four drawers)
"grow into" clothes
box of important papers/tax information
wedding dress
photo chest
clothesline and clothes pins
five or six adult books
food
cleaning supplies

What a huge list! Now that you know how much you can cram into your rig, the question of "Where are we going to put this or that?" must seem a little silly. If not, you need to pare down my dear friend. Less stuff means less stress!

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