Open Concept Organizing: How I Organized Our RV For Under $40

After spending nine days in our new-to-us RV, it was clear that some organizing systems were going to be necessary. Thankfully, organizing doesn’t have to be expensive.

When I need an organizing item, I shop my house first. Then, if necessary, I go to the dollar store or the thrift store with an open mind, and I usually can find something that will work. Sometimes finding a way to use a product other than for what it was originally intended will save you tons of moo-lah.

For example, I wanted to use an over the door shoe organizer in the bathroom to store toiletries, but the ones I found were too wide or too long or too expensive. Instead, I found a jewelry organizer for just $6 that works perfectly. It hangs on an over-the-door hook we already had.

To maintain order in the medicine cabinet, I picked up some narrow pencil baskets at the dollar store (3 for $1) to corral items and keep them in place while we travel.

And, to avoid packing 7 different bottles of medicine every time we go camping, I also grabbed a weekly pill organizer from the dollar store and filled each pod with a different over-the-counter medicine – Advil, Benedryl, Pepto Bismal, etc. – labeling it clearly with a Sharpie.

A dollar store toothbrush holder with a little Velcro holds our toothbrushes and cups easily accessible on the counter and keeps them in place.

In the bedroom area, I found a couple fabric boxes lying around the house unused so I stashed those in the over head cabinets to hold things like bathing suits and pajamas.

We had some hanging shoe organizers stuffed into a closet in our basement and, even though I’ve cleaned out those closets multiple times, I just couldn’t bring myself to ever get rid of them. I grabbed them and hung them in the hanging storage area and they now hold extra sheets, towels, and tablecloths.

I call hanging on to things part-hoarding, part-proactive thinking. The Mister calls it a gift. That’s why I love him.

Our food storage cabinets were organized with some baskets and bins from the dollar store keeping things from sliding around while traveling and making it much easier to find those marshmallows when it’s s’more time!

The first time I opened the refrigerator door after driving to our very first camping destination, I looked like a poorly trained circus juggler so I added some more baskets and bins in there and everything stayed exactly in its place on our next trip!

We really do camp with more than water and beer.... :)

We put our super old (and super small) TV/VCR combo in the trailer in case we have rainy days and feel like watching a movie. Our movie selection got slid into an overhead space. A tension rod ensures everything stays in place while we’re cruising down the road while a Velcro strip holds the remote in place when it’s not in use.

Deciding on my favorite organization tool in the RV is a tough one, but it definitely comes down to the paper plate dispenser and the sock organizer.

I’ve never been more excited about a sock organizer in my life.

I used the sock organizer to hold our glasses, cups, and mugs in place; they didn’t budge!

But, the paper plate dispenser does save so much cupboard space and makes it super easy to grab a plate when working in the kitchen or grabbing a quick snack. I say it’s a tie!

Our melamine plates did slide around a lot on our first trip so I was looking for something that would keep them all together and in place. I found a used Martha Stewart desk organizer at the thrift store for $2 and the plates fit perfectly!

To save counter space, I grabbed a shower caddy from the dollar store and hung it on the kitchen wall with a command hook. It's now our fruit holder!

Our pots and pans are corralled under the sink and the lids are slid into a paper filing rack for easy access. Everything is kept in its place with a couple tension rods which can easily be removed while we’re settled into a camp site and put back in when it’s time to travel.

The tall cupboard by the entry has a ton of space but things often get lost because it is such a deep cupboard. Foil, plastic wrap, and sandwich bags are kept together and close to the front in a used magazine rack.

Plastic bags for trash or doggy messes are kept in a dollar store cereal container.

A silverware organizer keeps things like solar lights, match lighters, and small tools handy in a way that keeps them from sliding all over.

The under the table storage is contained with two laundry baskets from the dollar store. While they work great, I might seek out some rectangular baskets to better utilize that space in the future.

I found some wall hooks at the dollar store and thought they'd work great to hang our dirty shoes on instead of them being strewn across the floor and tripped on. Since I wasn't 100% sure they would work, I didn't want to screw them into the wood paneling so I grabbed a couple more command hooks to hang them. Surprisingly, they worked great!

Outside, some heavy duty command hooks keep our cords and hoses off the floor in the under-storage area, making room for camp chairs and other larger items.

We used large utility hooks, often used to hold brooms or mops, to store our kayak paddles and broom on the side of our under-storage area. They are now out of the way and protected from being squashed by heavier items we stow under there. It’s not always good to be ~~short~~ vertically challenged, but for installing these hooks, it was a huge blessing.

$40 later our RV is adequately organized! For more RV organization tips, be sure to follow me on Pinterest!

How do you keep your camping gear in order? What items do you use outside of their intended purpose?

This post was shared in a link party over at: