Anyone who's spent time camping in a small trailer understands how difficult it can be to fit all their daily essentials into such a cramped space. Storage is limited, so organization is crucial. And oftentimes one's original plan gets thrown out the window!
My original plan was to store dishes and other dinnerware in these cabinets above the dining booth. It made perfect sense to me to keep dinnerware next to the table. Unfortunately, it didn't quite play out as expected.
To access these cabinets, I have to reach over the dinette. Needless to say, that got irritating really fast after reaching up and over several times each day. In addition, I certainly didn't need 4 cabinets for dinnerware for two!
I moved the dishes to the cabinets above the butcher-block counter, beside the dry food storage.
Because we usually camp over a long weekend, two cupboard bays for dry food storage and two for dinnerware were sufficient. Having all the food and food service items within reach above the prep area worked much more effectively.
With flatware and larger kitchen tools stored in the market box and picnic basket tower located directly across from the butcher block counter, our food prep storage needs were covered. So what would we put up in the now-empty cupboards above the dinette?
I already had our dog's small duffel bag in the fourth cupboard bay near the door. All his daily necessities fit, and the bag tucked into the curved-back cupboard bay perfectly.
So that got me thinking...
We were struggling to find a place for our clothing. I had a large backpack for my clothes, and my husband had a large duffel bag for his. During our last weekend trip, we kept moving these bags from the floor to the top of the bed, from the bed to the dinette benches, and from the dinette benches right back onto the floor! Round and round we'd go.
If only they'd fit as snuggly as our dog's bag!
And that's when it hit me...rather than each of us packing our stuff into a large bag, couldn't we instead pack both of our things into three, smaller, shared bags?
Why yes, we could!
I purchased three more of the smaller duffel bags - one for each of the remaining cupboard bays. In each bag, I now pack an outfit, and my husband packs an outfit. Typical camping outfits include undergarments, socks, a T-shirt, and jeans. Both of our outfits fit easily in one bag! We do this for each day we plan to camp. When we change into new clothes for a new day, the previous day's clothes go into the bag we just emptied. When we return home from our camping stay, the bags are collected, brought inside, and their contents are laundered.
Neat, tidy, organized, and efficient!
Maybe it's strange to pack clothing in cupboards above a dinette. But when you spend 4 days and 3 nights living within 94 square feet, you might just need to make some unconventional choices.
