Cute RV Storage Organizers

 I am all about the cute RV storage containers and organizers. Space is limited in our trailer so RV organization is a must or I frankly will not enjoy camping as much. You want to find everything quickly and know where your stuff is so good travel trailer hacks for cheap are my go to to keep camping fun.

Lightweight stick on baskets for RV

Our new travel trailer which I did a post about, has I would say average RV storage space, but the flat surfaces would always collect items like phones, leashes, dog walking items, sunglasses, so I went searching for something I could put by the door that was lightweight, cheap and something I could honestly secure and stick to the little side table top so I didn't have to keep moving it for travel.

You can find these cutest soft sided storage organizer baskets with dividers online by clicking the link. Of course I wanted some thing cute and they have so many patterns and colors and I went for a red plaid sort of cabin decor theme.

Next, I used a great RV hack and got large pre cut strips of velcro to adhere the basket to the table so it can live there without moving while the RV is in route but if needed we could just release it by pulling the top part off of the velcro fastener. These velcro strips are cheap on Amazon and really work.

I loved this basket so much that I bought one for my RV bathroom as well. I cut the handles off of the living area basket and probably will with the bathroom one. I love that they are lightweight and don't add much of any weight to the trailer.

Check out my post on RV organizing in our older trailer.

My Camp Kitchen Box

I love an organized camp kitchen set up and my camp kitchen box it simple a two drawer stackable set up that has everything I need for camping cooking and more. I hope you will find some smart camping tips with a peek at my camp kitchen box.

Nothing fancy just a simple camp box set up that we keep stocked so we can pull the boxes and go camping at any time.

My Camp Kitchen Box

Contained in the two plastic drawer system is:

Pots and pans, cooking utensils

Foil and plastic wrap
Plastic bags and trash bags
Flash light and small lantern

Wash pan

Kitchen towels and scrubbie, pot holders

Dish soap and bar soap for hand washing

Splatterware coffee mugs (these are the best for coffee and cocktails while camping)

Plates and mugs

Paper bowls

My container of plastic and tableware
Egg carrier (this is where I store it)

We love our enamel camping cups. We each have one and they are used for coffee, cocoa, soup and cocktails in the evening. Everything just tastes so good in them and you can carry them around while eating and drinking. You can't beat the price at only $3.89 on Amazon.

Though when we are camping the eggs are in the ice chest but this carrier is great and keeps your eggs from getting crushed in the ice chest and also from the carton getting soggy.

See my entire camp kitchen set up and my foldable camp stove/kitchen organizer.
See all my camping posts here.

Tent Camping Tips To Make Camping Easy

We have been campers for over 30 years. Tents, trailers and now without a trailer, in a tent again this past weekend. I will share my tent camping tips to make camping easier that can be used while tenting it or camping in a RV.

Right now we are without our trailer, as we sold it in May, but I was really wanting a camping trip. We have everything to tent it so we pulled together our gear quickly and went to a back country campground you can;t pull a trailer to.

Tent Camping Tips To Make Camping Easy

1. Organize a camp kitchen box

Pull your kitchen gear into easy to access plastic drawers. My entire camping kitchen outside of the stove is contained in these two drawers. Pots. pans, cups, towels, wash pan and more all tucked into these drawers.

Here is some of what I keep in camping kitchen box: 

Pots and pans, cooking utensils

Foil and plastic wrap

Wash pan

Kitchen towels and scrubbie

Dish soap and bar soap for hand washing

Splatterware coffee mugs (these are the best for coffee and cocktails while camping)

Plates

Paper bowls

My container of plastic and tableware (see that great tip here)
Check out the post on my whole outdoor camp cook set up...
*A whole post on my camp kitchen set up is coming very soon.

2. Get an air mattress

Though we have a small cheap tent, we slept wonderfully cause we crammed our air mattress into it. It was worth it. Everything is easier when you are rested.

I covered our air mattress with an old memory foam topper from our trailer and we slept like babies.

3. Keep camp cooking very simple

I make as much ahead as I can. I premake soup or chili and freeze it and we always grill kabobs premade and marinated and frozen in large ziplocs on their skewers. Keep it simple. I also premake our sandwiches on rolls with mayo and mustard, meat and cheese and wrapped in saran wrap and placed in a plastic tub on top of the ice chest. This keeps me from having to pack meat, cheese and condiments in our ice chest. We add pickles and lettuce later. This is a genius camping hack to keep the ice chest free for other items.

We always take our camping propane coffee maker. It makes the best coffee and a full pot that keeps warm. Just rinse out the pot after breakfast and you are done.

4. Make a camping list ahead of time

I make a list of all we need ahead of time and collect all the items in one area of our garage. Doing this ahead of time makes packing easier on the day we are leaving and when we return home we put it all back in this one spot so I can clean and put away at my leisure.

5. Store all your camping supplies together

We have a very inexpensive plastic cupboard in the garage most of our camping supplies fit in nicely. Our plastic bins sit next to it. Keeping everything in one place makes, organizing camping equipment makes it so much easier the next time you are ready for a camping trip.

These are a few of my camping tips for tent camping but we have tons of camping posts for RV camping too. You can find all our posts here.

Affiliate links in this post.

Vintage Drainer Becomes Under Sink Organizer

When you find an antique dish drying rack, and it is in red you know you must have it for something. I knew it would be perfect  and so a vintage drainer becomes under sink organizer.

How We Keep Our Trailer Organized While Camping

I thought there was no better time, than in the middle of a camping trip, to share how we keep our trailer organized while camping. I filmed a little video that will show you where and how I keep things and is also an updated tour of our Forest River Trailer we have had for 11 years.

Trailer Organization Ideas:

1. Daily, preferably in the morning, do a thorough pick up and wipe down. A clean trailer is a happy trailer. In such a small space everything needs to have a place.

2. Don't over pack. That is hard, trust me, I know, but take what you need an always keep thining your supplies out. Like in a home, if you haven't used it in a year or two, you might not need that as far as the interior items are concerned. Of course tools and trailer maintenance stuff should always be kept in good supply.

3. Use vertical and over the door space as much as you can. Command hooks are my key to keeping camping supplies up off the floor and organized in their place.

4. Find a place for dirty laundry. I use a pop up hamper and if we are at the beach and things are wet and sandy, I keep it outside next to the door. No wet or sandy things in the trailer and when you get home, all your laundry can be carried to the washer in one container.

5. Keep things together in one common place. We keep a large shoe basket that holds all of our shoes in one place. Clothes are kept in closets or drawers for hubby and I. Each child brings their own duffel for their clothes that stays on their bunk.

A few steps can help to keep your RV organized and make for a much easier and more enjoyable trip.

And when you are all done at the end of the day how cute are these camper pj's??

Below are links to my favorite RV organizing must haves.

Expandable cabinet organizer: http://amzn.to/2sG41wu
Over the door hook: http://amzn.to/2s8cJ9V
Happy camper calendar: http://amzn.to/2rUVeu3
Command Hooks: http://amzn.to/2rUJnfw
Hanging tier wire basket: http://amzn.to/2sGdIe6
Hanging wire basket: http://amzn.to/2s84FWC
Nina Soft Spin Dryer: http://www.laundry-alternative.com/ou...

Visit all of our camping tips for more outdoor advice.
Affiliate links in this post.

New Accessories For Our Travel Trailer

Good news, we are keeping our trailer because we now have a new tow vehicle. Each year as camping season approaches, I pick up new accessories for our travel trailer.

I look at the trailer as my play house, my RV is a my home away from home so I like to deck it out with cute touches but also practical things that keep our trailer organized.

The bathroom got some new colorful towels. Trailers are always a bland brown beige color theme and I like to add pops of color. I keep a woodland theme and these cute towels were from Walmart. The hanging metal basket organizer is not new but I use it to keep my makeup back and hair brushes. The counter gets cluttered and this keeps my stuff up off the trailer bathroom counter and organized in one handy place.
This post contains affiliate links.

Watch my video of all my new accessories for the trailer and follow me on youtube for video content that doesn't always get posted here on the blog.


And one more new video of a gift for the trailer from my daughter. Something I have been wanting for a long while.

How To Store Cookie Cutters

If you are like me and have amassed loads of cookie cutters, here are some ideas on how to store cookie cutters. So far mine are stored in a plastic bin but I love some of these cookie cutter organization ideas.

An organized kitchen is important to make cooking less stressful and more fun. Cookie cutters may be used only once a year so storing them put up away is how I roll. This is one of the clutter storage issues we need to deal with for an organized kitchen.

How To Store Cookie Cutters:

Large Glass Jars would be perfect to keep them clean. But can take a lot of space.

via eatwell101

Thanksgiving Prep Ideas

A short video sharing how I plan out my Thanksgiving meal. Thanksgiving prep ideas the help keep the meal preparation organized.

Pre-Holiday Room By Room Cleaning Plan - The Kitchen

Here is the newest post in my holiday cleaning tips Pre-Holiday Room By Room Cleaning Plan - The Kitchen.

While the weather is still warm I like to plan ahead for a more organized Christmas. Getting the holiday deep cleaning done early, makes me less stressed come November and December.

**Now the list may seem extensive but it is just that, a list. Do what you can or what seems to be most pressing. I like to print it off and check off what I can but I usually never get all done but this holiday cleaning plan helps keep me on track.

Plastic Silverware Organizing Idea for RV, Camping, Picnics

I have a super easy and cheap plastic silverware organizing idea for RV, camping, picnic or just for an easy home storage idea.

Right now all the school supplies are out and these little plastic pencil cases (click to order)  make great holders for plastic forks, knives and spoons for camping, outdoors, BBQ or just to keep them organized in your home.

RV Storage Organization Hacks

When camping, whether in a motor home or trailer, RV storage hacks are a must for organized camping. You cannot enjoy camping if you can't find your camping gear or are tripping over all or your supplies so we're sharing a few of our camping trailer set up ideas cause the best RV hacks are worth reading about.

How To Organize A Baking Drawer

I bake a lot of our food from bread to cookies and treats and this is how to organize a baking drawer frugally in order to make all that baking easier. I wanted a drawer where my tools were at hand but didn't want to spend any money to organize baking supplies so I used what I had on hand for a free organization project.

Free Printable Holiday Planning Pages

I think it is so worth it to put together a simple Christmas organizer and I have compiled my favorite free printable holiday planning pages.

Each year I like to get myself going early so I can have an organized Christmas. I have done a series on getting ready for the holidays so check it out for cleaning lists to get ready for holiday guests.

A simple binder with these Christmas countdown printables will help you keep on track.

Print these holiday organization lists now and stay organized with me as we prepare for the holiday season.

Here are some of my favorite free holiday organization printables.

                                                                  Holiday Baking List

Gift Wish List

Holiday Budget and Planning Pages

                                                                  Christmas shopping list

Holiday Meal Shopping List

Holiday House Cleaning Tips - The Entry Way

This time of year it is a good idea to start early cleaning your house for the holidays. I have a few cleaning tips to share and here is another in the series of cleaning your home for the holidays. We have already covered the deep cleaning plan for the living room and the dining room. Now, we will focus our holiday plan on cleaning the entry way.

Cleaning the entry way is important because it is the first room guest see. But this room should go quickly as it is usually the small area of the home and now is a perfect time to organize the entry way for the winter months to come.

Entryway Cleaning Tips

1. Remove anything that does not belong in here.
2. Remove rugs, send them out to be cleaned or wash them yourself.
3. Now start at the top and wipe down walls, cleaning smudges or touch up paint.
4. Remove light fixture and bulbs and wash in hot soapy water. The bulbs I just wipe clean. You won't believe how shiny the fixture will look.
5. Clean the top of door frames and wipe down doors. Get fingerprints and clean any glass on the front door.
6. Clean any glass and windows including washing curtains or cleaning blinds. I have a great cleaning tip for shutters and blinds.
7. Wipe down and clean any hanging pictures or decor in the entry way. If you have old dusty plants, toss them or place them in the shower for a cleaning. A new plant would really look nice in the entryway.
8. If you don't have a place for keys, hang one up. Since doing this years ago we never hunt for our keys cause they are always right by the door.
9. Have a nice rug or mat for wet shoes when winter arrives.
10. Wipe the floor and baseboards. I love Murphy's Oil Soap for cleaning wood floors.

Now put everything back and enjoy!

How To Set Up A Camp Kitchen

I love camp cooking. As soon as we arrive to our campsite, I set up my camp kitchen. I'll show you how to set up a camp kitchen cause for me organization is the key to successful and enjoyable camping. 

How to set up a camp kitchen

 Having everything at hand in an organized camp kitchen, makes preparing all that yummy camp food easy. Camping can be a lot of work but if you prepare ahead with your organized camping supplies, you will enjoy that meal prep time and fellowship with your friends and family in the great outdoors.

 Believe it or not, I asked for this folding camp kitchen for Mother's day a couple of years ago. It keeps everything right at my fingertips.

Here is an organized camping list for your kitchen:

Lantern

Paper towels

Trash bags

Trash can

Matches or clicker lighter

Plates and silverware, napkins

Reusable tablecloth

Foil

Pots and pans and cooking tools

Tea kettle

Coleman Coffee Maker (An awesome portable propane coffee maker)

Camp coffee mugs

Non stick spray (makes clean up easy)

Spices

Dish pan

Wash cloth and towel

Dishsoap

I prefer to set up my camp kitchen with my propane stove at the end of my picnic table. That way I am right where the action is and I can leave hot pans on there to serve from.

I find having everything at hand makes meal prep easy and I love this collapsible camp stove holder. It folds up into a small bag too.

here is the one I have

If we are camping for at least a few days or the picnic table is small, I pull out my folding table and set up our meal and coffee goods here. Less in and out of the trailer to get what you need. I love this wire silverware, paper goods picnic caddy. It keeps all items organized.

Here is another idea I am going to implement next camping trip. I love this hanging camping organizer. It would be great to hold things up out of the way and keep them from getting piled up on your camp table.

I love this camping collapsible sink. You could really use it anywhere in the house too but it folds up totally flat. Just throw in your camping bin or under your sink.
Follow us on youtube.
Check out my post on an easy cheap way to organize your plastic silverware.
You can check out my review of the Coleman portable coffee maker.
Check out all our camping and RV posts here.
Affiliate links in this post.

Create a Baking Basket - Kitchen Quick Tip

Another in our kitchen organization series. When I go to bake or stir up something from scratch, I don't want to have to go here or there to gather my ingredients so I created a baking basket. All my baking and scratch cooking needs in one place.

In my basket I keep all that I would need for basic baking organization in one place.

Here is what I keep in my baking basket:
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Cookie scoop
Yeast packets
Baking soda
Baking powder
Cream of tartar
Vanilla and extracts
Food coloring
Frosting tips

Keeping baking items organized makes it easy to grab my baking supplies with one hand and mix up something from scratch just like that.

Organizing the Bathroom

Organizing the bathroom. Not a fun topic I grant you, but one that must be tackled in a particular bathroom in our home that is shared primarily but us five females. This bathroom gets heavy traffic and has become, I will admit, rather scary when you open the bathroom cabinets and drawers.

When you take all our hair products, my makeup, hair brushes and accessories and throw in the five million feet of cords attached to all the hair styling devices that are under the sink, you get the chaos that I cannot stand and that seriously needs tackling.

I went searching for inspiration before I buy anything to tackle the bathroom organizing that is high on my to do list.

This open shelf concept is pretty, but I will say would not last a day in that bathroom. However, I have enjoyed this picture.

Now this idea is genius and I think using the doors for additional storage is one idea I am going to implement for sure. The magnetic knife strip works perfectly to hold all the clippers and metal hair clips.

Convincing my husband to screw anything to the doors would be impossible so I think I will have to use something that sticks. That will limit me to light weight storage.

Maybe I could convince him that it would work on the wider parts of the trim around the door frame like this one. I also like the toilet paper corralled in a basket. We use a lot of the stuff so remaining stocked up is vital.

One thing I know for sure I will do, is use containers labeled like these to hold different categories in the cupboards. One for first aid is great for all the ace bandages and large things you don't use often. 

I could add another free standing cabinet but I really believe in less is more. Simplify life with less so a thorough purging of what is not being used or has expired and then organizing the bathroom items by category and type in like containers that are labeled, is going to be my plan of action. I will share once the task is completed. Stay tuned.

photos courtesy of bhg.com

Kitchen Quick Tip - The Easiest Way to Clean Your Refrigerator

Our kitchen quick tip - Easiest Way To Clean Your Refrigerator is how I clean my refrigerator all year long and since I have cleaning ADD, I have the easiest tip to clean the largest appliance we own.

So last week I shared my tips for organizing and simplifying your Thanksgiving meal but before you head to to the grocery store, how about getting the refrigerator cleaned up and sparkling to hold all your groceries and that TURKEY!.

Now, to me, taking apart the entire refrigerator and having to clean the whole thing, is just overwhelming so what I like to do is to speed clean the refrigerator a little at a time. That's right, a few minutes here and there and your fridge is always clean.

Easiest Way To Clean Your Refrigerator

1. Every morning when I do the dishes for say a week or so, I will pull out a shelf and one shelf from the door as well.

2. Wash the glass shelf and door shelf and then take the hot soapy rag and wipe down those areas in the refrigerator and dry. I do this about once a month and that way it is never seems to be a daunting task and is the best way to clean the refrigerator which seems to stay more organized and clean than waiting till it is a mess and tackling the whole thing at one time.

I will use this method with the freezer too but less often as it does not seem to get as messy as often as the refrigerator section.

So by adding just a few minutes at the end of morning dishes, I keep my refrigerator clean and that is this week's kitchen quick tip. Check out our quick tip series.

Tips to Organize and Simplify Your Thanksgiving Meal Preparation

I love Thanksgiving. Simply a day to gather around the table and eat good food that evokes lots of memories. The meal though can be overwhelming, so here are some tips to organize and simplify your Thanksgiving meal preparation.

 Right now, at nine days out from Thanksgiving, I am compiling my menu and grocery list. I do this simply. Take a notebook sheet of paper and and write your menu on the left side and on the right side of the paper start your grocery list. As you add or remove dishes from your Thanksgiving menu you can list the ingredients you will need from the store.
When it comes time to shop you will just cut the sheet in half and take your Thanksgiving shopping list with you to the store.

You can see at the bottom I also keep a to do list for only my meal preparation. Our meal is low key with just our immediate family and maybe a couple extra guests so other than keeping the house picked up that week, I do not have too many major projects to finish before Thanksgiving.

The week of Thanksgiving, I have come up with a system that keeps the work evenly divided between the days of the week leading up to the meal, but also keeps me from getting really stressed on Thanksgiving day. Here is how I plan my week beginning on Monday for a low stress Thanksgiving.

Monday:
I always do my grocery shopping for Thanksgiving this day. It is not so early that my fresh items are compromised, but early enough to avoid the crowds the rest of the week. Check your pantry for items you already have or pantry staples you will need like sugar or flour.

Come home and put away ingredients in the house and garage refrigerators and pantry.
Thaw turkey if needed.

Tuesday:
I will prepare the brine for my turkey. Once it is ready and completely cooled, I will put the turkey in the brine and put out in the garage fridge to sit until Thursday. Here is a basic brine recipe but our favorite is cranberry apple turkey brine recipe.

Chop all veggies for meal and store in fridge. If you saw my recent post on freezing chopped onions, those will all be done for you.

Wednesday:
I have found the best way to insure that I enjoy Thanksgiving too, is for me to make lots of food ahead of time. Wednesday is my day to do that and we will usually pick up something for dinner or hubby will take me out. You know how Thanksgiving leftovers are so good? Well, reheated dishes are often I find better the next day.

On Wed. I will make my dressing, put it in the dish I am using, and next day just heat in oven.

I also make my mashed potatoes today too and store in my crock pot dish in the refrigerator. Next day, top with some butter and turn the crock pot on early in the day to heat and they are wonderful and steamy this way. Just stir about once an hour to evenly reheat.

I also get most of my sweet potato dish done this day including baking it. I then let it cool and cover and store until Thursday where I will reheat in microwave and then top with marshmallows and pop under the broiler just before the meal to toast the marshmallows.

Make pies.

Wed. evening I set and decorate the Thanksgiving table.

Thursday:
Of course all the rest of the prep is today but three main dishes and pies are already done.

I hope you found my tips for a more organized and less stressful Thanksgiving meal helpful. Let me know if you have any other great tips. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Pre-Holiday Room by Room Cleaning Plan - The Dining Room

Okay, onto the dining room in my pre-holiday room by room cleaning plan. I am a bit behind with the start of school and a camping trip but I am going to try and quickly clean through the rest of the house making that a priority. Today is the dining room.

Holiday Cleaning Plan For The Dining Room:

1. Dust all crown molding and use swiffer duster to swipe walls of any cobwebs
2. Clean tops of high furniture 
3. Wipe tops of door jams
4. Dust and wipe down all hanging decor 
5. Remove plates from walls and wash
6. Dust hanging light fixture and clean bulbs
7. Wipe down all door and doorways of grime and fingerprints
8. Go around room cleaning marks on paint or touch up with fresh paint
9. Remove all nick knacks and dust and clean each piece of furniture as I do this
10. Tuck away summer decor for next year
11. Wipe down dining room chairs ( if you have upholstery then clean as needed)
12. Dust dining room table and legs
13. Clean wood floor of dining room (I have no rugs in here)
14. *If you have rugs then vacuum and flip over area rugs to vacuum other side

  I do have a china cabinet in here. I will not be taking everything out and cleaning inside because I do this once a year in spring and it seems to stay dust free fairly well.

Having a holiday grand plan will relieve stress and keep you on track to an organized Christmas.