I remember standing in our first motorhome trying to figure out what drawer we’d put the silverware in. It was 2000 and I was in our new-to-us 1994 29-foot Class C with very little kitchen space and an impossibly skinny pair of drawers. Oddly enough, there was a bank of drawers and cupboards in the hallway opposite the bathroom door. That was it, that was the only space that had a drawer and cupboards to fit the silverware tray and dinner plates. It became a joke asking our young boys to go in the hallway and get forks for dinner. We didn’t have it long as it just didn’t fit our needs. We made sure our next one, a 2002 31-foot Class C Winnebago, had better storage.
Arranging your stuff often requires creative thinking, like our silverware in the hallway. One key for us is I’ll be able to reach it. I’m 5’5” and Mark is a foot taller than me. He can reach everything in our “made for tall people” RV.
When we look at RVs we talk about where we plan to put everything. I think it’s important to figure out where you’d put your sheets, towels, dishes, clothes and food before you buy. We got pretty good at it while we searched for our first diesel motorhome. They have lots of room compared to our two Class C models.
Baskets are a lifesaver! The ones in the photos are found just about anywhere. We’ve purchased them from Amazon, Target and At Home stores. We use them in the refrigerator to contain beverage cans, in the cupboard over the couch for miscellaneous items for that trip and under the sink in the bathroom for odd shaped items.
We also use other baskets from the house. Smaller baskets keep spices in place. Medium sized baskets keep all the Tupperware lids from rolling about the cupboard. A former gift basket holds small RV items and is easy to pull out to find what you’re looking for.
Refrigerator storage items are great repurposed in the bathroom vanity cabinets. No more deodorant tipping over when making a left turn while band aids and other first aid items are in one place and ready for use.
Vacuum bags work great for storing large, soft items like blankets and pillows.
In the kitchen, silicone pans are great for cooking and don’t break. Silicone baking pads are perfect for making cookies and storing between glass baking pans.
We bought a set of extra-large reusable totes that have a solid bottom specifically for travel. One bag is all for Daisy, our dog. It lives in a cabinet at home and goes into the RV for travel. The other one lives in the RV cabinet and is filled with my stash of grocery bags and small charcuterie boards we’ve been given.
We like items we’ll use outside often close to the door, especially flashlights for when we arrive at a campsite in the dark and take our dog for her early morning and/or late-night walk. Binoculars also live close to the door, you never know when you think that’s a small bear in the road and need to verify.
The large cabinets over the couch are kind of trip specific for extra items we need for the trip. Most times it’s a chip box variety, sometimes extra drinks and where we stash gifts. We camp mostly in the desert southwest so a small but mighty fan is a necessity. The Wooz00 fan lives here.
In the kitchen we keep plates, bowls, cups, Tupperware and foil pans in the upper cabinets and the pots & pans, glass baking pans, cookie sheets and cutting board in the lower drawers. In the “thinking outside the box” department, this is where we store our stemmed wine glasses because they don’t move while underway. We modified the lower storage right after we got this RV. It had a teeny-tiny bathroom sized pull out trash can and two skinny drawers that literally only fit beer cozies.
The drawers were wider in our last RV so we had to get creative. They are very long which is helpful. No silverware in the hallway, they now live in the top drawer with extra cooking utensils in the second drawer while foil and storage bags live in the bottom drawer.
We are lucky to have a large cabinet under the sink. We keep the trash can, trash bags, cleaners and gallon jugs of water in that space.
I use a plastic basket to hold the spices. Oils, syrup and a hand mixer help fill the cabinet so items don’t fall all over when we are driving. This motorhome has a pull-out pantry which I have come to love. Some dry staples like flour, sugars and such live on the upper shelves. I reuse Talenti gelato containers to hold tea bags and other small things. I like that I can see what’s inside the clear container. This is where cans, boxed items and single drinks live for a trip. Mainly because I can reach it easily and because the cabinets over the table better fit bread, crackers, cereals, a coffee box and snacks.
The bottom shelf in the pantry is where the liquor lives. We buy the big bottles so we don’t have to think about it and they fit better on the shelf. Buy it once and we’re good for a long time and no worries of them tipping over on the drive.
We save the cabinets under the table and chairs for items we don’t use every trip like the crockpot and toaster. I like heavy stuff to be on the bottom so you’ll also find our dominos game living by the crockpot. The other cabinet is where we store our reusable water bottles, tall wine bottles and our water bottle basket. We keep full cases in the under storage then load them here so it’s easier to transfer bottles to the refrigerator when needed. If we bring the air fryer or instant pot, they ride under the chair when driving so they aren’t in the way to walk and won’t fall off the counter.
For us, underused items don’t get prime shelf space. We keep extra sheets, towels and rugs in the cabinets over the bed because we don’t use them every trip. I have to climb on the bed to access these cabinets while Mark shows off his height by reaching them easily.
Under bed storage is also a great place to keep things you buy in bulk. It’s where we store paper plates, cups, plastic silverware, napkins and toilet paper.
Organizing your RV is an individual thing. Like us, you may initially like how you set it up then realize you need to rearrange at some point. Remember to be mindful of weight and never exceed the GVWR for your RV. We hope our sometimes-quirky storage can help you get maximum use and enjoyment of your space.
See you at the campground!