When deciding to live in small spaces you quickly come to the realization that the decision to have fewer possessions is fast on the heels of the first. You will soon get the hang of down sizing; yard sales and thrift stores become your 'friends' and unless you plan on renting one of those off the road storage units for all the stuff you just can't seem to part with, you will learn to simply live with less.
To Keep or Not to Keep
When the time comes to hit the road full time in your rolling home, whether you're driving a 40 foot motorhome or towing a fifth wheel or travel trailer; after all the furniture, picture albums and grandma's good china has been sold, distributed among family members or dropped off at the nearest second hand store, the issue of clothing will certainly be the next dilemma.
It's not a difficult question, but sometimes a difficult choice. You've undoubtedly accumulated several years of favorites; blouses, slacks and dresses as well as t-shirts and jeans, skinny, boot legged and more. Winter coats, dress and casual; jackets for spring and fall. Church shoes, work shoes and last but not least tennis shoes. Let's not forget rubber boots, leather boots, hiking boots and possibly thigh high boots?
All absolutely necessary and I'm certain staples in the wardrobe of the trendy apartment dweller or 9-5 office worker but for the full time RVer you could safely say that the 4" spike heels and black and silver formal from that New Years Eve bash from 10 years ago are probably not headed for the keep pile. Neither is the heavy wool over coat and sheepskin lined hat, gloves and matching scarf, if your plan is to spend the winter months in a warmer climate,
Much of this can be donated – or consider starting an ebay store while you're in the down sizing phase. Used blue jeans will attract a pretty penny and you get to keep the 50%, sometimes 60% commission the second hand store usually gets. Winter coats are a good seller and recouping what was originally spent is not an unreasonable aspiration.
Space - Making Do
Remember, with all your earthly possessions needing space in your now 200-400 square foot (give or take) living accommodations, you will have to discern between the wants and the needs and learn to make do with less, not only in the clothing department but cumulatively. Making a list of 'His and Hers' and having a designated space in the rig for his and her clothing items will be a huge help in planning for that space.
Personally, in our motorhome, we have 9 drawers that we added in our bedroom closet that we store everything we can fold: underwear, night clothes, flannel shirts, jeans, t-shirts and shorts. A few dress items for church and those times when jeans and t-shirts aren't appropriate hang in the closet. When the season changes and the weather follows suit, I use space bags and store the seasonal clothing in the storage space under the bed. Space Bags are awesome! No RVer should be without Space Bags especially when living in their RV full time.
Your list may look something like this:
His
- Underwear - 7 in the drawer, new packages under the bed.
- Socks - 7 in the drawer, new packages under the bed.
- Jeans/Shorts - 7 in the drawer.
- Pocket T's - 7 in the drawer, new packages under the bed.
- Flannel Shirts - 7 in the drawer, extra under the bed.
- Pajamas - 7 lounge pants and 7 white t-shirts in the drawer.
- Dress Clothing - 2 slacks, 2 polo shirts hang in the closet, 2 sweaters under the bed.
- Shoes - Several, mostly moccasins to be worn accordingly and 2 belts.
- Sneakers - 2 pair, 1 to wear and 1 in the shoe basket in the closet.
- Slippers - 1 pair to wear and flip flops for the shower.
Hers
- Underwear - 7+ in the drawer, new packages under the bed.
- Socks - 7+ in the drawer, new packages under the bed.
- Bras - 7+ in the drawer, new packages under the bed.
- Jeans/Shorts - 7 in the drawer.
- Shirts - 7+ very casual and less casual divided between two drawers.
- Dress Clothing - 1 pair of black slacks and 2 nice blouses hang in the closet.
- Shoes - 2 less casual and 1 casual moccasin.
- Sneakers - Multiple pair to be worn accordingly.
- Slippers - 0 slippers but multiple flip flops.
Numbers may change with individual lists being mindful that women inherently have and need more clothes. A woman may not need slippers because she may wear socks instead, in that case the number will be '0' . One space saving storage idea for shoes is to use a canvas shoe organizer. They hold 5 - 9 pair of shoes each and 3 can conveniently be attached, out of the way, to the wooden bed frame in most RVs. Extra shoes can also be stored in a basket designated for shoes on a shelf in the closet.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Not all rigs have the same storage capabilities. You may not have underbed storage space and will need to use the storage space under the rig. Your rig may be small on living space but have a ton of built in drawer and closet space in the bedroom, or you may have a spacious living area with minimal drawer and closet space in the bedroom. In that case you may even choose to add shelves to a utility closet and turn it into a clothes closet.
Different folks have different storage needs and with a little ingenuity and practical thinking skills the storage possibilities for the wardrobe of the full time RVer are endless.
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