Staying Organized while Living Tiny
One of my most frequent asked questions is how do I stay organized while living in such a small space. Moving to our RV, I learned & am still learning on what it means to live simply & minimal. I am learning what is truly important to me, how to make the most of my space & belongings & little ways to still make it feel like home. Showing the coziness we created through pictures is fun, but I do understand that it might not be as easy understanding how simple it truly is to live tiny.
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To live tiny is to live simply. Before moving, we purged & donated/sold so much of our belongings. That part was fun but scary. Thinking of the sweet gifts we were given but maybe didn’t need. Thinking of all the money spent when we knew this wouldn’t be our forever. Why get rid of it when we will one day have a house again? Our situation is a little different than others as well because we are lucky to have two places to store stuff. Keeping our extra kitchen dishes & appliances as well as our winter clothing up in Indiana at Luke’s parents is a blessing. So many things we now do not have to store but also buy again when our agendas change. In addition, we are keeping some family inherited furniture & bulkier items here in Florida at my parents. All things we did not want to part with but also now do not have to rent a storage unit. Trust me, we have not looked passed how much of a blessing it is to have these spaces available to us in this time. Now for the items that we do need to keep on hand such as cleaning product, towels, tools, outdoor items, clothing, games - how do we keep it all organized in a small space? Well, we are still learning, but here is where we are so far…
Keeping the Household Essentials Minimal
There are some things that you just need in life to keep a house homey. These include cleaning products, a vacuum, that kind of stuff. A clean home is a homey home, right? One of the biggest life changes for me that has actually made our transition better is going toxin free. It is astonishing the amount of cleaning products we had before we paid more attention to using items that wouldn’t affect my hormones so much. Establishing a goal to cut these toxins made me realize that I do not need a million bottles of different bleaches under my kitchen sink. I have cut way down on my products meaning I have cut way down on what needs to be stored.
Through years of supporting family & friends in their self employment journeys, I had already built a small collection of Young Living Essential Oils & also Norwex cleaning clothes. I stated this before in a New Years Resolution post, but I wanted to start using what I had more, these items included. Little did I know, I would take off with how much I appreciated having them. The cleaning products I now use in our camper are as minimal as it gets. I have 2 spray bottles - one in the kitchen & one in the bathroom - with homemade cleaners inside. I actually keep them out sometimes because the bottle they are in are cute - so using them as decor is a possibility as well. These cleaners get pretty much all the jobs done as far as dusting, scrubbing & disinfecting. I use my Norwex cloths to clean windows & surfaces. You can imagine that storing these small items is so much less overwhelming then the 9 bottles of chemicals that were under my sink before.
The only other two items that I have to store for cleaning is my mop & vacuum. We use this vacuum which has been heaven sent since living in the camper. I do not have to worry about storing a bulky item, it is cordless, the charging part is small to set on the counter, it is so quick & the perfect size for our space. Using this mop also has been amazing - but I will soon be switch it to this one. This is the last step on my chemical free cleaning journey & will allow me to make my own cleaner & honestly creates even less storage. I will not have to store the liquid refills or the pads anymore. Having a dog, though, using a mop like this is a must through house training. It is so sleek & minimal, though, so storing them in our closet is simple. We keep a broom out in the kitchen for quick clean ups, but we chose a decorative one that doesn’t bother me if it sits out.
Handling the Hoarding of Clothing & Laundry
Clothing has been an interesting journey as it is something I personally never struggled with before. I never liked clothes shopping & had a very simple style. I was excited about practicing the capsule wardrobe life & still need to work on this. Having a business casual job & now enjoying our night life a bit more, I am finding it harder to not want to go shopping. I have lost some weight & like to use clothes as a confidence booster in this journey. However, my closet space isn’t too friendly on this. To make up for this new found love of clothes & living in a small space - also having a husband who needs pretty much two different types of wardrobes due to his work - I think we have finally nailed our hacks. In our bedroom, we have the classic rv style side closets & overhead storage, we have under the bed - which is also the same storage cubby as the “outdoor storage” which is annoying, & then we are lucky to have a full size height closet with a normal door, normal rod & normal height.
We obviously have our own clothes in the two closets by our side of the bed in addition to the space about our heads. I bought two of these hanging cubbies along with these baskets to keep our socks, underwear, tank tops, pants, pj’s, those types of items. These keep things so organized & making putting laundry away so simple. We have been using our sweatshirts a lot lately, so we have those in the over head space. I think one of the most important things is to regular clean out your clothes & purge & to also move around according to what fits your needs in that season. In the closet we have all our hang up items, our laundry basket & then our mop & vacuum. The top shelve above the hanging rod fits some of these bins that each have their own job - holding items that we do not need to get at every day. Making it store as much as possible but not be as annoying with things we need to get out every second of the day.
Under the bed there are three sections. One second on the way bottom is a tiny space that you can get to without lifting the bed. We put two plastic bins of our shoes there for easy storing. We can slide the bins in & out, but also keep the floor clean from dirt & debris. The other two sections can be reached once you lift the bed. The front holds four cloth bins that we keep different items in. Luke organized his based on his needs, & I did the same for mine. I keep my short sleeve shirts in one & my long sleeve in the other. The biggest part of under the bed that can be reached once you lift the bed holds containers of extra toiletries & other storage items that we don’t always need. On top of these bins, however, we put bins that hold more clothes that we do need often. I put my tall boots, some jackets & my sweaters. Luke stores work clothes & seasonal clothes that will be switched out in a few months.
Keeping your closet updated based on the seasons & the style is important. If you are finding it hard to put clothes away after laundry day because you are scooting & shoving, then it means it is time to purge & donate!
Keeping the Kitchen Clutter Free
The kitchen was a hard one, but I think we have finally figured out our niche. Sifting through how many dishes we need & what appliances we actually use was hard, but once you just decide to live simple, it makes all of meal planing & grocery shopping as well as storage space easier. We only brought a set of four plastic plates & bowls. We chose four because if we did have another couple over, we could use those but it wasn’t too many that we would have a counter full of dirty dishes. Planning your meals accordingly & choosing when you go grocery shopping helps the pantry space - but for us eating a low carb diet, most of our food fits in the fridge & freezer. In addition, I have yet to use the oven & stick to stove top, crock pot & air fryer meals. That does mean I have to house these appliance, but it has made clean up & planning fun & simple. We stored our smallest & largest pots & pans as we weren’t using them. Sticking to one pan dinners does the trick. Honestly, our eating situation & desires differ a lot from others, so as far as storage in the kitchen we might not relate to many. There are so many cool & fun ways to store things like your plates, your spices & all that, but with us working at a restaurant & eating very selective, we have not found our kitchen storage to be much of an issue. As long as I keep an organized fridge, I am happy. Getting small containers like these help the pantry & fridge stay organized for easy grabbing & going. I probably go to the store once a week to once every two weeks & just spend some time planning ahead. That is the true winner, in my eyes, to living simple & surviving a small kitchen.
Office, Extras & Out of Place Items
We learned more than ever that there are a lot of random things that don’t necessarily fall into one easy category in terms of owning a home. For the tools, outside items, & such, we decided to go the route of a dock box. We got this one from Amazon. It is sleek & doesn’t take up a lot of space. Keeping a lock on it helps us have piece of mind using it for storage. Other things like the dogs essentials, we have two storage spaces on each side of the island. The one side we dedicated for Lady. The top holds decorative canisters of her food & treats as well as a basket for her brush, shampoo & other items. The bottom we make shifted into her little bedroom crate as we crate train. She is so small that using this space worked out to our advantage. One day when we no longer have to crate train, then we will get this space back for other items. You can read all about this fun project here.
Little hacks & tricks helped us store other items. Under the couch is three long containers. We put smaller containers in one & use it as a “junk drawer”. Holding things like extra command hooks, batteries, light bulbs, books, manuals, that type of stuff. The other two hold items like cords & wires, office files & paper, random things we don’t always need, but you do not want to waste if you need them on a dime. Behind our two chairs we hide away my sewing machine & craft box. We keep our games in baskets under the ottomans we bought & are planning a few more ways to incorporate baskets here. To read about how we store our board game collection, check out this story.
Honestly, finding decorative ways to keep your household needs out is a great way to help with storage if you cannot hide it all away. Using baskets is an alternative as well. Keeping only the things you use & making a habit of going through your stuff quarterly is good at reminding yourself you don’t need certain things. Some things you can’t get away will avoiding, so creating a decorative way of storing it is your best bet. Our office files are right out in the open, sitting on a shelve in the island. Storing them in a black file box, like this one, however, makes them completely camouflage & doesn’t draw an ounce of attention. Forgetting that it is there. However, keeping it so handy makes it very simple to not keep mail from cluttering the counters. A win win.
Small Bathroom Storage Hacks
Our bathroom is the newest space that we have started organizing as we did a small update in it. Adding shelves & minimizing our product list is the biggest thing. You will have to read about our remodel here for more information, but again reiterating what I have stated above, creating a decorative way to store your needs is the winner. Using your towels & jars of Q-tips & face wash as decor is the way to beat small space living. In the shower, we chose to share shampoo, conditioner & body wash. Making it simple to store three items vs. six. Going the toxin free route & making a unisex product line has solved this issue immensely. It is truly about being intentional about the way you live & the items you use in your home.
Staying Minimal while Meeting Our Needs
Finding out exactly what you need is a little intimidating, but totally possible. Going the safe route & keeping an item you weren’t sure about is okay as long as you plan to revisit the concept in a month or two. It is an every changing, or should I say shifting, of your belongings. Making what you need in that season of life the priority & pushing the other items around the corner helps. Using decorative baskets, jars & containers to store your items is a must. Adding as much texture as possible is a sure win way to create a practical & intentional yet cozy space.