I Open My Closet For You!

Here's a little info on one way to keep some things neat and organized in this tiny home.  We have far less space for absolutely everything in this trailer than we normally have at home.  First of all, we had to be pretty selective about what clothing to bring along for our month of travel.  We needed clothing for frigid cold, since that was the condition when we left home.  And we needed clothing for the 70 degree day we had today.  That's a lot of variability!  We know we can travel light when need be, but we didn't have to be as stringent as, say, a canoe trip!  

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We have one double-doored closet space to use, as well as numerous other cabinets and cubbies to stash things away.  I did a lot of measuring and looking and shopping and scrolling to find what kinds of things I could use in that closet.  There's a bar for hanging clothes, but we need little, if any, space for hanging clothes.  I finally found a drawer unit at the Container Store, made by Elfa.  It's their extra narrow unit, but still has the height needed to fit 4 deep drawers and 2 shallow ones.  This is where almost all of my clothing is kept, except for 2 jackets and a hoodie.  The unit measures 10" across, 17" front to back, and 41" high.  

I wasn't sure this would be able to hold everything that I wanted to bring.  But, after learning to fold my clothes the Marie Kondo way, I have more than enough room!  This drawer unit is just the right height to fit beneath the clothes hanging bar, so I didn't have to remove anything to make room for it.  Right now I have it set on my red and white check tablecloth, because I realized that it was going to leave marks on the flooring from the bumps and vibration while driving.  I'll find or make a better pad of the right size once I get back home.  When we are on the road, I can push it back to the wall and still have room for some things that are heavy to sit on the floor in front of it.  I pad with towels in between things like that.

There are add-on bits and pieces that accessorize the drawer unit.  I did get the plastic label holders, and I'm glad I did because they stay in place and clearly show me which drawer to get into.  I have 1) socks and underwear, 2) tank and sleeveless tops, 3) short sleeve, 4) long sleeve, 5) pants and a 6) miscellaneous one at the bottom.  I did get the white melamine top that goes with it, but I haven't used it.  It appears that it's just held in place with a little velcro and gravity.  Knowing how things get all shook up on the road, I don't think that's a good plan.  The top would probably go skittering off from the first pothole!  The other item I purchased, somewhat skeptically, are called Drawer In & Out Stops.  They have come in handy, once I figured out what to do with them!  You can see them in the 2 pictures below.  They are clear plastic clip-ons that can be positioned in the front or back of the drawer runner, to keep the drawer from moving in and out of that runner on its own.  This is something you do not want going on when you are changing lanes and rounding curves on the road.  I could probably figure out something similar with binder clips or clothes pins or bungee cord.

a On the right hand side of the closet, shown in the first picture, is a fabric organizer shelf thing that I happened upon when browsing for something else in WalMart!  I like it better than the shoe organizers of similar design, because this one has cubbies with a front edge to keep things from moving, divided cubbies, and outside elastic mesh pockets.  It was originally too long for my space, but I cut off the bottom and was then able to hook it on the clothes bar.  I really haven't fully utilized this space, it's mostly used for miscellaneous household stuff, like duct tape, tape measure, rain gear, clothes drying rack, rubber gloves, flashlights and batteries, tools, etc.

I do have to tell you that if and when I need to stop at a WalMart, I probably am on my own because Bob really would rather do just about anything else!  I'm not sure where that aversion comes from, maybe it's from clicking on those "people seen only at Walmart" slide shows, and he's scared! 

The top section of this closet has shelf space, but because of the rounded Airstream body, the top section doesn't have the same depth as the bottom.  But I am able to fit these collapsible wire shelving units in that space, and I can store more items there.  On the left are mostly my sewing supplies, for hand sewing, that is.  I've been doing a little wool applique.  And that big blue bowl was from Savers, a second hand store, to sit in my sink for dishwashing.  It doesn't fit in the cabinet with my other bowls and dishes, and I found something else for the sink, but I've held onto it for those times when you just need an extra-large bowl!  Like maybe for popcorn, or mixing Monster Cookies, or for Legos when the grandkids visit.

So that's the story of the closet so far!  We will shift things around and try different methods of storage until we find that we are satisfied.  Honestly, right now I feel like we have more than enough storage space for the 2 of us.  There are some empty compartments and under filled spaces left open for now.  So the big question of what we do/do not pack is no longer a concern.  We have a list of what we need to bring less of, or eliminate completely.  And we have a short list of things that we want to add before our next long trip, which should be in June, we hope!  Monday we start the trek north, and we'll be enjoying the company of mom on this trip.  We should have to stop only a couple nights with the trailer before we get back to her house in northwest Iowa.  Then it's just a short 3-4 hour drive back home, and we get to see if all the snow has really melted!  Our very kind neighbor has helped keep our driveway open, and he says that there should be no problem getting our trailer back to its parking spot.  Fingers crossed!