Organizing the Camper


On Thursday, the camper came home after being in the shop for 2 months. It needed a repair and they had trouble getting the parts.  I started organizing it immediately.  The project continued for a few hours Friday, and most of the day today.  I noticed when we took it out over Christmas break, the food was not well organized and we ate some strange meals.  I wanted to get the pots and pans, bowls, dishes, etc. weeded and sorted out.  Clearly, some of the items in the camper were there only because they had been in the other camper, or because we had nowhere else to put them.  I wanted to fix that.

I removed everything from under the seats.  I put food and hair things on one side, laundry supplies, food, a small electric skillet and a water jug on the other side.  I filled in the gaps with towels and a couple of games.


I worked out there all morning today, and my oldest daughter came and helped me all afternoon.  We removed all of the pots and pans, food baskets and other items from the cupboards that I had not gone through yet and re-organized it all.  We added needed items and took away 2-3 boxes of things I didn’t want, to donate. Under the sink, I put glass dishes to use in the microwave or oven, for reheating or cooking.  I keep dish washing items under there, like scratchy pads, and we use an ancient Tillamook ice cream bucket for trash and it lives under there as well. The 4 tiny drawers hold potholders, silverware, knives, saran wrap, foil,  and the like, and some dish towels.


I focus on convenience foods and mixes, as well as some basic pantry ingredients.  At home, we rarely eat things from packages or boxes, such as those noodle soups you pour boiling water on, but while camping, we do eat them sometimes.  I pack them into baskets so they ride well and are easy to remove when I want something from the back of the cupboard.  I fill the cupboards tightly so things don’t shift.  Heavy things like cans go on the bottom layer and chips, noodle soups, etc. are layered on top.  We put napkins on top of the plates in  my dish cupboard.  Abbie and I stuck boxes of tea, thin packs of crackers and noodles, extra dish towels and wash cloths, and other things in all of the cracks so things wouldn’t shift.  I place the baskets in front of the higher cupboards since they don’t have a lip, to keep items from shifting and falling out.  I have had items fall on me when I open cupboards after arriving at a campsite, and don’t like it much, so am more careful than I used to be.  I’ve found that when camping, I can get away with overfilling the cupboards.  They are so tiny that they empty out quickly and I am not frustrated for long with too many items in my way.


This is looking down into the left under-seat area of the dinette.  You can see how I’ve used boxes to keep things from shifting, and packed them tightly.  I have extra towels available to fill in the gaps we make when we use food while we are camping.

We are listing our house for sale soon.  During the open house, we will park the camper at a campground and do some running back and forth, as needed, to make it to the girls’ activities, and if the realtor needs anything.  That will be much easier for me than nagging constantly at everyone to not mess things up after we get it “picture perfect.”  After that open house, it will be shown by appointment only, so that will be easier.

We love camping,  so are excited about getting to go after our camper was gone for so long.  We hope to take our fishing poles and get some down time, and hopefully, catch a fish or two!


Patsy made up her bunk and I made up the rest of the beds.  Our cozy home-away-from-home is getting closer to being ready to go.  The day can’t come soon enough for me!