20 RV Storage Ideas: Save Space & Stay Organized!

After nearly 20 years of living full-time in our motorhome, we’ve accumulated some great RV storage ideas. So, we thought it might be worth putting together a post to share a host of storage solutions that we think will work for our readers. 

Don’t worry, we’re not gonna overwhelm you with an hour’s worth of scrolling through RV organizing hacks. We’re pulling together some of the most-used RV storage ideas for maximizing space and keeping a rig clutter-free.

If you’re looking around your rig right now and you see clutter, trust us – once you organize your RV,  you’ll find your living space (regardless of size!) to be a far more relaxing environment (unless, of course, you’re a hoarder and having free space and everything in its place stresses you out!).

So, let’s whip that rig into shape!

RV Storage Ideas for Small-Space Living!

Living in an RV full-time, part-time, or even occasionally will teach you that organization is everything. That’s why space-saving RV storage hacks are all over the internet.

But really, anyone who lives in a tiny space, whether it’s a studio apartment or a tiny house, can benefit from good storage ideas.

We realize that not every RV has the amount of space we’ve got, so we’re incorporating a bunch of ideas to keep any tiny home or camper organized, regardless of its size.

RV Storage Ideas for the Kitchen

The kitchen is a great area to start your organizing (or re-organizing!) because there are lots of RV storage ideas that work well in the kitchen.

An RV generally has limited counter space, so keeping things stored somewhere other than on the counters is best. Toward this end, let’s take a look at several ways to improve RV kitchen organization, starting with some storage ideas for your RV kitchen cabinets.

A Lazy Susan or Turntable

A lazy Susan (sometimes referred to as a “turntable”) is not only a great way to organize small pantry items or spices, it also makes the items super easy to find and grab simply by turning the “table” until you reach the item you want.

This one is a 9″ version, but they’re available in larger and smaller sizes, depending on your needs.

Nesting Bowls

Nesting bowls are probably the greatest RV storage idea since sliced bread! Bowls of various sizes take up a lot of room if they’re just strewn around inside a cabinet. But nesting bowls allow you to store multiple bowls of various sizes in the space of just one large bowl.

Note that some come with lids and others don’t so shop around for what you’ll find most useful.

Plate Cradles

Plate cradles allow you to store plates of various sizes sideways, saving space and making access easy.

Simply slide them into a kitchen cabinet and store your plates upright!

Under-Sink Organizers

Slide-out storage baskets made to fit beneath sink cabinets help to keep everything in its place! That means you’ll have more space to store cleaning products, garbage bags, etc.

Make sure to read reviews and buy the type that has tubs or baskets that slide out for access to what’s inside. (No more sticking your head under the sink and smashing it on your way out!)

Pro Tip: Lots of RVers use these for pantry storage as well!

The Space-Saving Power of Magnets

The use of magnetic strips has become quite popular among the RVing and #vanlife communities.

Installing a magnetic strip in your kitchen gives you a way to store your knives, spices, and/or other small items on the wall.

Word of caution, though – you may want to put those knives away in a drawer or other safe area on travel days. No one wants knives flying around in the event of an accident or even a quick stop!

Mop & Broom Grippers

Store your mops, brooms, and other handled items upright on the sides of a closet, leaving more space for other items to be stored.

Floating Shelf/Spice Rack/Anything Rack

These floating shelves from Ikea are great additions to kitchen cabinets, set at the back of kitchen counters, or in any room of your RV where you need to store small items that you don’t want to fall out when your rig is underway.

They’re even great as little bookshelves or other item holders placed near a bed for easy access!

Adjustable Tension Rods

This is more of a quick tip than an actual storage idea, BUT it could be an important one for some of you.

If the contents of your RV fridge spill out every time you open the door after traveling, these tension rods may be helpful… they’re also helpful in cabinets, too!

Fridge Organizers

Another fridge-centric idea is to use washable bins to help with organization and to help hold small items in place during travel.

RV Storage Ideas for the Bathroom

RV bathroom storage can be critical in some rigs because there isn’t much space available.

For example, you may have seen our post on the outrageously tiny RV wet bath. RVers with wet baths have to get mighty creative to keep things organized, so we’ll start with one of their most popular storage hacks…

Repurposed Shoe Organizers

The pockets of hanging shoe organizers can have many uses in an RV. Perhaps the most popular, though, is to store toiletries and other common bathroom items. They’re great for brushes, combs, toothpaste, Q-tips, scissors, razors, nail clippers, and on and on and on.

Shoe organizers can be cut to size to fit any location where you may want to attach them and can be hung using small Command hooks, velcro, or even suction cups.

Many RVers use the pockets of shoe organizers in various places in their rigs, including inside closet doors.

Wall Mount Shower Dispensers

If you saw our post on how to take an awesome RV shower, you know we’re fans of shower dispensers. They keep bottles of liquid soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc. off the floor.

And considering the (itsy-bitsy) size of some RV showers, using wall space as storage for these items is a great idea.

Hanging Fogless Shower Mirror

We hang our shaving mirror on the shower wall, too!

Shower Razor Holders

Shower razor holders are a great way to store your RV razors as well! In our RV, we don’t even need to take the razors out on travel days… the holder keeps it securely in place while under way.

Wall-Mounted Containers

The more items that can be stored off the counters or floors in an RV the better.

For this reason, wall-mounted containers of all sizes, shapes, and styles are helpful, especially in a small RV bathroom.

Counter Storage

If you have counter space available, storing small items in clear storage containers can help to organize the space, while keeping the contents visible.

With small storage containers like these, it can be helpful to tack them down to the counter, so you’re not constantly having to store them away on travel days.

Drawer Storage Containers

Small drawer storage containers can be helpful in an RV to keep things organized & together, even when the RV is underway.

These are useful not only in the bathroom but in any drawers throughout the rig.

RV Storage Ideas for the Bedroom

Probably the biggest RV storage issue in the bedroom is clothing. Closets and drawers in an RV aren’t typically the size of closets and drawers found in a sticks & bricks home. So space is at a premium (as always!).

There are many ways to store clothing in an RV. Among the most popular are storage cubes. In addition to keeping clothing well organized and easy to access, we don’t want to have to reposition things after every trip that takes us around corners and over bumps!

Fabric Cubes

Fabric cubes are inexpensive and can be a great way to store clothing on shelves and in cabinets. Why? Here’s the trick:

When you’re parked at a destination, you can turn the cubes on their sides so that the clothing is well organized and easy to grab. This works well for items like pants, t-shirts, sweaters, and the like.

Here’s our friend Nikki Wynn (Gone With the Wynns) demonstrating!

When you’re set to travel, you simply turn the cubes upright (open side up) so that everything stays right where you put it. When you open your cabinets after traveling, all of your clothing will still be organized.

Depending on the type of cabinets you have, you may not even need to turn the cubes upright to travel.

Stackable Closet Baskets with Slide Rails

Stackable closet baskets can be very helpful as an RV storage idea for closet organization. Be sure to get the type with slide rails for easy access to items stored in all basket levels.

Clear Sterilite Storage Bins

And of course, clear storage bins are great for storing all sorts of items.

These are also stackable. And because they’re clear, it’s easy to see what’s inside. You can also label them.

Basement RV Storage Ideas

The best way for us to offer our RV basement storage ideas for your rig’s basement or exterior storage spaces is to demonstrate the system we’ve come up with over many years on the road.

In the first video, we demonstrate how to organize an RV basement.

In the second video, we demonstrate how we refined our system to work even better for us. Now we know where everything is and how to find it…in minutes!

What Are Your Favorite RV Storage Ideas?

As we mentioned, we’ve accumulated these storage ideas over our many years of full-time RVing. If you’ve got some great RV storage ideas that have worked well for you, drop us a comment and let us know about it! We’d love to hear!

Looking for more ideas to improve/increase the storage available in your RV? Check out 12 Ways to Modify Your RV to Create More Space!

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