RV Travel: Creating Useable Bathroom Space

Having a large family, I am, by necessity, a stockpiler.  I tend to (and like to) have on hand multiples of anything that I may want.  This mindset extends to all areas of supplying my home, including the bathroom.  It is a mindset that I am having a difficult time aligning with my RV addiction.

Though I think that our toy hauler’s bathroom is quite large for an RV, it is still very small in comparison to the same in a sticks & bricks.  I thought that I would share a couple of the ways that we have utilized the available space in this room. This post is actually inspired by a set of shelves that I found last week at Target.

Since most RV sinks are set in an open cupboard, with the plumbing making a mess of the upper available space, I was tickled when I saw this tension shelf!  It is made up of 2 tension rods and 5 snap-in shelf platforms.  After setting the 2 tension rods at the height that you would like your shelf, you then set on however many shelf pieces to create the shelf that you need, or will fit.  This works great for accommodating plumbing, or if you would like to have a shelf in only part of the cupboard to leave room for tall items.  I actually thought that I could utilize 2 of the shelf units, but only one would fit – it still works great supporting a basket full of items that do not stack well.

On the other side of this cupboard, the coach had a laundry chute.  Knowing that we would not use this, my hubby covered the opening and installed shelves up the rest of the cupboard.  Both of these have helped me to organize under the bathroom sink, making it easier to access items stored here.

Having 13 people in an RV has meant some compromise when it comes to everyone being able to choose their own brand of (whatever) – this includes bathroom items like toothpaste and shampoo.  When we were in a sticks and bricks, we had 6 or 7 different kinds of shampoo stocked in the showers.  Now, with one shower, we have only a couple.  Even so, between shampoo, conditioner, soap… the molded shelves in the shower were totally inadequate.  I found (again at Target) a great ‘over the door’ rack that slides down over the top of the shower surround.  It was a snug fit, which is great because I don’t have to worry about it moving when we are traveling.

On another of my posts, I mentioned installing a magnetic knife bar in the kitchen.  Another reader brainstormed the great idea of installing one behind the bathroom mirror!  While I haven’t yet done it, as soon as we are near an IKEA, I will have the boys do that for me!  What a great way to keep fingernail clippers and tweezers at my fingertips – maybe I’ll even get some magnetic containers (intended for things like paper clips) and use them to store safety pins and the like.

Finding items to help you organize your RV and camping equipment is not always easy.  And, unfortunately, it seems that for me it is a never-ending process to find the perfect place for everything.  Since I will obviously never have a completely organized RV, it is a good thing that I enjoy this journey too!  Hope that this post gives you a few ideas that will work for you and that you can enjoy organizing your RV too!