Store Gloves, Hats, and Plastic Bags Out of Sight

All Class B campers require ingenuity when it come to storing stuff. If the manufacturer has provided storage for everything, we call that a Class A, with a name like Newell or Prevost. There's nothing wrong with carrying a lawnmower in one of eight bins below the windows in a behemoth. But travelers in smaller units are advised to simplify, cull, and leave behind non-essentials. Winter travelers have heavy coats, gloves, scarves, and hats. Nobody could argue the need for those in a continent as far-flung as North America. We keep our winter coats in our wardrobe (closet). But we can't toss the gloves and hats in the bottom of that cabinet. So we hunted for a solution.

In a comprehensive on-line automotive catalog we found an assortment of black cargo net pockets of several sizes. Here they are on Amazon. They seem designed to hold small items of clothing. Two we found and bought would fit on the back of the door to our vertical closet. Without anything in them they are flat against the door. The smaller pocket is 7″ H x 14.5″ W and is screwed to the door. The netting is elastic and stretches as we stuff Lynn's gloves and hats into it. The contents are visible when you open the door and you can pull out what the weather requires. When fully stuffed with several pairs of gloves and a hat or two, the pocket protrudes about 2″ into the closet, causing the hanging clothes to yield slightly.

The second pocket is larger, 15.5″ H x 13.5″ W.  We oriented it so it opens to the outer edge of the clost door rather than the top. It is stuffed with mosquito hats and Roger's gloves. It is screwed to the inside bottom of the closet door. There was still room for more, so we thought about storing plastic grocery bags. Every camper buys groceries and the bags can be recycled to contain trash and garbage. At a Bed, Bath, & Beyond we discovered a back-of-the door container for these empty plastic bags. It has an open top and a restricted front slot. We didn't count its capacity but we estimate it will hold 30 0r 40 plastic bags. On our Roadtrek 190 Popular the garbage bag holder inside the kitchen cabinet under the sink is exactly the right size to hold a plastic grocery bag. Every new bag goes in the bag container. Here's one on Amazon.

Solving the “where to store it” challenge is one we enjoy as we scour the offerings of dollar stores, kitchen and bath departments, marine supply stores, and motorcycle shops. RV supply catalogs have a zillion storage products, some special purpose items like paper plate dispensers. We bought a motorcycle cargo net at Harbor Freight and two refrigerator telescoping rods at Camping World to make a keeper for the towels in the small shelf above the RV john. Before that storage solution the towels would spring out like Halloween ghosts in a spook house whenever you opened the john door.. BOOOOH! Keep your eyes out next time you wander the store aisles: you may find the perfect answer to a vexing storage problem in your camper.

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