Happy Campers

So spring has sprung and we pulled the camper out of storage for the year. The hubs has been waiting for that blessed day when it's warm enough to plant in the garden and start camping. It's here, and believe me the garden is in full swing and camping trips are on the books.

 

I love these guys! I think N's favorite part of the day is being outside with his daddy. 

 Camping trip #1

It's going to happen sometimes... it rains. It did the other week when we went to the beach. We showed up Friday night in the rain. We camped, in the rain. We left, with clear skies, but it was cold and windy. It happens. Times like that and I'm very thankful for owning a camper now. We had fun regardless and we learned a little too!

So this was the first test run of "normal" camping as compared to the cross-country move that we did last year. It's our first camper and it's a learning experience! I've done a lot of searching in forums and pinterest for ideas on storage. LOTS of stuff out there for RVs, but not so much for the tiny campers. This is the first post of a few things I've discovered for tiny camper storage. I have a couple other ideas that I just haven't gotten around to. It may not be the best fit for everyone, but it's working for us right now. 

Sleeping with an Infant or Toddler in Tight Quarters

So on the move out here we slept on the queen and put up and broke down the pack n play on the dinette that you can make into a bed. What we learned from that was that once we put him down that was it. We were ALL in bed for the night and don't think about moving or making noise... he'll sense it and stay awake. Solution: We flipped it. N now has the queen bed area for his pack n play and we sleep on the dinette together. I put up a curtain so that he can't see us and will quickly nod off at naptime and bedtime and allowing us to come and go or watch a movie on our little flip down TV. 

 It's a rough picture, but this is it. Removing the mattress gave us enough vertical room that we could turn the pack n play and have more room for other things like a popup laundry basket.
The hubs left the foam mattress pad down for a little cushion.

 What do you do with a toddler in the rain?

  Play inside! We found ourselves playing trucks on the rest of the queen bed area.
Which brings me to the next 2 pictures...

The RV queen mattress size makes for a PERFECT fit with the alphabet mat.
I got this one at Ross for under $20 and have 6 extra tiles and a few border pieces left over. 

Drawing a Blank for Storage

I saw a blog of a couple that lived in their RV. She had some great tips on organizing and a good point in that big cubbies and cabinets seem great, but how do you make the most of it? Here's what I found that fit and since we're generally only weekend camping this is just enough space for clothes. 

 Clothes for me and baby plus the ever present need for diapering supplies

There's an awkward angle at the back of the cubby so this little guy fits perfectly in front 

and keeps track of all the small stuff like hair ties and playing cards.  

Under the bed

DH got two drawers since his clothes are always bigger. These were great stacking drawers that I found at Target. You'd be surprised how many bins and drawers etc. are too big to fit or too small to be usable. The extra space there I use to store more diapers and shower flipflops.

Small bins are great for dividing out space. These little guys were in the dollar section at Target and hold a few kitchen items and chemicals (laundry detergent etc) that need to be out of reach from little hands. I keep them secure while in tow with a tension rod.

A message board for shopping list or writing down local numbers
and the kitchen towel out of reach of the toddler.

Finally I have a little touch of home on the road. The last owners added the key hook
(a great addition) and I added a little Clemson spirit.