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Does anyone have any cool RV tips or tricks, or hacks? I am moving into fulltime and am currently learning everything i can get my hands on about the lifestyle.

I am especially interested in hearing exactly where and how people have their stuff stored in their rigs.

For example, where to put pet supplies?

Hiking gear, camping gear (like tents)?

Seasonal attire?

How many blankets and sheet sets do people use and where are extras stored?

How many books do people bring (I have a lot of books and love them, so this is a real issue)? Where do you put the books?

Where do shoes go? Is it worth bringing nice shoes? Where do muddy, wet shoes go while on the road?

Hobby supplies and office supplies go where? We both need our computers, a printer, printer paper, my binders and our reference books for work tasks. A shredder. Hobby stuff: painting supplies, craft supplies.

Do people bring decorations from home at all or give them up for lent? Is a vase nice to have? Pictures on the walls?

What about houseplants? Do people bring any? Where do they live?

We have a ton of DVDs and they will take up space. Not sure where.

Should we bring the Xbox and games? DH uses his everyday and I am sure he will want it.

We don't really know yet where all these things will go and am wondering what other people do.

No one has ideas?

Jilly, I see this topic every time I log in and I always surprised that no one had responded to it. I have been in a RV maybe 6 times in my life (we tent camp) so I have no expertise to offer, but I do have some comments. So you know I'm not completely in the dark here, my sister began this lifestyle about 6 months ago, and I know some of what she did and does go through.

So the first question to you is: Are you traveling as you live in your RV or are you parked someplace permanently? If you have one location, your storage question is fairly easy. Get a storage shed or unit.

Whether you are on the road or stationary, your RV has certain limitations. The frame and the axles have weight limits. You will cause damage to the RV if you hold too much weight. If you're moving, you will cause tire wear, a strain on your engine, reduced fuel effeciency, etc if you are overweight.

Your question should maybe be how do I do without these things instead of how do I store them. Take only a few books with you at a time. (Books are especially heavy.) Get movies 'On Demand' or from a rental as you go. Also remember the risk to your property in this circumstance that you didn't have living in a building, then ask yourself what you should have with you. The chances are greater for you then for me that someone may drive off with your house and everything you own. Or that a simple traffic accident could (for example) destroy all your books.

Again, no expertise, only comments. Good Luck to you. GrannyH

GrannyH, i appreciate your posting! I am actually not looking for info specific to me; I just want to hear what other people do. :-)

So all you lurkers, speak up! :-)

First I would like to say that GrannyH has an excellent response, as a lot does depend on how you will be living/moving around in that RV. And, an RV cannot hold everything you have in a house, some sacrifices have to be made, but the trade-offs are definitely worth it. My husband and I have lived in a 32-foot 5th-wheel RV for the past 20+ years. We used to be on the road constantly but for the past 5-6 years move on a seasonal basis mostly, i.e. follow the sun. To answer point by point: PET SUPPLIES: We have always had a small dog. Her bed, toys, food, etc. are all over the place, like in a house, altho her dry food is in a plastic container under the sink. HIKING/CAMPING GEAR: What little we have is in the RV's basement storage. SEASONAL ATTIRE: We "layer" a lot, altho we do carry varying weight jackets with us, no heavy coats as we try to stay out of that type of weather. If we miscalculate, we pick up heavy coats at a thrift shop, and re-donate when we leave. SHEETS/BLANKETS: We have two sets of sheets for each bed, and keep two towel sets for each of us, plus an extra set for a guest. BOOKS: I am a reader and probably have 30-40+ with us, most of them paperbacks. I "recycle" them in RV parks, use the local libraries when we are staying in one place. I have a few that I hang onto. There is a small bookshelf in our bedroom area, overflow goes into the RV basement storage in a box. SHOES: Now that is a major problem for me (not my husband tho). He has maybe 3-4 pair, I have WAAAY to many, tucked in every nook and cranny and encroaching onto his side of the closet (you can always find a place to fit in another pair of shoes!). I have a couple pair of dress shoes, he has one pair. Wet, muddy shoes are left outside on a block of wood, etc. under the RV, we have a rug inside next to the entry door also. HOBBY/OFFICE SUPPLIES: I'm a quilter so I carry a sewing machine, cutting boards, rulers, etc. with me -- you can always find room for "stuff" you can't do without. Office supplies/files/business records are located in one overhead cabinet and under our lift-up bed. We also have one (1) laptop plus a printer/paper but would find room for a second laptop if we needed it. We use a shredder that is placed on top if a regular trash can. I try to keep my hobbies to one at a time or it can take over the place. DECOR: Other than pictures, we brought very little from our home as most things are too big in size/scale to transfer well. We have photos, pictures, vases on the walls and on counters, but they are scaled down in size to fit the surroundings. Any furniture should be dual-purpose, and if we don't/can't use it, we "lose" it. We encourage kids, friends to give us gift certificates to restaurants, movies, etc. PLANTS: I carry a few plants (mainly outside) with us (much to my husband's annoyance) that I can't bear to part with, usually not too large, but more often replace for color seasonally. It's a little more difficult carrying decorative containers. Little or no inside plants because we are always throwing the ball inside for our dog and knocking the plants over with my bad aim. DVDs, X-BOX,GAMES: Don't have many DVDs -- 15 or 20, but unless you have huge amounts there is usually room to store them as they are small. But if you have "tons" you may have to make some sacrifices. Don't have an X-box, but if you use it daily you will find/make room for it. We carry 6-8 various games, plus cards. As we have been doing this for a loooong time, we have learned the difference between "must haves, needs, and wants", and plan accordingly. Altho I do have some difficulty with the RV mantra: "Something new in, something old out". Our RV is considered mid-size for full-timers but we do quite well and actually have room to acquire more "stuff", space-wise altho not weight-wise. We carry two bicycles on a rack the back, folding outside and inside tables, plus outside folding chairs (6) and inside folding chairs (2). Hope this helps and/or eases your fears as to whether it is worth it. Let me/us assure that it is definitely worth it. I'd be glad to answer any additional questions. Sorry if I ran on too long.[u][/u]

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My family loves my pasta. I pre-make gallons of it and put it in freezer bags. The secret is the Ranch Dressing.

For this issue i have not any tips for you. So sorry for this.