Organizing the RV Basement

The basement of an RV can vary in size greatly. Ours is a huge pass-through, so we use a number of organizers to keep everything neatly packed and organized.

On the side of the basement just outside the front door is where we keep all of our outdoor necessities. In the back, a hard-to-reach area, is where we store Christmas decorations and less used outdoor items such as fishing gear, a hammock, and tarps in large plastic bins. We use plastic crates to store awning lights and sports equipment. Some smaller, stackable plastic containers in the front hold bike safety gear and our outdoor decor like flags and hummingbird feeders. In the middle is where our camping chairs slide easily in and out. We have two zero-gravity chairs, a folding rocking chair to rock the baby, and some folding mesh chairs for the boys. We also have some folding tables. We have a large outdoor mat, but we fold it up and store it in the front storage area under the bulkhead. We also have a portable fire pit that we keep in the back of the truck simply because of it's awkward size and shape, as well as we like to have it with us in case we want to have a fire on the beach or something. 

On the left side of the basement is where I keep our most frequently used items. I have three lidded plastic bins that also fit nicely in the back of the truck. Each bin is organized based on activity. One bin contains all of our life jackets and towels for when we go kayaking. One bin contains a bag with swimming gear and a bag with beach toys. I call this our Beach Bin. And one bin contains a bag with a frisbee, football, slingshot airplanes, and other outdoor toys. It also contains our Jet Boil and what we call our Help-A-Tron, which is a 4-in-1 power pack that can be used to inflate tires, jumpstart vehicles, etc. I call this our Park Bin. The idea is that if we're going to the beach, we can just grab the Beach Bin and put it in the back of the truck. If we're going kayaking, we can grab the Kayak Bin and put it in the back of the truck with our kayaks.

The underside of the flip-up door has lots of usable space. Attach a broom organizer and you can hang your mop, broom, and other stick cleaners on the door, out of the way. I didn't want to screw in the organizer, so I used adhesive silicone to attach the organizer to the door and it worked great.

The side of the basement near the water hookups is hubby's side, so it get disorganized frequently, but I try to stay on top of it as much as he'll let me. We found that plastic crates work well to contain utility items. One is for the electrical line, 30amp or 50amp. One is for the water hose and filters. We use a lidded plastic bin to hold the sewer line to prevent it from touching anything else. We use smaller, stackable, lidded plastic bins to organize extension cords, tire covers, and cleaning chemicals.

What kind of basement organization tips can you share?