MAKING THE MOST OF OUR SPACE
Home sweet home. We all have our little ways of making our space feel like our own. Little nik naks and treasures. Prints and memorable images. Having a small space certainly tests your imagination. But creating an efficient beautiful space can most definitely be done, even in vanlife.
We consider our current coaster space to be quite large compared to other mobile spaces. However, we definitely still had the same challenges when creating room and storage, whilst still adding our own personal touch to the layout.
The easiest way to start was (as obvious as it may sound) to pack the vehicle with minimal objects. Easier said than done. When we began packing for the bus, we helped each other cull items again and again. Simply laying everything out on the floor that was planned to be packed and placing them in piles. This made it allot easier to visually see how much we were dealing with. Then going through the piles several times honestly and brutally. Followed by your travel buddy or a friend to then do the same thing with all of your belongings. This extra step makes a world of difference. As we all know how attached we can become to our own items. Keeping staples in mind is key and minimizing luxury items with more practical ones in replacement.
For storage I found it really handy to separate my personal section into groups. Using straw baskets, I had a beauty, body care and underwear section. Having these loose items organized in some type of container/bag/box is really a must. As when you are travelling they will be moving around allot. Which will lead to damage and most definitely a messy space, if not contained.
Packing away kitchen supplies it is important to keep the stability in mind again. Adding some type of lock to each draw/cupboard for safety. As well as organizing spices, oils, heavy cans to be packed in a secure container of some sort, also will help. We used long wooden boxes, so these items would fit snug as much as possible and not slid around.
Packing clothes seasonally, just as you can in a household is still a great idea when travelling. If you are travelling for an entire season you can store your other clothes away. For example, splitting your wardrobe into two sections, Summer and Winter. Our coaster was already set up with storage underneath our bed. As are most. If however it is not, we highly recommend looking into renovating this section of a van/coaster. There is so much room to be used, which would otherwise be a waste of space. This is where allot of our extra clothing storage was held.
QUICK STORAGE TIPS
- Cup holders on the passenger and drivers side is very important for long drives.
- Small material pouches attached to side of door/chair area in front of van/coaster. This is great for much needed road trip snacks, extra water, maps etc.
- If you have the floor space and are travelling with a pooch, we love using a bowl stabilizer for Alfie’s food and water. So he can drink or eat anytime while travelling.
- Pack your items from least to most used. This may be easier to figure out in time, once you become more familiar with what you use more often. But, this small change can be such a time saver.
- Check that your van/coasters over head area is being used to its best ability. Is there room for more storage cupboards? This space can easily add allot more storage room.
- Consider painting a small section of a window/ cupboard/ fridge with chalkboard paint. We found this to be a fun and easy way to add notes, reminders or just little quotes to keep visible in our small space.
Lastly don’t forget to add a few small touches like plants, photos, prints, cosy pillows to your space. It is these slight additions that really can make your space feel homely. Personally I feel like less is more, even more so in a small area. As you can imagine it only takes a small mess for your area to become cluttered. So take your time and enjoy adding your style to your space.
We hope these storage ideas gave you a small insight into what we have found works for our travels so far and hope that if you are in preparation to your own trek, that these tips may come in handy.
HAPPY TREKKING
PEACE X Kirsty, Brent & Alfie