Stay Organized In the Van: Using Bags Galore

Stay Organized In the Van: Using Bags Galore

Once I am back in the van, I find that keeping my clothing and sundries organized becomes a serious challenge.

Rummaging around the van to find your stuff takes up a huge amount of time everyday.

There is a law of Chaos Theory that seems to apply to van-living like a special vortex of crazy.

I’ve combated this chaos with a method called “Use Some Bags”.

It may not be the most sophisticated method, but so far it’s really working for me so let’s proceed.

We have a little crawl space in the van where most stuff gets jammed into. It’s tight, dark and hard to access.

I have a bag for each category of stuff that I may need to locate.

Objects must stay within their bag, or else all hell breaks loose.

I have memorized their location so I can grab them quickly as needed.

The Gym Bag- This little tote is really my shower bag. It contains a swimsuit, a Turkish towel (thin), a plastic zip bag of my shampoo/soap and razor. And a pair of flip-flops for public shower areas where I don’t want my feet touching the icky tiles.

The Bag of Temperatures-This thin patterned tote is full of things needed in case of quick fluctuation of temperature. My wool sweater, my hoodies, my wool socks, my scarf and hats are all located here. I make sure this is within reach as I am like the Human Thermometer.

The Main Bag- This is my nylon big bag that has all my clean clothes in it. If you’ve packed light, it’s much easier to find what you want to wear that day. Undies, bras and socks are in a special pouch within it for easy locating while in the dark.

The Laundry Bag- This is where we keep all our dirty clothes, isolated and separate, awaiting their Laundromat destiny.

The Art Tote-This is a new one. A total fail. I felt I needed to bring art supplies on this van journey so all the paper and paints and pens and brushes are in here. I have used it exactly twice. It is totally in my way. Guilt and resentment are building, so I better make more art soon.

The Day-Bag- This is always within reach and near me as it contains the most important daily stuff; wallet, sunglasses, documents, phone, toothbrush, toothpaste, make-up. Always bring your toothbrush to the cafe in the day-bag, as you may actually get a chance to properly brush your teeth at a sink. Deluxe!!

The Little Garbage Bag- I love having a little garbage bag, as you need to control all the wrappings and receipts and fluff balls and broken corn chips that fly around the van.

The Pouch of Tools- This is where we keep all the handy items that help you with Van Life. A sewing kit, duct tape, make-up wipes, screwdriver, scissors. It’s the equivalent of that kitchen drawer at home that has all the random-yet-helpful-stuff in it.

The Computer Bag- My computer lives in here, with cord. Ready to grab and take to the nearest cafe with Wifi!