Two People and 4.8 ft3 of Closet Space
2- 15 How can two people fit all their clothing, shoes included, for a couple of months in 4.8 ft3 and find anything without taking everything out of the space every time they want something? Let me explain.
Our trailer has two spaces in the sofa back that are 29” long x 8” wide x 7” tall. There is another space under the sofa seat that is 33.5” long x 11.5” wide x 7” tall. The final space is 24” long x 10.75” wide x 9” tall under the sofa. That is all the space that is convenient to pack clothes. If we put them any place else, we would have to go outside to get our clothes.
Let’s start with what we are taking. We need clothes for a temperature range of 20 to 90F. This is what we are taking.
4 short sleeved shirts
4 light long-leeved shirts
4 heavy long-sleeved shirts
4 pairs socks
2 pairs gloves
4 hats
1 bra
2 neck gaiters
5 pairs underpants
2 pairs leggings
4 pairs shorts
4 pairs light long pants
2 pair heavy long pants
2 pair down pants
1 swimsuit
2 raincoats
2 rain pants
2 down jackets
2 light jackets
1 fleece vest
2 pair hiking boots
2 pair camp shoes
2 pair water shoes
2 pair down boots
We divide our clothes into two groups, the set we are wearing and the set we are storing for laundry day. (Remember we’re also wearing clothes when we leave the house.) After laundry day, things will switch places. The items we are storing will go in the smaller area under the seat. The stored items are packed in compression stuff sacks. If you are not familiar with stuff sacks, they are water and airtight bags used to make an easily packable bundle. COMPRESSION stuff sacks allow you to squeeze all the air out. Yes, your clothes get wrinkled but we don’t take cotton clothes, so the wrinkles shake out. Here is an example of four items packed in a compression stuff sack.
Four shirts and the bag / Everything in the bag / Compression strap in place / Compressed
There are a few items that we store under the seat that are not in compression stuff sacks. These are our water shoes (for bathing in public showers) down boots (shown in a later photo), hats, and gloves (in the long blue bag lower left). These items are small and need easy frequent access.
Bags Packed Under Seat (down boots on countertop)
Down boots packed
The clothes that are left have to go in the seat back. We start packing by rolling each item into a neat roll. This makes them easier to get in and out of the bin and easier to find. It is important that each rolled item be no longer than the width of the space, 8”inches.
Next consider how the items will be organized in the bin.
I arrange my things from left to right as follows: Underwear / Sleepwear / Light to heavy shirts / Light to heavy pants
Clothes Packed
With this arrangement, I have some idea where things are. Since it isn’t a large space, the first place I look will not be more than a few inches from the item I’m looking for.
Since I have extra space, I put my hat on top (the red thing in the photo above). Having clothes that are different colors and textures is very helpful. Unfortunately, most of my clothes are a dark color.
That leaves shoes to be packed. We place our hiking boots and camp shoes under the sofa. If we had big feet this would not work!
In order to keep a neat camper, when we change clothes, everything gets put away unless it is too dirty to wear again. Dirty clothes go in the dirty cloths bag, obviously. That’s in a different place.
If you are interested in how we manage life in a camper with a 6’ x 7.5’ road footprint. Let us know. We will try to answer your questions. (I should point out that when we are in camp with everything set up it folds out to about 278 ft2.)
***