September 2022 – U-Lock Mini Storage

6 Effective RV Storage Tips While You’re On The Road

For many, a recreational vehicle is an attractive travel option for its convenience and comfort, and even as a more economic alternative to staying in a hotel, especially when travelling with family. For others, an RV also provides a full-time or temporary home.

However, space is limited when travelling in an RV. No matter the size of your RV – whether you own a pop-up camper or a luxury motorhome – you’ll want to get organized and pack efficiently to make the most of your travel time! Here are six storage tips to make the most out of your RV space and get organized before hitting the road.

1. Baskets Are An RV Must-have

Before going basket shopping, make sure to measure all your shelf space, cubbies and any empty space in your RV. Baskets come in many sizes, shapes and materials, so knowing the space you have will make it easier to choose the best baskets for your RV.

Sort your supplies into categorized baskets. For example, you can place your dishes and bowls into one basket, your cups, mugs and straws in another and your cutlery in yet another basket. Besides keeping your place tidy, you’ll be able to bring these items to the table in one trip.

You can make the most of your space by fitting baskets in tight or underused spaces, such as the space above your cupboards. Here you can place items that you don’t need every day, such as toys, board games and other outdoor tools and supplies.

2. Line Your Drawers and Shelves

When getting ready for your trip, we recommend you place liners on all your storage surfaces, including shelves and drawers. This will not only give your surfaces a fresh, clean look, but they will also help prevent spills and will make your life easier during clean-up.

Liners provide an extra anti-slip layer to your surfaces to avoid items sliding and falling while the vehicle is moving. If something falls or breaks, cleaning will be as easy as removing the liner carefully and replacing it with a fresh one. Liners come in many patterns and colours, so you’ll surely find the ones that fit your style!

3. Make The Most of Your Pantry Space

Get your grocery list ready for a shopping trip before your travels. Stock up on staples such as canned goods, dry goods such as nuts and cereal, and, of course, yummy camping snacks!

To maximize your pantry space, place the taller items at the back of your pantry and smaller items in the front. Wired baskets or clear bins are great to store smaller items and bagged items to prevent them from moving around while the RV is in motion. Boxed goods like crackers and snack bars can be stored at the top of your pantry, while heavier items like cans and bottles of water should be placed at the bottom.

4. Customize The Space to Your Needs

When travelling, you won’t have fantastic services like Wi-Fi or cable everywhere, so it’s essential to bring movies for entertainment on a rainy day – especially for the kids! However, bringing DVDs in their cases can quickly stack up and use up valuable space. Instead, you can store your DVDs in a wallet case which can be stored nicely along with some books and magazines.

Having a command centre for the family can help during your trips! You can set it up on the fridge if it’s magnetic. Otherwise, you can use Command strips on a pantry door or wall. Using a whiteboard with magnets or a cork board with thumbtacks will help you keep important information, such as phone numbers, itinerary, addresses and other notes about your trip, while adding a bit of homey décor.

5. Maximize Your Bedroom Space with Labeled Containers

Storage bins and tubs work wonders for the space under your bed. Here, you can store your bedding, linens and blankets, cleaning and bathroom supplies, outdoor tools and gear, and even extra shoes and clothing.

Taking the extra step to label and tag your bins, tubs and baskets will be a time saver. Doing this will help you identify the contents of each storage container and quickly find what you’re looking for. This is especially helpful for clothing if you don’t have a dresser, or if you want some extra space in your closet. Labeling your containers will also make cleanup easier – you won’t have to spend hours figuring out what goes where!

6. Use Self-storage to Organize Your New RV Home

Making the most of your new RV home space can take some time and practice, especially considering the volume and weight limitations. When you’re planning your first few trips, it might be overwhelming to sort out what you need and what you don’t, and sometimes, you’ll need to leave some of your possessions behind. Using self-storage units will ensure your items are safe, while making it easier for you to organize and decide what to take on your next trip.

At U-Lock Mini Storage, we have storage facilities across Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our facilities include self storage Victoria, self storage Parksville, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Burnaby, self storage White Rock and Surrey, and self storage Chilliwack. Contact us if you have any questions!

Whether you are planning a long-term trip, or a quick getaway, organizing your RV home and maximizing your limited space can be a challenge, but these simple tips will get you off to a good start!

4 Tips for Organizing Your Garage Before Winter

As winter is only a few months away (yikes!), it is a good time to get your garage organized before it finally arrives. Here are five tips you can use to organize your garage before winter:

Consider what you actually want to store in your garage

For many homeowners, a garage is the perfect storage for a car, along with assorted yard and sporting equipment. But we don’t all have to use a garage in the same way. What is it that you actually need in your garage?

If there are items in your garage that you don’t need, consider donating them or storing them in a self-storage unit. If you have old family photos, clothes that you rarely wear or items that have sentimental value, you can keep them in a secure storage unit for a long term.

Do a pre-winter cleanup

Once you have cleared up your garage, it’s time to do a thorough cleanup before winter comes! In many cases, garages can get out of control and disorganized during the winter months because when it is cold or rainy out, we may be less likely to spend enough time in the garage to keep things tidy or organized. Use the last weeks of summer or the cooler dry days of fall to clear the clutter from your garage and give it more purpose. This way, your garage can remain clean and useful all winter long.

Use all the available space

Many times, our garage floors are full; yet the walls and ceilings are not utilized to their fullest potential. Walls and ceilings can offer an abundance of additional storage that is otherwise wasted.

Pegboards, lattice with “s” hooks, wall hooks and wall-mounted or free-standing shelving can maximize the space you have, and still leave you floor space for the car, craft tables or whatever you would like to use the middle of your garage for. There are customized garage organizing systems you can buy, but you can certainly find plenty of DIY options to help you organize every available inch, for less.

You can also use shelf standards, which hang from a single track affixed to wall studs. These systems can bear the weight of heavier objects; standards, hooks, shelves and organizers can be relocated easily.

Use jars, bins and cabinets

Invest in a few jars, bins and cabinets to help store items in your garage while minimizing the amount of space used to store these items. Once you place items such as old clothes or document files in a bin or cabinet, you can store these containers vertically, which significantly limits the amount of used space in your garage.

5 Tips for New Parents to Organize Baby Clothes

There are a million things on a new parent’s mind when the time finally comes to bring their baby home. As organized as you may think you were before the big day, there are so many unexpected challenges and changes that come up once you get into a routine at home. For example, maybe keeping your home clean and organized while caring for a newborn is more challenging than you had expected. Moreover, folding and organizing clothes may take up a longer time than anticipated. To help you keep your home organized, here are four tips you can use.

Keep daily used items close to the changing table

In the first few weeks, your baby grows so much. You may feel like they are constantly growing out of their clothes and onto the next size up. If your changing table is on your dresser, or close to it, keep those current sizes in the top drawer. If you change your baby in another room like the living room or your bedroom, keep a basket close by with all their current clothing and accessories for easy access. This way you won’t struggle to search for something that fits.

Use size organizers in the closet

Adding size labels to your closet is super helpful when organizing your baby’s clothing, especially after your baby shower, when you are overwhelmed with the amount of clothing your little one received. Additionally, hanging items are easier to see and grab rather than folded ones.

Most baby clothes already come on plastic hangers that are marked with their sizes, so all you need to do is hang them right up in the closet with the corresponding size organizer. Unfortunately, a lot of those cute clothes you got as gifts will end up unworn, with the tags still attached, if the size or season was wrong. Organizing clothing this way allows you to pinpoint which items they didn’t end up wearing so that you can make some returns if necessary. A trick for easy returns is to keep all of the gift receipts in the pockets or attached to the hanger.

These little plastic discs may not seem like much but can make a huge difference. They are inexpensive, fit most standard closet racks and can be found on most shopping websites.

Organize by item type

Keep socks with socks. Dedicate a section of the baby’s dresser to short-sleeve clothing and another to long-sleeve clothing. This way, If it’s a warm day, you’ll know exactly where to grab something with short sleeves; if it’s chilly out, you’ll easily be able to reach for the long-sleeve onesies. With a child that needs your attention, every second counts.

Keep a hamper close to your changing table

With a hamper within range, you can take the dirty clothes off the baby and toss them directly into it easily. As a new parent, your hands are always full – literally. You’ll realize it’s amazing what you can accomplish with one hand while the other holds the baby. Keeping everything you need close by makes navigating through the day that much easier.

Use a storage unit

To keep your home organized and clean, you can first declutter and remove all the unnecessary items from your home and move them into a storage unit. You can rent a storage unit for the long-term and access items in the storage unit whenever you need them.

If you have a lot of stuff that needs to be stored, you can choose a storage unit size that’s a bit bigger, such as a 5×10 storage unit. If you only have a few items to store, go with a closet-sized storage unit, such as a 5×5 storage unit.
At U-Lock Mini Storage, we have storage facilities across Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our facilities include self storage Victoria, self storage Parksville, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Burnaby, self storage White Rock and Surrey, and self storage Chilliwack. Contact us if you have any questions!