Tips to Maximize Storage Space When You're Living in a Van

Stealth Van Dwelling is a minimalistic lifestyle. Keeping your worldly possessions condensed to fit comfortably in a 150 cubic ft space means you must be organized. A place for everything, and everything in it's place. Being a bit compulsive in your cleaning habits can be a good thing in a van, there just isn't room for both a mess and you. One has to go, preferably the mess.

Down sizing the quantity of stuff is the first step. Some van dwellers start off renting a storage unit to handle the overflow. In most instances this ends up being money wasted. The old adage, if you haven't used it in a years time you never needed it in the first place, is painfully true. 99% of what you pay to store will fit into this category. Sadly after that year of paying rent you can kiss good by to $1,000 or so.

Rigging out your van with cost effective storage that is laid out in a logical manner will keep your belongings orderly and allow you to maintain a less stressful life.

Plastic Storage Drawer Units are reasonably priced and available at Wal-Mart. Just like a small sized chest of drawers, they look neat and clean and can hold everything from socks and underwear to canned goods and kitchen utensils. The top priority in any Van Dwelling is the bed. Without a good nights sleep life will become miserable in short order. Before you start building your bed platform check into some storage containers for that space underneath the bed.

Covered Plasitc Totes fitted under the bed can even be camouflaged by a curtain around the edge of the bed. Held in place by Velcro it provides quick access to your stuff.

Even small plastic containers can be useful in keeping those related things grouped together. Your personal hygiene supply's, all in one spot so when you pull into the truck stop for a shower, your ready to go.

Having a nice set of built in cabinets like a factory built class "B" would be sweet, but lets face it. How many people have the skill or facilities it takes to do a quality job of building out your van dwelling so that it looks neat and orderly. The next best thing is to make use of what's available and reasonably priced store bought.

One thing to consider, keeping things looking neat and respectable will go a long way in keeping the authorities off your back. When Sheriff Taylor looks inside and sees a well appointed yet compact camper that looks like you have a sense of pride in ownership, he's much less likely to have you standing in the rain with your hands on the hood and your legs spread for closer scrutiny.