Packing Cabinets & Cupboards

[khenrie]

Okay.... getting ready to pack things up and then pack to the RV. A question has occured to me...

Do you ladies have to unpack your cupboards everytime you move? I'm thinking medicine chest and upper cabinets in the kitchen, dining area. What nifty ideas do you have to share with me?

I was looking through campingworld.com and other places and see all kinds of nifty shelves to increase space, but none of them look like they would hold things in place during travel. The medicine chest in the RV is just like the medicine chest in my house....is there a risk of it popping open? Am I thinking too much about this?

[Irmi]

Kimberly, I use Scoot Guard on all my kitchen shelves to keep my dishes from scooting around. I leave everything in my cupboards and medicine cabinet while underway. I have never had a cabinet door open on me. The dishes always stay in place. Some items in the medicine cabinet may fall over, but to me it's easier to rearrange once we're parked than to take everything out and then have to put everything back again.

[mtngal]

The gals with bigger rigs will have many ideas; for my little RT, I have several plastic baskets that hold a variety of things.....food items, paper goods, etc. In fact each of my cupboards have either baskets or shallow containers. These also allow easy access to stuff in the back of storage areas. Because space is tight I keep every thing as simple as possible. Have fun arranging (and re-arranging)!
(oh, and I don't change anything other than picking up counters for travel).

[Gentleladybear]

I went to the Dollar Store and bought rolls of rubber shelf guard. I cut this and put between my plates, bowls and line the shelves with it. No rattling and things stay in place. I also cut this rubber shelf guard and put between my pots, frying pans...they don't rattle. In the bathroom I have cut this and put i on the shelves and it seems to help hold things in place.


At the dollar store it is 1.00 per roll, can be cut with scissors...easty to use.

Happy trails

[Bethers]

In 6 years I've only had one cabinet open - so now I wonder if I didn't have it closed good. I do have the rubberized stuff between all my dishes and pots/pans, etc - and on the bottom of the shelves. It not just helps with slipping, but makes these things not make noise when traveling.

For my cabinets, I did buy some shelf separators. Going to see if I can find one of the posts that I made with pictures of them - if so, will come back with the link. Or will repost them if I can find the pics on Photobucket (I don't label things in PB, bad, bad me )

[Bethers]

I'm also going to move this thread to gadgets and gizmos (could have gone in General - but maybe others will have other gadgets, etc to mention). Just doesn't feel like maintenance to me.

Now, the racks I use are just one kind out there. The hard part for me was getting racks that were the height I wanted. I use them in my cabinets as you'll see - and canned goods will fit perfectly on the bottom and there's still plenty of room on the top. I also use (as you'll see) for clothes - These are expandable ones and I love them.

[Irmi]

I like the rack idea, Beth.

[khenrie]

Thanks for sharing everyone!

Beth I have looked and looked at those racks and I just imagine everything on the top shelf flying off and onto the floor, lol. Do you put shelf liner on them?

I couldn't decide where to post this either.... went back and forth between gadgets, general and maintenance. sigh. Glad you all found it where it was!

[cpatinjones]

I use rubber liner and baksets.

[carold]

Both of my rigs have had a shelf lining already in. Some things in the medicine cabinet I keep in containers, others not. Don't use anything between my dishes or to hold glasses down. So far, in 5 years, nothing has fallen out. Just be sure all cabinets/doors are closed tightly before driving as well as outside doors. We're pretty casual about all the normal rv stuff-we have nothing special for anything Of course, now that I've said this carold

[Acadianmom]

I use the shelves like Beth to divide the shelf so things aren't stacked so high. My bathroom shelf is about 5 inches deep so I found some drawer organizers that fit. They keep bottles standing upright. I also have one of those shoe pocket thingies hanging in the bathroom that I can put things in and shoes. Some of the cabinets and drawers lock automatically in some rigs. Mine has locks that have to be pushed on drawers and cabinets. I seldom make it to the highway without having to pull over and lock something. I don't think I have anything that is glass. I use plastic dishes and glasses and paper plates. Be careful about putting something heavy in an upper cabinet. I put the sink cover in an upper cabinet and it slid out and hit me. Just remember when you take off you might as well put everything that isn't secured on a counter in the floor because that's where it is going to end up.

Martha

[retiredhappy]

I use tension rods; in the frig and in my one big cabinet where my plates, etc are stored. Just buy those curtain tension rods; nothing special from CW. They've never come out but they do shift forward. I also on that particular cabinet use a small bungee on the door handles. In the bathroom I keep the heavier stuff (shampoo, etc) under the sink so the stuff in the medicine cabinet is light stuff.

[Bethers]

Things rarely come off my shelves - but I carefully open each door to those with the food on them - as occasionally one item will fly out - usually a box I have in front - and I just put my hand up there and push everything right back into place as I open the door. I didn't put another on the shelves. And I really got way more food, etc in such a small area - and all more accessible. Took me a year to find shelves that weren't too high - now I find them all over the place

[kdmac]

I have chosen the cheap and hillbilly way of securing things in my cupboards...I buy the Costco large package of paper towels, since I certainly use them soon enough. In each cupboard I secure things by "gently" placing as many rolls as will fit that way things don't move around in there when I am traveling. I never cram them in there, don't want to stress the cupboards at all, I just fit them in there so stuff stays put. Since paper towels don't fit in the medicine cabinet, (which can be your nemesis) I put hand towels in front on each shelf so things don't move in there. BUT!!!! to be sure I protect my sink from getting chipped if an item falls out as I remove the hand towels I drape a large towel over the sink and the faucet fixture first before the initial opening of the medicine cabinet....'it's just inevitable that one or more items will fall out. In the cupboards that aren't used that much I can leave those paper towels in there until it's time to use them up. Has always worked for me. Paper towels are my friend.

[Bethers]

You have room to secure things with entire ROLLS of paper towels. I'm impressed. My cabinets are way too full to do that