15+ Clothes Storage & RV Closet Organization Ideas
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Fitting all of the clothes we need into the closet of a camper or motorhome can be tricky. There may not even be a closet in your RV! (Don’t worry, we can show how you how to make one!) RV closet organization is a necessity if you’re living or traveling in your RV.
Here are some RV closet organization ideas for every style of closet to help maximize your storage space.
How I organize clothes and save closet space in my RV
First, I’ll start by showing you how I store my own clothes.
I have a good-sized closet for an RV—the type with sliding mirrored doors. But we live in our RV full-time in a four-season climate. Plus I wear professional clothes, everyday clothes, and athletic clothes… I have a lot to store!
Let’s start with the most basic RV organization tip: space-saving hangers.
Space Saving Hangers
1. Cascading Hangers
One way I save space in our closet is by using these cascading hangers for sweaters and blouses, which allows them to take up much less horizontal space. After buying mine, I found a DIY way to make them.
I also invested in some non-slip hangers with wire hooks. They stay on the cascading hangers better, take up less space than fatter plastic hangers, and clothes are less likely to fall off them when you’re squishing them into a tight space (especially in a moving vehicle!).
- Durable Closet Organizer - Made of strong and durable stainless steel that will last for years. Ideal dimensions at: 10.5" wide and 1" thickness. Every hanger organizer can hold 12 garments (up to 15 lbs) horizontally and hold 6 pieces (up to 30 lbs) vertically. It's great for hanging your heavy coat, suit, jacket, sweater, shirt, pants, jeans, dress, purse or accessories.
2. Belt and Tie Racks Used for Multiple Purposes
I have also found belt/tie racks really useful, not only for hanging belts, but also for hanging bags, cardigans, bras, and all my tank tops and camisoles.
- FUNCTIONAL ACCESSORY HANGER: Hanging closet organizer hanger features 7 straight hooks and 7 curved hooks perfect for hanging belts, ties, jewelry, shawls, pashminas, handbags, socks, delicates, outerwear, and more! Great for bedroom closet, hall closet, bathroom, and garage storage. Organizer hangs from one top hook on your closet rod
3. Multi-Level Hangers
For shorts and skirts, I found these multi-level clip hangers at Walmart. They are on Amazon, too, for a fairly reasonable price.
If you have the closet space, this is a much more efficient way to organize your skirts and shorts compared to folding them in a drawer.
- 【4 Tier Skirt Hanger】- Dipping plastic protection is used on the head of clips. With the two non-slip coated clips keep your pants and skirts gently on the hanger. Adjustable clips are suitable for kinds of clothes.
4. Pants Hangers
I picked up a few of these multi-pant hangers for slacks and pants.
- 👖【Sturdy Structure】These pants hangers are made of top-quality high manganese steel with high hardness to ensure firm structure and rust resistance, built to last that can be reused for years to come. Heavy-duty material with good load-bearing capacity.
5. Tie & Scarf Hangers
I ordered this tie hanger for my husband online, but I’ll be honest…he normally just stuffs his ties onto his end of the closet shelf after he takes them off. 😂
These hangers would probably work well for lightweight scarves, too, if you’re a scarf-wearing sort of person.
6. Over-Door Storage Bins
I keep gloves, hats, yoga pants, swimsuits, and my “unmentionables” in bins that hang over the door. They are quite inexpensive on Amazon and come in a few different colors.
- Large Capacity Holds More - Our over the door storage organizer is made of moisture-proof, breathable, tough, and odorless non-woven fabric. It has 4 large pockets of 13” (L) * 6” (W) * 7” (H) each, and the spacing between each layer has been increased to 4.5 inches. Enough to hold items of different sizes, and easy to put in and take out items you need.
7. Dirty Laundry Hamper
Just as important as where you store the clean stuff, is where you toss the dirty! I hang my laundry hamper.
I like this one because it’s made from heavy-duty canvas, the metal frame is quite sturdy, and the bag can be removed from the frame and closed with a drawstring for carrying to a laundromat if needed. Plus since it’s hanging, it stays out of the way.
The hook it’s hanging from is screwed into the wall and can hold a full bag of clothes. (I do have a plastic laundry hamper as well, visible in some of the photos above, but I use it for storage, not for laundry.)
Saving Space in Drawers
If your RV has drawers for clothing storage, one way to make better use of the space is to add dividers. These will allow the drawers to be filled to the top without becoming too messy.
8. Drawer Dividers
You can do this by adding drawer dividers. Pictured below is a drawer I organized using bamboo drawer dividers, but you can buy plastic ones more inexpensively, or make your own out of wood or cardboard if you’re crafty.
My friend cut up an Amazon box instead of recycling it to make free dividers for her husband’s socks and underwear.
If you buy them instead of making them, be sure to measure your drawer before ordering.
I made the mistake of assuming any adjustable drawer dividers would work and ended up having to return a set of dividers that were too long. You’ll also want to make sure they are tall enough to allow you to fill the drawer as full as you want. Some are shorter to fit in kitchen drawers.
- Drawer dividers are the perfect solution for organizing open-space drawers
9. Box or Container Inside a Drawer
Another way to achieve the same thing is to put a container inside a drawer, as Australian RVers Allan and Emma suggest in their article about clothes storage ideas.
Here’s a set of drawer organizer containers that have smaller sections to help you be super organized, but you could also just use a cardboard box.
Clothing storage and organization ideas from other RVers
10. Shoe Organizers Used for Clothing
In the pictures below you can see how shoe organizers can be used to organize not only shoes but also clothes.
Do you have a lot of pairs of leggings or other workout clothes? A hanging shoe organizer would be perfect for organizing those!
Of course, you could use it for shoes too!
The owner of this RV put storage bins inside a shoe organizer to act as drawers.
11. Drawers Added to Closets
One RV owner found that a cube organizer fits perfectly in her closet.
The wire drawers used in this RV closet were purchased at Ikea. Don’t live near an Ikea? The Home Depot carries a similar product.
Plastic drawers can be used to organize the floor space underneath hanging clothes.
12. Shelves Added to Closets
This RV’s owner found some wire shelves that were exactly the right dimensions to fit inside her deep, narrow closets.
Here is the same style of shelf used in another RV.
The owner of this RV installed wire closet shelves by hanging them with Command hooks. I would be a little worried about the sturdiness of the hooks, but these people haven’t had any problems.
- GLUIT - Sticky wall hooks for hanging are crafted for walls in your office, garage, or workshop. AVOID USING ON PAINTED walls. Their transparent design makes them nearly invisible on surfaces, making them ideal for tool organization, indoor and outdoor use, office supplies, and clothing. These hooks are versatile and suitable for a range of surfaces
An expandable tension shelf would be another easy way to add a shelf to a cabinet or closet. There are many styles and widths available on Amazon.
- EASY TO INSTALL: No tools needed, no damage to your decorative wall, adjustment to the length you need within the expandable range, then extend the suitable length, next tighten the screw, finally adjust fine-tuning feet, shake the product and confirm that it is fixed, just select strong sides ,such as tiles, walls, wardrobes, etc.
13. Bins Hung with Tension Rods
This RV owner found a way to work with the angled back wall of her closet by hanging a plastic tub using tension rods. She says it has stayed put so far. A shower caddy mounted on the closet door adds extra storage for smaller items.
Ideas for RVers whose closets aren’t big enough
No matter how organized you are, if your closets are too small, you may simply need to add more hanging clothes storage.
One way some RVers have done this is by turning their shower into a closet by hanging clothes from a shower rod spanning the top of the shower and using campground facilities for showering.
If you have enough floor space, an adjustable-height garment rack like the one below could be a good way to add additional clothing storage.
- Adjustable width, provides extra Hanging space
14. Turn Your Closet Doors into Storage
Shoe organizers can be cut to fit on the back of a closet door.
15. Using Wall Space for Hanging Clothes
If you are short on floor space but have plenty of wall space, you could mount a clothes rack like this one. (You’ll just want to make sure to use several screws with wall anchors to help prevent the screws from coming out of the paneling and causing the whole thing to fall down.)
- [Additional Accessories] 3pcs S-shaped hooks for hanging bags and other accessories. All hardware required is included. Just make sure to screw parts tight then mount the garment rack to the wall studs for support.
What if you don’t have a closet in your RV?
Full-time RVer Carly didn’t have a closet in her camper, so she removed the bunks and turned the space into a DIY closet! You can read all about her DIY RV closet project here!
Or maybe you have a closet, but it’s a bit of eyesore.
I hated my mirrored closet doors and opted to make them over to turn my master bedroom into a more tranquil space.
For more ideas for organizing and storing things in a camper or motorhome, check out my RV organization resource page!
Ashley Mann spent three years living full time in a 38-foot, 5th-wheel RV with her husband Josiah and their cat, Kitty. Her favorite thing about RV life is the challenge of finding the perfect way to organize a space, and she loves seeing all the creative and clever ways people come up with to customize their RVs.
There are small dehumidifiers for rv’s. Condensation forms on windows too.
I’m not sure if it’s because of our climate or our RV, but so far we have not had a problem with condensation or needed a humidifier, but this is a great tip for people who are dealing with that problem. I also recommend purchasing a hygrometer to monitor the RV’s humidity level (we bought one for less than $10 on Amazon).
My Winnebago ERA M70 RV came with 2 Rubbermaid Hanger Bars Rubbermaid part # 5G76 attached to back side of bathroom wall facing the rear of unit–between wall and rear doors. I am looking for what hangs from these bars to hang electrical cords, water hose, other materials on. Any help will be appreciated
After Googling I believe those are called “Fast Track Rails”. Is this the kind of thing you are looking for?
Sorry I thought I included the link – here it is: http://amzn.to/2tgtUbf
I love your page..My husband and I have lived in our 2009 29 foot Viking Grand Haven since we bought it in June 2017. We haveny made any changes yet, but I plan on making changes one thing at a time as our budget allows. I am really excited to try the DIY under pinning using the recycled billboard and the hooks and tent stakes. I ordered enough billboard to have extra for what ever purpose we can use it for. We are planning on trying the project this weekend. WISH US LUCK!!! I will let you know how it worked out and post pics if I can. Thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks for letting me know you like the ideas! Good luck with your skirting project! I hope it works well for you!
Ashley, how or where do you find a space for purses/totes where they don’t get bent or scrunched w/o taking up width by hanging.
Thank you for free chapter of your book!
You’re welcome! I don’t own very many purses myself, but the ones I do own I keep in my closet. I have a few bags hanging from a belt hanger, and one larger leather purse hanging by itself on a regular hanger with the straps looped through the notches in the “shoulder” part of the hanger. If you have any doors not already being used for storage you could also get an over-door hanger to hang bags on.
Have you ever thought about removing the mirrored doors and replacing them with a curtain or bifold door? I thought about putting an accordion door there but the weight is probably the same as the mirrored doors. Hollow bifold doors might weigh less than the mirrored doors. Sugesstions please.
I like having regular doors on my closet, but I have seen many people replace them and I myself changed the look of them. Here’s a blog post I wrote about the topic!
I saw in your closet organization section, that you had a washer/dryer setup. Can you do a section on how to install and location of the install.
Hi Eddie! My fifth wheel came with the washer/dryer prep (plumbing and hookups) already in place inside the drawers so that it would be an option to add the unit, and we had an RV repair shop do the installation for us. We chose a vented Splendide, so they cut the hole for the vent and everything. The only thing I wish we had done differently was to replace the carpet underneath the washer/dryer with some waterproof vinyl because we had a hose leak and need to be replaced and the carpet and floor was completely soaked when that happened. I’m sorry I’m not experienced with adding washer/dryer hookups to RV’s that don’t already have them and haven’t personally done the installation myself, but I’m sure an RV repair shop could help you out, or if you’re looking to DIY to save money then I think YouTube would be a good place to look!
Crazy coincidence – I happened to see this video the day after I replied to your comment! I think they already had the washer/dryer prep in place before this installation.