• I keep these within arm’s reach: handkerchiefs, hand sanitizer, lip balm, my bag of food and insulated bottle full of water/herbal tea, “Simply Gum” brand gum (because most gum is plastic!), and a collapsible umbrella.
• I kept about 30 CDs when I downsized just in case I have internet connectivity problems with my phone in rural areas, and limited radio choices. I have a few in Minnie’s cab and a few in Max.
• The world’s cutest bubble level, which is about 1 ½ inches. Parking a motorhome levelly (front-to-back or side-to-side) is sometimes an issue. I put tire levels under whichever tires need to be higher, then put the bubble level on the floor of the RV and check it as I inch onto the tire levels to see when I have achieved nirvana. There is a level function on the iPhone, and there are probably apps – but I like my old-school bubble level.

• Homey Touch – Scents are one of the ways I create a good vibe, but a lot of them are toxic. I got sterling silver essential oil vent clips to put in Minnie and in Max. I douse the pad inside the “locket” with essential oil, and hit the road.

• Some motorhomes come with seat swivels standard, but mine didn’t. I invested the extra money to have my cab’s passenger seat retrofitted with a swivel to give me more seating in the main room of my rig. It’s also nice for two other reasons. The passenger seat is a recliner type of seating, which is a nice alternative to the upright seating around the table. And having the passenger seat face into the main area makes the room feel three feet bigger.
• All of the removable parts of the tow setup that connects my car to my motorhome are kept in a sturdy plastic bin with latches that secure the lid on. When I am towing, I keep the empty bin on the floor of the car. When I am parked, I keep the (full!) bin between the front seats of the motorhome cab. I put a cute dishcloth and coaster on it, and violà! It becomes a side table for the passenger seat.
• Minnie came with a curtain that covers the windshield and the cab windows for privacy. My curtain secures with Velcro, so it’s kind of a pain to put it up. If I skip it, I just close the door to the bedroom when I turn in. 

It’s nifty up there. It has a movable sturdy ladder to climb in and out, its own window that opens, its own skylight-air vent, and a curtain that pulls across for privacy.

• I wasn’t sure what to do about bedding because the bed is not a normal queen or king. Then I got inspired to buy a queen-sized thick foam mattress topper because it wasn’t that comfortable anyway… and my queen-size bedding fit on the mattress top. Problem solved! I also keep 2-3 throw blankets up there for use as needed – for either bed or for sitting outside. 

• The only TV is on the side wall of the over-cab bed, secure and out of the way. But it is on a swivel arm so it can be viewed from the main room of the motorhome or probably even from the bedroom. (I have never turned it on.) The rig also has a built-in antenna, DVD player and cable hookups.
• Homey Touch – I strung battery-powered fairy lights along the ceiling with little clear Command (brand name) hooks. I turn them on even when no one is sleeping up there, because they act as charming side lights, a nice alternative to the overheads. I use rechargeable batteries.

• Keeping Dishes from Breaking – Richter Scales have been placed in trailers and the shaking is at the level of earthquake when they are being towed. My approach to keep dishes from breaking and rattling-while-driving was to put the glassware in a sock organizer and cloth squares between plates and bowls.

• Downsized Dishes – I have eight plates. I kept four glasses and two mugs, because I love them and I don’t always want to feel like I am camping. I already had two insulated bottles and two tin mugs. I bought two insulated big cups. That’s twelve things to drink out of when I host a gathering, fourteen if we drink out of the measuring cups! And there are a lot of choices for the “best” option if it’s just me or me plus a visitor or two. I kept four bowls, and have a set of glass bowls that can be used in the oven, microwave, for storage, for serving, or for eating out of. They nest, and have secure lids.

• I have cloth napkins.
• Keeping Stuff in the Fridge & Cabinets from Breaking/Spilling – I know this runs counter to my plastic-avoidance strategy, but I bought these bins before I was thinking so much about plastic, and they aren’t single use. (Honestly, I am not sure if/how I would do it differently if I were buying today.) I have bins inside the fridge and in two of the cabinet shelves to keep small/light/breakable/awkward things from crashing around.

• Homey Touch – I couldn’t part with my Japanese Maple Leaf mobile or my birdhouse, so they’re hanging from a vent in the ceiling. I love them. I actually kind of like it when the mobile leaves gently touch me on the top of my head.

• Homey Touch – I have four pretty things that ride from place to place in the dish drainer, then get popped on the counter when I set up Minnie. Ta Da! Instant charm. Two are actually useful. The silver bowl holds things like lip balm and keys… The trivet is the place to put hot dishes or do a bit of chopping if it’s not enough to get out a real cutting board. Otherwise it just looks lovely. The fake flowers and the glass leaf are just there for looks!

• Water – This is my bottled water avoidance system. I filter the water, and make cold herbal tea in the pitchers, which seal on the top and fit in the door of the fridge. I put water in the glass bottles in the fridge. I fill the insulated stainless steel bottles and take them with me when I’m out and about. Usually I can find a water fountain out in the world to fill up again if I need to.
• Coffee & Tea – Tea bags can have a lot of waste, particularly when they are individually wrapped. And many of those pyramid-shaped tea bags are plastic. So I am moving to using loose-leaf tea. And no K-Cups here! My coffee filter and tea balls are stainless steel.

• Packaging – I look for products that have no packaging, or as low an impact packaging as possible – paperboard, glass, metal.
• Reusable Grocery Bags – I have reusable grocery, produce and bulk food bags, and jars for bulk food. I put labels on the jars with the tare weight – the weight of the jar – so the grocery clerk can deduct that to get the weight of the bulk food. The produce and bulk bags had the tare weight already on their labels.

• Whenever I am driving Minnie or Max, I always have a large insulated bottle filled with water or herbal tea in the cup holder. I also have my trusty canvass bag of food (nuts, dried fruit, crackers) within arm’s reach. I have two sets of sterling silver flatware and straws in little cases so I don’t need to use plastic utensils when I’m out and about, and a couple of handkerchiefs in a reusable silicone snack bag for napkins.

• The dinette is on a slide-out, which widens the room about three feet when Minnie is parked. I check the clearance outside (!!), hold the switch down, and the slide-out motor does the rest. Then I retract it before driving away!
• There is storage under the dinette benches. It is a pain to get to, but I am grateful for it! Since I keep stuff in there that I don’t need very often, I forget what went where. So I keep a list of what is under each bench because it’s such a pain that I don’t want to open the wrong one.
• The dinette converts into yet another bed.
• My “office” is in part of the bin over the dinette. Mostly I am paperless, but I have a few files, books and a stash of basic office supplies.

• Keeping Stuff from Breaking/Spilling – I have a couple of bins, cups and zip pouches sitting on the shelf that keep everything organized and in place.

• Packaging – I look for products that have no or low-impact packaging e.g. bars, not bottles for soap, shampoo & conditioner, washcloths & natural loofahs instead of scrubs, wooden toothbrushes (make sure to get soft bristles!), a stainless steel razor, washable cotton pads for taking off makeup (be sure to get flannel texture, not baby washcloth texture!), handkerchiefs for tissues…
• I have been using Seventh Generation recycled toilet paper, which has dissolvability compatible for RVs. But I am on the hunt for recycled TP that doesn’t come in outer plastic wrap.

• Homey Touch – I have a poster of a “window” looking out on a beach that actually makes the bathroom feel more spacious. I have a few beachy things I store while driving, then put on the far end of the counter for decoration. My seashell nightlight is useful as well as charming.

• Keeping Stuff from Breaking/Spilling – I bought a set of square bins with handles for miscellaneous storage – two under the kitchen sink for cleaning stuff, one under the bathroom sink for laundry stuff, one in my “garage bin” under my rig full of WD-40 and whatnot, and one holds shower stuff. Again, I bought them before I was so conscious of plastic, but I don’t know what I would do differently now.

• That whisk broom-and-dustpan and dustbuster are just right for my space!
• I keep one Swedish dishcloth at the kitchen sink and one at the bathroom sink for simply wiping water off the counter. The roll of towels in the photo are made of bamboo and can be used, washed and re-used numerous times. That sponge is cellulose. I use bar soap for my hands and showers. Same for dish soap; there are bars now.
• I line my little trashcan with biodegradable bags.
• I use wool dryer balls instead of fabric softener. I am getting laundry detergent in biodegradable pods (in a cardboard box) when I use up my existing detergent.

• The bedroom has two walls that slide out using a motor. All I have to do is check the clearance outside(!!) and then hold the switch down. The one that the bed is on goes back, and the one that the wardrobe is on goes a couple of feet out to the side – so there is room to stand by the bed to change clothes.
• The mattress was horrible. I put it in a friend’s garage so I could put it back in the motorhome whenever I sell it. The mattress had to be flexible enough to go up the wall when I brought the slide-out in. I bought a nice 6” foam one.
• I have an electric blanket for when I need it.
• Homey Touch – I hung star-shaped fairy lights over the bed.

• I have downsized considerably. I am not quite at capsule wardrobe status, but I am inspired by the philosophy of having a few quality, classic pieces that combine well with everything else in my wardrobe and that I feel great in.
• I did have to buy a few more cold-weather items, and had some great finds in second hand stores in wealthy towns.
• I splurged on flocked hangers for the RV so my clothes would stay on the hangers during transit – and they do!!
• For the rare occasion when I need to go to the cleaners, I have a reusable garment bag.

• The heating and air conditioning run on the generator, which is both loud and consumes gas out of the gas tank. I have an electric space heater/fan combo that I use on shore power for most temperature ups and downs.

• I use rechargeable batteries.
• A head lamp comes in very handy when you need to keep your hands free.

• I have an essential oil diffuser.
• I splurged on a small electric fireplace/space heater, and it is really charming, but doesn’t put out as much heat as the electric space heater/fan combo. Sigh!
• I am ridiculously sentimental, and holidays are included in that. I have holiday decorations on a very small scale. They all fit in one small bin.

• Lawn chairs that fold flat don’t fit in the door of Minnie’s biggest under-storage bin, so I have the kind that fold into a long, skinny(-ish!) shape.
• I have two tables that roll up, but I don’t use them often because campsites frequently have picnic tables. I do use my little side table often.
• I have a Coleman propane stove the size of a briefcase for grilling outside.
• Because of fire hazards, wood fires are not allowed in some areas but propane fire pits are. Plus they are easy to light and put out and propane burns cleaner!

• Tool box!
• Tire pressure gauge!
• Tow System – Mine is a Blue Ox. In addition to the tow bars, it has cables to catch the car if the bars fail. It also has an electrical cord that connects Minnie to Max, and they signal together and brake together. It’s very safe. NOTE ON HOOKING UP – To align my car to the back of my motorhome in order to hook up, I had to memorize visual cues (e.g. close one eye and align the windshield fluid squirter on the hood of Max to a point on the back of Minnie…), and even then, sometimes I have to adjust the car again because I’m a little off. But it’s way faster than just hoping for the best! NOTE ON UNHOOKING – I try my very best to have Max as straight as possible behind Minnie because the tow bars are horribly difficult to unhook even if they are at the slightest angle. I have to get in the car repeatedly to inch it this way and that and keep checking to see if the pins in the tow system are unbound enough to remove.
• 30 AMP Extension Cord – Mine is built into Minnie, so I didn’t have to buy it. I religiously use a surge protector. I also have an adaptor for the occasions when I can plug into house power.

• Drinking Water Hose – Drinking water hose is actually a type of hose, not just what I use it for. I read that I needed 50 feet of hose so I bought a 50-foot hose, HOWEVER, I wish I had bought two 25-foot hoses I don’t always need all that length and wrangling hoses can be a thing – particularly when it’s cold and they are stiff. (Sheesh! Look at all that hose in the photo!) I protect Minnie’s pipes by using both a brass 90 degree hose elbow and water pressure regulator. I have work gloves that help me grip the fittings while I screw/unscrew the hose to Minnie and to the spigot.

• Sewer Hose – I bought a starter pack that included the fittings and seals. I also have a sewer hose support rack. I also keep disposable plastic gloves and hand sanitizer in the same bin as the sewer stuff, for obvious reasons. I am also not going to include a photo of mine, for obvious reasons.

• Hose for Rinsing the Black Tank – Separate from the drinking water hose! I got an expandable garden hose that looks like a big scrunchy. It’s very compact and is easy to roll up.
• I have two solar panels on the roof of my motorhome that power the overhead lights.