We have 2 adults, 3 kids, and sometimes 5 kids when my two from my first marriage are visiting.
I second the use of "totes". We use these:
HDX 27-Gal. Storage Tote in Black-207585 - The Home Depot
Home Depot had them on sale today - $10 apiece. They're a great deal because they're more rugged than what you usually find at a Walmart - thicker plastic everywhere, especially the top. The top is deeply nested so they stack very stably, and their lids fit tightly with plenty of overhang. You can easily leave these things out in the rain and what's inside stays bone-dry. Mice can't get into them, either.
These things are the bees-knees for activity-oriented storage. For example, we use one for all our beach stuff - swimsuits, flip-flops, toys, everything goes into one bin, the bin goes to the beach, all the wet stuff goes into it at the end of the day, and we sort it out back at camp. No sand gets into the camper.
Being weatherproof is also nice because for things you bring but don't need right away, you don't necessarily need to lose closet space to storing them. For example, I have one dedicated to storage tank maintenance - I keep the dump hose, fittings, gloves, and other stuff in there. We have another for "outside stuff": picnic tablecloth and clips, lighter and newspaper, paper plates, a lantern, a few strings of lights, etc. When we're setting up camp, I drop the "outside" bin next to the picnic table, the "nasty" one under the rear near the dump valve, and the "toy" bin somewhere in the middle. Way easier/faster even than dedicated outside storage compartments. It's like having an extra 20 or so cubic feet of storage (depending on how many you use). Space is precious!
For daily clothes, we use these:
Kelty Camp Hauler 3 - Modular Storage | Backcountry.com
They don't seem to make them anymore but looks like Mountainsmith has something similar? These things are great. Three small bags each fit several days' worth of clothes per kid or 2 days' for an adult, and they all nest into a bigger duffel. We pack 2-3 duffels depending on the length of our trip.
Once we get to our destination, we break the duffels apart. Each smaller container goes on the owner's bed (or a closet). The bigger duffel then becomes the laundry bag - as things get used up, they go into the big one. That goes to the laundromat or home.
I know there are plenty of people that are "unpack the suitcase into the closet" types, but this works really well for us. We travel a lot and we never know where we're headed next. We can be switching between cold-weather gear and shorts literally in the same week.
In our skoolie we plan to travel longer but not necessarily pack differently. We will add closet space, but mostly for a suit for me for occasional work-related visits, some nicer clothes for date nights, a rain slicker, etc. Storing daily clothes doesn't have to be a huge problem if you aren't the 35-pairs-of-shoes types.
Efficient Storage Systems?
Linear Mode
