Camping Hack: Thin Cloth Covered Hangers

Space is limited in a camper! So you really have to learn to make the most of what you have and value what you decide to fill the space with. So this weeks camping hack is thin material covered hangers!

As I work on pairing down my clothing for our transition to full time RV life, I am looking for every possible space saving measure so  I can keep more of my favorite pieces. I have been researching on subject and came across a YouTube video from a family we follow. It was about using felt or velvet covered slim metal hangers.  I was kind of skeptical at first, so I decide to document the process so I could compare.. I was shocked at the space it created.

 

Here is a before picture showing what we worked with.

BEFORE

 

RV closets are weird, awkward places. They are narrow cabinets normally on each side of the “master’ bed area. They are usual at the front where the front curve of the RV is. The top is normally just deep enough for a hanger while the bottom is deep enough for a small child to use as a bed. We store our extra sheets in the bottom back of the closet.

 

This closet contained:

2 thin wind breaker type jackets

1 sweat shirt zip up hoodie

1 blue jean material button up

7 of Chris’ polo shirts

18 hangers

 

 

Since our home base is a tiny town in Kentucky, shopping options are limited and even more limited when looking for something unique. However, about a year or so ago our little town got a Ross Dress For Less store… which I have discovered is a great place to find items that other local stores just don’t have. It also has the added bonus of having items of better quality. My grandmother taught me “Quality is better than quantity.” which applies to so much more than items and objects. I went to our local Ross and found this 25 Ultra Slim Plastic hangers for $9.99 or $10.59 with tax. I wondered if I was sacrificing quality by having plastic bottoms and metal hooks. I was pleasantly surprised once I got them home and opened them… They are in fact ALL metal.

 

The obvious reason for “ultra thin hangers”  is to save space by eliminating width.  I opened them and compare them to current plastic hangers and just could not see that they would make a big enough difference. They are a little thinner, but a little taller on the clothes hanging section.

 

The covered metals has 2 purposes;  to keep your clothes in place on the hanger and not to damage your clothes. In an RV moisture is always an issue, having metal hangers is a risk. However with the protection of the felt or velvet on the metal the rust risk is low. The hook is shorter and much thinner… So I started to think, “Okay, so I will be able to hang the clothes closer and more hooks in each section.”

 

 

So I removed all the current hangers and clothing items. Rehung them all with the new hangers. Boy was I shocked it saved a ton of space!!!

 

After: 

Contains the same amount of clothing, but I only put 12 hangers back in. (I had a couple of empty ones when I took the before picture.)