Cool Tears Magazine, in conjunction with Tuck Designs, is offering these (and other) cool t-shirts featuring our favorite little trailers. This baseball style shirt costs $20 and comes in a unisex shape.
Showing posts with label clothes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clothes. Show all posts
Friday Teardrop Photo
Cool Tears Magazine, in conjunction with Tuck Designs, is offering these (and other) cool t-shirts featuring our favorite little trailers. This baseball style shirt costs $20 and comes in a unisex shape.
Friday Teardrop Photo
This is my closet in the Sunflower—after a few days of camping. I'm not always as diligent as I should be about keeping my clothes organized in a closet this size. After just a day or two, I have to pull everything out, fold and re-organize. It's a challenge working with a small space and you've just seen my dirty laundry—literally.
What clothes do you carry in the teardrop?
I carry a full set of clothes in my side of the teardrop trailer cupboards at all times. Having all my clothes in the teardrop makes packing much easier, and all I have to do is grab my hiking boots (or I just wear them) and maybe a puffer jacket for colder temps and off we go.
The space for my clothes is very small: about 25 inches wide by 11 inches deep. The vertical space is barely another 11 inches since it slopes down at the back. The cupboard shares space with our two small towels, our toiletries box, and my husband's clothing. His clothing consists of just some sweat pants and a sweater, a couple pairs of underwear and socks, his camp slippers, some shorts and a T-shirt. He's REALLY minimalist, but sometimes lacks items for extreme up or down temperatures.
Even though I don't like to have a lot of things in the teardrop, I tend to hang on to a lot of clothes. Where we camp tends to have crazy weather, and in one day you could change your clothes two or three times to stay comfortable. However, I'm surprised how much I can fit into a space about 275 square inches.
I think the key might be in the folding, I tightly roll or fold all my items and stack them according to temperature needs. Unfortunately, even during short trips, I will find myself sitting on the teardrop bed, pulling all the clothes out, refolding them and stacking them back in again. I'm pretty bad when it comes to putting clothes back in the cupboard while camping. When rushed, I'll just toss them in and close the door really fast.
I will store a few items under my pillow. Usually a warm puffer or fleece jacket will go under my pillow, or I'll put socks or hats in the netting above the bed. Having a wide range of clothing that can be used in all situations comes in handy when traveling through various locations.
Having said that—my teardrop wardrobe won't really take me to a fancy restaurant or a ball. I actually went to the thrift store to shop for my teardrop wardrobe to keep the cost down and I don't carry any "nice" clothes for going out at night. In fact, dressing up means putting on our clean jeans and knocking the dirt off our hiking boots.
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| Flip flops for hot weather and public showers. My camp shoes were $5 at a sports store clearance. |
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| I keep several pairs of undies, sports bras, socks and a hat in a small sunflower bag. I also have a swimsuit and a small packable shopping bag that we use for laundry (the strawberry). |
Even though I don't like to have a lot of things in the teardrop, I tend to hang on to a lot of clothes. Where we camp tends to have crazy weather, and in one day you could change your clothes two or three times to stay comfortable. However, I'm surprised how much I can fit into a space about 275 square inches.
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| My outer layers consist of a Sierra Designs rainjacket and a Patagonia fleece. We are lucky to have a Patagonia outlet where we live. |
I think the key might be in the folding, I tightly roll or fold all my items and stack them according to temperature needs. Unfortunately, even during short trips, I will find myself sitting on the teardrop bed, pulling all the clothes out, refolding them and stacking them back in again. I'm pretty bad when it comes to putting clothes back in the cupboard while camping. When rushed, I'll just toss them in and close the door really fast.
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| Other warm items include a puffy vest that folds into its own bag and some long (very colorful) underwear. |
I will store a few items under my pillow. Usually a warm puffer or fleece jacket will go under my pillow, or I'll put socks or hats in the netting above the bed. Having a wide range of clothing that can be used in all situations comes in handy when traveling through various locations.
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| I have a few items for sleeping including two long sleeved T-shirts and a long, fleece bottom. |
Having said that—my teardrop wardrobe won't really take me to a fancy restaurant or a ball. I actually went to the thrift store to shop for my teardrop wardrobe to keep the cost down and I don't carry any "nice" clothes for going out at night. In fact, dressing up means putting on our clean jeans and knocking the dirt off our hiking boots.
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| Clothing for warm weather includes two tank tops, three T-shirts and two shorts. I'll sometimes sleep in the gray shorts if it's hot at night. |
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| I only bring one other pair of pants. I'll usually be wearing my hiking pants while traveling, but my comfy jeans wait for me in the cupboard. These are for "dressing up." |
How do your wash your clothes?
I recently got back from a three week trip to Europe and only took two sets of clothes in one small carry on piece of luggage. Traveling so lightly requires a lot of hand washing in various sinks in different countries and washing out items actually becomes a nightly ritual. The same holds true for teardrop camping. Because our teardrop trailer closets are so small, we carry very little clothing and on longer trips, we have to do a fair amount of hand washing along with taking our clothes to a laundry facility.
If we're traveling for a few weeks, we usually take our clothes to a laundry facility every week. However, I do try to wash out underwear, socks, dish towels, T-shirts and tank tops every night and hang them up to dry on our camping clothesline that is strung up between two trees. We keep the clothesline, the clothes pins and some packets of laundry soap in the storage area under the bed, but I will sometimes just wash with Dr. Bronner's soap or even just biodegradable dish soap. Washing usually takes place with water from a spigot or even a river or stream in our regular dishwashing containers. We dump our used water in a campground toilet or a utility sink and never on the ground.
The Scrubba Wash Bag is a little pricey at nearly $70, but this Australian designed washing bag with a built in washing board can probably be taken on any kind of trip...not just a teardrop camping trip. It's very portable and the design is so fun. The Scrubba also donates some of its proceeds to the World Vision Emergency and Preparedness Fund and the Charity:Water fund.
The portable 14 inch Laundry POD washes clothes like a salad spinner. It lets you do a small load of laundry with no electricity. It's designed to fit under sinks, so it could probably fit into a small storage area in a trailer.
The Wonder Wash is a little bit larger than the POD, but I have seen it being used by many tiny house dwellers. It may be too unwieldy for teardrop camping, but could work for people who camp in larger trailers.
If we're traveling for a few weeks, we usually take our clothes to a laundry facility every week. However, I do try to wash out underwear, socks, dish towels, T-shirts and tank tops every night and hang them up to dry on our camping clothesline that is strung up between two trees. We keep the clothesline, the clothes pins and some packets of laundry soap in the storage area under the bed, but I will sometimes just wash with Dr. Bronner's soap or even just biodegradable dish soap. Washing usually takes place with water from a spigot or even a river or stream in our regular dishwashing containers. We dump our used water in a campground toilet or a utility sink and never on the ground.
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This inexpensive clothesline allows you to hang up clothes without the use of pins. Just shove the edges of the clothes into the twisted sections of the bungee.
Since we usually camp in the desert, high desert or the mountains of the West, our clothes dry quickly in the sun and wind, so we can take them down and wear them again in just a few hours. Unlike some hyper-controlled or HOA areas where people live, it doesn't seem to be much of a faux pas to hang your clothes up outside on a clothesline at a campground. We have yet to run into a campground that doesn't let you hang up your clothes to dry.
If we ever need to dry some clothes while on the road (like our swimsuits after bathing in a hot spring), we leave the clothes on the teardrop trailer bed and then drive with the teardrop windows up, letting the wind and sun come in through the screens as we tow the trailer down the road.
* Several Tiny Yellow Teardrop readers responded to this post with some ingenious ideas for washing clothes on the road. Thank you NetDep and AnetaCuse!
The Wonder Wash is a little bit larger than the POD, but I have seen it being used by many tiny house dwellers. It may be too unwieldy for teardrop camping, but could work for people who camp in larger trailers.
How do you change your clothes in a teardrop?
One of the biggest issues that teardrop campers have is changing clothes in a teardrop trailer. I've been slightly successful at putting on my underwear and tops while inside the trailer, but pants are more of a struggle. I usually wiggle into my jeans while lying down on the bed and then open up the door, step out to pull them up the rest of the way and zip up my zipper. It's not the most elegant way to put on pants, and some camping neighbors have gotten a nice view of my undies early in the morning.
Over the years, I've seen an interesting variety of screens and changing rooms made or purchased by other teardroppers. Some are attached to the top of the teardrop trailer and some are freestanding. It's most efficient and convenient to have a changing area right outside a teardrop door.
Here are a few ideas from the T&TTT forum and around the interwebs on how to get a little privacy while dressing and camping in a teardrop trailer:
Over the years, I've seen an interesting variety of screens and changing rooms made or purchased by other teardroppers. Some are attached to the top of the teardrop trailer and some are freestanding. It's most efficient and convenient to have a changing area right outside a teardrop door.
Here are a few ideas from the T&TTT forum and around the interwebs on how to get a little privacy while dressing and camping in a teardrop trailer:
A simple shower curtain on a rod can work if there is no wind. (Photo by boomboomtulum)
This awning is attached with bolts to the top of the trailer. (Photo by gage)
This could be great for changing clothes, hiding a porta-potty or as a dog house. (Photo by Tiny Camper)
If you are interested in this type of teardrop trailer awning, you can visit the website of Marti Domyancic and her husband Bob. They make custom fabric awnings and shades for new and vintage trailers at their company in Northern California. (Photo by gage)
I've sometimes used our shower pop-up tent to change clothes. (Photo by oasismaker)
This is a brilliant, little setup using PVC pipe. (Photo by oklahomajewel)
This changing area creates wonderful shade. (Photo by toypusher)
Top photo by Wood N' Mirror
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