Refactoring/Reorganizing Fawkes' inside: Refactoring/Reorganizing Fawkes' inside

Kaylee's not-a-blog » Human systems » organization » Refactoring/Reorganizing Fawkes' inside

When I started out, I focused solely on what I knew I needed (work & sleep area and kitchen & hygiene area), and accepted that until I had lived in my van for a while, I wouldn't know how to optimize the layout.
Instead, I merely brought all key items, some stuff I already owned & expected to use, and LOTS of shelf stable food. :)
My first successful Launch in mid March 2019, I was definitely in "Submarine Mode" which is "normal" & healthy :).
Over the next half year, I very gradually reorganized things, mostly small changes.

As I approached my first anniversary of adopting Fawkes, I had a much deeper understanding of what worked & what was frustrating, and I began thinking about how to solve these issues.
In general, it was difficult finding and/or getting a few specific groups of items, so I focused on those...

Condiment packets:

I have long cached condiment packets, and had found it easier to track them when I was living on the road in motels.

While packing for my 2nd Winter, I found a small tackle box I'd bought years before, which I'd intended to try as an organizer of small items, but had found its compartments just weren't the right size for those specific small items, so had chucked it in one of my "maybe" tubs.

It now struck me that the compartments were near perfect for condiment packets, so after a thorough wash, I packed it, and it was great:

After a few experiments, I ended up moving my most common condiments into slider ziplock bags, and the secondary types into this box.

Food:

Most of my food has been in two large (18 gallon (68L)) tubs, several boxes (stacked behind the driver's seat), and one duffle bag (which is now bungied on top of a shelving unit).
I generally stored canned items in the boxes, and soft light bulky items in the duffle bag.
I stored several #10 cans of freeze dried and dehydrated food items in the bottom tub, and lots of small loose items in the top tub.

The two tubs are stacked, and it's frustrating getting stuff out of the bottom tub (I typically only wanted small quantities), and frustrating trying to find small items in the top tub.

In October, I moved the contents of several #10 cans into pairs of slider ziplock baggies (one each gallon & sandwich sized).
I recycled the cans, moved all the gallon bags into the bottom tub, and all the small bags into this clear shallow tub (which sits on a tub right beside the two stacked food tubs):

It works beautifully now! :)
I can easily get each of these dry goods: hashbrown potatoes, stew vegetables, onions, bell peppers, quinoa, oatmeal, sundry nuts.

I've since moved all those loose condiments into two slider ziplocks, and repacked the two (stacked) plastic containers into one (the square one underneath - the top round one has been moved elsewhere).

I've also reorganized the many loose items in the top (purple) tub, and will be posting pictures of that soon, as well as an updated picture of the above tub.

Work and Life items:

I store most of my small-ish work and "life" items in a large (20g(80L)) tub right beside the foot of my bed.
I often have difficulty finding specific key items, in particular: pens, my "wristlets" (long fingerless gloves for typing in chilly weather), Ibuprofen and other medical/FAK items.

For several years I've been (gradually) accumulating a few military surplus and new China-made pouches.
I dug some out of storage, and found that MOLLE utility and FAK size pouches are the perfect size to fit over the otherwise unuseable light panels that run along both sides of my van.

Here's two MOLLE pouches (tan left, red center) and a pair of Swiss military surplus pouches (brown, far right):

I used paracord to mount the two Swiss pouches, which hold (separately): powdered beverage packets, produce.

The red "MOLLE" pouch holds a First Aid Kit (FAK), and a pen in the outer straps.

The tan "MOLLE" pouch holds my wristlets (shown peeking out), some small "routine" medical & hygiene items,
and (in the outer straps) a flashlight (TARDIS Blue), a pen, and (as an experiment) a cheap carabiner:

MOLLE pouches have robust straps on the back, which normally are used to secure them to matching webbing gear,
...or can be used to mount to non-standard items, such as van light panels:

All of these pouches immediately worked very well. :)
I've tweaked the contents a few times, and plan to use more of my existing pouches.
More pens will appear, soon, as well as at least one notepad. :)

I'll update most of these pictures, soon.