Big Storage in the Tiny Prius

“Where’s all your stuff?” This is the question I always get when people see pictures of my car interior. I’ll start with the disclaimer that I have a roof box, but most of what I use on a daily basis is actually inside the car! My rule is to travel tiny, but in comfort. I have an inverter that gives me 2000w of electrical power, and several compact kitchen appliances that let me cook all electric, eliminating the need for pots and pans. You can read up on that in my post on The Tiniest Tiny Prius Kitchen. But first, I’m going to reveal The Secret, are you ready?

“Organizing is just one big game of Tetris.” — Alejandra Costello

Yes, it all comes down to Tetris! Fit perfectly sized squares into places that will hold no more and no less. First, take a cube, any solid cubby cube that won’t flex. The magic lies in the fact that you can put things inside it, and on top of it, eliminating the need to take out a bunch of stuff to get to other stuff!

Only you can decide which Tetris cubes are right for your needs. You’ll have to think hard and try a few different sizes out, but in the end, you’ll win the game and be organized forever! (Not really, but we can dream). Here are a few to get you started. The 12qt latch box, the 7qt shoe box, and the hanging file crate.

On the floor of my car, behind the passenger seat, you’ll find a cubby from Ikea, a file crate, and a 2 gallon gas can (no, the gas never smells, and we’ll discuss that in another post). The file crate holds pantry items like rice, pasta, coffee cups, and other things that don’t require frequent access. It’s almost the same height as the cubby, which is very convenient.

I have two small shoe boxes. One contains my collapsible electric kettle and my spices. The other contains hardware items like screws, electrical tape, fuses, and other small tools. One of them goes behind the passenger seat, the other goes in front. They trade places depending on what I needed last. I have one medium size latch box, where I store my electric skillet, collapsible electric pot, mini waffle maker and mini grill. My only non-box item is a small bag that once held sheets but now holds extension cables, puck lights and other wires. The shoe box fits perfectly on top of the file box, and the cables go on top of it. The medium latch box goes on top of the cubby.

The magical cubby is my closet. It contains almost all the clothes I use on a regular basis. My clothes are organized into packing cubes, reinforcing the Tetris analogy. Not that I was thinking of Tetris at the time, it was just serendipitous! In three cubes I can store 3 camping towels, all my shirts, hiking pants, socks and 2 pairs of jeans. These three cubes, my flat iron and my hat and scarf all fit in the cubby just fine!

I have a smaller packing cube for underwear that I keep in the rear of the car, behind the wheel well. I also keep PJs, pillow cases and slipper socks there. I also put thermals there when it’s cold. Dressing at night or in the morning is a snap!

It doesn’t look like much from the side, but all the clothes and gear are extremely accessible! To get cooking equipment, I lift the mattress. To get my clothes, I open the door. That’s it! Everything is right there, even my outdoor slippers, in case I don’t want to put on sneakers. I don’t even have to get out of bed to pull out a packing cube!

Do you have big items that wouldn’t fit in the cubby? So do I! There aren’t many of them, but they’re bulky. My down parka, my two sweaters, my thermals, my rain and snow boots. These are the items I keep in the roof box. My down parka looks big, but it fits inside a large packing cube. The other cube has my sweaters and thermals, giant will socks, etc. When it’s very cold, the down coat stays inside the car. At night I put it at my feet to insulate them from the cold hatch door. It works like a dream!

How often do I organize? Every freaking day. Otherwise my car would look like this…

OK, maybe not. This disaster zone happened when I had to fit a wheel chair and a passenger into my car, but the fact remains that everything here has a place to go, in order to keep things tidy, so remember this quote…

“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.”   —   A. A. Milne

Aspire to beauty on the inside of your car by seeking Minimalism. For Admiral McRaven, being organized starts with making your bed, and I’ve got to say that having as little on the bed as possible is awesome. I hate arriving somewhere late in the evening and having to move tons of things off the bed in order to sleep, or going through a pile of stuff looking for my clean socks. I’m still working towards my goal, and I know it’s a process. One day, we can do it! Until then, happy travels and happy organizing!

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