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I would like to hear from all the fulltimers out there how you have organized your office space (especially if you are fulltime and still work!)

 

I am looking for compact solutions but realize I will still need such thing as clips, scissors, tape, post-its and a place to store our antique checkbooks :rolleyes: ). I am positive there are some really cleaver container solutions out there!

 

Oh yeah, extra credit given for Photos ;)

Bob & Anne-Marie Williams

| 2017 Berkshire XLT 43A with Ultrasteer Tag | Blue Ox Avail + KarGard II |
| SMI AF-1 Air Brake | 2016 Jeep Cherokee Overland TOAD | Pedego bikes |

| Nights Camped: 2013 - 242014 - 422015 - 56Jul 2016 - Fulltime |

 

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We have had our fifth wheel for 13 years and changed it periodically after hitting the road and getting into a new routine. The key is the find what activities you do most and arrange the "furniture" to accomplish those activities. Your routines in sticks and bricks will continue in the RV just on a smaller scale. We rarely ate at a table when we were in sticks n bricks as there is just the two of us. Though we love to have friends over we either go out to eat or eat outside as weather permits. A couple years ago we ordered a 48" round folding table online to play cards and to eat inside when we have company it folds nicely in 1/2 and stores out of the way next to the recliner. Our patio chairs and desk chairs seat 4 nicely. In the dining table space we put in a full sized desk. Clips, scissors, tape, post-its fit in the center pencil drawer. Our checkbooks are stored in the fireproof safe as we use credit cards for most everything and direct deposit and auto pays. The left bank of drawers is for my hobbies and the right is my work stuff. The top is 60 x 30 giving me a large work space if I want to sew or craft and I can just unplug my laptop and store it in a drawer on the right. There are grommets on each corner of the desk top to feed necessary electric wires and I threaded web strapping and quick release buckles thru them to secure the drawers during travel. I used commercial grade velcro to secure my printer/scanner to the corner of my desk so I don't have to break it down every time we move and sewed a cloth cover to keep it from getting dusty when not in use. In our floor plan the built in desk under the TV was OK till DH put in an oversized TV so that is his desk and it works for him. My previous work experience was in a paperless office so any paper that does come in we scan and have two backups one being offsite. Can't stress enough the importance of back up. Recently a business friend was hacked but fortunately they had an off site back up so only one days worth of work was lost and had to be recreated. We also replaced the rear sofa with a built in window seat. It is approximately 92w x 40d x 21h. It serves as storage, seating, and sleeping when one of us is ill. Our motto is "drinks 6, feeds 4 and sleeps 2" but for those that want a larger secondary bed you can add a pull out with drop down legs to put an air mattress on it. We have no coffee table it just takes up space and interferes with the dog and we want to keep break down and set up to a minimum.

I would highly recommend you watch HGTV's Tiny House Nation, Tiny House Hunting and Tiny House Hunters. They have had some really great ideas for big living in small spaces that would work perfect in an RV.

Good Luck and Have Fun.

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We have a 5W with the free standing dinette and chairs. We wanted a desk. We ordered a custom Amish built desk that incorporates our table from braddandhall.com in Elkhart, IN. Our RV is currently in the shop for repair right now, so we haven't installed the desk yet or I would attach pics. You can select drawer options, size, etc. They even matched the wood stain in our RV. We opted for a pull-out laptop and printer tray, along with a file drawer. You can see a picture of the desk/dinette on their website.

 

Vicki

Vicki, Mark and Sadie 

Fulltime and having fun!

2016 Newmar Ventana LE 

2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk 

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We ordered our Newmar motorhome with a long desk against half of the big slide. The dining table fit in front of it with two leaves. On one side was a built-in file drawer and two storage drawers above. On the other side we set our full-size monitor on top of the counter anchored by 'hurricane straps'. It never moved while traveling. Below the desktop was a pull-out drawer that held the keyboard. Below that was a cabinet that stored our laser printer. It also slide out if we needed to change toner/paper, etc. We also had a end table between the two chairs with another file drawer and a storage drawer on top. Everything worked out beautifully and was contained for travel.

 

We also had a built-in drawer in front of the passenger seat that held a laptop. It pulled all the way out to the passenger for ease of use.

 

Before the motorhome we had a 5th wheel with a rear livingroom. We ordered new and had the mfg. (Travel Supreme) build in a similar desk area on one side of the rear wall storage space.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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We have a plastic three-drawer unit that holds stapler, staples, tape, etc. It fits nicely in one of the ceiling lockers. We, too, still have paper checks, although they aren't used as much anymore. We have a credenza table that serves as a desk, and of course the laptop is quite portable. You didn't ask, but we carry our own Internet with us (uses the cell phone network) and it is as secure as we can make it. We make use of campground wifi as we can, but we're prepared to use our own as much as necessary.

David Lininger, kb0zke
1993 Foretravel U300 40' (sold)
2022 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS

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I would like to hear from all the fulltimers out there how you have organized your office space (especially if you are fulltime and still work!)

 

I am looking for compact solutions but realize I will still need such thing as clips, scissors, tape, post-its and a place to store our antique checkbooks :rolleyes: ). I am positive there are some really cleaver container solutions out there!

 

Our former Class A had a buffet next to the table. We moved our laptops between those two places depending on if it was work time or eating time. In the cupboard of the buffet we had the printer, paper for it, and a bunch of stacked plastic shoe boxes. One shoe box held cords and backup drives. One held clips, tape, pencils, post-its, checkbook, etc. One held printer cartridges. Etc. Each shoebox had a different colored lid so it was easy to grab the correct one. Everything was readily accessible but not cluttered looking with all but the laptops already packed for travel. In the smaller rigs we've owned those shoeboxes went into overhead bins so we actually had to stand up to reach things. :)

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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We're not officially full-timers (yet!) but are slowly but steadily moving in that direction. I continue work my day gig (a network analyst for a large bank) on a full time basis even when we're on the road. While there are all sorts of containers out there that will help you organize the things you've included on your list of office supplies ... as I read your list, I chuckled as I realized that despite being an office worker for 40+ years, I'm struggling to relate. For years and years - I generated, stored, processed and dealt with reams and reams of paperwork every year - and used all the things on your list (paper clips, staples, three hole punches, pencils, pens, post-its, you name it...) every day. Several years ago I found myself looking around my office at work and realized it was choke full of paper files, most of which hadn't been touched since the day they were created. I decided that I was going to learn to go paperless. I put in a request for a 2nd computer monitor (so I had space to open and work with multiple files simultaneously), I purged virtually ALL of my paper files, and pretty much quit printing completely.

 

For a while, I kept a simply legal pad on my desk to jot down phone #'s and little notes ... but even that has gone by the wayside. When taking notes - I just create a blank page in OneNote. I've got notes from meetings and projects going back years on file in OneNote. If I need a "post it" - I use the freebie "sticky notes" app that came with my laptop. If I need a shopping list to go take with me to the store - I slap it together using OneNote while sitting at my laptop. It gets saved to my OneDrive account - and is accessible from my cell phone. My wife and I "share" a common grocery list this way. It's not uncommon that I add something to the list while she's out and about ... and have her walk in the door with it because she happened to check the list when she stopped at the store on her way home.

 

I spend my work days writing detailed technical reports - yet in calendar year 2015, I generated a grand total of 5 pages of printed reports. My mobile office consists of two laptops (my personal laptop and my company issued "work" laptop), a large screen monitor that is shared by both laptops, a small two port KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) switch that allows me to toggle which laptop is using the large screen monitor - a $49 wireless "multi-function" printer (which I use almost exclusively as a flatbed scanner).

 

My point is - if you get creative in terms of "going paperless" - you may very well eliminate the need for office supplies and all the storage needs that go along with them altogether.

The Spacenorman

2012 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 43' DFT

2012 Jeep Liberty

Our Travel Website: www.penquinhead.com​

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