Ladies! Time to Winterize the RV

Oh no. Not another article about winterizing. Yes indeed. And ladies, it's your turn. It always surprises me that most articles about how to winterize the RV stop shortly after the water and electrical systems. What about all the things you have stored inside? There's a lot more to be done if your rig is going to sit for several months at temperatures below freezing.

The rules of thumb

• · If it contains water – take it out.
• · If it will attract rodents – take it out
• · If it has an expiration date – take it out
• · If you’re not sure – take it out.

Think - Do I want to replace this item or clean it up if it does not survive the winter?

Let's start in the kitchen. Go through your food cupboard, under the kitchen sink and any other place where you tuck things. Look for things like:

• · Jars of food
• · Beverages
• · Bottled water
• · Cleaning products (sprays contain water)
• · Any food that will attract rodents or expire
• · Paper towels and napkins that rodents use for nesting

To keep your refrigerator smelling clean and free of mold, place pure charcoal (not charcoal that contains fire lighter) on pieces of newspaper on a shelf inside the refrigerator and freezer.

Moving on to the bathroom. Let me tell you that a can of shaving cream which has been frozen will never be the same. When water freezes, it separates from the other ingredients. Don't forget to check under the bathroom sink.

• · Toothpaste
• · Shaving cream
• · Liquid makeup
• · Face, hand and medicinal creams
• · Anything with an expiration date
• · Toilet paper and tissues that rodents use for nesting

Head to the bedroom. Check your bedside drawers. Do you have any hand cream or other health and beauty aids in there? Do you have an iron with a water reservoir? Is there anything in the closet that you will need over the winter? To keep bed linens and towels smelling clean, place them inside a large plastic container with a tight fitting lid. Add dryer sheets.

I rarely find anything in the living room or front of the RV, but since your rig is different from mine, check anyway.

We have a chronic problem with mice, perhaps because we live in the woods. Regardless of how hard we have tried to plug every hole, they still find a way in. They routinely get into my silverware and utensil drawers during the winter months. So I actually take those drawers right out as well.

Now you are ready to shampoo the rugs and remove any stains from furniture. If you let this wait until spring, the stains will be much harder to get out.

OK. Now you have all this stuff out of the RV. What do you do with it? I generally circulate the food and health products into my household supplies because they have expiration dates. Then, I got my husband to build shelves in the basement and I store everything else in boxes. Keeping the shelves empty during the summer is the challenge. I try to keep the empty boxes on the shelves to remind myself not to use that storage space for anything else.

Last but not least, have someone else go through the cupboards after you are done. I missed a whole gallon of bottled water last year. I do wonder where all that water went because it wasn't in the jug when I found it!

Donna Flanders

RV Vacation Planner