Batten down the hatches!

I promised a post on "battening down the hatches".   I didn't really understand what this meant until we started traveling in a motorhome.  On our first outing, I left the knife block loaded with knives on the kitchen counter.  At one point, we made a turn and one of the knives went flying across the cabin!  I am not making this up, it really happened.  So, I no longer make assumptions about anything.  Everything gets put away before we take off.  The knife block now rides in the smaller partition of the kitchen sink.

Motorhomes automatically come equipped with interesting latches to help with travel.  For the refrigerator, we have one that drops down from the top:

For the shower door, another type:

And for the sliding glass doors on the clothes closet:

The bird cage is held down with four bungee cords, and I tie their toys to the sides of the cage with twisties.

Lee and I double-check each other on everything.  Can you imagine what might happen if we forget to put down the satellite dish?  Fortunately, it can be done with the touch of a button.

I have learned that it is better not to have shelves or drawers half full.  They should be full or empty, there is no in between.  This includes refrigerator shelves.

I empty the microwave of everything, including the turning plate, with the exception of a roll of paper towels which we use at lunchtime while on the road.

All tables and counters are cleared, of course.  Toiletries go in cabinets.  The hand soap goes in the sink.

As to the shower, the shower seat comes down, the shower head goes to the floor, along with shampoo etc, and my small plant travels in there as well.

And we flush the toilet dry, and close the lid.  Fascinating stuff, huh?

Under the coach are four jacks that keep the motorhome level and stable while we are in the campground and the slides are out.  Those come up after we bring in and lock into place the slides that extend the living space.

Finally, we close and lock the passenger door.  I feel like a flight attendant as I walk down the aisle, checking to make sure every drawer and cabinet door is latched.

We tow a jeep, but that is a post for another day.