I know that a lot of campers don’t really care about putting on makeup and fancy stuff. I’ll admit that I don’t usually. But, we are glampers in the truest sense and when our first big camping trip involved a business meeting, grooming become a sudden and important thing.
We have two baths – a full and a half. The half bath is where the good mirror is and also where the teeniest counter is. I actually cracked this sink because a glass jar fell into it while we were going down the road – and not from a great height either. I’d just forgotten to take the jar off the counter or secure it before we left. (The offending jar is not pictured, by the way.)
Knowing that the sink couldn’t be used, I was trying to think of a way to prevent accidentally using it.
What I came up with was an old Ikea Rimforsa bamboo cutting board, flipped upside down and held on with Gorilla Putty. The Rimforsa line has been mostly discontinued, but they have a similar one called Lamplig.
If you haven’t used Gorilla Putty before – it’s amazing. It holds tight to keep things from sliding and falling, but can be pulled right up without marring the surface. Above, you can see it on the corners of the cutting board. It’s also what holds that plant down while we drive down the road.
Voila! The sink was covered and I had a wonderful workspace for all of my “prepping” tools. I love the lip on the edge because it keeps my brushes from rolling away. There’s really a lot of space there.
Yes, I know the faucet above the flat surface looks a little goofy – but remember this is not a permanent addition. I didn’t want to get rid of the sink’s usability. I can pop the cover off and on and off at any time. The Gorilla Putty is only used to give it a grip so it doesn’t come flying off when the coach moves and so far it’s retained its tackiness and is reusable.
I like to have everything in grabbing distance when grooming. I don’t like digging through a box to find a hairbrush or hair ties. This proves to be a challenge in an RV, where you can’t leave stuff all over the counters.
I found this at Ikea. It’s part of their Nereby line. Our coach has a built in towel rack on the back of the door and this hangs there perfectly. We store hair brushes, hair ties, the sprayer for my air plants, contact lenses, and basically anything else we use frequently. All of the pockets are actually full of stuff in the picture (outside of my hairbrush which can only be seen by a small amount of the handle) the pockets here are deep!
If you can’t find an Ikea near you, this is something that would be super easy to make. The pockets are about as wide as my flat hand. Seams are straight stitches. The tab tops are closed with snaps.
If you use curling irons and spray, the pockets are definitely big enough to accommodate.
Lastly, I use the Captiv8 roll to store my makeup. I don’t like having to paw through a makeup bag because it beats up the makeup, not to mention creates a mess. I also don’t like leaving all my makeup out on the counter, which is quite impractical in a shared small bathroom anyway. You can see my Captiv8 roll stored in my bathroom cabinet in my post about storage hacks.
There is a sticky element on the inside of the case that will hold your makeup exactly where you place it. The company claims that it never stops being sticky and if it gets dirty, simply washing will restore the grip of the material. Just lay the items down, close the two flaps (that are open in the pic below and run along the top and bottom of the case). Then, roll up the case and fasten. This works well with the bathroom sink cover that I made, but I like to unroll it on the foot of my bed because it’s just easier for me to use that way.
The only place I’ve been able to find this item is on the Captiv8 website or Fabfitfun’s Daily Shop has them occasionally (the link takes you to whatever their current “free” offer is). At FFF they are about $38.
Happy Glamping!