Thanks for all your replies.

In the past, when we tent camped, there always seemed to be some room at the end of the sleeping bag for suitcases, etc., which wouldn't be in the way when you sleep, and we tended to stay outside of the tent most of the time.  With the TM,  there is no additional room at the end of the beds, and of course, the only floor space available is needed to walk thru to get to the bathroom, etc.  In hotels, there is always room between the beds or on top of dressers, which don't always need to be moved.  Of course, in the TM, the counter spaces are used for preparing foods, washing dishes, etc. (not usually a concern in a hotel).

You've all offered some great suggestions -- since we will be traveling for a solid month this summer and will be moving often, I'd like to avoid lugging everything in and out of the TM every time we set up (which is why I'm trying to solve my problems by keeping things inside the TM).  It is my husband's sabbatical (much-needed time off from his job) and I'm hoping to have things running as smoothly as possible so it will feel like a vacation and not like we're having to "work" most of the time.  It seemed like when we took it last week for 6 nights we weren't as well-organized as we could have been and some quick-fixes would help a lot.

I'll let you all know how your ideas work for us.  Thanks again!

~Teresa