by frugalrvers
RVs are created to maximize space, so an rv kitchen cabinet might seem like ample room, at a glance. However, once you are cooking in your camper, you will soon discover how limited a space you have to work with...
Think about how much room you had when living in an apartment or house - and not just about place to put plates, pots and pans...but also food! Now imagine reducing that space by about 75% in addition to lacking tall cupboards and deep drawers...you getting the picture????
Ok, ok...we admit we brought too many rv kitchen supplies along when we first started living full time in our motorhome. In fact, as we excitedly got geared up for taking what was left of our life possessions, after selling most at garage sales, and cramming them into 1/100th of the space necessary to hold them, we soon recognized we forgot to leave space for groceries!
Yes, initially we thought "this isn't so bad" as we found room for casserole dishes, pots and pans, gadgets, electronics (yes, even a waffle maker...an ESSENTIAL when camping...ugh). We actually brought two colanders so as to never have to endure the horror of straining pasta in too big of a strainer.
In our enthusiasm, we overlooked one small detail. We had used the cabinets above the kitchen table and sink for the rv accessories, leaving no room for a can of peas or box of cereal. Way to go! So we had to downsize our lives further still and, after selling everything, there wasn't much left to get rid of (except Jim's toothbrush, of course...I could part with that and maybe stick spaghetti in our toothbrush holder).
In our rv, what this led to was spring coming about 8 times per year...yes, we "spring cleaned" continually until our kitchen cabinets only held the essential rv accessories. There are rv cooking challenges we've discovered, guaranteed...
 Our Motorhome |
 Perfect To Seat The Whole Family At T... |
For us, a stackable cookware set was all we needed. Sure, we initially brought the gigantic stock pot which ended up storing our kitchen cleaning items - never cooked in once. But later we recognized we kept using the same few pots day after day, so we got rid of all of the rest. Don't underestimate the power of small pots and pans...with just the two of us, we use these most of all!
 | T-Fal Initiatives 10-Piece Nonstick Inside and Out T-fal Initiatives Nonstick 10 piece cookware set includes an 8 inch saute pan, 9.5 inch saute pan, 11 inch saute pan, 1 quart saucepan with cover, 2 quart saucepan with cover, 5... |
Aside from eating utensils, you will need rv kitchen accessories - but the old habits from living in a home have to go. If you are like we were, you had 3 measuring cups for 1/3 measurements, 18 spatulas, 4 cheese graters and the list goes on. No...you cannot do that anymore. Unless you are living in a $300,000 motorhome with ample space, you need one of everything and that is it. If you need it twice, rinse it off. If you lose it, go to the dollar store and get another one. Simple.
One extra not shown in the utensil kit is a wooden spoon or two...we really like using them, but that is our personal preference...
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| KitchenAid Cook's Series 17-Piece Starter Tool and Gadget... |
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| Corelle Bamboo Leaf Square Round 16-P... | Joseph Joseph 8-Piece Food Preparatio... | Baker's Secret Basics Nonstick Medium... |
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We share these rv tips because we learned the hard way...so here you go! Enjoy!
 | 2003 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 36B Class A 36' Motorhome with 3 Sli... Time left: 1 week, 4 days Fixed price: $59900.00 Buy It Now |
 | 2001 FLEETWOOD PACE ARROW 36Z - CLASS A GAS MOTORHOME Time left: 1 day, 17 hours Current bid: $29999.00 Place bid |
 | 2004 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 36B 36' Class A Motorhome 3 Slide Ou... Time left: 1 week, 5 days Fixed price: $65000.00 Buy It Now |
 | 2005 Pace-Arrow M37C, RV, MOTORHOME Time left: 2 days, 16 hours Current bid: $50000.00 Place bid Fixed price: $64500.00 Buy It Now |
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Any Other Tips Or Questions About What To Put In RV Kitchen Cabinets?
Thanks for your comment RubyHelenRose - glad you found the article helpful. This can apply to any small kitchen, whether in an rv or not! :)
Excellent kitchen stuff, my tiny kitchen needs this stuff, totally what we need, not want, love it.
Thank you, Lil!
You can relate, we are sure...don't you find it refreshing how less wasteful you are when forced into a small space? Imagine the impact on the earth if everyone had to live in an rv...using only what you NEED, not what you WANT.
Love it, love it. I was given a little electric portable grill. Saved my sanity when I ran out of propane. I have 4 tiny cabinets for food and dishes in my camper (All pans live in the oven) I'm always running out of space for food. I started using a useless shelf in the closet.