Setting up your RV Kitchen – Maximizing Space and Efficiency

Setting up your RV Kitchen – Maximizing Space and Efficiency

Eating together on vacation is fun! Sitting around the dinner table talking about the day’s adventures is a great way to connect as a family. In the feature picture for this blog post, are my parents who got us into RVing, my kids, and my husband getting ready to have a little brownie party in our first trailer (notice the awful upholstery that I wrote about in my last blog about decor.) Our first trailer had a galley type kitchen with very limited space, but we made it work.  Our second trailer had quite a bit more space for the kitchen, an island, a real pantry, etc.  Our new 5^thwheel has a kitchen that has more space than my first apartment!  I’ve learned some things along the way that have helped us have an efficient kitchen and more fun cooking.  I’ve also learned, I can probably never go back after having actual counter space!

Two key things to keep in mind when you’re setting up your kitchen:

1. You are on vacation!  This is your vacation home!  Don’t take all of your beat-up hand me downs out of your home kitchen and put them in your trailer.  Fill it with dishes you like (that won’t chip or break), quality cookware, and utensils that work for you.
2. Keeping other people out of your way will make cooking in an RV kitchen lots more fun.  In our first trailer, the kitchen was a pass-through area between the door and the living/dining area.  We called that kitchen a one-butt kitchen in that only one butt could be in the kitchen at a time (unless, of course, the other butt was drying the dishes!).  So, we put the silverware drawer under the coat closet and the dishes in the drawer under the dinette.  That way, when it was time for anyone to help, they were out of my way while I was cooking.  Now, we have an island.  The silverware drawer is at the end of the island that’s furthest from the stove.  The dishes are in the cupboard at the end of the island.  This works for getting help setting the table and it also works beautifully for washing dishes and putting them away.  They go from one side of the sink dirty, to the other side dried and put away.  Think through your kitchen and how you’ll use it. Then, put things away in a way that works for you and your family.  If you’re already in your RV and are bumping into each other, fix it!

Other tips for kitchen set up:

• Non-slip shelf liners are your best friends– This keeps your dishes and things from sliding all over the place while you’re on the road.  Line anything where you put things that you don’t want slipping around.   Here’s a link to it on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-Grip-Original-Non-Adhesive-Cabinets/dp/B07773PQG7/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1Y6QH5E4THPOT&keywords=no+slip+shelf+liners&qid=1561341434&s=gateway&sprefix=no+slip+shelf+%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-3
• Corelle dishes – These are almost unbreakable.  When they do break, they explode!  We’ve had the same set for 15 years of RVing and have only lost two plates when we set up a cupboard poorly and the cupboard door popped open while we were on the road.  Luckily, it was a set of 8 place-settings, and we could never fit that many people in our rig anyway!  These dishes also stack very compactly.  They’re a great choice for RVing.  I like to add little free-standng shelves in my cupboards.  When I set the dishes up poorly that one time, I set the plates on the top shelf.  They’re too slippery for that!  Bowls that next are a better idea.  They don’t slide around.

• When it comes to the kitchen, think space-saving – Think things like nesting mixing bowls and measuring cups.  You can also find things like a collapsible colander to save space.  Try not to buy things that only serve one purpose unless you really can’t live without it.  For instance, I can’t live without my Pampered Chef avocado tool. So, I have one in my utensil drawer. Very important! 
• Find ways to avoid jumbled messes – I am in love with these clear plastic bins that you can put in drawers and in cupboards, refrigerators, and pantries. They not only keep things organized, but they keep taller things like bottles of olive oil or wine from toppling over.  They also keep little leaks out of your cupboards.  I have them all over my rig!   They are in the kitchen drawers, in the bedroom drawers, etc.  I love shopping for these at the Container Store because they have every size imaginable. Amazon also has a bunch.  I have also seen them at Home Goods, Bed Bath and Beyond, and a few other places.   Here’s an Amazon link some for the pantry https://www.amazon.com/interDesign-Kitchen-Organizer-Refrigerator-Freezer/dp/B00CS8DT00/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=pantry+binz&qid=1561341129&s=gateway&sr=8-5

• Sort your kitchen utensils by size and then, category – If your kitchen utensils are in a drawer, sort them by size.  They stay less jumbled that way.  I sort by size first and then, by category.  Use the little sorting bins mentioned above.   For instance, I have my knives on the long side of the drawer where aren’t any little bins.   Little utensils for working on vegetables like my avocado tool and tomato corer are in the same bin.  If You’ll have a much easier time finding things and spend less time digging through your drawer.  You’re on vacation!  Looking for things isn’t fun!
• Utensil holders – If you have room on your counter, a utensil holder is great. I have one and put it in the cupboard when we travel so it doesn’t slide.  In our last trailer, I was able to wedge it between the coffee maker and the wood valance thing and it didn’t move.  I love to cook.  Having my most used utensils handy is important to me! 
• I love a mug drawer!  – We had our first trailer for 10 years and kept our mugs in a drawer lined with no-slip liner.  We never had a single chip.  We got a new rig and put them in the cupboard and got all kinds of chips!  I have designated a mug drawer in our new 5^thwheel.  I’m pretty excited about it!

• Get good non-stick cookware– You can buy decent non-stick cookware and the prices are all over the map!  Check out places like Home Goods, TJ Max, and even Target for nicer pots and pans. Remember, you won’t have a garbage disposal and probably won’t have a dishwasher.  The last thing you want to do on a vacation is to work hard at  scraping things out of your pots and pans into the trash and then, scrubbing them.  No fun!
• Measure your oven! – RV ovens are weird and aren’t universal in size.  Each of our trailers have had a different sized oven. I once bought a cookie sheet for the trailer without measuring.  It would have fit had it not had little handles. My husband bent it up to make it fit. This time, I measured!  I have a really nice, new cookie sheet that’s going to actually fit!  If you’re using something like a Dutch Oven, you’ll want to measure the height to make sure it’s going to fit.  (See my blog entitled, “Don’t burn your biscuits – Dealing With Weird RV Ovens” for tips on getting your oven set up to cook better).
• Under the dinette storage – If you have a booth dinette, you most likely have extra storage.  That’s where I put things that I don’t use as often – like my beat-up pot that I cook clams in.  If you have a drawer in your dinette bench – lucky you!  That’s where we put our dishes in our first trailer.   In all of our trailers, we have also store beach towels in the dinette.  Funny thing, we live in the Pacific Northwest and do most of our trailer trips to places without warm beaches.  When I moved the beach towels into our new rig, we still had Little Mermaid and Power Rangers towels.  My kids are now 23 and 19.  It’s been a while since they were used!
• If you have a shallow, wide drawer – this is a great place to put things like cookie sheets, cutting boards, a flat cheese grater, etc.  
• Counter space maximization – Many RVs are short on counter space.  If yours didn’t come with the extra pieces of counter that you put over the sink, I recommend having some cut.  Have two cut – each ½ of your sink’s size.    This way you can have half or all of your sink covered.  This will add some space onto your counter.  Your stove probably has a cover.  We use the cover on the stove for extra counter space when needed for things like pizza boxes (because sometimes, ordering pizza is a life-saver!)
• Non-slip bookends– I have recently discovered a new use for non-slip bookends. These are very inexpensive and a great way to keep things like boxes of foil and Ziploc bags from sliding around in the cupboard.  I’m also planning to use them to hold up boxed food like cereal.  They come in a package of two for about $4.

If you’re still shopping for your RV, make sure you don’t get wooed by the rest of it and settle for a kitchen that you have to make work for you.  When we were shopping, I’d check out the kitchen first.  If I didn’t like the kitchen, I didn’t bother to look at the rest of the rig.  The kitchen is that important to me.  My husband went along with this crazy method because he likes it when I like to cook while we’re camping (fake camping). 

I hope you’ve found at least a little take-away that you can use in your trailer or maybe your kitchen at home.  Happy kitchen set up!

Next Trailer Girl Blog Post – Setting up your Bedroom and Bathroom