RV kitchen storage space can vary rig to rig. Chances are, if you are full-time RVing or going for a long road trip, you’ll wish you had just one more shelf in the pantry or rack on the refrigerator door. Rather than remodeling the entire kitchen to fit your food storage needs, there are a number of ways to improve RV kitchen space. Here are three ways to save precious space in your RV kitchen:
Meal Plan
Improving RV kitchen storage space should begin before you even stock the shelves. Therefore, our first tip is to meal plan. Just like your kitchen at home, your RV kitchen can become crowded with items you’ll never use or need.
Meal planning for a few days, or a week at a time, will help you buy only the things you will eat. This will lead to saving money on impulse buys, more kitchen storage space, and less wasted food. It’s a win, win, win! The best part about meal planning is you only have to think about what’s for dinner once rather than every night.
Remove Packaging When Possible
Our second tip is to remove food from its original packaging. Food packaging, especially cardboard boxes, can take up a lot of space. For instance, the box your morning cereal comes in. Taking the bag out of the box can save a lot of space and allow you to store the cereal in a spot it might not otherwise fit in.
Another example is berries in the refrigerator. Removing strawberries or blueberries from bulky plastic containers, and storing in bags or stackable containers, can help make room for more goodies. You can do the same for many of the items in your freezer. Anything that has a bag or some kind of sealed container can be taken out of the box, like a pizza.
Create Additional Shelves
RV pantries come with a lot of wasted space. They can be five feet tall with only two shelves! There isn’t a whole lot you can store on two shelves. Our third tip for improving RV kitchen space is to actually create more space by adding shelving to tall pantries and cabinets.
You can easily break them up with shelf organizers. Stackable and expandable organizers can double how much you are able to store in these spaces. If you are handy and up for the job, you could even add additional permanent shelves.
If you are worried you won’t be able to have a fully stocked kitchen in your RV like you do/did in your traditional home, don’t fret! If you take time to plan, make a few modifications to the items you are storing, and improve the spaces you are storing them in, you will see you have more than enough room for everything you need in your tiny kitchen.
Can’t get enough organization hacks? Check out our guide on organizing the rest of your RV. Interested in renovating your kitchen? Check out the Camping World Design Center. With over 46 locations nationwide, Camping World Design Centers help RVers plan and create custom interior design projects, including kitchens, that are unique to their RV.
What are some ways you improve space in your RV kitchen? Comment below with your tips and tricks!
magnetic! I have a magnetic knife bar to hold well, knives; those nifty little magnetic lid jars that stick to anything metal (range hood, fridge or oven door) that hold whatever will fit in them. (label the tops so you can actually find what you need).
My wife and I like hamburger. We still purchase Hamburger, somewhat, in bulk (10 lbs at a time). I break it into 1 lb packages in pint vacuum seal bags, vacuum seal them and flatten them out. They then stack in the freezer easily.
I use most of these tips, especially the stacking shelves and removing everything from the boxes. A hint for the frozen food, cut the instructions off the box first, takes no extra room in the freezer. My best space saver is to use the microwave as a “bread box” , nothing can tip/fall/shift and squish it. Even the smallest will fit a loaf of bread, some bagels, and hot dog/hamburger rolls nice and safe. Just don’t forget what’s left in there when you get home and unpack!