5 tips to increase (optimize) RV kitchen storage space

By Nanci Dixon
No matter how much or how little cabinet storage there is in an RV it just never feels like enough. When we upgraded our motorhome with more cabinets, I just seemed to fill them up faster. The kitchen cabinets are the worst. I have them packed full and I hardly even cook! Here are five tips I use to increase RV kitchen storage space.

1. Be square

There is so much wasted space between items. Rectangular or square containers save so much space in RV kitchen cabinets. I found affordable rectangular food containers that can stack and snug up to each other. I can also put items together in the containers that I normally would not. Anything that has been opened or might spill out, I put in Ziploc bags and force the air out. You can also buy collapsible storage containers that will store flat when you’re not using them.

2. Throw away bulky packaging

Packaging takes up a lot of room. Another way to condense is to remove unnecessary packaging. For example, I don’t use the Bisquick mix very often and it was taking up a fair amount of room in my cabinet. I kept having to move it out of the way to get to other things. I removed the inner bag with the mix, sealed it in a plastic storage bag, cut out the instructions and added to an existing square container.

The same goes for oatmeal in the big round container. I put it in a plastic storage bag, labeled and dated it and included cooking directions. And then, as I mentioned above, you can keep two of these, or more, in one storage container (if you need to).

3. Nest items

Use wasted space to store other items. I keep a pitcher my sons gave me years ago mostly for sentimental reasons. I can justify keeping it by using it to store other essentials, right?

4. Divide and conquer in your RV kitchen storage

Someone that had just bought the same motorhome we have stopped me yesterday to ask how I handle the long drawers. I ran inside and took a photo to show her my drawers. Dollar store to the rescue! I laid out everything then measured what I needed to make the compartments.

5. Stack, stack, stack! And use that sink space!

Although I had always used under-the-sink space for cleaning products, buckets and rags, when we got our motorhome, I was in a fry pan quandary.

I considered the space under the sink rather dirty and a catch-all, but quickly realized that I now had one BIG open box to store stuff. I took advantage! Pans can stack and the wastebasket can fit alongside my beloved Instant Pot™ – and there’s still room for a small basket of cleaning/dishwashing stuff. I even added an upside-down Command hook to hold the sink cover. Moral of the story? To increase your RV kitchen storage, make use of every space. 
##RVDT1992