When we're not travelling by motorhome, we live in a houseboat. We have pretty much everything we need in the houseboat, but the kitchen is small - and Peter loves to cook. Now he's got his act together and created some really good storage solutions in the kitchen.
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Cosy houseboat accommodation - with small kitchen
Living in a houseboat is incredibly cosy, and we enjoy all the nice days here. Peter particularly appreciates the kitchen window, which means he can look out over the marina while he cooks.
The houseboat is not really that small. We probably have around 75 square metres of living space, although it's not full height everywhere. However, the space is distributed a little differently, which means that we have a large area on the lower deck (where we sleep) while the kitchen, bathroom and hallway are cramped.
There are very few cupboards in the kitchen, which means it can easily become cramped and cluttered. But now Peter has organised smart storage solutions for a small kitchen - and now he loves cooking in the houseboat even more!
Hangers for tools, knives and lids
Peter has put up hangers for utensils, which we found at IKEA, in two places in the kitchen. This gave us more space in the cupboards and made the utensils more accessible.
There was also a list for knives.
Peter also organised hanging for pot lids, on the underside of the top cabinets. Because our cupboards are so cramped, this creates space. The underside of the cupboards was not used for anything ...
Similarly, there was a suspension for trivet on one end of one of the wall units. Practical!
Shelves for spices and oils
Peter has also made a bunch of small black shelves, which he bought online from Temu. He uses the shelves for things like oils, vinegar, soya, bouillon cubes and the like.
He attached a shelf to the side of an upper cabinet, just above our coffee machine. Perfect storage for the coffee beans!
Peter has also organised the world's simplest spice rack. He bought a white lacquered liner at Bauhaus and put it in front of the window moulding. There is now room for a long list of spices, which are easily accessible and stable.
Some other things Peter has fixed are a paper towel holder and a mobile phone holder, which he found at Biltema. He likes to have his mobile phone accessible in the kitchen, for example if he wants to check a recipe.
Storage in cupboards
Our few cupboards have always been very cluttered, but since Peter got cupboard storage, from Temu, things have become more organised.
Boxes for groceries and gadgets
We have also bought some boxes. At Jysk they had a large selection of boxes and baskets. We bought three small baskets that we use for potatoes, onions and citrus fruits.
We also bought four larger boxes. Two of these we have next to the coffee maker, and there we keep wine, spirits and oils.
Two others are on top of the fridge. We put all sorts of things there, such as sunglasses, batteries, chargers and cords. Our kitchen is right next to the tiny hallway ...
Storage in the hallway
While we were at it, we invested in better storage in the hallway too. Our hallway is tiny. We can't do much about the size, but with some new small shelves from Temu it will at least be less cluttered.
Storage in the bathroom
There were also some new shelves in our minimal bathroom: a shelf for extra toilet rolls and a shelf for liquid soap.
Storage solutions in small kitchens - what are your top tips?
Do you live in a cramped space? Or maybe your children, grandchildren or relatives do? Or maybe your holiday home (or camper van) is small? What are your top tips for storage solutions in a small kitchen?
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Solan says:
Smart all the way through!
I don't have a tip, but I do have a question. The storage for spices in the kitchen window, is it a moulding from Biltema? The same as you have in the motorhome?
😊 Wow, what a dream view you have, whatever the weather!
05 September 2024 - 8:28
Helena says:
Glad you like our little solutions! 🙂 In the kitchen window there was already a window sill (on which we could put the spice jars), so what we bought was a simple white lacquered lining, from Bauhaus, which we put up in front so that the spice jars do not risk falling down ... 😉
05 September 2024 - 8:43
Ditte says:
Smart solutions. Truly and safely facilitating these.
And in a smaller space, the planning of storage is extra important. I recognise some of it from when we had a boat and limited storage. But there we built extra cabinets and drawers to solve it. And with a boat that moves at sea, not everything can be in front. Here at home, my best tips are to not have so much on display. Then there is not so much to be cleaned. For a long time, I have had sturdy plastic boxes in the fridge and pantry for storage that provide clarity and easy to take out and with the contents sorted.
05 September 2024 - 10:37
Helena says:
It can be an advantage not to have so much in front, understand what you mean! Since we have so few drawers and cabinets, we have decided to have a lot out anyway, but now more organised 😉 (It can move a lot here too when it storms, but there are quite a few days a year we need to "secure" where stuff is)
06 September 2024 - 8:29
Daniela | Discovering The Planet says:
Wow, what great solutions. But my favourite has to be a solution for pot lids. These lids take up enormous space. I'm also a big fan of tidiness and use plastic boxes to maximise space both in the cupboard and fridge.
05 September 2024 - 14:38
Helena says:
Glad you like the solution for the lids! Yes, it certainly gave more space in the cupboards, while now hanging in a place we didn't even think we had before... 😉
06 September 2024 - 8:30
Mr Thimon says:
I love structure, so this is a delight to see.
05 September 2024 - 14:59
Helena says:
Glad you like it Per! 🙂
06 September 2024 - 8:30
BP says:
Very nice and above all very smart. Good job Peter! Surely it is perfect to have a handy man / woman nearby;-)
05 September 2024 - 20:13
Helena says:
Yes, it's really good to have someone handy in the family! And as you guessed, it's Peter ... I mostly help by sending some tools when he needs ... and by taking photos and blogging about it all ... haha 😉
06 September 2024 - 8:31
JoY says:
Many smart good tips but the saucepan lids under the top cabinet were best in my opinion. Well made solutions.
05 September 2024 - 22:25
Helena says:
Glad you like our ideas and solutions!
06 September 2024 - 8:32