Living in an RV has it’s challenges such as where to store everything from food to your cooking tools. Having prepared many meals in a small RV kitchen for several years now, we’ve finally mastered the art of small kitchen organization and storage. We admit, it can be a bit of a challenge trying to utilize every inch of kitchen storage space without having to sacrifice having easy access to our food, condiments, kitchen tools and supplies.

This blog article contains affiliate links. We receive a small commission at no extra cost to you  so we can continue to create more helpful free content. Thank you, we appreciate your support!

6 INNOVATIVE SMALL KITCHEN ORGANIZATION AND STORAGE IDEAS

Before you start buying a bunch of organizers, baskets, and containers for your small kitchen, you need to get your trusty tape measure out, note pad and pencil. Measure all compartments and label them to differentiate which cabinet will store what kitchen essentials. You’ll need to measure not only the length and the width of each cabinet and drawer but also how tall. Make sure you subtract to allot for hinges, ledges, and anything that may impede easy access to your organizers or containers in each storage compartment.

Once you have all of your measurements logged, it’s time to get busy executing your kitchen organization and storage project.

Refrigerator & Pantry

Let me be the first to say, having a tiny refrigerator presents serious challenges; especially if you enjoy feasting on fresh produce, meats and dairy items. Small RV refrigerators truly do limit you to buying exactly what you need for a few days at the most. But here’s the thing. You can’t just jam-pack your refrigerator or you’ll end up with rotten food. So, first get acquainted with knowing how to maximize your RV refrigerator efficiency.

As we had mentioned in our Menu Planning and RV Cooking Tips for Tiny Kitchens, it’s all about the menu planning. You simply do not have the space for the well maybe I’ll use it someday.

That said, because your refrigerator is so small, if you have the right storage and organization, you can essentially fit more.

• • • Stackable Plastic Pantry Food Storage Bins with Handles
    • 4-PK Large Plastic Storage Organizer Container Bins with Handles
    • 8-PK Medium Plastic Organizer Container Bins with Handles

Your pantry is where all of your dry stores will be kept. This cabinet location should be cool and dark to help preserve what’s being stored inside. Amongst the many boxes, packages and packets, it’s easy to lose one amongst the other. So, finding an easy way identify and categorize your dry provisions will be key to keeping your kitchen organized.

So, this is where those cabinet and drawer measurements will come into play. They will be vital in choosing the appropriate food storage containers, dry store storage bins and trays.

We have a few of these in our own pantry AND our refrigerator:

• • • 10-Piece Airtight Food Storage Pop-Top Container Set

Oh, and if you’ve not already, check out how we tiny-sized and minimized some amazing trial size products:

Silverware and Cooking Utensils

The best way to keep all of your cooking tools and cutlery organized and neat is to invest in good drawer organizers and dividers. Since kitchen gadgets and cooking tools come every shape and size, it’s important to take into consideration of your drawer height so take accurate measurements first.

For our silverware, since. we already had this expandable bamboo silverware organizer from our sticks and bricks, we just brought it into our RV (all of them). The ends slide to expand for our larger serving utensils.

Dining and Dishes

This subject comes up often amongst those who live a more minimal lifestyle whether it’s living in an RV, boat or tiny home. The biggest concern is what the products are made of. To me, dishes and anything that comes into contact with food is a huge concern. So, to be on the safe side, we chose to minimize our use of plastic; especially for those vessels that will contain hot food.

For our dining dishes, we use our favorite Corelle dish set. We chose square dishes as they pack and fit better in our RV kitchen drawer.

Spices

Whether you’re a full-blown chef in the kitchen or master of the grill, herbs and spices are key to flavoring your culinary creations. So, it’s imperative to have all of your sprinkles and dashes all in one place. But here lies the problem. When you buy herbs and spices in the food stores, they all come in different shapes and sizes bottles, jars and cans.

So, my best suggestion is redistribute them in simple same-size containers. This way, they will all stay collectively organized, neat and easily identifiable.

Now, depending on whether or not you want your spices displayed in the open or stored inside a dark cool drawer will determine what kind of container to store them in. Any which way, they should all be easily identifiable with labels. You surely don’t want to reach for the dried basil only to accidentally put in too much oregano (BTDT!!!) because they are both dried green herbs that look alike.

So, here’s a list of different types of herbs and spice organization and storage:

• • • 12 Magnetic Spice Tins & 2 Types of Spice Labels with Sift/Pour Top
    • Clear Plastic Empty Spice Container Spice Jars with Two-Way Lid
    • 6-Piece Airtight Mini Container Set with 6 Black Spoons, Labels & Marker
    • 7-Piece Seasoning Shaker Box Condiment Set
    • 25-Piece 4oz Square Glass Spice Jars with Shaker Lids, Blank Round Waterproof Labels, Silicone Collapsible Funnel and Cleaning Brush
    • Professional Expandable 4-Tier Steel Spice Rack Tray Drawer Organizer
    • Chrome Spice Rack Stand holder with 18 glass spice bottles with Labels
    • 13-Piece Glass Spice Test Tubes Rack Set with Cork Stoppers
    • 2-Pack 2-Tier Mesh Kitchen Counter-top, Cabinet or Wall Mount Spice Rack
    • Professional Chrome Slide-Out Double Spice Rack Cabinet Organizer

Food Wrap, Foils and Baggies

Since there aren’t many drawers in a lot of RVs, especially our tiny Class C motorhome, you may have to look at other options to store your food wrap, foils and food storage bags. We found the perfect place under our motorhome’s galley sink in a standup organizer that slides in vertically. That way they are easy to grab. These are also awesome easy-access containers to hold your paper plates, bottles and other tall slender essentials in drawers or cabinets.

But you could store your boxes in a hanging folder organizer that you can mount inside one of your lower cabinet doors. Or, if you’d prefer, just slide it along the wall side of your cabinet for easy access.

So, as you see, if you know how to organize and properly store your kitchen gadgets and cooking essentials, you’ll know exactly where everything is. But also, having the right storage containers in your RV will keep your kitchen essentials and supplies intact and avoid messes on those bumpy roads.

For more RV storage and organization tips:

RV Kitchen Space Saving Storage Solutions

Bathroom Storage and Organization Hacks

Plastic Storage Solutions for RVs

How to Downsize for Van Life and Tiny Living