Small Space Living

[Hittenstiehl]

Loving the teapot also and we also always have one on the stove. Ours travels in a dish towel also however it is my hope to sew or knit a nice teapot cozy for travel someday in the future.

[Lily&Me]

Doug’s mother sewed up two sides of a small pile of dish towels for me some years back, which make great little sacks to carry pots and coffee pots and things...keeps them safe, and reduces noise when driving.

Maggie

[InterBlog]

On that front, I get a zero for style, but a ten for substance. After three failed teapots (one ill-fitting, one defective, and the other re-purposed in my stick house), I just gave up, and now I boil water in a 25-year-old MSR backpacking pot. And then I brew the tea in a GSR Fair Share mug. No civility whatsoever.

Ah, but my tea is one of the finest gyokuro grades from Kyoto Prefecture. There's hardly a better tea in the world. Eat your heart out, Ray Kurzweil.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

I am loving this stainless steel, 6 cup teakettle I bought last year.

Perfectly proportional for the Interstate, blends in nicely, and weighs next to nothing.

I wrap it in a dish towel to carry in the lower galley cabinet, where it rides very nicely atop and amongst the other kitchen things in there.

I wanted a proper teakettle out here, for tea or an instant mocha, etc...there is just something about a proper kettle, along with a lovely mug of choice, for hot beverages.

It’s just so civilized.

My mother would have a proper teapot, as well, never a bag with the string dangling down the side , also would use pretty cups & saucers, and serve on an equally pretty tray...whether doing tea for two, or tea for six.

But, this is an Interstate, not my mothers dining room.

Maggie

MAGGIE - I don't drink the tea anywhere, even at home, except in Chinese restaurants. Don't know why that is, just is But I love these tea-kettle thingys in any shape or & size, and of course the stainless thing just put the icing. Even if I never use it, I like to look at it in our stick house. Stainless does it for me.

[OTRA15]

Just noticed this Cuisinart 2-Qt model on Amazon for $17.95:

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CTK...CYZ34VAH7HXRBV

Looks like it might be a good substitute for the discontinued Revere Ware 6-cup? Will never buy a tea kettle without a whistle IMO. Maybe inside an Interstate the absence of a whistle is tolerable, but at home it is too easy to be distracted by other tasks, while water is coming to the boil . . . risk of fire . . . don't ask!



Peter

[knotdonne]

Thanks for bringing this up, Maggie. I left my 2.5 quart Revere kettle in the van when put in storage and have been boiling water on the stove in a saucepan. Can't go wrong at this price and the handle folds! https://www.target.com/p/primula-ste...l/-/A-53620029

[InterBlog]

The cabinetry gaps on either side of the T1N Interstate's microwave can accept 14 inch organizer boxes - or, at least one of them can (the other may be shortened a bit by the position of the electrical outlet and the plug sticking out).

You don't want anything placed in those slots to get all Slidey McSlideface on you when the van is underway, so you'd be wise to install little hardware stoppers to keep the boxes from ending up on the floor (stoppers can be added to the existing microwave hold-down brackets). How many times have I handed my husband a cardboard shape and said, "Here, make this for me, please"?

I don't drink coffee but I'm a tea snob, hence all those unbleached roll-your-own un-stuffed teabags in two formats (stringed and un-stringed). The rest of this stuff was previously kicking around in various unorganized galley locations.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

The cabinetry gaps on either side of the T1N Interstate's microwave can accept 14 inch organizer boxes

INTERBLOG - why would there be exterior cabinetry gaps in an AI ? I have lots gaps exist inside & behind the cabinetry walls, interior. But I got no gaps between appliances and cabinets. And since I have no gaps between micro & cabinet, I just use the inside of micro as storage.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Alex AVI

INTERBLOG - why would there be exterior cabinetry gaps in an AI ? I have lots gaps exist inside & behind the cabinetry walls, interior. But I got no gaps between appliances and cabinets. And since I have no gaps between micro & cabinet, I just use the inside of micro as storage.

I bet you do behind your cabinetry trim. The T1N Interstates have very little trim. Actually now that I contemplate it, they have no trim whatsoever. The microwave gaps exist for physical access to the bolt-down brackets that prevent the microwave from launching airborne while on the road. There has to be room for ppl to stick their hands back there to unscrew those bolts when the microwave needs to be removed. What I did with the organizer is to put its L-bracket (which prevents it from sliding onto the floor) on the same bolt as is holding down that corner of the microwave.

Personally I'm glad for the relative lack of cabinetry finish. I'd rather have gaps like that. I've now got a drawer's worth of kitchen stuff in that one gap.

[Pahaska]

The later year microwaves are held in by a louvered stainless trim, which leaves no gaps.

I did rescue some lost space inside the cabinets that had been blocked off for wiring. I blocked the wiring out of the way and use the space for smaller items.

Short of deconstructing cabinets, later AI have pretty much no nooks or crannies.

[InterBlog]

Here is a doozie for the teak addicts among you. I bet you thought that you were done coughing up a hairball of cash when you got your teak wet bath mats, didn't you?! Heh heh. Well, how about a solid teak dishes and utensil organizer to coordinate with those mats? Carry that sucker right out to the picnic table - wonderfully efficient. Lovely design. Very small-space friendly. And all-weather to boot. On your mark, get set, spend!



AFAIK, nothing like this product existed 4+ years ago when I came up with my storage ideas - I looked high and low and I found absolutely nothing like this. My basket fits under our galley counter and the check file containing the Corelle plates slides in the LEFT side microwave slot, with the 14-inch organizer box being on the right. The teak version does bear a bit of similarity to my ideas.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

I bet you do behind your cabinetry trim.

Personally I'm glad for the relative lack of cabinetry finish. I'd rather have gaps like that. I've now got a drawer's worth of kitchen stuff in that one gap.

Originally Posted by Pahaska

The later year microwaves are held in by a louvered stainless trim, which leaves no gaps.

Short of deconstructing cabinets, later AI have pretty much no nooks or crannies.

INTERBLOG - if I took you up on your bet, it be like taking candy from a baby There is no cabinetry or panel in my AI -or- panel in the MB portions that I have not taken apart at least 3 times. There are ZERO gaps in my lower/upper cabinetry bottom, top, sides that can be rescued for storing even an 8x10 unframed portrait. No exposed appliance brackets. Why you think people here have been wracking their heads trying to remove those later model microwaves? Coz you basically end up deconstructing micro & surround cabinetry to remove. There are voids behind drawers that could be rescued, but those require fabricating deeper drawers.

It great that lack of cabinetry finish appeals to you & worked to your benefit. But that was a deal breaker for me. That one of the reasons I bought AI vs. the other brands. Pic below:

[InterBlog]

SMH... I cannot recall whether it was on this thread or another where I recently noted that the off-road community is WAY ahead of the RV community when it comes to maximizing small space design and also build quality.

I mean, we knew that the boating / sailing community was decades ahead of the RV community, especially on issues of product quality. I had no idea until recently that the same can also be said of the off-roaders.

Case in point. This is a 1-minute video, potentially worth your time. LOOK at both the quality of this table product (two adults sitting / standing on it!), the design of the product (I already own that collapsible basin for which one of their tables was fabricated with a sized receiving portal) and the efficiency of the product (slides into an integrated roof storage system - duh, so obvious!!). We have *nothing* like this being integrated into the van world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhRC747VayE

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

. . .
Case in point. This is a 1-minute video, potentially worth your time.
. . .

An eye-opener -- well worth a minute of everyone's time!

Thanks for the heads up.

Peter

[bugsbunny]

Those are cool....

Another one that I ran across is the Stretcher Table from Partner Steel.

FYI, They make PHENOMENAL camp stoves. Great burner control and built like a tank. They make stuff for expeditions. You can even get a one burner stove if you call them I believe with a cover installed - a 9x12 which is great for Interstates. After many years of searching, I stumbled onto them from a photograph.

[Rig Rat]

These are great reusable silicone cooking / freezing/ storage bags.

[InterBlog]

Cross-posting a Sprinter Forum thread called Post up your storage ideas and solutions!

Good stuff in there - some small space ideas I had not seen previously. Mostly van context (I know that many of the trailer owners read this Sprinter and B Van thread).

[knotdonne]

Disclaimer: This is not an aesthetically-pleasing solution, BUT used 4 five lb. Command Hooks to hang a 24 pocket shoe organizer on wall between micro/fridge and bathroom door. It is dedicated to electronics. I have so many rechargeables, battery packs, solar generator stuff, solar controller, etc, etc, and this keeps everything neat, within reach, and locatable! Sorry I can't seem to get a photo up.

[InterBlog]

Warning: First-world problem straight ahead.

Any suggestions on how to keep bar soap from getting mushy in the usual storage containers?

Soap is important in the small space / van context. The number one thing that vanners report that they miss is long hot showers. We off-gridders get military showers and bucket baths. Therefore, given that the bath is meager, the chosen soap is important because it has to compensate.

I used to carry liquid soap, but it's too bulky, especially on trips exceeding a month. Bar soap is more compact and one gets far more mileage from the same volume of product. Bar soap also does not spill in a vehicle that is on the move.

I drilled holes in the top of this container, to try to circulate air. That soap you see is (IMO) a divine artisanal creation - it's also about ten bucks a bar. I don't want my expensive soap to turn to slime due to dampness.

[Lily&Me]

I leave bar soap open to the air overnight after a shower, to give it time to properly dry.

I do the same with my favorite solid shampoos.

Maggie