Organizing the kitchen

71Overlander · 07-11-2003, 08:05 PM

Hi all,

I am going to be spending some time this weekend and next week preparing for our maiden voyage in our 'new' Overlander next weekend. This is our first experience with a TT so I have some silly questions:

1) Where do you put your larger kitchen necessities - dishes, bowls, wine glasses, etc. (yes, wine glasses (plastic) are a necessity for us!!)

2)What do you put in the overhead cabinets?

3) Do you stock your fridge before leaving? How do you keep everything from rolling around?

Thanks!

Cyndi

j54mark · 07-11-2003, 08:28 PM

1) Where do you put your larger kitchen necessities - dishes, bowls, wine glasses, etc. (yes, wine glasses (plastic) are a necessity!!)

We don't find wine glasses, or wine, to be necessary, or even desirable, but I do like real glass plates and drink glasses. My wife took a small cardboard box and made simple cardboard dividers sized to hold the glasses in place. The plates are separated one from another by a piece of that non-skid shelf liner.

2)What do you put in the overhead cabinets?

Very little, so far. Blankets and towels over the bed, cereal and snacks over the galley, dinnerware and glasses over the refridgerator. Most of them are empty.

3) Do you stock your fridge before leaving? How do you keep everything from rolling around?

We not only stock the refridgerator, but when it is empty that is our clue to come home. Everything will migrate to the front of the coach, so place items in the fridge accordingly.

Mark

Pahaska · 07-11-2003, 08:52 PM

For wine glasses, my wife gave me last Xmas two lexan glasses from REI. They are unbreakable and the stem unscrews from the bowl and nests inside the bowl. They take very little space when stored in this manner.

I have all my hiking gear under a seat. We put our wine in there and cushion the bottles with soft things such as my pack. I do intend to put a 2 or 3 bottle rack on top of the refrigerator when time permits.

Heavy stuff goes low. I have some expensive cookwear for the reason that good stuff cleans up easier. Under the sink, I have all the baggies, foil, plastic wrap, etc. I was able to make a pocket off to the side where I can stuff plastic grocery bags. These are indispensible for garbage and for unloading the refrigerator when we drop the trailer at the storage yard.

Glasses and dishes go in the upper cabinets along with things like measuring cups and coffee pot. We carry both paper plates and regular plates, plastic and regular cutlery. We often put a paper plate on top of a regular plate so that we can just throw away the mess rather than doing a lot of dishwashing.

I'm lucky to have a big Lazy Susan pantry for all the items that don't have to be cold. Again, heavy items like soft drinks go on the bottom shelf, condiments and such on the top shelf.

I put a rack on the end of the upper cabinet that holds 4 Chicago knives. We also carry can opener, bottle opener, wine opener, and measuring spoons.

I cool the refrigerator for at least 12 hours before leaving. I put in pre-cooled soft drinks and bottled water. We almost always carry steaks to cook out. The refrigerator is most efficient if it is fairly heavily loaded; the thermal mass keeps it stable. One thing that helps is to put one of the battery-operated fans inside the refrigerator. They keep the temperature consistent top to bottom. Batterys last about a season. I set the fan on the bottom blowing upward.

71Overlander · 07-11-2003, 09:05 PM

I found the wine glasses on the REI website...perfect! I am going to order them. The ones I have right now are a hard plastic from WalMart....they're too tall to fit in the overheads.

Hopefully the new ones will arrive before we leave next Friday.

Silver · 07-11-2003, 10:44 PM

Pahaska,

Do you drive (tow) with your refridgerator on---running on gas? I am new to camping and do not know if I am supposed to turn it off when I drive, and what about when I fill up at a gas station

Thanks!

Pahaska · 07-11-2003, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Pahaska, Do you drive (tow) with your refridgerator on---running on gas? I am new to camping and do not know if I am supposed to turn it off when I drive, and what about when I fill up at a gas station

Yes, absolutely I do. No other way to keep food in a 2-way refrig safe in Texas summer heat. Actually, I run it on gas while travelling all year round. I never run with it off except maybe in the last leg of a trip coming home or if I gas up very close to my destination.

There are a number of threads endlessly discussing the pros and cons. IMHO, that's what the refrigerator is designed to do and any risks are vanishingly small. Obviously, refuelling requires turning it off before moving to the pumps and turning it on away from the pumps.

Silver · 07-11-2003, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pahaska

Obviously, refuelling requires turning it off before moving to the pumps and turning it on away from the pumps.

Ok, that's what I thought. Thanks!

LuminumTraila · 05-20-2005, 07:22 PM

We like to drink wine, but not from acrylic or lexan glasses. Does anybody have a good way to store their wine glasses so they don't get broken while traveling?

-J

myboyburt · 05-20-2005, 07:36 PM

I also was a "real" wine glass kind of girl until I got sick of cleaning up the broken glass. I've switched to plastic ones I purchased from Campingworld, not beautiful but functional.

That being said I know of folks who wrap their glasses in bubble wrap or kitchen towels for travel. They tell me it works out great. I don't have a ton of storage space in my Airsteam so tacky plastic wine glasses work for me

plus I've switched to wine in a box when we are traveling. Black Box makes a decent white wine, check them out!

LuminumTraila · 05-20-2005, 07:44 PM

Kitchen towels! Now why didn't I think of that? Doug has said he will invent a wine rack for us that will keep the glasses safe, but he doesn't have the time for it now so the kitchen towels will be a good temporary solution.

I keep hearing about those boxes o' wine. Maybe it's time to give it a try. Not that I have any problem with keeping the wine bottle from getting broken -- they're not around that long.

balrgn · 05-20-2005, 08:23 PM

We have both kind of glasses. Keep the glass ones in the original box (4 pack)
Wine out of a Box!

uwe · 05-20-2005, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougjamie

Kitchen towels! Now why didn't I think of that? Doug has said he will invent a wine rack for us that will keep the glasses safe, but he doesn't have the time for it now so the kitchen towels will be a good temporary solution.

I keep hearing about those boxes o' wine. Maybe it's time to give it a try. Not that I have any problem with keeping the wine bottle from getting broken -- they're not around that long.

Thou shalt not drink wine from a box........

myboyburt · 05-20-2005, 08:43 PM

my Airstream and try Black Box - It's like Yellow Tail, Lindemans Bin 65 or Woodbridge Chardonnay in quality. I was also of the mind set that "thou shalt not drink wine from a box" until I read a Consumer Reports article on the new breed of boxed wine. It's not bad at all and it takes up very little room and does not break.

Sonia · 05-20-2005, 09:31 PM

With a 2005 30' Classic, we have the front credenza. It holds 12 bottles. I bought a wine glass storage thing from Target and use the dividers to neatly hold the bottles in place. For the Champagne glasses and wine glasses, I use insulated lunch boxes from Walmart. I wrap the glasses in dish towels and then use a bubble wrap to place the next layer of glasses on top. The lunch box provides another layer of support. I am trying to make a box, covered with soft suede, that will hold the glasses in place and go in the overhead credenza. We do have the lexan glasses too, but sometimes it's just nice to use the real thing.

Dishes and bowls go in the drawers under the stove. Light stuff on the overhead cabinets (paper towels, paper plates, etc.).

Sonia