STORING DISHES IN AN AIRSTREAM INTERSTATE, PART 2: EVERYTHING ELSE

In Part 1 of this post, I described the solution I came up with for storing dinner plates an dessert plates in the small space of an Airstream Interstate motorhome.

Corelle freshly washed, inserted into the check file, and ready to be slid back into the gap between the side of the microwave oven and its cabinet.  

After numerous trials and tribulations with various DIY approaches and products, here is my favorite solution for storage of everything else, namely bowls, cups, and cutlery.

This woven storage basket was never designed to be used this way, but it works perfectly for the available space.  Right now I have two tall drinking glasses stored beside the Corelle bowls inside this thing, but I plan to replace those tall glasses with four unbreakable polycarbonate glasses that will stack in two sets of two, side by side.   

This woven basket was on sale for $4.50 in Michaels, the craft store chain.  It was available in three colors (this silvery blue, brown, and ivory).  Many types of small webbed baskets should be able to work in this type of application.  

Here's how my cutlery had started out its life in our Interstate.  It was neither a pretty sight nor easy to manage this way.

The Interstate is not large enough for a dedicated cutlery tray with separate slots for knives, forks, and spoons, so I had simply tied an elastic band around the bunch.  This was as inefficient as it gets.  

I had two non-negotiable requirements for any organizational device to be used for these purposes:

1. The cutlery had to be stored as separate individual pieces - no rattling during travel.
2. I had to be capable of reaching with one hand into the storage device and pulling out one spoon, one fork, one knife, one bowl, or one drinking glass, with no digging around or moving anything else to get at the stuff.  Furthermore, I had to be able to accomplish that task by feel, largely in the dark.

This fits the bill.  I can reach into the cabinet and grab one thing at a time with no interference from other objects.  

I do have one strong recommendation should you decide to use a storage basket in this way:

Make sure the tines of the forks are pointing away from where your hands will be reaching in, and make sure you point the tips of the knives downward.  I eventually arranged all my forks to point toward the cabinet wall so I would not accidentally stab myself as I was reaching in.  

This was my mindset at the outset of my Interstate dinner-making experience, because it is so difficult to do anything in a disorganized space, especially if that space is tiny.  But it certainly is a whole lot easier now that I have more organizational solutions for the dishes, cutlery, and other kitchen items.