Storage is always at a premium when you live in a small space. On a boat, finding a home for everything isn't just about being tidy — reducing clutter can make the whole space feel larger, calmer and more peaceful.
It also means we sometimes have to be a little inventive. The best storage spaces aren't always obvious, and occasionally a few centimetres of unused space can turn out to be surprisingly useful.
For quite some time, we had been using an old plant pot to hold our everyday utensils in the galley. In one sense, it worked perfectly well. Everything I used regularly was right there at hand and easy to grab. But in reality, it was also clutter. It took up valuable worktop space, looked untidy when it was full and, when we were underway, there was always the possibility of the whole thing toppling over.
Then we discovered a tiny unused space above the air fryer in the slide out drawer
It wasn't much, but it was just deep enough to make us wonder whether we could turn it into useful storage. A quick walk to a local store and we found a shallow plastic container that was almost right. Almost!
A little work with the multi-tool was needed to cut it down to exactly the right size so that it would slide neatly into the available space.
And it works like a charm.
The utensils we use every day are still close at hand, but they're now tucked away securely rather than sitting out on the counter-top. We've gained a little more worktop space, removed some visual clutter and made things more secure for when we're underway.
It's a tiny change, but that's often the way with living aboard. Good storage doesn't necessarily mean finding lots more space. Sometimes it's simply about looking differently at the space you already have.