One of the most popular search terms to find this blog recently has been ‘what do I need in my campervan?’ I wrote a post a few months ago about 10 campervan essentials you need to pack for your first trip, but if you’re after a full list, here’s an inventory of pretty much everything we take for a weekend away. And because it’s always nice to have a nosy through other people’s cupboards, a few photos of how we store it all in a very small space.
Kitchen
Our main kitchen cupboard has three shelves, which we’ve lined with some rubber grip matting to stop things sliding around, and everything is stored in large plastic tubs. Some things stay in the campervan all the time, other things we move into the house when we’re not using them, so it’s much easier when they’re in boxes. One of the tubs acts as a mini pantry to keep all the (non-refrigerated) food together, meaning there’s less chance of finding a stray onion lurking at the back of the cupboard in 12 months’ time.
Cutlery
Colourful knives, forks, spoons
Two sharp knives
Bread knife
Speed peeler
Two tongs
Mini whisk
Serving spoon
Spatula
Can opener
Crockery
Two small plates
Two large plates
Two bowls (cereal or pasta)
Two mugs
Two large wine glasses (Saturday night)
Two small wine glasses (Sunday night)
Two water glasses
Pans and other utensils
Three saucepans (varying sizes)
Two frying pans (large for a fry-up, small for pine nuts)
Three thin chopping boards (probably one too many but they are very thin!)
Two tupperware tubs (handy to decant a large tin)
Mini colander
Stainless steel mixing bowl (useful for all sorts)
Small measuring jug (for mixing salad dressing or just measuring)
Miscellaneous
Whistling kettle
Kitchen towel
Oven glove
Place mats
Two tea towels
One hand towel
Two place mats
Napkins
Small picnic bag
Ice block
Thermos flask
Cleaning / utilities
Surface wipes
Jay cloth
Scourer
Washing liquid and dishwashing brush
Microfibre cloth (useful for everything)
Soap
Bin bags
Ziploc bags
Two green enviro bags (handy for a quick supermarket shop)
Living area / bedroom
Two pillows and pillow cases
Bottom bed sheet
Top bed sheet (summer)
Quilt and cover (winter – this stays out during the day)
Two towels (double up for beach/shower)
Clothes
We have one drawer for both our clothes, which didn’t seem much at first, but thankfully Paul is very economical with his packing so I can actually fit a lot in. I’m borrowing an idea that my brother-in-law uses for short family holidays, where everyone can fill just one shopping bag with clothes so they all fit neatly in the boot. I found a nice large M&S food bag does the trick.
We also have a narrow cupboard for shoes and flip-flops; jackets go over the backs of the driver/passenger seats.
Bathroom
There’s actually loads of space in the bathroom (relatively speaking, of course), plus we have two drawers and a cupboard in the vanity.
Toilet roll
Soap
Hand towel
Hand wipes
Sunscreen
Insect repellant
Citronella candle
Insect bite cream (always needed in spite of the above)
First aid kit
Large Cath Kidston wash bag (me), toothbrush (Paul)
Outside
Most of our big items are stored in the space behind the front two seats.
Two camping chairs
Folding camping table
Beach umbrella
Rug
Body board (stored in the bathroom)
Awning (attached to van)
Inflatable kayaks (there’s no storage for these so they stay outside)
Two life jackets (always kept in the bathroom cupboard, only used if we take the kayaks out, or if there were a HUGE flood, I suppose)
Entertainment
Most of this (and the miscellaneous items below) is stored at the front of the van, which is quite spacious and has a few cubby holes and glove boxes.
Playing cards
Travel Scrabble
Mini telescope
CDs
Portable speakers (for outside)
Cross stitch (still to be attempted)
Miscellaneous
Fire extinguisher
Sweeping brush
Window shades for driver/passenger windows (there are no curtains in the front of the van)
Sunshade for windscreen
Curtain tie-backs
Mini fan
Torch and batteries
Various chargers
Matches
No-peg washing line
Tissues
Map
Sat-nav
.
So here it all is!
Reading the list back we seem to fit a lot in. There’s an equally long list for food so I will cover that in a separate post. Is there anything I’ve forgotten??
The Campervan Converts 