When I look at photos of other people’s boats, I always wonder what is inside all of their cabinets and closets. How do they store and organize their stuff in a small space? I’m starting small and showing you the contents of our galley drawers. We have a total of four drawers in the galley: Two small utensil drawers and two large storage drawers. Three are located across from the stove and one is under the stove. Due to the bend in the counter, the drawers do not go very far back. Just enough space for the silverware and another inch behind the drawer organizers – just enough to squeeze in the chopsticks. All our eating utensils are made of stainless steel and are the same ones we used back on shore. In fact, most everything on this boat (and our previous boat) are things we used back in our life on shore. In the far right bin, we have items we use a lot. Corkscrew, tea infuser, veggie peeler, oyster shucking knife (very important in this region!), and various snack utensils. I like to use fondue forks for snacks – nice when we have guests aboard because they are color-coded. The middle drawer is very tall and therefore hard to organize. Things we don’t use very often are in the tub in the back (about the height of a cereal box). The things we use more often naturally end up on top, like the TDS meter to check the water since we drink the water from our faucet. We have a whole “house” water filter which I will cover in another post. Here is everything from the middle drawer.  Moving left to right, skipping a few self-explanatory items:

  • Have never actually used that mesh sieve, not sure why I keep it.
  • Spare cork screws – maybe a few too many?
  • I seem to need rubber bands all the time.
  • Those nutcrackers and pokers are for the fresh crab we catch! Yum!
  • Up here where it’s colder we like to eat soup so the ladles sometimes come in handy.
  • I love our knife set. Because the blades are sheathed I can just toss them in the drawer. The knives stay sharp and we can’t cut ourselves when rummaging through the drawer. Though I have to admit I rarely use anything other than the red one.
  • The hand mixer that goes with those beaters is packed away a bit deeper in the galley. It usually only comes out for birthday cakes and the occasional cookies. That and the stick blender are the only small appliances we have on board.
  • One grater is enough for all the grating we do. I know there are many different sizes but this is sort of an in-between size and works for everything but zesting. I keep meaning to buy a zester like this one – not that I zest all that often…
  • Citrus squeezer. In my opinion, there is no better or faster way to squeeze a lemon or lime (even small oranges). Nothing is easier to clean either. Make sure not to buy a plastic one, it will break. We have made many a grapefruity margarita with this thing.
  • Bamboo kitchen tools and tongs and stainless tongs for the BBQ.
  • Stainless cup and spoon measure sets. Nothing to break, nothing to rust. Every kitchen needs these, right?
  • I use my stick blender every day. I put coconut oil into my coffee and blend. If you have not tried this, do it now! This blender also comes with a small chopper/grinder attachment so I can make salsa and paté. We also have a rechargeable frother to make our morning lattes.

Below the two utensil drawers is one more large drawer. This used to be a cupboard that the previous owner converted into a drawer. This is our everyday pantry. When we will be away from stores for a while we have more space under the settee (couch) for food and drinks, but that area is a lot harder to get to. Things get moved from under the settee to this drawer as we need them. The last drawer in the galley is under the stove. This also used to be a cupboard that was converted to a drawer. Much more functional this way. I have an entire set of stainless steel pots that I purchased at Costco many, many years ago (when I lived in a house). Small, medium, and large saucepans that nest, one large stock pot, one small cast iron pan, one small and one 10″ non-stick pan. Also a small kettle, and a folding strainer. I find I pretty much never use the medium and large saucepans. All the lids not seen are in the 10″ stock pot. I had this same assortment of pots on the sailboat. Yes, this seems like a lot of space but we had about the same amount of galley gear on our sailboat Camille. Actually, I think we might have less now because we have learned what we use all the time. As mentioned above, there are even more things I could get rid of for now we do have enough space. Is there anything you cannot do without in your galley? Anything you think I’m crazy to do without? Leave a comment below or show me your galley drawers by adding a photo to this thread on our Facebook page!