Latest news with #KatSobczyk
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Family's controversial caravan move to save annoying $97 expense: 'People don't understand'
When you think about living in a small space, particularly somewhere like a campervan, logically you'd think you need all the same appliances as you'd have in your home. Who can survive without a washing machine, a fridge, and an oven? It turns out that maybe that last one is not quite as crucial as you'd imagine, with the camping community divided on whether or not having an oven is a necessity. While the debate is mostly raging within the online forums for keen caravanners, it could be applied to anyone living in a confined space. Sharing her side of the conversation is mum of three, Kat Sobczyk, who has been travelling around Australia for the last two and a half years and, during that time, she and her husband, Stuart, have bought four different vans. When they were rookies, they bought their first with an oven but quickly realised the error of their ways. RELATED Kmart find transforms caravan family's kitchen for $10: 'We don't have drawers' Kmart shoppers praise 'brilliant' kitchen storage idea using unlikely $9 item Kmart shopper solves common storage issue with $20 'must-have' item: 'So easy' 'We had three young kids and we needed to cook quickly, but the oven was so slow,' Sobczyk told Yahoo Lifestyle. 'Plus, we spend 90 per cent of our time off grid, so we were constantly chasing gas bottles. We like to be remote, and we've had to pay up to $97 for one in some places.' It means when they bought their second van, the oven was quickly taken out, and a simple stove top and air fryer were put in. 'The difference in weight was 38 kilos, which is a lot. It also meant more storage space and we could run it all on renewable energy from our solar, so no more gas bottles,' Sobczyk, who shares their journey on @retreating_into_the_sunshine, said. The Sobczyk's are now on van number four and haven't reverted back to using an oven. They've even gone one step further, replacing their stovetop with a clever Kmart hack. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Stu ☀️ Kat ☀️ + 3 (@retreating_into_the_sunshine) 'We have a $54 induction cooktop from Kmart. It's given us more bench space, and you can use it outside,' Sobczyk said. It's something she loves about her air fryer, too, as being stuck in the van making dinner wrecks the camping vibe. 'You can be part of the conversation or the sunset,' she said. It also means the van doesn't heat up, which is what used to happen with the oven and stove top on. 'I get it in winter – it's nice, but not on a hot day. The van is pretty well insulated, so it would be hard to cool it down afterwards, too,' she said. When it's not sunny and the solar is out of action, the family has another option with their gas Weber BBQ. 'You can use the BBQ as an oven with an extra trivet,' Sobczyk explained. 'It redirects the heat from the bottom to all around, and it works a treat. We've made birthday cakes, muffins, rolls and bread on that. You just make them like you would in an oven.' 'I'm definitely pro Weber! I don't think an oven is really needed in the van either. The Webers do everything! We love doing pizzas in ours,' said one woman. 'I do so much baking in our Ziggy [BBQ]. We make cakes, pizza, potato bakes, bread. Whatever you can do in an oven can be done in a Ziggy,' agreed another. A recent discovery is the little camp oven, which allows them to cook on an open fire. 'You get this authentic camping fire vibe. We've made zucchini slice and apple crumble on it, and the kids love it,' Sobczyk said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Stu ☀️ Kat ☀️ + 3 (@retreating_into_the_sunshine) While the Sobczyk's are anti-oven, she said her posts about it online are a mixed bag. 'Some people don't understand it. Traditionally, people are talking about simplifying and making life easier, so why would you complicate things with extra appliances? But for us, this is our lifestyle,' she said. 'Love our oven. I wouldn't be without,' said one woman on a Facebook post asking whether ovens are necessary. 'I don't want BBQ or stuff that is BBQ-flavoured every day, and love it on rainy days. Plus, you can still use it as storage space. And I often think those who think it stinks cooking inside must be bad cooks or eat lamb chops every day.' SHOP: 🧽 Aussie mum's $6 solution to most hated household chore: 'It smells incredible' 👯♀️ Aussie sisters create product that sells every 55 seconds: 'Couldn't believe it' ⚡️ Secret spot to get away from the crowds at Sydney Harbour during Vivid 2025: 'Incredible' 'I wondered this also,' said another camper. 'Then I thought, why the heck not have it. Gives you the feeling of your van feeling like home.' However, plenty of people agree with the Sobczyks. 'I've never used the oven once!! I don't like cooking in the van at all!! I cook everything outside on the BBQ, or air fryer, or on the gas cooker, or in camp kitchens,' said one camper. 'We had one [an oven] and didn't use it often as it wasn't great. We have just got our new van, no oven. Plan to use the Weber and possibly look at an air fryer if I miss the oven. I wanted the extra storage space,' agreed another.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Kmart find transforms caravan's family's kitchen for $10: 'We don't have drawers'
When Kat and her hubby, Stuart Sobczyk, took to the road in their campervan two and a half years ago, one thing quickly became very obvious. With three little kids, organisation was key. 'You're in a small space which has to work efficiently,' Sobczyk, 41, told Yahoo Lifestyle. 'You need order, and everything has to be stable and stay in place for off-road travel.' It's something she discovered other families were interested in learning about, and, alongside their journey around Australia, she started sharing her tricks and tips on Instagram. Perhaps one of the most "controversial" decisions they have made for their home on wheels is not to have drawers. Yep, you read that correctly. The Sobczyks have learnt that drawers add weight to their van and, instead of eight drawers, the kitchen space can be better utilised with shelves and cupboards. 'We chose not to have instead have opted for a few random storage solutions,' Sobczyk told her followers in a recent post in a popular caravanning group. One of the best things about Kat's storage solutions is that while they are perfect for fellow caravan owners, many of them can also be used in brick and mortar homes or by anyone who is craving a little more organisation and less clutter in their lives. Kat tells us that many of the products she uses to streamline her space come from Kmart and Bunnings, with a few other, more obscure brands also thrown into the mix. RELATED: Kmart shoppers praise 'brilliant' kitchen storage idea using unlikely $9 item Caravan owners' $5 Kmart hack for storage problem on the road: 'Never had any issues' $5.50 Kmart item professional organiser swears by for caravans: 'These are ideal' Take, for example, one of her favourite items: Kmart's $10 turntable, which allows her to have all the pantry bits they use regularly easily accessible and not stuffed at the back of a cupboard. She also uses Kmart's clear storage boxes, which make it easy to pull out items on a top shelf and see, at a glance, what she has. Another Kmart favourite is the $14 collapsible laundry basket - perfect for slotting in somewhere instead of needing an entire shelf for it. Herbs and spices take up a lot of space in a van (and can also take up their fair share of space in regular homes, too), but it's something Sobczyk can't live without, so she's had to find somewhere to store them that works. 'We love to cook and we take our spices everywhere,' Sobczyk tells us. Her spice storage always provokes lots of questions from her followers because instead of chucking them in a cupboard, they are mounted on the door of one. 'The spice racks are from eBay, about $12 for a set. They come with stickers but with the heat they un-peal which would be a spicy fail so we use tiny screws to mount them,' she says, adding that she also uses labels from Pretty Little Designs - making the area look straight out of a catalogue rather than a caravan. 'I love, love, love how you style and create these great storage spaces! Thanks for sharing,' read one comment on Sobczyk's recent pantry post alongside many followers asking for details of where to buy. Jokingly describing 'Kmart as life', Sobczyk's biggest tip for organising a caravan is to go to Kmart and buy up big. 'Buy all the things and then return what you don't need,' she said. 'It's too hard to go with 30,000 measurements for all the different spaces. Get what you think will fit, and if it doesn't, take it back,' she said. Some of her biggest Kmart storage hits have been shelves and shelving units, which she's added her own touch to with a different colour paint or by trimming them to size. 'We want things off the benches as space there is a premium,' she said, explaining why the extra shelves are useful. 'We hook things up for a week to see if they work and then mount them [properly]. Sobczyk has the $13 Kmart shelf in her lounge area and various other rattan shelves from Kmart, which she has customised. 'It's our home, our space,' she added. It has to look good as well as being practical. Since they started their adventures, the family have had three different vans and each time she's learnt something that she's changed in the next one. 'In our first van we had a cupboard we fitted out with [$14] metal baskets from Bunnings for the kids clothes,' Sobczyk said, 'The kids were three and four then and they couldn't read so I got pictures to go on the baskets so they could put things away themselves. It's important they can be independent.' That's changed now, and she has replaced the wire baskets in their new van with shelves and a lighter wicker basket from Adairs as a space saver. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Stu ☀️ Kat ☀️ + 3 (@retreating_into_the_sunshine) There are certain things Sobczyk couldn't find in Kmart, but another, less well-known brand has come up with the goods. Drop Bear Storage is Sobczyk's go-to for storage pockets, which she has attached around the kids' beds and on the back of cupboards, customising them with hooks to hang handy items like hats and sand brushes from. SHOP: 🦥 Boody's new range in sizes S to XL are 'the softest sets you'll ever wear': 'Comfy and chic' ✈️ New Qantas points hack hailed 'smart way to shop': 'Up to 30 per cent off' 🤫 Secret feature of Aussie brand's new undies labelled a 'total game changer' for women 'The kids put their school work, readers and sight words in there,' she said. Of course, Sobczyk confesses that sometimes things don't work and her van doesn't always look as neat and beautiful as in the photos. 'If it doesn't work, I'll post about that too,' she said. 'We live and learn and have a laugh. It's all part of the journey.'
