Your kitchen should be organized in a way that makes it work best for you. Whether you have a small kitchen or a large open one, when it comes time to cook, you should be able to just grab the pot you need and get to work without having to dig through a cabinet or deal with pans tumbling all over the floor. Ideally, you'll want to store your pots, pans and cooking utensils near your stove to make things easier, but there are tons of different ways to organize them and tons of storage solutions. It just takes a little rearranging to find the right kitchen organization idea for your space.
Decluttering your cabinets and drawers will help you see what you have in your arsenal and what you still need. You don't have to go crazy and break the bank buying every organizer under the sun. Places like Amazon and IKEA have great cabinet organizers, hooks and shelves at prices that are affordable for every budget, and browsing these websites will give you more storage ideas. To get you started, here are 10 kitchen storage solutions that will keep your pots and pans right where you can reach them.
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1. Hang Pans From a Reclaimed Piece of Wood
Put your collection of shiny copper pots and pans on display by hanging them from a wood plank on your kitchen wall. This is a simple DIY project since all you'll need to do is measure, cut (most home improvement stores will do this for you free of charge – just ask!) and stain the wood before hanging it on the wall. When hanging it, be sure to use a stud finder to guarantee the wood is strong enough to hold up all your pots and pans at once. Add small nails from which to hang your pots and you're finished. You'll never have to rummage in the cabinet for the perfect pan ever again.
2. Try a Vertical Pot Rack
If you're short on cabinet space, try a vertical pan organizer that will allow you to store all your skillets in one spot without taking up a ton of square footage in your kitchen. The dividers will keep your pans from getting scratched and will make it easy to pull out just the one you need. Leave the pot rack tucked away in an unused corner on your counter for easy accessibility.
3. Nest Your Pots and Pans
Display your cookware while still keeping them easily within reach by simply nesting them. Arrange them on an open shelf layered with cutting boards, extra cooking utensils and a stack of dish towels. This way, you'll always have exactly what you need right where you can see (and reach) it. Just be sure to lay a wash cloth or a paper towel on the inside of each pan to keep them from scratching each other.
4. Stack Them in a Deep Drawer
Put your kitchen's deep drawers to work and use one to easily organize pots and pans. Be careful not to stack them too high or your drawer will get jammed, and your pots may get damaged. This is a great storage solution for heavy stainless steel pots and pans since you don't have to worry about having a big pot dangling above your head or stress about finding a hook strong enough to hold them.
5. Tuck Them Away in a Cabinet
Don't let your huge stock pot take up all the space in your cookware drawer when you only reach for it a few times a year. Instead, tuck all your seldom-used pots away in a cabinet. This way, you'll make more space for all the pots and pans you do use on a regular basis, and you can still easily grab your stock pot if you're hit with the sudden urge to make a batch of soup. It's as easy as opening a cabinet door.
6. Hang Them Above the Island
You can't go wrong with a rack of hanging pots above your kitchen island. To make this super functional, you're going to want to double-check that all the pots are low enough that you can grab them without having to lug out a step ladder every day when it's time to make dinner. If it seems too high, consider adding some chains to the rack before you hang it. This is great for kitchens with high ceilings since it will draw the eye up and help define the kitchen area.
7. Make Them Double as Wall Art
Hang your pots and pans directly on your wall to let your collection double as wall art. Hang them neatly in rows or go with a haphazard style. There is no wrong answer here. Rows will give your kitchen a symmetrical, organized look, while random placement will give your kitchen a rustic, bohemian vibe. No matter what you choose, you'll be able to make a statement in your kitchen without having to purchase a single thing.
8. Store Them on a Lazy Susan
Your lazy Susan isn't just for storing snacks and cans of soup anymore. Clean out your cabinet and use the handy turntable to store pots and pans. Store the pot lids right there with the pots themselves so you'll never have to search for them. If you have room, store your mixing bowls and measuring spoons here too. You'll be able to easily spin the wheel until you find the perfect pan for making French toast on Sunday mornings.
9. Install a Pot Rack in the Corner of Your Kitchen
Pick one section of your countertop, preferably somewhere in the corner, and make that the dedicated prep station for your kitchen. Install a small metal rack to hold your pots and pans and add two shallow towel bars on the wall to act as lid organizers. Keep other essentials here too, like knives and cutting boards. Perfect for small kitchens without much storage space, this organization station will allow you to store a lot in just a few square feet.
10. Hang Them From a Pegboard
Keep all your pots, pans and other kitchen tools, like strainers and cheese graters, neatly organized with a sheet of pegboard. You'll be able to rearrange the hooks to make sure the kitchen organization system works exactly how you need it to work.
