Cookie sheets, muffin tins, baking pans, cooling racks, and cutting boards; bulky to store, but very needed, even in a small kitchen!

For a long time, I stored these items stacked in a deep drawer.  It seemed like a good solution, since I could fit quite a few in.  However, most of the time the drawer ended up looking like this:

Yeah, not pretty. 

Instead of nicely nested and organized, it would turn into a leaning heap. In the hurried rush of unloading the dishwasher, I’d often toss the most recently used pan on top of the stack, hoping it wouldn’t slide off while I quickly shut the drawer.  

And if I needed to find a specific glass baking dish or cookie sheet, I’d inevitably have to unload every pan in order to find the one I needed. Usually groaning the entire time.

I figured there had to be a better way.  

I started looking around my kitchen, looking for other cabinets that could potentially hold the pans.  Sometimes when you have lived in the same space for a long time, it’s hard to imagine storing your items anywhere else.  But if you can challenge yourself to look at your space with fresh eyes, often you can see an opportunity to better use the space.  

In this case, I had a narrow, deep bottom cabinet near the stove that housed plastic food storage containers.  It wasn’t functioning well currently and was a perfect candidate for switching places with the baking sheets.  It was tall, deep, and next to the stove. Much more logical of a storage place for items that go in the oven.

Enter the vertical organizer.

I searched Amazon, which seemed to have a large selection of organizers, for one that would fit my cabinet perfectly. There are TONS of options, so my best advice is to measure your space and find one that fits your specific cabinet.

Once it arrived, I did the big cabinet switcharoo, which really only took about 15 minutes.  

I was able to vertically stack all my cutting boards, sheet pans, cookie sheets, muffin tins, cooling racks, and Pyrex baking dishes in the one small cabinet.  It is so easy to SEE everything I have.  Each type has its own slot and you can pull things out without unstacking anything else.  It’s amazing.  

Even better, putting things away is quick and easy, which helps ensure the organizational system doesn’t break down and the cabinet STAYS organized.  

And last but not least, the deep drawer is functioning better these days.  One side holds cake pans, bundt pans, and loaf pans.  The other side holds the plastic storage containers, stacked by size with lids stored in smaller dividers.  Much better.

My challenge for you is to see if there is a cabinet in your kitchen that can be better utilized.  Maybe that means moving your plates so it’s easier to unload the dishwasher.  Or even finding a new place to store your pots and pans.  The goal is to think outside the box and see if there is a simple switch that could help your kitchen function more efficiently.  You’ll be amazed at what a difference small changes can make.