Line Your Kitchen Cabinets With This Handy Dining Staple

Although we love the clean look of an unlined kitchen cabinet, the problem with that is it doesn't stay clean for long. When gravity has its way with dribbles of olive oil (or sriracha, soy sauce, or any other condiment), the liquid pools around the bottom of the bottle, printing a sauce tattoo on your cabinet shelf. That's not cute. We like to share easy hacks that are stylish yet keep your kitchen cabinets more organized, and one solution in particular springs to mind. You could do what everyone else does and purchase cabinet liners. But, we think finding cute vinyl place mats is more fun — and just putting extra ones you already have into service also saves money. 

Place mats are super handy, and their materials allow for easy washing. They don't adhere to any surfaces, so it's easy to move them around. Best of all is their customizability. With a little research, you can find mats in the colors and designs you prefer instead of the slightly dull, uninspired colors of solid liner rolls. And, you don't have to cut place mats to fit them into your cabinet, but you do have to cut rolls to size.

Speaking of sizes, check the dimensions of your cabinets. A good practice is to measure the depth and width of your cabinet shelves before purchasing any mats to make sure you get the right size. Typically, cabinet depth size is between 12 and 24 inches. Most rectangular place mats have a 12- or 14-inch depth by a length of 16 to 20 inches. Plan accordingly!

We looked at the cost differences between shelf liners and place mats, and it's actually less expensive to invest in the grippy liner rolls by about $6, although that is an estimate only. For example, this six-roll pack of drawer and shelf liners from Home Depot costs just under $17. However, while we appreciate its spongy texture, the liner is filled with little perforations that frankly make it a cleaning nightmare. In contrast, these Dollar Tree mats are just over $1 each or $22.50 for 18. You can explore even more options at places like World Market. 

We imagine it's much easier to remove those sauce tattoos by rinsing off your vinyl mat or washing it with a sponge and mild dishwashing liquid. Any time you can remove food stains — many of which have bug-attracting, sugary ingredients — it's a useful way to keep a squeaky clean kitchen. It's also a lot less of a hassle to insert place mats than to spend your day cutting custom sizes from a liner roll.