Organize And Store Pot And Pan Lids With An Unexpected Bathroom Essential

Kitchen tasks are rife with annoyances. We all know that stacking a pile of pot and pan lids doesn't work, yet we still do it. Gravity strikes, they tumble noisily from the cabinet, and swearing ensues. It's time to do something about this perpetual source of frustration. Get a few towel racks, mount them on the inside of the cabinet door, and you have secure slots to hang lids. Take advantage of what would otherwise be unused space, while alleviating lots of aggravation. Plus, you can even use the same racks to hang small skillets.

You may have stayed away from other tricks for mounting lids on the inside of cabinet doors because you have shelves that would conflict with the hanging lids. Never fear — the right rack placement might make this hack work for you. If any amount of finagling still has this trick not working for your space, here are five tips for perfectly organizing all your pot lids, including one that makes the most of a cabinet door's inner face.

Another way the towel rack method may work for your cabinet is by combining it with this sliding DIY that creates the ultimate solution for organizing pots and pans. This slide-out hanging system for pot and pan handles may free up space along the interior walls of the cabinet. Rather than attaching the towel rack to the inside of the door, mount it to an interior cabinet wall. While you won't want extra-long screws poking into the neighboring cabinet wall, you'll have less of a concern about a screw poking through the cabinet door.

There are a few other factors that may keep this towel bar hack from elevating your everyday life, but they don't have to. If your target cabinet has shelves that nearly touch the inside of the door, don't even grab your drill until you've mocked up the towel rack's layout. Hold a rack in place with your hand, and set a lightweight lid or two into the space between the door and the bar of the rack. While still holding the rack, partially close the door and check whether the lids will hit the shelf once the cabinet is fully closed. When you've found the right positioning, use a pencil to mark the spots where you'll be screwing the rack in place. This will also give you a chance to check that the spots you'll be drilling will leave you with a level rack.

Another consideration for this project is the length of the screws you use. The screws that come with the racks may be longer than the thickness of the cabinet door. Carefully measure the door's thickness, and choose a length of screw that won't come close to poking through the door. If your lids aren't terribly heavy, avoid this problem altogether by purchasing self-adhesive racks that are ideal if you're renting. This 9-inch towel rack from Command can hold up to 3 pounds, perfect for narrow doors. For larger doors, spring for a telescoping adhesive rack like this one from Vanloory that holds 15 pounds and extends from 16 inches to 24 inches.