Reuse A Magazine Rack To Easily Declutter & Organize Plastic Food Container Lids

Have you ever opened the cabinet of an enviably organized friend to see stacks of perfectly matched food storage containers and their perfectly matched corresponding lids? All lined up, easy to find, and ready to go: the vision is inspiring enough for you to run out and buy a new set of containers that are meant to go together. However, most of us have old yogurt tubs or takeout containers that stand in for matching storage sets. Save yourself several bucks and the energy expense of purchasing a new product when the old will do just fine. Use your old stuff, create cabinet door storage, and stay organized by holding your container lids conveniently in a hanging magazine rack. Metal mesh or clear acrylic racks used to hold papers or magazines are lightweight, inexpensive, and see-through enough to keep the lid you're searching for visible while you're storing it.

Secretly add more storage to your kitchen by picking up some adhesive hooks and rigging up a magazine rack-turned-lid-organizer on the inside face of a cabinet door. Magazine racks have the perfect profile for interior cabinet door storage since they're both wide and shallow. The shape allows the lids to spread out along the width without too many hiding in back-to-back rows. Plus, it won't take up much valuable cabinet space once you've closed the door.

This idea can help you utilize every inch of cabinet storage space, but you've got to pick the right kind of rack. Since we can store magazines in hanging racks either vertically or horizontally, you can buy racks in both configurations. You're best off opting for a rack that holds magazines vertically; you'll be able to reach smaller lids more easily this way. Some magazine racks also have open sides, which will allow smaller lids to roll out, so make sure the rack(s) you buy have baskets with four sides. A top contender for crossover storage is this set of three metal mesh racks by EASEPRES; at 13 inches long and between 2 and 4 inches depth at its extremes, this trio will fit on your cabinet door interiors without encroaching too far into the cabinet itself when the door is closed.

You may want to snag two or more magazine racks; if you have lots of lids, you can reserve specific racks for different sizes and types of lids. The clear acrylic postcard holders from DoubleFill may be a better choice for your collection of small lids. Then, you can relegate the magazine racks to larger pieces. In the case that you do opt for multiple racks to hold your lids, consider labeling your wire or acrylic storage with the corresponding size, brand, or color to ensure you can easily keep them in order for years to come.