Clever and Proper Ways on How to Organize Pots and Pans

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Clever and Proper Ways on How to Organize Pots and Pans

You’ll be surprised just how many ways you can easily stack your cookware in your kitchen. Whether you have a small kitchen or a space ample enough to fit an entire league of hungry people, keeping your kitchenware organized doesn’t have to be that difficult. Here are some clever tips on how to organize pots and pans depending on the size of your kitchen.

Small Kitchen

Small kitchens are often stacked with tons of storage space to keep things out of the way. When organizing pots and pans in a small kitchen, you need to keep your cookware inside the cabinets or drawers to prevent you from bumping into them when you are moving around the tight space.

Stacking up

This is when you put pots inside another and stack them up. This is a common practice since it helps you keep a number of pots in just one cabinet file. Stacking is a practice that most would deem as bad practice. However, it is very helpful for extremely limited spaces. Some great ways  to stack your pots is to:

  1. Insert a paper towel in between each pot or pan to prevent the finish from rubbing off.
  2. Store your cookware in the bottom drawers to give space for smaller items in drawers at eye level.
  3. Try piling them with the lid so that you won’t lose the cover

Pros:

  • It saves a lot of space
  • Stacking keeps all of your cookware in one place
  • Easily keeps things out of sight

Cons:

  • Direct contact between the pots can damage the polish and finish of your cookware.
  • You need to have separate storage for your lids and it can also get cluttered
  • You need to unstack the pots to get the size that you need

Corner Cabinets

Clever and Proper Ways on How to Organize Pots and Pans

Often, the widest cabinet space is the corner cabinet. You can fit in a lazy susan inside to make your items easy to reach. You can put your entire cookware set inside a corner cabinet.

Pros:

  • It provides easy access
  • Allows you to keep your cookware set in one place

Cons:

  • Not all kitchens have corner cabinets especially small kitchens

Pull-out organizer

With just a pull, you have all of your cookware set properly organized. Pull-out organizers are very easy to install, and it makes it simpler for you to organize your pots and pans.

Pros:

  • Provides easy access but also keeps items stored and organized
  • Your cookware is kept in one place and out-of-sight

Cons:

  • You may need to ask a professional to install one for you if you can’t do it yourself.
  • The design of the racks may not fit larger pots and pans

Drawers

Clever and Proper Ways on How to Organize Pots and Pans

Practically every kitchen has drawers. They are convenient, and you can easily store cookware according to category or size in different drawers.

Though they are readily available, it’s very easy to make a hot jumbled mess out of any storage since most would have a lazy habit of throwing stuff in a drawer. One way to keep things organized is partitioning drawers. When you make divisions in each drawer, you can adequately keep pans according to size, type and use in different drawers.

Pros:

  • Promotes categorical organization of pots and pans
  • Drawers are very convenient because they are readily available in your kitchen, you don’t need to install hooks and organizers.

Cons:

  • Things may be kept, but each drawer may end up being cluttered and mixed up
  • Larger pots may not fit inside drawers.

Large Kitchen

With more space, you can use your pots and pans as decorative pieces around your kitchen. But the trick here is keeping them all in one place. If you want to be organized, keep your items in one area to draw attention to your cookware but prevent it from looking like a cluttered mess.

Open Racks

Open racks are perfect for a bare kitchen especially if you do not have enough counter space or cabinets to store your pots and pans. Some houses are designed with an extensive kitchen with too much free space that you don’t know what you can add to fill it in making wooden or open wire racks a great choice.

Pros:

  • Open racks teach you to organize your cookware because everything is visible
  • You can store your entire kitchenware selection in open racks (e.g., the pots at the bottom, microwave, toasters and condiments in the middle shelves, and plates dining ware at the top rack)

Cons:

  • It is not ideal for households with young children and pets
  • You may have to stack your pots and pans for proper storage

Overhead Hanging Bars

Clever and Proper Ways on How to Organize Pots and Pans

You can get any excess metal, frames, ladders, and even bicycle tires and hang them overhead and stick some hooks on them so you can hang your cookware. This adds a great aesthetic appeal to your kitchen. Hanging bars are great for rustic kitchens and a house designed with an open space. You can hang it over your island, over the counter or the open space between your family room and your kitchen. You can also use the following:

  • Clothespins
  • Hooks
  • Coat racks
  • Fish hooks

Pros:

  • Gives you easy access and storing for your pots and pans
  • It looks great for interior design
  • Keeps your cookware away from your kids and your pets

Cons:

  • The lids need to be stored elsewhere
  • Hanging pots are not ideal since they can easily fall off

Peg Boards

Clever and Proper Ways on How to Organize Pots and Pans

Pegboards are great for practically anything. Stick up hooks or pegs and hang your pots and pans in them. Pegboards are also great in filling up space in a large kitchen. It can also be a wall unto itself filling up empty spaces between the kitchen and other parts of the house. Plus, it also provides your kitchen a modern yet rustic appeal. Here are some fun ways to use pegboards:

  1. If you don’t have a large kitchen, you can install pegboards on your backsplash. This is also a good way to store cookware and utensils for small kitchens.
  2. You can fit pegboards in-between spaces like the pantry wall, the divider between the kitchen and the dining room, the side of your cabinets, and many more.

Pros:

  • You can hang everything from pots, pans, lids, and even utensils using the pegs
  • It makes finding and storing your cookware seem effortless

Cons:

  • The pegs can be short causing the pots and lids to fall off the board quickly
  • Improper use can make your pegboard look like an untidy mashed-up mess of pots and pans

Lazy Susan

A lazy susan is a turntable which is an excellent choice for infinite counter spaces. If you have a big kitchen with massive counters and not enough appliances to fill them in, you can use a lazy Susan or rotating racks to store your pots. It is also a great way to store your lids if you have your pots and pans stacked inside your cabinets.

Pros:

  • Keeps your items stored and easy to find
  • It is easy for you to reach all things on the rack
  • Great way to make use of the available space

Cons:

  • It’s hard to find a lazy susan big enough to fit larger pots and pans
  • Does not work well for pans due to the long handles because they would be protruding out of the turntable

Open Air Kitchens

Clever and Proper Ways on How to Organize Pots and Pans

Open kitchens are highly exposed to the environment. This can be damaging to your cookware in the long run. However, open kitchens offer better space where you can store your kitchenware. The best cookware to store in your open kitchen is your massive stock pots and casseroles. You can also get an open rack or an organizer to keep your pots and pans away.

Other considerations in organizing your cookware

Aside from the size of the kitchen, you should also consider the following in storing your pots and pans:

If you live in a mobile home, storing is not your only problem, you need to secure your cookware in a place that won’t make your cookware fall off, here’s how :

  • Stack your pots and pans and put your lids in a container or a drawer
  • Use thin plywood and make divisions in your deep drawer to keep your pots and pans organized
  • Store heavy pots and pans in bottom drawers or cabinets

Your lifestyle is also a consideration. If you are a person who is not that organized, then it’s best to refrain from stacking pots and pans and make full use of hanging bars and hooks. This way, you can easily store your cookware away without much effort.

My Final Say

Learning how to organize pots and pans is a simple task. It’s is just a matter of your preference and the type of kitchen that you have. Remember, keeping things organized is equivalent to keeping your cookware clean and safe to use every time. It also extends the life of your pots and pans for more years to come.

Author BIO: EL Mehdi is the founder of Desired Cuisine and a simple food enthusiast who was born and raised in Morocco. Growing up in a country that is full of herbs, spices and various types of delicious food, he decided to pursue different types of food and recipes around the world.

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