Discount-Store Cutting Boards Become Frying-Pan Dividers, A Napkin Holder Becomes Kitchen Storage, And An Empty Egg Carton Gets A Second Life

Jane Clark

21 minutes ago

A messy kitchen does not need a pricey organizing system. @Hometalk rounded up 16 ways to solve kitchen storage problems using cheap dollar-store organizers. Discount-store cutting boards turn into frying-pan dividers, a napkin holder becomes kitchen storage, and an empty egg carton gets a second life as a coffee station.

The first is an egg carton. Instead of keeping it in the fridge, pop it inside a clear plastic storage container from the dollar store and set it in a drawer.

Fill the individual slots with coffee K-cups or tea bags, put the lid on top, and Hometalk says you have an amazingly effective space-saving coffee station right inside your drawer.

A Dollar-Store Cutting Board Turns Into A Stylish Knife Block

Loose knives rattling around a drawer can get damaged or cut your fingers. The fix starts with a simple bamboo cutting board laid flat on your workspace.

Hot glue small wooden blocks directly onto the board in rows, and suddenly you have a stylish space-saving knife block.

The same board can do a second job as a frying-pan divider. Grab a flat bamboo cutting board and glue on two metal napkin holders, and the slots hold your frying pans and baking sheets upright.

Two Napkin Holders Keep Pans Standing Instead Of Stacked

The slots on the napkin holders perfectly hold frying pans and baking sheets upright, so each one slides in and out on its own. Napkin holders were made for paper, but here they become kitchen storage.

The board is a simple cutting board, which shows how far one cheap item can stretch. Cutting boards turn up again and again in the roundup, from a recipe stand to a counter riser.

A Cutting Board Becomes A Marble-Look Recipe Stand For Cookbooks Or An iPad

Start with a cheap wooden cutting board and a display easel from the dollar store. Wrap the face of the board in marble print contact paper, smoothing out any bubbles as you fold and secure the edges back.

Paint the easel matte black and attach the marble board to the front. Glue a small black painted wooden strip along the bottom edge as a lip, and you have an elegant stand for your cookbooks or iPad while you cook.

Two Cutting Boards Stack Up Into A Chic Pedestal Riser

Sand two wooden cutting boards, then take apart a wooden bead wreath and hot glue the beads along the outer edge of the first board. On the second board, glue a wooden spool into each of the four bottom corners for legs.

Glue the top board onto the beaded border, let it dry, and finish with your favorite wood stain and beeswax. It makes a stunning decorative riser for a coffee station or near the kitchen sink.

Little Wooden Crates Put Every Spice Jar In Plain Sight

Spice clutter takes over a pantry quickly. Hometalk suggests four small wooden craft crates, with two glued side by side and the second set stacked on top in a tiered step design.

That raises the back row so you can see all of your spices at a glance without digging around.

To save even more room, glue two small crates together, cover the sides with marble contact paper, and attach strong magnets to the back. Stick the whole thing to the side of the fridge to keep your most-used spice jars within arm’s reach.

An Old Oven Rack Hangs On The Pantry Door

Here is a use for a spare oven rack. Place an over-the-door hook on the inside of the pantry and hang the rack from the hooks.

S-hooks or clip hangers then hold aluminum foil boxes, wax paper rolls and measuring cups, so the bulky items stop taking up shelf space.

Pot Lids Finally Stay Put With A Few Adhesive Hooks

Pot lids are always tumbling around in the cabinets, but the fix costs almost nothing. Grab a few small self-adhesive Command hooks from the dollar store.

Hold a lid against the inside of the cabinet and stick two hooks at an angle around the bottom rim to cradle it tightly. When you open the cabinet door the lids are mounted out of the way, which frees an entire drawer or shelf for your actual pots.

The Space Under The Sink Gets Three Cheap Upgrades

The area under the sink quickly becomes a messy catch-all. Hang an over-the-door storage bin on the inside of the door, and it fits rolls of trash bags perfectly so you can throw away the bulky cardboard boxes.

Add an over-the-door hook rack to hang dish scrubbing brushes off of the counter. A small door basket can also keep dusting cloths and cleaning supplies contained and easy to reach.

Plastic Book Bins Might Be The Best Organizing Tool Ever

Hometalk calls the cheap plastic book bins from the dollar store one of the best organizing tools ever. Stick Command hooks to the inside of a cabinet door and hang a bin to hold rolled dish towels.

A couple of bins inside the pantry stand up boxes of foil, zip-top bags and paper plates so they do not get buried. They also work in a bathroom for bath toys by the tub, or on closet shelves for grouping socks and smaller items.

A Wire Basket Tower Clears The Counter

To free counter space, pick up one large wire bin and two smaller wire baskets from Dollar Tree. Stand the large bin up vertically and set a smaller basket inside it, securing it tightly with zip ties.

Zip tie the second basket to the top to make a multi-tiered storage tower. Trim off the zip tie ends, fill it with fruit or daily snacks, and your countertops stay clutter-free.

Caddies And Baskets Make Pantry Shelves Easy To Shop From

A compartmented caddy from the dollar store’s plastic aisle can be dedicated entirely to baking items. Everything stays upright, and you can grab the whole caddy out of the cupboard in one trip.

Narrow plastic caddies in a drawer near the coffee maker hold coffee pods, tea bags, drink flavor packets, spoons and napkins. When friends come over, pull out the caddy and set it on the counter for everyone to enjoy.

For the pantry shelves themselves, a few wide, low baskets do the trick. Fill one entirely with canned goods with the labels facing forward, and use the other for box mixes, lining the taller boxes in the back and the shorter ones in the front.

Picture Frames And Wood Hangers Make A Faux Marble Shelf

The most ambitious project is a high-end, two-tiered countertop shelf. Take two flat wooden sign boards or hangers from the craft section, remove the hanging string, and wrap both in cut pieces of marble shelf liner so you end up with matching faux marble shelves.

Next, take four square picture frames and remove the glass, backing and paper, then pull out the small metal fasteners with pliers. Hot glue two wooden tumbling tower blocks along the bottom edge of one frame and a second frame on the opposite side of the blocks, then repeat with the other two.

Slide the first shelf through the middle of the frame legs and glue it in place, then glue the second across the top. Set it on the counter to organize coffee canisters, sugar jars and mugs.