20 hours ago
Jumbled Pot Lids Overwhelmed My Tiny Kitchen. This $20 Rack Saved the Day.
An entire wall of my small, New York City apartment kitchen is plastered with nearly a decade's worth of art projects, collages, and drawings, mostly done by my two kids. This riot of creativity feeds my soul. It does not, however, heed one of the basic tenets of smaller-dwelling storage: maximize vertical space.
Somewhat rebelliously, I hadn't used one inch of my kitchen walls for practical storage. That was until about two and a half years ago, when a bunch of unruly pot lids clattering around in a lower cabinet began to break me, their haphazard unstackability threatening my sanity every time I reached for one.
In an effort to institute order, I bought the Organize It All Cabinet Door Lid Rack, which is recommended by my colleague, writer Michael Sullivan, in our guide to small kitchen organization. While my family's gallery remains intact, this helpful organizer is one of the most useful things I've ever hung on a wall.
My family was slightly dubious of my pot-lid plan initially. After contemplating the rack for several days, my husband hung it on the wall at about eye level beside our kitchen window (across from the art wall). The installation in the plaster wall, using anchors and screws, was quick, the rack sturdy and solid.
The Organize It All rack, constructed of metal wire, is able to neatly nest up to six pot lids of various sizes in ascending order. The resulting symmetrical stack is both secure and easy to access. I cook with some type of pot nearly every day, and it's a tremendous relief to have lids right where I can see them. From the 7.5-inch top for my favorite 3-quart stock pot to the 11.5-inch lid of the deep skillet we sauté veggies in, the rack holds them all in its slots. (According to Michael's measurements, the rack can hold lids with diameters from 6.5 to 14 inches.)
When space is at a premium, the most luxurious thing in the world is for every regularly used item to have a home of its own. As exciting as it was for the members of my household to hear me swear inventively every time I searched for a pot top, this orderly setup is much better for everyone. (The lids included, since I handle them with much more care now that I know where to put them.) The rack can be installed on a wall or inside a cabinet, and it can hold lids from 6.5 inches in diameter up to 14 inches. Ingrid Skjong/NYT Wirecutter
Although the rack resides on the wall, it can also be installed on the back of a cabinet door. But thanks to its simple, utilitarian design, I don't mind seeing it out in the open. Caught in the background of a photo I sent to my siblings one day, it garnered unsolicited praise ('I want a lid rack real bad!'). Michael has used the same lid holder in his own kitchen for more than five years. And the Wirecutter kitchen team uses it in our test kitchen.
The rack is so convenient, I don't even think about it. I'm convinced that my efficiency in the kitchen has improved, with less time spent fumbling around the dark recesses of a cabinet and more time spent calmly cooking. With pot lids sorted, I'm convinced my efficiency in the kitchen has improved — all without disrupting our family's art wall. Ingrid Skjong/NYT Wirecutter
There is one small hitch: When I replace certain lids (both large and small) in their slots, their leading edges will occasionally scrape the wall behind the rack, which has resulted in a few scuffs to the paint. This may just be due to the types of lids I own, or I may need to be a bit more careful. Regardless, it's a small obstacle.
Now that I've been exposed to the wonders of wall-mounted kitchen storage, I have no doubt more solutions are in my future. Till then, I'm just happy this small investment has paid off. My 10-year-old, ever the hard-boiled practicalist, put it bluntly: 'We thought it was a waste of money until we realized how good it was.'
Now that's a quote to hang on the wall.
This article was edited by Katie Okamoto and Megan Beauchamp. After dozens of hours researching and testing options for organizing, we recommend more than 30 items to get the most from your tiny kitchen.
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