When my grandfather passed away I took his pots and pans because I do cook a lot. So now comes the problem of fitting them into my 'blink and you miss it' kitchen. I did eliminate some of my old pots that were worn and will have to move my baking pans to another location. The biggest problem I have is what to do with all the lids??? They do not nest and I have a gas stove so I do need them. How/where do you store your lids? I figure there must be a solution but for the life of me I don't know what it is! Please tell me your most innovative ideas please...
Find a cool old wooden ladder and hang it from the ceiling and use it as a pot and pan rack. I've always wanted to do this!
Hi BD-
LONG long ago...before marriage and kids...I had a tiny kitchen...and virtually NO cupboard space...So...I got a full sheet of peg board...painted it...framed the back with wood...and installed it. They make pegboard hooks in all shapes and sizes...and I 'hung' everything! Pots...lids...spoons...baskets...it was really cool...and decorative too!
I had to polish the copper bottoms each use...but sure was pretty and handy!
Best luck!
Michele/cat
Do you have room to buy another storage cabinet? Not one that matches the cabinets you have, but a storage-type one? Maybe put it in your dining room?! We just bought a 8ft x 2ft (guessing) cabinet from Home Depot to store our food and whatnot. It would be perfect and take up not much room at all. And then you would have quite a bit extra storage. Good luck.
I think there are organizers that will hold the lids upright in a row...IF you have space for that. Otherwise, I like the broiler drawer idea...
I have a wire basket that fits in a lower cabinet. It was made for lids and works great for us!
I place pots and pans and lids in the oven or broiler area when I am not using them. It helps a lot and reduces the clutter.
Good luck to you and yours.
What about a hanging pot holder? They have a rack on the top for the lids. I had one years ago and loved it. Real space saver!
I turn the lids upside down on the pans and then stack the next pan on it. my sister keeps the lids down in the broiler portion of her stove. she never broils anything and its more like a drawer than anything else. my mom has a big plastic bin that she keeps her lids in. thats pretty much all I got lol.
OMG I FEEL YOUR PAIN. My MIL just bought me a toaster oven... and I have ZERO counter space... I just bought an open wire shelving unit ($32 on sale at Target) and I put the toaster oven on there, the ice cream maker, and at the bottom I neatly stacked my pots, then neatly stacked my mixing bowls. Since I made space in an actual cabinet from the bowl and pots, I just smashed all the lids in there ;) BUT my point is, it actually looks really neat 'displaying' the pots and bowls, and the mess of the lids is still hidden :)
I used a thing that was for plates (was a wedding shower gift). It allowed the plates to stand. It was 2 parallel bars w/ poles to hold the plates or in my case lids. Worked great in my tiny townhouse kitchen.
Without knowing the shape of your kitchen it's hard to suggest much. If there's room for another cabinet, that would be helpful. How about a bar and hooks and chains above the sink and hang the smaller pots and pans there so they're out of the way and within reach and put the lids where the pots are now. Is there space above the refrigerator to put a basket for the kids up there?
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
I stack them ontop of eachother towards the back of the cabinet. Its like the leaning tower of lids, but it works. I used to put them upside down in each pan that they belonged to and stack the pans but my new cabinet isn't big enough for that...
If you have a pot rack (hanging from the ceiling), you can loop the handle of the pot through the handle of the lid, then hang the whole thing.
