This Dollar Store Find Doubles As The Perfect Pan Organizer

Getting your kitchen organized is no small feat. We've given you tips in the past for keeping your baking supplies organized. It's hard to keep them easy to reach and uncluttered because of how most kitchen cupboards are designed. Luckily, dollar stores offer a simple organizational hack that can change your pan storage forever. All you need is a pair of simple shower caddies and a couple of zip ties.

To create your pan rack, start by picking up two wire-frame shower caddies from the dollar store. You want the kind that hang from a showerhead. They have a hook at the top and one or two flat shelves below it. Position the caddies so that the hooked ends are facing each other. Next, slide the hook of the first caddy under the upper shelf of the second caddy. Do the same with the second hook under the shelf section of the first caddy. Slide them together until the hooks are at opposite ends and the shelves form a tight, rectangular rack. This will interlock the two caddies so the shelf sections are pressed flat against each other. Use zip ties to secure the two caddies together. Add one zip tie through each hook where it rests under the opposite caddy's shelf, and two more through the center shelves to keep them firmly connected. When you're done, the combined caddy is now a sturdy wire rack. You can set it inside a cabinet or drawer and slide in your frying pans or cookie sheets to keep them separate and easy to access.

It can be a real pain to bang your pans around every time you need to fish one out of the cupboard. Unfortunately, that's hard to avoid with how most kitchen storage is set up. Whether you have them in a cabinet or a drawer, odds are you've been stacking your pans together. The only other solution is to hang them, and not everyone has the space for that.

Stacking your pans is bad for them and can cause damage, especially if they're non-stick. This method can keep your pans in good condition much longer and also make them easier to access. So it's a double win for you.

The size of the caddies lends itself to storing shallow items that would otherwise be stacked up. In addition to pans, you can easily slide baking sheets and cutting boards into these racks. This helps keep your cutting boards clean because they can dry evenly in the racks after you've washed them. Not having to dig to the bottom of a stack saves time and may save you from a headache caused by all that noise. It's a cheap option and well worth a try to see if it works for you.