How to Organize Your Pots and Pans

Do you have a drawer or cabinet full of scattered, unorganized, tossed-about pots and pans? It’s a royal pain picking up and moving around pots and pans just to find that one at the bottom of the stack you need.

Even if you stack them neatly, you’ll still have to pick up plenty of pots and pans on occasion, which isn’t fun. Not to mention that you might knock the whole stack over and make a lot of noise.

To that end, we’ve compiled several ways you can organize your pots and pans below. Investing a little money into your pots and pans storage will save you plenty on the frustrations of a messy pots and pans area.

1. Hang Them From the Ceiling

Got an especially small kitchen? No worries — you can often make use of your ceiling space to hang your pots and pans.

To do so, you’ll need a pot and pan ceiling rack, like this one from Vdomus. You simply hook the little hooks on the rack through the hole in the pot or pan’s handle, and you can hold a lot of items this way.

Plus, you can stack a few more pots, pans, or other small appliances (such as a blender) on top of the rectangular piece in the middle.

2. A Pullout Cabinet Organizer

Some people may struggle to bend over and pull pots and pans out of their proper places if stored lower to the ground. 

A pullout organizer, such as this one from Hardware Resources, could be just what you need if that’s you. It allows you to make your pot and pan storage nice and neat, and you can pull the device all the way out to access your stuff more easily.

The Hardware Resources organizer is quite easy to install, requiring just a screwdriver and a few minutes of your time. Once it’s in, you can have an easy time using and storing your pots and pans.

3. Pot and Pan Organizer Rack

The pot and pan organizer rack is a classic way to store your pots and pans if you have plenty of counter space. Models such as this Cuisnel organizer are large enough to store a Dutch oven, not to mention several more pots and pans. Plus, you can easily swap out pots and pans for trays and other important cooking items.

By using an organizer rack, your pots and pans will often be stacked in order of size. This makes it easy to locate the right-sized pan or pot for your cooking needs.

4. Deep Kitchen Drawers

Looking to organize your pots and pans on a tight budget? If you have a few deep drawers in your kitchen, you can simply throw in some drawer dividers such as this set from Kitchen Storage and Organization.

If you don’t have deep drawers, you can also put this in a cabinet. It’ll allow you to prop up your pots and pans. That way, you won’t have to pick up all your pots and pans to get that one pan that’s at the bottom of the stack.

5. Attach Towel Rods to the Walls

Towel rods aren’t just meant for your bathroom. They also make for excellent, space-maximizing pot and pan storage — especially in smaller kitchens. 

The best part is that towel rods are very affordable. For example, this brushed nickel towel rod from Moen is only $20. It’s 24 inches, so you can fit a few pans on there. Install two or three of these in your kitchen, and you’ll have plenty of storage for the pots and pans you need the most.

Keep in mind you may need to buy some hooks to hang your pots and pans on the towel rod, though.