Pots, pans, bowls, and other cooking accouterment are often seemingly impossible to organize in household kitchens. Perhaps the most frustrating kitchen items to manage are flat items, such as broiler pans and baking sheets. With a range of sizes, colors, and finishes, it’s tough to get the right kitchen organization system in place to keep your baking sheets easy to find and free from scratches.
So, how do you organize the baking sheets in your kitchen? You might be surprised at how many easy and inexpensive options you have.
The Oblong Shape of a Baking Sheet Makes Storage Somewhat Challenging
An adjustable sheet pan rack is one of the simplest, cheapest, and quickest kitchen storage options for organizing baking pans. You can purchase vertical storage racks from any store that sells kitchen or baking supplies. They also double as pan lid organizers. So, if you want your sheet pan storage solution to do double-duty, a rack is the perfect option.
Baking sheet racks slide into your existing cabinet so you can store your sheet pans vertically and install them in seconds. The main drawback to a baking pan rack is that it only works as long as it fits in your kitchen cabinet. The cabinet must be wide enough to hold the rack and tall enough to fit the pans upright.
A fun, helpful addition to any kitchen is a sliding cabinet. These cabinets offer a slide-out shelf that lets you organize and find sheet pans without digging through your cupboard. They’re also perfect if you have mobility issues. Sliding cabinet shelves are available at most stores that sell kitchen organization products.
You can get multiple baking sheets inside a sliding cabinet shelf
You’ll have two options for sliding shelves. You can purchase a free-standing sliding shelf that you can fit into your existing kitchen cabinet or install one using slides.
Free-standing shelves are easy to set up in a matter of minutes. Installed shelves take a bit longer, especially if you build them yourself. However, they tend to hold up longer than free-standing options.
Another excellent option for baking sheet organization is to hang them up. Hanging your sheets up keeps them within easy reach and allows you to find what you need at a glance. Not only that, but it also helps free up storage space in kitchen cabinets and drawers.
You can hang your baking sheets up on your wall using nails or hooks. Or, if you have limited wall space, you can add hooks to the inside of your cabinets and hang your cookie sheets on the cabinet doors. If you don’t want to use hooks, you can purchase a sheet basket that hangs against your cabinet door.
A genius, low-cost kitchen organization hack is to use tension rods to maximize your cabinet storage. It’s a cheap, easy way to provide space for any narrow cooking or baking tools you need to store in a cabinet. Plus, tension rods are fully adjustable. You can customize each section to fit the baking tools you want to keep safe, like your fancy Nordic Ware sheet pans.
To use tension rods in your cabinet, start by measuring your shelf height. Since tension rods come in varying sizes, you want to get the right size for your space. Then, purchase the number of rods you need to hold all of your items. Just be careful not to put too much pressure on the top shelf.
Mr. Fix Shows Another DIY Solution: Building Your Own Baking Sheet Organizer
A rolling sheet pan rack might be the perfect solution if you’re an avid baker with a wide assortment of baking tools and sheet pans. Not only is a free-standing pan rack a simple way to free up cabinet space, but it’s also easy to move out of the way. And since they come in varying sizes, you can easily purchase one that suits your kitchen and isn’t too bulky.
Rolling pan racks are commonplace in many commercial kitchens. They’re sturdy, long-lasting, and hold a lot of equipment. If you’re serious about your baking, you can purchase rolling pan racks that have space for twenty or more pans. However, a smaller one should suit you perfectly for basic kitchen use.
Like tension rods, dividers are another easy way to section off space in your cabinets and drawers for your baking sheets. The main difference between dividers and tension rods is that dividers are designed for drawers. They’re also wider than tension rods, which can make them a bit more durable.
When purchasing drawer dividers, measure your drawer’s depth first. Some drawers are too shallow for certain dividers. If that’s the case in your kitchen, you might want to stick to tension rods or some other DIY option. Dividers come in various colors and materials, although wood is typically the best if you want a seamless look.
If you have the space, another option for how to organize the sheet pans in your kitchen is adding a sheet pan drawer. Many modern kitchens have one of these shallow drawers already built into the cabinetry. However, if you don’t, installing one might be easier than you think.
The easiest option for a sheet drawer is to convert an existing drawer. For example, if you have a drawer that’s particularly wide or deep, it’ll be a simple feat to convert it to something for sheet pans. A more permanent option is to retrofit your existing cabinets to accommodate a sheet pan drawer.
When cabinet storage space in your kitchen is limited but floor or wall space isn’t, you can opt for free-standing or floating shelves for your baking sheets. Shelving for your baking supplies and sheet pans is an excellent way to keep things organized. It’s also pretty easy to find shelves inexpensively.
So, how do you organize the baking sheets in your kitchen? Similar to rolling pan racks, there are plenty of options for free-standing kitchen shelves. Many options have hooks for pots and pans and dedicated shelves for sheet pans. They’re typically no wider than your average bookcase but offer ample storage space.
