Pot Lid Organizer

Ask a chef about what s/he does with his/her pots.... a good one will say "It's not what you do with your pot, it's where you put your lid!"

This is, naturally, a wise model to live by. Here's a pot lid solution from salvaged towel racks.

Step 1: Materials

I found these really cheap (as in quality) wall mount racks ready for incineration/landfill space. These are perfect!

You need
1: Some form of towel rack
2: Mounts for said towel racks
3: Velcro or screws

Step 2: Hack to Size

My racks wouldn't fit on my cabinets - so I took m hacksaw to them to remove a bit of material. These racks are made of two interlocking channels that can extend outward. Measure twice, cut once... or in my case - guesstimate, cut twice, fit on there and cut one more time.

Step 3: Attach

I attached some Velcro to the back of my fasteners - I can't destroy this rented apartment too much.

Here's something I learned awhile back in my engineering courses.....

When you apply a shear load, the stress will try to peel away from the top surface downward. This is why hooks and such have their screw mounts ABOVE the load rather than below or at the load point. So don't be tempted to apply a small amount of Velcro - apply a bit above the load point.

OR, screw into your cabinets - I would have if I could :)

Step 4: Alternate Location

I like my lids - they look good :) And I'm not afraid to show them off (I don't have enough inner cabinet space anyway :P). So here's another location to show off your rack. This time, I used screws and anchors directly into drywall.

Comments

[priyastrongleaf]

:) i love this idea. I am going to tinker with this over the next week or 2, i want to slightly adjust the concept to utilize a sturdy, long, 2nd hand wooden picture frame for 1. portability and 2. to prevent wall scuffs. I do live in an apartment, but im not overly worried about a couple holes in the wall to hang the frame. i thought that the ability to decorate the "backing" for this would be pretty as well. very excited to play with this.

[kdf.inc1969]

great instructable. just happen to have some of those in the closet.

[mi_illusion_st]

So doing this, right now I have mine in a cupboard that I have to practically crawl into to reach it, blessed with plenty of space to store things but it's a pain when you have to crawl to reach it. Thanks for making my life simpler!!!!!

[irishyid]

I love this.I will definately be doing this in my new apartment.

[machonurin]

Love your usage of velcro, that's an interesting workaround for the "don't spread sawdust around your rental" issue.

[DIYandSIMPLIFY.Blogspot]

Nice idea, bro. Simple, cheap, and quick. I like it.

[aholway]

These are not towel bars, but rather curtain rods, which are far lighter, easier to trim to size, and have cool mechanism for hanging them that isn't as "bulky"--great idea!

[joca68]

Heck, this sure is a grand idea!!! I've been struggling with this problem for like forever and this is so simple!!!! Thanks, I'll do this for sure.

[katydid3]

What a great, simple idea. I was thinking of using it on the sides of the two cabinets on either side of my sink, with a hanging pot rack over the sink. Does anyone see any problem(s) with that?

[artist without a medium]

Awesome idea ....I'll be sharing with my Mother in law too.

[Tsu Dho Nimh]

Those are not towel rods, they are adjustable window curtain rods.

[trebuchet03]

Tell that to the packaging it came in ;)

[lcockerill]

It doesn't matter what you call them this is an awesome idea, I have been forever trying to find a place for all my lids. another thing you could use this for is hanging spray bottles off of under your sink.

[handysmurf]

ply wood? eeeeeeeeeeeewww ... confirmed bachelor eh? I rent but would do this ... I would just be prepared to leave the thing behind ... that would likely fend off any complaints from many landlords. I personally would prefer that it be on a wall at the back of the counter or over the stove. I would also go buy some inexpensive but pretty towel racks from ... -insert your favorite big box store here- .. again less likely to prompt complaints when you vacate. If your wall is drywal and/or wallpaper ... get a small piece of plexyglass to put behind it... Actually change all the -I would- to -I will- ... I will do this eventually... I hate trying to figure out where to put the lids while I'm cooking ... and there is no reason not to just store them that way either.

[trebuchet03]

Plywood can by beautiful... You should take a look at a brand called Plyboo... It's a bamboo plywood that is gorgeous. But, expensive.

[noahw]

I have made a number of pot racks in the various kitchens that I have cooked in (one of them appears below) but what to do with the lids was always the real problem! Even at this very moment I have plenty of pots hanging nicely on an old product display hanging system that I got on Craigslist, but no good place for the lids. I really dig the lid hanging system - so much so that I think I will use some scrap material from the shop this afternoon to make my own lid rack/organizer. Nice. ...also, excellent tips about how to hang hooks in regards to shear load.

[hobbssamuelj]

^{you're going to want to keep that pot rack away from ian curtis...}

[TopCatTC]

I had my kitchen redone last year and I still cant get to grips with it? Cuboards are smaller & all in the wrong palece.... aarrrggghh. The theres that problem with POT LIDS and SMALL CUBOARDS. Funny thing is, today I was washing up after making big pots of soup and curry. While I was putting the pots away I was wondering where o where to put all these pot lids so the dont get smashed. Then low and behold I found this Instructable. Brilliant idea. Go to the top of the class. Im not in the process of dismantling the ironing board (who likes ironing anyway?) as it has a couple of nice long Potlid Holder bars the need bending. :) Thanks to this tip ;)

[BeanGolem]

I would be careful saying that the shear load tries to "peel" away. I think this is just an observed phenomenon and is more a result of the moment created from hanging the lids off of the bar several inches out from the wall - or even very close to the wall for that matter. My guess is that the velcro deforms just enough so that it can go into tension and support the load more as a cable-type device.

[mike_d214]

Agreed

[trebuchet03]

I try and write my projects such that the layperson can easily follow. If I say "peel away" - the odds are someone has seen an action like this. If I say function of distance from neutral axis - it opens a can of worms (for me :p). I could do the latter, but then the project has much more comment maintenance for me. If someone asked me to explain why it acts like it does, I'm more than happy to... But otherwise, it leads to confusion, frustration and lost time for everyone :/ At least, that's been my experience with the instructables audience at large. But yes, the "peel away" effect is a result of the moment generated about the hanger mount. By securing the mount further away from the system's neutral axis (that distance becoming the lever arm), the fastener doesn't need as large a force to prevent failure as it's put under tension rather than purely shear. Put the fastener below the neutral axis and the mount acts like a pry bar :/

[BeanGolem]

Someone should write an Instructable on how to please everyone at the same time. (you know... I didn't actually check if anyone has... hmmm)

[cirano]

I like the drywall idea. you may however want to have a piece of plywood (large enough for your biggest lid) behind the lids, that way you won't be scraping off the plaster every time you put a lid in it's place or take it out.