Solving the Pot Lid Problem: The Space Above the Pot Rack

When we launched the Kitchen Cure, we asked people to tell us about the problems they had with their kitchens. One issue that came up many times was the problem of where to store pot lids.

Faith and I have two different solutions. Mine isn't perfect by any means, but for me it solves the problem and gets those clanky lids out of my way.

I keep my pots on a hanging pot rack, and my lids on top of the rack. With 36" x 18" of horizontal space, it seems silly to keep them anywhere else. Of course, not being seven feet tall, I have to hoist myself up onto a stool in order to access the lids, but I don't mind this occasional ritual.

Tomorrow Faith will show us her lower-to-the-ground solution. In the meantime, tell us your pot lid storage solutions.

Related: Tip: Cork Handles for Hot Lids

Categories: Supplies, 2009, Cookware, Food Containers & Storage, The Kitchen Cure

Posted by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan

Sara Kate is the founding editor of The Kitchn. She started the site in 2005 and has since written three cookbooks. The third, written with co-author Faith Durand, is The Kitchn Cookbook. It will be published in Fall 2014 by Clarkson Potter.
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Comments (10)

Hey, what's the deal with the corks in the pot lid handles?

@Brooklynnina, see the Related Link at the bottom of the post.

Oh right... Scanned too fast. (Blush.) Thanks!

I like the idea of storing lids on top of rack. I think an ideal rack (at least for me) would have a pulley system to allow me to raise and lower the rack.

I put my glass lids on this space and my cast iron lids in a drawer.

I'm just curious now, how do you deal with washing the lids, if they have corks jammed through the handles? I would think that it would make that area difficult to clean easily, and that grungy food debris would collect in the triangular gaps between the lid and the corks...

the cork idea is brilliant!

I do the same thing as well but for my pans that have lids I slide the handle of the pan though the lid's handle and hang them like that.

Our pots are in a cabinet, rather than hanging, so we just flip the lids upside down on the pot and stack 'em up. Plus, this keeps the right lid with the pan.

i slied the lid through the handle and hang the smaller ones. the larger lids are stored on the rack above, but standing up in the slots. the handles prevent them from falling through.
that's the way we've done it at every restaurant i've worked in.