Cupboard Before & After: The Wood Rack That Fixed My Baking Sheet Problem
There’s this vertical base cabinet in my kitchen that I initially thought would be perfect for storing baking sheets, trays, and cutting boards, but as the skinny cabinet got crowded, it became increasingly difficult to find what I needed. Then, once I did find what I needed, removing said item from the cabinet inevitably created an avalanche.
What the cabinet needed was something that would prevent a domino effect when one item was removed.
My solution? These maple racks.
The skinny cabinet in the first photo wasn’t wide enough for the maple rack. But because the rack was perfect in every other respect, I decided to designate a separate base cabinet for baking sheets and other flat kitchenware, shown above. Two stands positioned end-to-end provide an entire wide shelf of vertical storage. I left all the items that were too wide to fit into the new storage racks (serving trays, my blocky wooden cutting board, cake pans) in the skinny cabinet.
Now, all of my tall and skinny bakeware (plus previously rogue Pyrex bowl lids, my everyday cutting board, cooling racks, and a heavy cast iron griddle) has a home that’s comfortable and sturdy.
Also, no need to screw in the racks!
I had always wondered whether racks like these would need to be screwed into the cabinet shelf to keep them from sliding around when you pull out a baking sheet. I’m delighted to say that the answer is a definitive no! The weight of all the other things on the rack keeps it firmly in place. After a week of use, I can safely say that screwing the racks into place would have been completely unnecessary and, in fact, overkill.
Buy the rack → Tall Maple Rack, $7.99, The Container Store
The particular racks I purchased are wonderful because they’re taller than your typical plate rack. This means they hold large items like cookie sheets and cutting boards more upright than a shorter rack would be able to do. In addition, the racks are made in the USA of a hard, solid maple (not the soft pine or poplar that I have seen elsewhere).
With the addition of a basket on the lower shelf for corralling plastic containers and lids, this cabinet is now officially my new best friend.