The Easy Parchment Paper Hack For Organizing Your Kitchen Drawers

Are your kitchen drawers a chaotic mess of cutlery, utensils, and gadgets? Disorganized spaces make everything take longer, but it's hard to make yourself get things in order when you know that means doing a bunch of math, going to the store to buy cubbies, getting home, realizing you suck at math, and going back to the store to exchange things. That's why you need this parchment paper hack from lifestyle content creator Payton Leihgeber.

Start by placing a piece of parchment paper roughly the size of (but bigger than) your empty drawer inside it. Costco's Kirkland brand works well for tasks like this because it's easy to write on, but you can use any brand big enough to do the job or tape together a couple of smaller pieces. Once you get the parchment to lay flat, mark along the edges as needed and cut the parchment to size. It's helpful to write the actual dimensions on it, especially the drawer height, and a name for the drawer if you have more than one.

Then, roll or fold your parchment and cart it to the store with you to use as a template for the various cubbies and organizers. This hack helps you measure and visualize your layout without having to do math or draw diagrams neither you nor anyone else can understand because you've got the artistic ability of a parakeet with paintbrushes affixed to its wings.

With your parchment template firmly in hand, trot off to the store to check out available organizers. The Container Store and IKEA are obvious go-tos, but depending on your budget and aesthetic, you can also check out kitchen supply stores like William Sonoma, dollar stores, and thrift stores. If you're handy, you can also pick up wood scraps (from your garage or the local hardware stores) to make your own dividers, using the parchment to lay everything out before you start cutting, gluing, and nailing.

You can try out various layouts by placing the containers you pick up right on the template. Don't forget to check out specialty organizers, such as knife organizers that keep blades safe and damage-free or drawer-within-a-drawer organizers that allow you to keep infrequently used utensils and gadgets beneath go-to kitchen tools like whisks and spatulas. If there are sections you're not sure about, look into adjustable dividers you can move around to accommodate different utensils and small appliances.

This parchment paper trick works no matter what kinds of unusual or oddly shaped items you have to accommodate. Once your budget allows it, get out there. This streamlined hack means you no longer have an excuse to avoid organizing those drawers.