How To Keep Pots and Pans Organized

Are you tired of rummaging through your pan cabinet to find the right cookware? Worry no more! This post will provide effective tips on how to organize pots and pans and store them neatly for good in your kitchen cabinets.

We recently purchased a set of Copper Chef ceramic pots and pans, and I decided to stop stacking them to avoid scratching the ceramic layer. I placed a small piece of paper towel to add a layer of protection between each pan.

After a little decluttering, I finally organized the pots and pans in the kitchen cabinet in a very functional way. With the addition of just three new organizers, the result has been life-changing, and my pan cabinet looks better than ever!

Here is the rundown on how to keep pots and pans organized for good! I am also sharing my baking cabinet organization.

Is it OK to Stack Pots and Pans?

Stacking pots and pans is not an ideal storage solution as it can damage their coated surface and reduce their lifespan. For instance, in the cabinet’s upper right, I have four Copper Chef pans I am very fond of, and I wasn’t too happy stacking them, or the other pots for that matter.

Pan Cabinet Organization Ideas

The cabinet where I store my pots and pans desperately needed to be reorganized. As you can see in the photo, I don’t have many cookware items; I assume what I have is pretty standard.

I have a wok that I do not use too often, and I only use the tall red pot on the left once a year. It is my stockpot, where I make the turkey’s brine for Thanksgiving, so I moved it up to a high shelf in the upper cabinet. Other than that, I use everything else daily.

After decluttering my pots and pans, I devised a great plan and found the best way to keep the cookware cabinet organized. Here’s how I used each one.

Vertical Pan Organizer

What a difference this little tower makes! With this vertical pan organizer, I can easily access my pans in the cabinet. My favorite part is that they’re not touching each other, so there’s no more risk of scratching the coated surface.

Expandable Shelves

I chose these expandable shelves to organize the rest of the pots and our George Foreman panini grill. These shelves created instant extra space, so now everything has a place!

One of the expandable shelves is on the top left of the cabinet. You can adjust the shelf to the width of your choice. I was able to fit four items without touching each other. This is perfect for an easy grab.

The other expandable shelf is on the bottom right of the pan cabinet. I left that space for pots and pans, which I use the least. The black 12-inch pan is the oldest of all my pans. It is great for big family dinners. Now that it is on this expandable shelf, I don’t have to dig through all the pans to reach for it.

Pull-out lid organizer

The pull-out lid organizer is not new (you can see it in my before pictures). I purchased it at Bed Bath and Beyond many years ago and can not recall the brand. However, I found this slide-out pot and pans lid organizer, which is the closest in size and design.

It’s amazing how these few products created a much more functional and organized pan cabinet! 

RELATED: See how I used some other Spectrum Diversified storage and organization products in our guest bathroom makeover.

Baking Goods Cabinet Organization

I also upgraded the plastic baskets in my baking goods cabinet to metal baskets from Spectrum Diversified.

I strongly believe in using baskets for storage, but when it becomes overwhelming, it’s vital to reevaluate the organization system. The image below displays a comparison of my baking cabinet organization.

I store and organize all bagged baking products in plastic or glass storage containers with tight lids whenever possible. Here is a link to my set of free printable pantry labels that you see in the pictures. I organize other products neatly by category and inside baskets.

Storage Baskets

I used two large and two medium wire storage baskets from Spectrum Diversified to organize the baking goods cabinet.

The first large basket holds assorted bags of baking products such as almond bark, shredded coconut, pecans, dry cookie mix, and a box of cookie crumbs. I also nestled inside baking powder and a recycled jar with chia seeds. This is my basket of dry baking goods.

Meanwhile, I store items like brown sugar, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, and all-purpose flour in airtight containers. Check this quick pantry organization for a list of my favorite airtight containers.

The second large basket holds the electric hand mixer, which -ironically- I mostly use to whip potatoes. I love that the mixer has a snap-on case to store the cable and the attachments. I also have a large Ziploc bag with cookie cutters, icing bags, tools, and cupcake liners.

One of the small baskets holds wet ingredients. These are bottles with syrups, honey, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. So, if I need any kind of syrup or sweetener, I know exactly where to find it.

The last small basket holds sprinkles and assorted colored sugars for cake and cupcake decoration. Once opened, a bag of Skittles is transferred to one of my favorite airtight containers, a Bormioli Rocco Fido Jar.

Over-The-Door Bakeware Organizer

I added an over-the-door bakeware organizer to complete the baking goods cabinet organization. The only disadvantage of this organizer was that I had to push the baskets and containers to the back of the cabinet so the door could close properly, but it is a space saver.

The small basket with sprinkles and decor is tucked behind the chocolate chips and cocoa powder containers. Those are ingredients I do not need readily accessible unless I am decorating cookies, cupcakes, or a cake. However, I keep the white flour, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and syrups towards the front since I use them more often.

And there you have it. It is an easy and very affordable way to organize your pots and pans and baking goods cabinets.