The Slide-Out Pantry Storage Upgrade You Need For A More Functional Kitchen

You can easily install storage trays or drawers that pull out of a pantry or kitchen cabinet. They'll make finding what you need easier and more organized, faster, and much less frustrating. Years ago, upgrading your kitchen with this sort of pull-out storage was best done by professionals. The good news is that now DIYers can skip the pros and install pull-out trays and drawers themselves. It can be fun and oh-so satisfying. 

TikTok home-gadget maven @androf.ca demonstrates just how easy it is to mount these organizers — peel off the covering from the self-stick adhesive, carefully position the tray, push down inside your cabinets, and you are done! Note how she allows room around the pull-out and that the tray slides out clear of the cabinet doors. The best thing about these units is that they require no tools to install them. There are other types that require a drill and screwdriver like this Holdn' Storage option. 

As you can see in the TikTok video, these peel-and-stick adhesive trays can hold a surprising amount of weight,which allows you to organize so many things. Even so, note that the best practice is to load the heaviest items at the back of the drawer or tray.  Doing so keeps the center of gravity over the adhesive mounting strips (not cantilevered out of the cabinet) and prevents the tray from breaking loose from the mounting shelf.

While the trays mounted with double-stick adhesive as pictured in the TikTok video are some of your very best options, there are other trays with different mounting systems that may provide solutions you'll like. For small kitchen organization ideas, countertop organizers are great. The wire and metal mesh styles are very popular. 

Some of the most functional in-cabinet options feature trays that expand or contract across their width, like this Amazon example. These fit more perfectly in your cabinets, and you could perhaps place two or more of them side-by-side in a wide cabinet opening. They are excellent for standard kitchen cabinets and especially useful for creating no-fail kitchen pantries. Heavy-duty pull-out storage options are often made from thick steel wire. Great for pots and pans, they will need to be mounted to a shelf with screws. Templates to locate the screws are often provided.

There is one important point to know. All of these units sit on an existing shelf or cabinet bottom. They are not attached to the cabinet walls. As such, they may or may not accommodate being mounted to the bottom of face frame-style kitchen cabinets. Cabinets with face frames have a frame on the front of the cabinet box that forms a lip on the sides, top, and bottom which may impede your pull-out shelf. You'll need to identify what type of cabinets you have before you purchase a pull-out to make sure that it will work with what you have. European or box-built cabinets do not have this lip, so no worries there, but you will need to avoid the hinges on the door and cabinet box.