Ideas · Kitchen
12 Kitchen Towel and Paper Towel Storage Ideas
Over-cabinet bars, magnetic rails, slide-out drying frames and drawer systems for tea towels and paper towels in small and rental kitchens.
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In a lot of small kitchens the dish towel lives on the oven handle and falls off every time you open the door. Clean and used towels get mixed, and the paper towel stand takes up a corner of the counter.
These ideas give damp towels a place to dry, keep clean ones in a drawer and get paper towels off the worktop. Several hang over a cabinet door or stick to the fridge, so they're fine for renters.
1. An over-cabinet towel bar by the sink
A bar that hooks over a cabinet door holds a towel near the sink without screws. Use protective pads and check that the door still closes.
2. A towel bar on a lower cabinet door
Check the door thickness, pad the contact points and keep the towel away from the burners.
3. A magnetic rail on the side of the fridge
A magnetic towel rail on the fridge side keeps towels off the oven handle. Check your fridge maker's guidance and hang only light, dry towels.
4. A slide-out drying frame
A narrow frame that slides out of a cabinet side holds one damp towel away from the cabinetry and disappears once it's dry.
5. A ventilated towel pull-out
Spread a used towel across a narrow pull-out frame with an open back and a drip tray. It dries faster than when bunched on the counter.
6. A freestanding towel ladder
A compact standing rail keeps clean and damp towels separate. Place it away from heat and out of the walkway.
7. An open rail in a one-wall kitchen
Damp towels bunched on handles never dry. An open freestanding rail lets air reach them.
8. File-fold towels in a drawer
Stand tea towels upright behind an adjustable divider. Every towel is visible and you can take one without toppling the rest.
9. A towel rotation drawer
Clean towels stand upright in the drawer, damp ones dry first, and a small basket collects the ones going to the wash.
10. One active hook, clean ones in the back
Use one hook for the towel in use, fold clean towels vertically in a drawer and restock from the back so they rotate evenly.
11. A paper towel roll under the cabinet
Mounting the roll in a shallow recess under a wall cabinet frees the counter. Keep it near the sink but out of the splash zone.
12. An over-cabinet paper towel holder
A holder that hooks over a cabinet door frees the prep corner in a rental. Pad it and make sure the door still shuts.
Before you buy anything
- Let damp towels dry fully before they go in a drawer or hamper.
- Keep towels away from burners and the cooktop.
Questions people ask
Where do you hang dish towels in a small kitchen?
On an over-cabinet bar, a magnetic rail on the fridge side, a slide-out frame or a small freestanding rack, away from the stove.
How do you store clean kitchen towels?
File-fold them upright in a drawer with a divider so you can see and grab each one.
