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lilsmom_gw

Question for those who store dishes in drawers...

Lilsmom
11 years ago

Is a 15" (interior width) drawer too narrow to be useful for this? I have two drawers this size going into my island and I was hopeful that I could use these to store my dishes. I also have a 21" (interior width) drawer, but it is on the bottom in the middle and seems too low to stoop. I wasn't originally planning to store them here, and have other cabinet space elsewhere available, but now I'm thinking it might be convenient to have them in the island. I would be grateful for any help. Have been watching this forum for several months and have taken many notes. Thank you.

Comments (6)

  • drbeanie2000
    11 years ago

    How deep are your drawers?

  • liriodendron
    11 years ago

    I suggest you make a box (or boxes) of these dimensions and see how your dishes could be arranged in them. That's what's key.

    Also remember you do not have to store all your dishes together (or all of one type of item, i.e., more than you'd use in an everyday situation). You might find that you can accomodate the most-commonly used ones, but need to locate the others in a less convenient place eleswhere in the kitchen. (Example: say you have bread and butter plates or deep soup bowls, but only use them occasionally - these can obviously be stored someplace else, leaving room for your everyday soup bowls, lunch and dinner plates, etc. You can store your mugs and cups and saucers near the coffee maker, as well.)

    While you're at it, weigh the dishes you expect to store in the drawer and make sure they - including the weight of the drawer box itself - are correctly matched to the weight limits of the sliders.

    Another factor in locating dishes is where they are washed. Sometimes convenience to the storage place trumps convenience to the plating-up point. It depends on your kitchen and family styles.

    For instance if table-setting is a children's chore in your family, then storing those dishes in a place where the kids can retrieve them without getting in the middle of your most-active cooking zone might be better. And in this case maybe your want to have your serving platters close to where they'd be plated, but the individual dishware stashed where the kids can get at it.

    Or if you have trouble getting the dishes out of the dishwasher or dishdrainer and stowing them, (and doing that is important to you) then having the storage place ultra-convenient to where the dishes are washed may be the most important factor if it makes it easier for you. (Personally I want clean dishes to voluntarily spring from their racks straight into the drawers, but I haven't been able to buy such a set yet.)

    Some people have two dishwashers so that they rarely have to put anything away, it seems, they just take the clean stuff directly out of the one DW and load into the other one. I'm shouldn't be mocking that. I have a DW but never use it, instead it's the home of all the stuff that doesn't seem to have a home in my other cupboards - that is the overflow from my second oven!

    HTH

    L.

  • a2gemini
    11 years ago

    Lilsmom- I have a giant dish drawer - and loved it. Then it went pop - so be sure your cabinet walls can support the weight.

    The cabinet company and KD realize they didn't provide the correct info - weight includes the drawer and it should have been red flagged.

    It will all get fixed with the correct cabinet and correct glides - but just to give you a head's up!

    I agree with above - I measured everything and everything fit perfectly - so check it out and see what works.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    11 years ago

    I use drawers for my extra sets of dishware (I am always finding a reason/season/event to get new dishes). My cabinetmaker told me all of my drawers were sturdy enough for this (some of them have heavy bakeware, mixing bowls, etc., which would weigh almost as much). I would ask your cabinetmakes to make all drawers heavy duty if possible.

    Also, I find the peg system very useful to keep thinks in place.

  • Lilsmom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the idea. I will attempt to dig my dishes out of storage and measure (eating off paper plates at present... not ideal). I will also check how much weight the drawers can support.

  • a2gemini
    11 years ago

    But remember the pegboard counts as part of the weight - I started with the pegboard - but currently not using the pegboard and with the "shelf" liner - nothing has been sliding.
    I used Real Simple from BBB but others like Cushy cupboards or something like that.
    The bare wood was a bit slickery - but the liner seems to work pretty good.