Make Paper Towel Storage A Breeze With This Cheap DIY

Is there anything as useful in the kitchen as the mighty paper towel? Perfect for mopping up spills, absorbing moisture in the produce drawer, or soaking up the grease from a batch of deep-fried chicken fingers, these sheets of wood pulp definitely earn their keep! You can even use paper towels as emergency coffee filters, which is another reason why they're ideal for buying in bulk. The only problem is figuring out where to store all those rolls in a kitchen that's already low on storage space. One clever way to stockpile an abundance of paper towels is to DIY your own solution using nothing but hooks and a pair of bungee cords.

If you haven't come across bungee cords before, they're essentially long elastic cables that are very strong and stretchy. They have a rubber core that expands when stretched but retracts into its original length when released. Often used to secure luggage to roof racks, they can also be employed in the home and garden to secure anything that needs fastening. To make a paper towel storage area using bungee cords that's hidden inside a cabinet or pantry, all you need are four eye hooks to begin with. Simply knock two hooks into the top of the door, leaving a gap between them that's slightly shorter than the length of a roll of paper towel, and repeat the same process on the bottom.

The next stage is to attach a bungee cord to one of the hooks on the top and pull it down to meet one of the corresponding hooks at the bottom. Then you can do the same with the remaining hooks and cord, leaving you with two parallel cords that are fixed to the door in a vertical line. Finally, slide several paper towels under the bungee cords, so they're stacked on top of each other in a horizontal position. The elastic nature of the cords means they'll stretch to fit and retract back to keep the rolls in place. Depending on the size of your cabinet door, you could easily store up to seven or eight rolls in one place! If you have a garage, the same trick can be employed on brick walls to make use of any redundant space in areas outside of the kitchen.

If you don't want to damage the inside of your cabinets with eye hooks, use over-the-door hooks. These products don't require any fixings and can simply be slotted onto the top and bottom of your pantry door (just connect the hooks vertically using your pair of bungee cords to secure the bottom hooks in place). This technique involves some maneuvering, but taking the time to reorganize your kitchen every few months and giving your cooking area a nightly shutdown will reset your space and keep it feeling both peaceful and functional.