Organize Your Kitchen Towel Drawer With A Budget-Friendly IKEA Find

As much as you may try to keep your kitchen organized, there's always an area or two that could use some work. For example, the kitchen towel drawer. They can easily get stuffed inside after laundry, or crumpled as you're grabbing one quick during the dinnertime rush. Sure, not many people see your kitchen towel drawer — but you do most every day. They're used for drying dishes, wiping hands, and they make excellent makeshift oven mitts. So wouldn't it be nice if you could have a better way to organize them? IKEA sells a simple item that's a total game-changer.

The OSTBIT Bamboo Plate Holder is only $5.99 at IKEA, but it can make a big difference in regards to cleaning up messy cabinets and drawers. The piece has 14 wooden spindles that are supposed to hold dishes. However, they're also perfect for organizing your kitchen towels. It's 11 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 3 inches high, so it's important to measure your drawer first to make sure it'll fit. If you do have a big drawer and a love of kitchen towels, you might need two.

Before organizing your kitchen towels with the holder, you should first declutter the drawer. Place worn out ones into a pile to use as cleaning rags. Then, try and decide about how many towels you use a week. If you're someone who loves to cook and utilizes multiple towels a day, you might want over a dozen. But if you don't spend tons of time in the kitchen, perhaps a smaller amount will do. Keep only ones you'd actually reach for.

Once you've picked out all of the kitchen towels you're hanging on to, separate them by color, design, and seasonal theme. Place an OSTBIT Bamboo Plate Holder into your drawer and slide the towels in between the spindles. That's it! They will look organized, pretty, and be easy to grab even when you're rushing around. You can also use a clever folding technique to help maximize your drawer space.

Begin by placing a towel on the counter vertically with the decorative side facing down. Then, fold the very bottom of the towel underneath. Fold the sides of the towel inwards so that it's in thirds. Starting at the top of the towel, make several folds down until you reach the bottom. Turn the section in back over your folded towel to act like a pocket. It's a kitchen towel folding trick that makes them look adorably neat and tidy.

Fill the IKEA holder with the folded towels, keeping them in categories for added organization. You can also use one of the racks for your cloth napkins as well. The piece comes in a light bamboo wood, but you can easily paint it to match your kitchen's color scheme. Even if you don't normally show guests your kitchen towel drawer, who knows — you might start.