Add Extra Mug Storage By Giving An Outdated Item A New Purpose

If you're of the opinion that the humble coffee bean should be classified as a food group (alongside chocolate), you'll likely agree that a coffee bar is a must-have kitchen feature that'll boost your home's value and improve your mornings. While you may have minimalist leanings that limit you to just one mug, the majority of java afficionados love collecting coffee receptacles as much as the beverage itself. For those in the latter category, things can get messy fast. Decluttering (gasp!) is one option. Another is a simple coffee mug storage idea if your cabinets are jam-packed. Repurposing CD racks is simple yet genius. It ticks the upcycling box, it ticks the retro box, and it ticks the easy to implement box. Finally, a designated place for all your mugs — even the tall, awkward ones that don't organize well with others.

Not all racks will work for this hack. The ones with shelves placed just wide enough to house a CD obviously won't do, but there are other designs that will work a treat, like the ones lined with slotted rails designed to hold individual CDs in place, or those with open cubby-style compartments. Either of these would work as a place to house your mugs.

If you don't have an old CD tower on hand, you can always hunt one down at a garage sale, thrift store, Facebook Marketplace, or even driving by well-to-do neighborhoods on trash day. They might not be the most glamorous ways to kit out your home, but you're saving your budget, helping the environment, and gifting yourself a fun DIY project to boot. What's not to love? With a coat of paint or varnish, that old CD rack will gain new life as your coffee station's storage wingman.

There are lots of ways to repurpose CD and DVD storage racks around your home and garden, but if you're a coffee aficionado, using them to store your impressive collection of mugs makes the most sense. If you have a CD rack with wide shelves, just slot your mugs into each compartment. However, if you have a rack with thin shelves to accommodate individual CDs, you could remove some of the shelves until the compartments are wide enough for your mugs.

With a little DIY savvy, you could even transform your old-school disk organizer into a proper cabinet. Using framed doors with chicken wire panels, decorative door handles, and old CD covers for shelves, you can turn a basic CD organizer into a full-fledged kitchen storage solution. But you obviously don't need to go to that level to create something that looks like an intentional decor decision. If your thrifted piece has good bones, you could use it as is. Otherwise, painting it, covering it in contact paper, or sanding it down and varnishing it are all worthwhile upgrade considerations.