Revolutionize Kitchen Storage With Smart Bookend Solutions

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Sometimes, a fresh perspective is all it takes to find the perfect solution to your problem. In life, this is easier said than done, as real-world challenges can prove to be difficult even when you view them as an adventure or a step towards personal growth. The good news? Your kitchen is a much easier place to practice this principle. With a new outlook and a little creativity, you can revolutionize your kitchen storage with these smart bookend solutions.

Whether you're using something like the Acrimet Metal Bookends with their slim design or something unique that you picked up at the thrift store, there are a lot of clever ways to repurpose bookends in your home. This list, which focuses on the kitchen and pantry, includes storage solutions that use bookends to organize everything from cutting boards to water bottles. 

Some of the ideas on this list use bookends in their traditional upright position to hold flat kitchen items in a stack. But going beyond that, bookends can be turned on their sides, used as a magnetic surface, or integrated into your kitchen organization systems as dividers. Put two of them together to create a shelf riser or mount them on the wall in a variety of positions to hold almost anything. Once you shift your perspective, you'll start seeing a bookend as more than just a tool to hold books.

You can use bookends to organize cutting boards in a few different ways, depending on the type of bookend you have. Either in a cupboard or out on the counter, the steel or metal ones can be used as a pair or to support cutting boards leaning against a wall. You can also lean cutting boards up against an appliance and use a bookend to keep them in place. If you have a heavy stone or marble bookend, you can use it to support a stack of wooden cutting boards on your counter.

Like most people who own food storage containers, you've probably had a moment or two of frustration when dealing with them. Even if you just keep one messy drawer of containers and lids to keep them somewhat organized, it's still hard to find what you're looking for. Try using two bookends to keep them stacked in that same drawer in an upright position. For shallow drawers, you may need to place the bookends on their side and use them more as drawer dividers. You can also use bookends to organize stacks of food containers on your shelves.

If you're looking for creative ways to store plates on a shelf or countertop, then bookends could be the solution you need. Whether it's for everyday use or to put plates out for entertaining, bookends can be used in different ways to organize plates. For example, use one of these Natural Marble Bookends on its side and stack plates on top for company, or use both of them together to display plates on their side in an upright position. You can also make shelf risers with steel bookends and use them to stack dishes neatly in your cupboard.

Like cutting boards, bookends are perfect for organizing the flat items in your cabinets, not just the ones out on your countertops. From muffin pans and cookie sheets to your 9x13s, the inexpensive metal library bookends can help keep your baking pan cabinet neat and organized. This hack can also be used for serving trays, placemats, and pot lids, keeping everything upright, visible, and easy to grab or put away.

Whether you keep your trivets, potholders, or coasters on the counter or in a drawer, you can use bookends to help keep them organized. On their side, bookends make versatile drawer organizers that can handle stacks of potholders or trivets. If you have some nice trivets or coasters that you'd like to keep out in the open, consider pairing them with a unique set of bookends to add some personal style to your kitchen. For example, use these Cazzon Boho Trivets with AELS Macrame Bookends for an instant eclectic vibe.

Even if you've gone paperless with most of your accounts, it seems there's no end to the incoming paper mail, and for some reason, it often ends up in the kitchen. Why not create a home for the mail on a shelf or counter in your kitchen and just be done with it? Since it's so similar to their original purpose, organizing mail is the perfect kitchen storage solution. From the plain Jane metal ones to the fanciest ones you can buy, bookends keep envelopes, flyers, and bills neatly stacked for whenever you're ready to sort them.

You may already have a few old bookends lying around, but once you realize all of the useful ways you can use them in the pantry, you'll be looking around to see how you can get more. From keeping boxed dry goods upright to containing your canned food, bookends can be used on every shelf in the pantry. Use them to sort tea boxes, gravy mixes, and seasoning packets. You can use bookends on open shelves, or put them inside large totes to organize the contents inside. Now you can keep everything from snacks to pasta boxes organized.

While plastic wrap, foil, and Ziplock bags are really just another pantry item, they deserve special mention because they're used so frequently and are often kept in a drawer that's close at hand. Also, these items are oddly shaped compared to the other items in your kitchen, making it natural to group them together, which you can do with bookends. Remember, bookends can be placed in a variety of positions to keep kitchen items like these organized, whether that's lying flat in a drawer or standing upright on a shelf in your lower cabinets.

To go cups and water bottles are probably rolling around in kitchens all over the country — that is, unless you have them organized with a storage solution like this smart and affordable hack. Use bookends upside down or on their sides to declutter all the water bottles in your cabinets. Or, create shelf risers by taping two bookends together. Another trick to keep two metal bookends together is to use strong magnets or paper binders, allowing you to take them apart when you need to expand because you suddenly have more cups.

One idea to organize your kitchen linens is to use heavyweight statues that can keep light napkins and kitchen linens in place while adding style to your kitchen decor. Alternatively, a pair of metal bookends would make a fine substitute, since they are basically shaped like paper napkin holders anyway. You can also decorate them, making it fun and easy to use bookends as a stylish solution for organizing everything from dish towels to cloth napkins. The possibilities are endless if you get creative and look at it from a fresh perspective. 

Cans of cold beverages can take up a lot of refrigerator space, which is why there are numerous products designed just for this purpose. However, you can get the same result using a metal bookend in a refrigerator door drawer. Just place it upside down with the long side facing out so that it holds cans stacked in place in the drawer. You could also keep them on a shelf inside the fridge and use a bookend to keep them from rolling out.

Your upper kitchen cabinets do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to kitchen organization. But, if you think outside the box, you can turn them into an even smarter home storage solution where every item has a place, right down to the rubber bands you save from the broccoli from the grocery store. Use metal bookends to attach magnetic storage devices, such as these Dollar Tree Jot Magnetic Hooks. The Vetacsion Set of 8 Magnetic Spice Tins is another magnetic idea that helps maximize space in your kitchen cabinets when combined with metal bookends.

If any of the doors in your kitchen — such as the pantry door — need to be kept open, a heavy bookend makes an excellent doorstop. This is another way to add a personal touch to your kitchen's decor. Go thrifting or shop online for antique bookends to see what kinds of unique treasures you can find. For example, if you have farmhouse decor, you may want to search for vintage cast iron bookends, whereas an industrial style calls for something like Zeckos Raw Cast Iron I Beam Bookends, which are available at Walmart for just under $37.