Boot This One Thing from Your Kitchen Cabinets This Weekend

I have a love/hate relationship with mugs. I don’t drink coffee, but I’ve still somehow managed to amass a pretty extensive collection, which I’m oddly and irrationally fond of. I see them as a scrapbook of my life. There are the ones from my alma mater, mugs gifted by visiting friends, and then some souvenirs from travel. Yet I probably only actually use one every week or so. At this point, they’re taking away precious kitchen cabinet space from my much-more-used wine glasses, and that’s just beyond the pale. So, here’s what I’m thinking.

If I don’t want to get rid of my collection (gasp, horror, outrage), then I need to find a more satisfying place to stick them. Here are some options:

When Melissa remodeled her kitchen, she added inexpensive cup hooks to the bottom of her shelf. Not only do they free up cabinet space, it’s also a great way to display her thrifted tea cups. They add a nice splash of personality and color against the white backsplash tile.

Here’s another low cost solution: Mount a wire grid over your sink. It’s a boon for tiny spaces like Cindy’s 232-square-foot studio in San Francisco. She bought her panel at a Daiso dollar store, but there are lots of affordable options on Amazon, which you can then amp up and customize with different accessories and hooks.

Abi extended the storage in her Capetown kitchen with a series of pot rails and S-hooks, which turn her walls and the bottom of her open shelving into extra space for her cute mugs. It’s a casual look that fits in nicely with her relaxed, Bohemian style.