Martha Stewart's Genius Solution For Baking Sheet Clutter In Your Kitchen

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The darling of domesticity for the better part of four-plus decades and expert on all things hosting, Martha Stewart was also "the original f***ing tradwife," as she said of herself on the podcast Lipstick on the Rim. And, as much as we believe that her engagement would have blown all of today's creators' out of the cucumber water, she is also so much more of a renaissance woman than any of those theoretical peers. While plenty of social media characters have certainly blazed trails in their own narrow lanes, Martha Stewart is equally adept at glamorous tasks like turning baked potatoes luxe and more boring chores like cabinet organizing. Her baking sheet divider solution falls into the latter category.

In an old YouTube clip, Stewart pitches a whole floor-to-ceiling kitchen design that was being sold at a big box home improvement shop at the time. While two erstwhile Stewart lines, Gardner and Tipton kitchens, no longer seem to appear on said retailer's site more than a decade later, some similar storage solutions for organizing baking sheets abound elsewhere. We found a couple of relatively small dividers with the big job of keeping your large metal trays separated that are particularly easy to source. This $15 Simple Houseware pantry rack, for example, is a relatively low-cost entry to the clatter-free world of pan compartmentalization. The Container Store's divider is a bit more at $22, but it also comes with mounting accessories to make the solution a little more permanent, and to prevent any sliding. 

"Measure twice, cut once," the classic proverb goes. "Measure twice, save yourself the trouble of an online return" also applies to kitchen storage. If you've already got a stack of baking sheets poised to ring out in a metallic symphony every time you get a taste for slice-and-bake sugar cookies, you can probably better arrange them in a rack. First, break out the old tape measure and note the cabinet's height, width, and depth, also taking any sneaky possible obstructions like cabinet doors and hinges into account. Compare with your selected rack's own measurements before you add to cart.

Should you not feel ready to commit to a whole new purchase just to keep your baking sheets apart, there are, of course, some craftier options that don't require any special tools. Consider sliding those babies into old, laundered pillow cases to keep them separated, and dust free. A loose drape of butcher or wax paper can have a similar effect. Alternating your baking sheets with things like wooden cutting boards will also keep them from clanging about. Or, if you find that you're ready to cull a few once and for all, you can actually turn old baking sheets into a message board with relative ease.