There's A Tiny Ikea Storage Find That's Making Big Waves In Small Kitchens

Maximizing the space in a small kitchen is all about thinking beyond traditional cabinets and pantries. Over time, it's easy to accumulate a big collection of cookbooks and gadgets, so you need to get creative with every nook and cranny. From clutter-busting cabinet organization systems to maximizing the gap beside your fridge, there are plenty of affordable storage pieces for organizing everything from dishes to utensils. One particularly handy find for shelving is Ikea's Pålycke clip-on basket.

This metal basket attaches to the underside of shelves in cabinets or storage units to create a little extra room for things you reach for every day. Since there is no drilling or hardware required, it's perfect for renters, and you actually have quite a lot of flexibility to use it either horizontally or vertically. It can also hold anywhere from 2 to 4 pounds, depending on the model, and clips onto any surface that's 16 to 20 millimeters (a bit over half an inch) thick, which includes many cabinets and shelves (including some of the best pantry shelving at Ikea). For just $8.99, you can reasonably buy more than one. And you may need it because there are so many ways you can make these clip-on baskets work in any small kitchen.

One of the biggest pluses of Ikea's Pålycke basket is the generous amount of vertical space between the clip and the bottom of the basket itself, which is just under 5.5 inches. That gives you a pocket that can hold taller items like glassware, which makes it ideal for setting up an under-cabinet coffee bar with ceramic mugs and a box of coffee pods. It's also pretty handy for stashing utilitarian items you like to have at hand, like kitchen towels, wraps and foil, and measuring cups. It's got fairly large gaps between the powder-coated steel grating, so you can't store small tools or silverware unless you put down some kind of cut-to-fit mat or board. 

The Pålycke is good for more than just open shelf storage too. Clip one to the inside shelf of a cabinet to organize some of the interior space. You can use it to stack lighter plates like those made with melamine, or paper plates. It can also go in the cabinet under the sink, which is usually a neglected spot in desperate need of organization, to corral extra packs of sponges or a few scrub brushes. Wherever you decide to use it, just make sure you leave some clearance so the basket doesn't get in the way of cabinet doors or your workspace.