Want one way to make your kitchen cleaner and more sane? Or maybe you’ve been in your home long enough that things are feeling a bit stale and in need of some freshening up. There are a lot of expensive things you can do to reinvigorate your kitchen, but a cheap, super effective way is to organize your drawers with new cutlery trays.
What Is A Cutlery Tray?
Just to confirm that we are all on the same page, a cutlery tray is an organizer that goes inside the drawers of your kitchen, cupboard, bar, or pantry. They are used for keeping silverware and other cutlery in their proper place as the objects are put away and move when the drawers are open and closed.
A cutlery tray is sometimes referred to as a drawer organizer, silverware organizer, a silverware tray, a utensil organizer, a flatware divider, or utensil holder. It’s all the same stuff, but this is just one of those things that everyone calls something different.
Silver Mesh Cutlery Trays
My top pick for cutlery trays are the Silver Mesh trays from the Container Store. These trays are handsome, easy to clean, and they last forever. The trays range from $10 to $15 so they are well within most budgets and they never trap crumbs or junk… it all falls out the bottom.
I know what you are thinking: pointy silverware must get caught in the open holes of the mesh, but it does not! The mesh is fine enough that this rarely happens, if ever.
The only downside with this tray is that it’s made of metal so that it can dull blades if you rub them against it too often and then items are a bit loud when you put them away, which can be an issue if you have kids sleeping while you clean up your home.
If you don’t have a local Container Store or prefer shopping online there are options available, like these from Yeskers or these from Smart Design. I like my Container Store ones, but they all look similar. Bed Bath and Beyond has some of the same stuff if that works better for you.
Utopia Kitchen Bamboo Silverware Organizer
You might remember Utopia Kitchen, as they make some of my favorite flour sack towels. It turns out the the brand also makes a bamboo cutlery tray (seen at the top as well).
The bamboo cutlery trays fit better into a classic kitchen, won’t rattle as loudly as metal, and won’t dull your knives. They have no seams or holes so there is nothing to catch the tip of a blade.
Added bonus: When placed in a drawer you can’t even tell these are made of bamboo! They look like they are made of a nice hardwood, but we will both know they cost a fraction the price.
Madesmart Classic Large Silverware Tray
If you want something more modern or easier to clean (as in dishwasher safe) then plastic trays are the way to go. These Madesmart trays come from a woman-owned business and come in a full range of sizes and colors. They have smart features too, like rounded corners so they are super easy to cleaning and a soft grip lining so they are quiet as the lining prevents cutlery from shaking about, creating a racket.
Pro Tip: Don’t Forget The Lining!
The key difference between an OK cutlery tray and a great one isn’t how much you spend, it’s the lining! A few cents of 3mm cork lining will make your drawer seem like a high-class establishment, not the where you go to grab a late-night yogurt spoon!
Lining your cutlery trays (and probably your drawers too) will cost you under $50 and should be done every 5 years or so, depending on how many people live in your household. Expect the job to take about 2 hours for a normal-sized kitchen so order a roll of cork (my choice, but there are other options) and wait for the next rainy day. It’s an easy, worthwhile, and rewarding project.