Apparently enough to start blogging again!
We have moved quite a bit in the past few years, and through every move I have one hard and fast rule: Nothing goes on a shelf or in a drawer until said shelf/drawer is lined.
Every time we move, the first thing I do is line the shelves. I don't mean the old contact paper sticky shelf liner, I use liner that is non adhesive. As a bacteria freak, the thought of putting my drinking glasses and towels on shelves that someone has used before me gives me the creeps, even after I have sanitized them. In new houses, I still line the shelves, since I also like the easy clean up and streamlined appearance.
The benefits of lining the shelves are many, these are the reasons I do it:
Sanitation - You never know what somebody before you did to the shelves or cupboards, and I am not willing to risk it, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms. Really, do you want to set your stuff down in a bathroom that somebody else has used for who knows what?
Protection: Shelf liner offers some degree of protection for the shelves and cupboards, making cleanup easier and offering some insurance against under the sink floods and water damage. When you move out, the shelves are in the exact condition you found them in, with no crumbs or dings.
This is particularly helpful if you are renting.
It also helps protect your glassware and crystal from chips and dings by cushioning the shelf. This, in and of itself is reason enough to line, at least in my opinion.
Unfortunately, if you have a lot of cabinet space, it will take a lot of liner, and it can get expensive quickly. So I recommend doing it in stages. One roll of liner does not go very far. Lowe's sells jumbo rolls, available in white or beige, which I have found to be the most economical choice.
Cutting your shelf liner is a pain in the butt, the cuts almost never come off straight, then when you lay it in the drawer it inevitably veers off course and looks sloppy. I dealt with drunken shelf liner for years until I wised up and decided to use my quilting tools to get straight cuts. If you quilt or sew, you probably already have a rotary cutter and mat around the house.
If you don't, you can still use scissors; however, if you are lining every shelf and drawer in your house, I would invest in a rotary cutter and mat. You can get both for around twenty bucks, and it will save you quite a bit of aggravation.
This is the shelf liner I use, it comes in two different sizes:
I use a rotary cutter, available at craft stores or even Wal-Mart. A note to quilters, I save this blade for cutting shelf liner or other things, as it dulls the blade quickly and will no longer give you a clean cut on fabric.
Measure your drawer or shelf, lay it down on the mat and cut. The rotary cutter is like an exacto knife on a wheel, it is effortless to use and when paired with a ruler to guide it makes a perfectly straight cut.
Lay it in the drawer or shelf, and you are done! It makes everything look clean and tidy.
Here I have used it in my kitchen, don't mind the overlap in the back of the cupboard, some trimming is too time consuming for me, since I have 5,000 cabinets in the house I am living in (finally, real storage!! I love it!)
Even my junk drawer looks classy! (For now, LOL.)
I could go on for days about the wonders of shelf liner, but that would bore you all. Now go forth and line those shelves!
Apparently enough to start blogging again!
We have moved quite a bit in the past few years, and through every move I have one hard and fast rule: Nothing goes on a shelf or in a drawer until said shelf/drawer is lined.
Every time we move, the first thing I do is line the shelves. I don't mean the old contact paper sticky shelf liner, I use liner that is non adhesive. As a bacteria freak, the thought of putting my drinking glasses and towels on shelves that someone has used before me gives me the creeps, even after I have sanitized them. In new houses, I still line the shelves, since I also like the easy clean up and streamlined appearance.
The benefits of lining the shelves are many, these are the reasons I do it:
Sanitation - You never know what somebody before you did to the shelves or cupboards, and I am not willing to risk it, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms. Really, do you want to set your stuff down in a bathroom that somebody else has used for who knows what?
Protection: Shelf liner offers some degree of protection for the shelves and cupboards, making cleanup easier and offering some insurance against under the sink floods and water damage. When you move out, the shelves are in the exact condition you found them in, with no crumbs or dings.
This is particularly helpful if you are renting.
It also helps protect your glassware and crystal from chips and dings by cushioning the shelf. This, in and of itself is reason enough to line, at least in my opinion.
Unfortunately, if you have a lot of cabinet space, it will take a lot of liner, and it can get expensive quickly. So I recommend doing it in stages. One roll of liner does not go very far. Lowe's sells jumbo rolls, available in white or beige, which I have found to be the most economical choice.
Cutting your shelf liner is a pain in the butt, the cuts almost never come off straight, then when you lay it in the drawer it inevitably veers off course and looks sloppy. I dealt with drunken shelf liner for years until I wised up and decided to use my quilting tools to get straight cuts. If you quilt or sew, you probably already have a rotary cutter and mat around the house.
If you don't, you can still use scissors; however, if you are lining every shelf and drawer in your house, I would invest in a rotary cutter and mat. You can get both for around twenty bucks, and it will save you quite a bit of aggravation.
This is the shelf liner I use, it comes in two different sizes:
I use a rotary cutter, available at craft stores or even Wal-Mart. A note to quilters, I save this blade for cutting shelf liner or other things, as it dulls the blade quickly and will no longer give you a clean cut on fabric.
Measure your drawer or shelf, lay it down on the mat and cut. The rotary cutter is like an exacto knife on a wheel, it is effortless to use and when paired with a ruler to guide it makes a perfectly straight cut.
Lay it in the drawer or shelf, and you are done! It makes everything look clean and tidy.
Here I have used it in my kitchen, don't mind the overlap in the back of the cupboard, some trimming is too time consuming for me, since I have 5,000 cabinets in the house I am living in (finally, real storage!! I love it!)
Even my junk drawer looks classy! (For now, LOL.)
I could go on for days about the wonders of shelf liner, but that would bore you all. Now go forth and line those shelves!
Even my junk drawer looks classy! (For now, LOL.)
Hello! I came across your post about shelf liner and I agree with every word. BUT we are moving into our first house in October and my husband (the least germaphobic person I know) thinks shelf liner is not needed if I just wipe out the shelves in the kitchen and he thinks it is tacky (admittedly I picked awful patterns for our apartment and did kind of a bad job at getting it in the drawers). Any advice? Thank you! Amanda (Minneapolis!)
ReplyDeleteMy advice is that if you choose a plain color (white or beige), it makes the cabinets look SO much nicer and classier (is that a word?). If he sees that the new shelf liner is non adhesive, therefore not permanent, he might change his views that were embedded in the old contact paper mindset. Also, remind him that it provides a cushion for your plates and glassware. When we first got married, my husband did not understand my shelf liner addiction, but now he buys it by the bushel LOL.
ReplyDeleteI never really got into the whole drawer liner craze until I came across HOT PINK ones online. Now I am super pumped to get them in all my kitchen drawers! Thanks for the tips on how to get them measured and cut :)
ReplyDeleteI like the cutter you used. I will have to try it. The problem I have with using a non-adhesive product is that it does tend to move and cause ripples. I really don't want to use a spray adhesive or tape. It is cut to fit perfectly. I wasn't sure if I should take it out and lightly wipe down the shelf then put it back on while it's damp. Could that solve the problem or do you have any suggestions to keep it in place?
ReplyDeleteI've found the perfect solution to cabinet liners. Frankly, I don't like the shopping, cutting and recutting and so on. Anyway, I discovered a company called EM Home at home.exactmats.com that uses a heavy, mat-like clear vinyl to create perfectly-fitting liners for shelves and drawers and so on. You just provide them with the measurements and the order shows up at your door with a list that identifies where each liner belongs. I did my kitchen, baths and pantry. It's more expensive than buying the cheap liner material at the store, but it's worth not only saving the time and frustration of the job, but the product can actually be removed and cleaned if you want to. When I received the order, I just needed to drop them in place! I was off a teeny bit on one or two measurements, but overall it's just perfect!
ReplyDelete