Easy DIY Kitchen Hack: Tension Rod Drying Rack
This is a super simple hack I discovered when I moved into my new house a year ago. And it only requires one thing: a tension rod. Something I’ve always found frustrating is the lack of room in my kitchen to properly dry dishcloths, dish towels, and drying rack pads. Sure, I can dry some on the oven door handle, but that’s it! Anytime I leave the cloth hanging over the sink, it gets smelly quickly. But I had this genius idea when we moved into our new house and it’s not unique to my kitchen. You can do this as long as you’ve got a gap between your cupboards (or cupboard and wall) above your sink … or anywhere else in your kitchen really.
Looking for other ways to give your kitchen a DIY overhaul? Check out these Incredible, Life-Changing Ways To Organize Your Kitchen!
The first thing you need is an adjustable tension rod that will fit in the space between the two cupboards. Adjust the length of the tension rod to fit, making it slightly longer than the space to ensure it’ll hold in place.
Make sure you buy a tension rod that is adjustable and ideally one that just uses rubber grips on the ends (as opposed to mounting it with screws). I bought mine from Walmart for a whopping $7 – inexpensive because it doesn’t need to be able to hold a lot of weight and therefore can be thin! This also keeps it from looking too obvious in your kitchen.
Compress the rod and move into place, releasing it when it’s where you want it. I suggest buying a color that’s going to go with your kitchen and will blend in with the paint color. At home, I use a white rod against a white tile background so it’s not obvious it’s there when nothing is hanging on it.
The final step is just as easy – drape your wet dish towel, cloth, or drying rack pad overtop to dry! That’s it! The entire hack is super simple but gives you some much needed extra drying space without having to do anything permanent to your kitchen (renters, I’m looking at you!).