Close-up of a DIY slide-out cabinet drawer with vertical plywood dividers used as pots and pans storage, holding stainless steel cookware with brass handles standing upright in individual slots.

DIY Slide-Out Pots and Pans Storage for Cluttered Lower Cabinets

DIY, Kitchen

If you cook a lot, you know the struggle of digging through a dark cabinet for the one pan you actually need. Handles everywhere, lids sliding around, something heavy always falling on your toes. I wanted pots and pans storage that worked as hard as I do in the kitchen, so I built a custom slide out organizer that puts every pan and lid in its own little parking spot.

This DIY slide-out drawer gave me organized pots and pans storage, easy access to my cookware, and a whole lot less frustration every time dinner rolls around. If you are dealing with deep lower cabinets and a pile of random cookware, this project will completely change how your kitchen functions.

Wide view of a custom pull-out drawer organizer showing pots, pans, and lids stored vertically in separate plywood dividers, creating tidy pots and pans storage in a deep lower kitchen cabinet.

Table of Contents

Tools and Materials for DIY Pots and Pans Storage

To build this custom organizer, you only need basic woodworking tools and some plywood, but the right setup makes your pots and pans storage strong enough to hold heavy cookware for years to come.

Tools

Materials

Before: Our Not-So-Functional Pots and Pans Storage

We are living in this house while we remodel it, and doing that with five kids has taught me something important. It is not about making everything pretty first. It is about making spaces functional so we can actually live and cook in them. I can come back and add all the decor and styling later. Right now, I need systems that work. That’s why I’m building storage organizers before installing a backsplash or handles.

This lower cabinet is just to the right of our stove, which makes it prime real estate for pots and pans storage. Instead, it had turned into a black hole. All of my cookware was piled in there. Lids, baking sheets, skillets, and my Dutch oven were stacked on top of each other in a big jumbled mess.

Cluttered lower kitchen cabinet crammed with stacked pots, pans, lids, and baking sheets showing the messy before photo before adding organized pots and pans storage.

Once the cabinet was cleared, I measured to figure out how large a slide-out organizer I could fit inside. The face frame of the cabinet eats up just a little bit of space on each side, so the drawer I am building needs to sit in from the edge instead of right up against it.

To fix that, I added a strip of wood along the inside edge of the cabinet to bring the slides in. I also did not want the drawer sitting directly on the floor of the cabinet box because it would not slide well. I used another small board under that first strip as a temporary spacer to lift everything up to the right height.

Empty lower kitchen cabinet with green doors and faux marble countertop, prepped for a DIY kitchen organization project.

Step 1: Cut the Plywood for the Drawer Box

Once I had my measurements and knew how big my pull-out organizer could be, it was time to build. I used my table saw to rip the plywood sheet down into narrower strips for the drawer sides, front, back, and bottom. After that, I moved over to the miter saw to cut each panel to the exact length I needed for my cabinet.

Cutting a large sheet of plywood on a table saw outside to build a DIY kitchen drawer organizer.
Woman using a miter saw to cut narrow plywood strips for a custom kitchen cabinet cookware organizer.

Since this drawer is going to be loaded up with heavy cookware, I wanted the construction to be extra sturdy. Rather than just screwing or nailing the bottom panel into the sides, I wanted to create a notch all the way around the inside of the drawer for the bottom to sit into. That groove gives the bottom panel a lot more support.

I marked where I wanted the notch to be on all four edge pieces of the drawer box, then used my router table to cut a groove just in from the lower edge on each board.

Woman marking measurements on a plywood board at an outdoor workbench, laying out where the grooves will be cut so the interlocking drawer pieces for the organizer slide together.
Close-up of plywood sliding across a router table to cut grooves for a DIY kitchen drawer organizer.

Before moving on, I did a dry fit. I slid the bottom panel into the grooves and set the sides, front, and back in place to make sure everything fit snugly. At this stage, I did not add glue or nails. This is just a test fit so you can fix anything that is slightly off before you commit.

Assembling a custom kitchen drawer organizer in place on the drawer base to test the groove fit.
Woman checking the fit of a newly assembled plywood drawer box on an outdoor workbench.

Step 2: Route Grooves for the Divider Panels

Once I was happy with the basic drawer box, I moved on to the fun part that makes this a customizable pots and pans storage instead of just a giant drawer.

I wanted vertical dividers that could slide into grooves so each pot, pan, and lid has its own spot. In order for that to work, the grooves need to line up perfectly down the back of the drawer, across the bottom, and up the front panel. I measured and marked where each of these notches should go.

I used clamps to hold the drawer pieces right on my work table so nothing could shift while I worked. Then I measured and marked all the layout lines where I wanted each divider to go.

Woman measuring a large sheet of plywood with a tape measure and pencil, marking out the layout for a DIY slide-out drawer for pots and pans storage.
Woman using a wood spacer to mark evenly spaced lines on plywood, laying out the vertical dividers for a custom pots and pans storage organizer.

To keep my router running in a straight line, I clamped a long board down as a guide and ran the router along every marked line to cut shallow grooves. After all the grooves were in, I gave everything a good sanding. A folded sanding disc worked perfectly for smoothing the inside of each groove where needed.

Woman wearing ear protection and safety glasses using a handheld router along a straightedge to cut long grooves in plywood panels for a DIY slide-out pots and pans storage drawer.
Side view of woman routing multiple parallel grooves in plywood with a guide board clamped in place, creating slots for the vertical dividers in a custom pots and pans storage organizer.

Step 3: Assemble the Drawer

With all the grooves routed, it was time to finally put the drawer together.

As always, my go-to combo is wood glue and brad nails. I squeezed wood glue into every joint where two boards meet, like in the grooves where the bottom panel slips into the sides and along the corners where each edge comes together. Then I used my brad nailer to add a few nails along each edge to lock everything in place while the glue dried.

Between the glued joints, the inset bottom, and the brad nails, this drawer is extremely solid and ready for serious pots and pans storage.

Woman applying wood glue to routed grooves on a plywood panel while building a DIY slide-out drawer for custom pots and pans storage, with nail gun and sander on the workbench.
Woman using a cordless brad nailer to attach the side of a plywood drawer box, assembling a sturdy slide-out cabinet for organized pots and pans storage.

Step 4: Install the Drawer Slides in the Cabinet

Next up is getting the slides in the right spot inside the cabinet box.

Remember that little spacer board I added earlier along the side of the cabinet? That piece fills the gap between the cabinet wall and where the drawer slide needs to sit so that the slide is inset from the face frame. I attached the upper board permanently with screws and my drill.

The second board underneath is just a temporary riser. It lifts the slide and the mounting strip up off the cabinet floor while I screw everything into place so my slides stay level and at the correct height. Once the slides are attached to the sides of the cabinet, I can pull that lower board out.

Woman crouched inside a lower kitchen cabinet, screwing drawer slide hardware to the cabinet walls to prep for a slide-out pots and pans storage organizer.
Empty lower cabinet with freshly installed full-extension drawer slides and a drill on the floor, ready for the custom pots and pans storage drawer box.

After the cabinet portion of the slide is in, I attached the moving part of each drawer slide to both sides of the drawer box. Then it is the best part. Slide the drawer into the cabinet, click the slides into place, and pull it out a few times to make sure everything moves smoothly. Already it looks so good, and the drawer feels incredibly sturdy.

Installing a drawer slide on the side of a plywood pull-out drawer box using a drill before adding custom pots and pans storage dividers.
Woman is putting in an empty slide-out plywood drawer with routed grooves, testing the fit inside a lower kitchen cabinet before adding dividers for pots and pans storage.

Step 5: Add Adjustable Dividers for Pots and Pans Storage

To finish off the organizer, I cut simple dividers from 1/4 inch plywood. Each panel slides right into the routed grooves in the bottom and up the sides of the drawer. Because I made so many grooves, I can adjust the layout whenever I need to.

Empty slide-out plywood drawer installed in a green lower cabinet, showing evenly spaced grooves ready for adjustable dividers and custom pots and pans storage.
Woman sliding a tall plywood divider into the routed grooves of a slide-out drawer box, customizing the adjustable organizer for pots and pans storage in a lower kitchen cabinet.

Once the dividers were in, I loaded everything back in. I have room for the deeper pieces like my Dutch oven and sauce pans, the thinner skillets, and even a dedicated row for lids. I moved the baking sheets to another organizer in a different cabinet, but that’s for another post.

Smiling woman kneeling beside an open lower cabinet, proudly showing a fully loaded slide-out drawer with organized pots, pans, and lids in custom dividers for easy pots and pans storage.
Close-up of stainless steel pots and pans with brass handles standing upright in vertical plywood dividers inside a DIY slide-out drawer, showing organized pots and pans storage in a lower cabinet.
Woman pulling out a custom slide-out drawer filled with neatly organized pots, pans, and lids in vertical slots, showing the finished DIY pots and pans storage organizer inside a lower kitchen cabinet.

My Cookware

Since you’re probably wondering, the cookware set in these photos is one I have been testing for a couple of months, and I am obsessed. It is non-toxic, non-stick, dishwasher safe, so easy to clean, and not to mention beautiful. It fits perfectly in this new pots and pans storage drawer and makes me happy every time I open the cabinet. I linked it here for you, so check it out.

Wide view of a custom pull-out drawer organizer showing pots, pans, and lids stored vertically in separate plywood dividers, creating tidy pots and pans storage in a deep lower kitchen cabinet.

More DIY Kitchen Storage Ideas

This slide out pots and pans storage drawer is just one piece of my mission to whip this kitchen into shape. With five kids and a whole house remodel happening around us, I am all about smart storage that actually makes cooking and cleaning easier, not harder.

If you want to see more kitchen organization projects in real time, come hang out with me on Instagram. I share the behind-the-scenes of these builds, the wins, the fails, and the real-life stuff that happens in between projects.

If you are looking for more DIY storage ideas right now, here are two projects from our last house that you’ll love:

Tiered spice rack inside an upper kitchen cabinet, with neatly labeled glass spice jars on wooden risers and bulk seasoning containers on the top shelf.
Hands sliding a custom plywood utensil drawer organizer with divided compartments into a shallow kitchen drawer for neatly sorted cooking tools.

📌 Save this DIY Pots and Pans Storage Project

If you want to build your own slide out pots and pans storage but you are not ready to start today, make sure to save this tutorial for later.

Pots and Pans Storage FAQ

How do you build custom pots and pans storage in a lower cabinet?

The basic idea is to build a sturdy slide-out drawer box from 3/4 inch plywood, install heavy-duty full-extension slides, then add grooves for dividers. The dividers let you stand pots, pans, and lids upright, so your pots and pans storage is easy to see and reach, instead of stacked in a pile.

What kind of drawer slides work best for heavy pots and pans storage?

Look for full extension drawer slides that are rated for heavy loads, especially if you plan to store cast iron or a full set of cookware. Mount them to a solid spacer board inside the cabinet so the slides clear the face frame and the drawer can glide smoothly.

Can I adjust this organizer for different sizes of pots and pans?

Yes. That is the best part. By routing grooves along the inside of the drawer, you can slide the dividers wherever you need them. Wider slots work for Dutch ovens and pots, while narrow slots are great for frying pans and lids.

Will this pots and pans storage idea work in a small kitchen?

Absolutely. Slide-out drawers are perfect for small kitchens because they let you use every inch of a deep cabinet. You can customize the width and depth of the drawer to fit your exact cabinet and still get organized pots and pans storage without wasting space.

Can I buy a ready-made pots and pans storage system?

You can definitely buy a pre-made organizer like this awesome one, but building your own lets you use every bit of your cabinet and tailor the slots to your exact cookware. And if you already own or have access to the needed tools, the DIY option will save you money!

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