Small kitchen? I tried the ‘pull-out drawer’ hack to instantly give me more countertop space

Anyone who has a compact kitchen can empathize with me when it comes to space and food preparation. And I often struggled to find a clear work area among all my ingredients and cooking tools.

Instead of buying more kitchen storage (or investing in an extension) to make my cooking tasks a breeze, a kitchen expert taught me this clever, space-saving technique especially for small kitchens.

In fact, this simple hack has literally doubled my countertop space, takes seconds, and best of all — it’s free. So what exactly is the ‘pull-out drawer hack’, and how does it work?

What is the ‘pull-out drawer’ hack?

The pull-out drawer hack involves opening a kitchen drawer and placing a robust object, such as a dish towel, over the opening. Yes, that simple!

Essentially, this creates a quick, secure way to get a 'surface' for setting things down when you don't have much counter space. Just bear in mind that this is not suitable for heavy items, but it will do for lighter objects like utensils or other essentials.

“When counter space disappears, usually at the exact moment you need to chop one more thing, an open drawer can become a lifesaver,” explains Olivia Disley, kitchen expert from Prestige.

“Simply slide out a drawer and lay a sturdy dish towel across the top to create a quick, makeshift work surface. The towel adds grip and stability, meaning bowls, utensils, or ingredient prep trays can sit securely without slipping.”

While this tip sounds great in theory, how does it actually work in reality? I put it to the test.

Does the ‘pull-out drawer’ hack work?

First, I laid out my trusted dish towel across my open cutlery drawer. And since we had recently swapped out our kitchen drawers for larger cabinets in a refit, this happened to be the only drawer available.

Here I rested excess utensils, a mini vegetable chopper, and even a pot lid, in a bid to free up valuable countertop space. I was impressed at how such simple (and free) kitchen storage can instantly become multi-functional.

Obviously, anything heavier just caused my makeshift counter to cave in. If you want to get around this, though, you could place an oversized chopping board over the drawer for a more solid ‘table’ — just remember not to place anything hot on top of it!

But Disley agrees that the dish towel hack is only for lightweight, small items. “It’s not designed to hold heavy chopping or vigorous mixing, but it’s perfect for staging ingredients, resting a cookbook, placing a colander, or giving yourself somewhere to set down a pan lid without cluttering the hob,” adds Disley.

Perhaps what was even better was that there was no countertop clutter or mess to clean up after cooking. Once I’d put everything away, I just folded the dish towel and closed the drawer.

“In small kitchens where every inch counts, this little trick instantly expands your workspace without buying anything new, and once you’re done, the drawer slides away, and your kitchen feels calm and tidy again.”

So the next time you're out of counter space or just need a quick spot to stash something temporarily, try using your kitchen drawer instead of looking for extra storage.

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