Cabinets-Liner or Not

[anndillman]

My kitchen remodel is almost finished and I have a ton more cabinets. But, do I want to go through the trouble and expense of adding liner...do you use liner or not?

[alliegator]

Congrats on your new kitchen--enjoy!

[anndillman]

Thanks everyone. I think I will skip the liner except for my pots/pans drawer.

[Querencia]

I use the heavy plastic liner with parallel lines in it, comes in a roll. It lasts for decades and makes cleaning easier.

[Wtg2Retire]

Interesting to see the responses here.

When I was a girl, we lined every shelf with what as sold as "shelf paper;" there were pretty patterns to select from and at the front of each piece was a turndown so that the edge of the shelves did not show.

Now I only line the shelf that hold drinking glasses, plates, and soup/cereal bowls.

However, I did read something a short time ago and thought I might try that to line all of the shelves and bottoms of cabinet drawers: This person bought the very cheap remnants of vinyl flooring, then cut that to fit the selves and bottoms of drawers. I think that sounds like a very good think because it also saves shelves and bottoms of drawers from getting dinged and scratched.

[skyline]

There were also lengths of decorative trim to cover the front edges as well... sometimes pleated or ruffled. My mom used to trim the front edges of all her shelves with them (the surfaces got the Contac paper). But the adhesive was not strong enough to adhere well to a vertical surface, and so she used thumbtacks in a matching color to attach the edge trim to the shelf.

Wow, what a flashback to my childhood kitchen that was, LOL. Thanks! :-)

EDITED TO ADD: I just had to see if I could find examples of what both you and I remember, and lo and behold here it is! And apparantly it can still be found on Etsy, etc.

http://retrorenovation.com/2009/11/17...

[Wtg2Retire]

Wow, sky! I am absolutely stunned to find that one can still find it. Thanks for the link.

[skyline]

It depends what's going onto the particular shelf. Pots and pans, yes, liner (because some of them, notably the Scanpans, leave dark marks behind and I'd rather have the cabinet shelving itself look pristine when we eventually put our house on the market). Dishes, no liner. Glassware, yes liner (because we store them upside down by preference, so just in case there is a drop of water in the bottom undectected...). Boxed foodstuffs, no liner. Canned foodstuffs, yes liner (again to protect against accidental scratches from the metal edges as cans are stored and removed).

As for type of liner I have always used the non-stickyback Contac-type material. Never liked the waffly stuff at all (and often it has a rubbery smell that makes me practically gag).

[Sherri]

No, No, a thousand times No! Lining cabinets is akin to washing the tires on the car as a thankless job; right up there with cleaning my 'labor-saving' appliances. I don't cover my toaster either, and as Peg Bracken pointed out, "...... never made a piece of dusty toast". My burners are uncovered, my KA is naked and there is nary a plastic slipcover "saving" my upholstery. Shameless hussy here.

I don't see the point. Lining cabinets, unless they are so grotty that they need to be covered for your piece of mind, seems like make-work to this girl. A hold-over from my grandmother's day when everyone did this [likely because someone started the practice and whole villages followed suit]. My leisure-time activities are more of the open-another-bottle-and-pour-some-for-yourself-while-we-watch-the-sunset category.

When we built this house about ten years ago, it honestly never crossed my mind to line all the cabinets. I have suffered no ill effects from my slothful behavior and I plan to continue with my careless ways. Happy hour calls ......................................

[flourgirl]

Sherri, you are a girl after my own heart. :)

[escondido123]

The only cabinet I "line" is the one under the sink that holds the garbage can and cleaning products. For that I put down peel and stick vinyl tiles that clean up more easily than the cabinet. Of course, they are a bitch to remove if that day ever comes.

[katybz]

Always, but we're military and live in a series of rentals as we move every year and a half. It's more of a germ neuroses for me.

[BubblyOne]

I like those rubber liners w/holes. So easy to roll out and cut to fit. They were cheap and have lasted really well since we did the kitchen 4 yeats ago.

[mariacarmen]

my mom used to use contact paper but she would just lay it on top of the cabinet floor, not stick it, and fold over the front edge so it's nice and neat (folded under itself, not over shelf). plates and glasses will weigh contact paper down, never slips or slides, and then if the paper gets ratty, you can easily change it out over the years.

[mojoeater]

No liners here. We make sure everything is dry before putting away.

[DGresh]

what do you mean by liner? Is this something the cabinet maker does?

As an inheritance from my mother I place simple cotton towels in each cabinet that stores drinkware and plates and such. I wouldn't feel comfortable otherwise, but that's just me. Every decade or so :) they get washed.

[anndillman]

No, but I wish the cabinet maker did. When I was a kid my mother used contact paper, but there are products out there now that are much easier to use. I like your choice of cotton towels.

[pine time]

Yeah, original kitchen had 'em in all cabinets, but I just didn't see the need, so with the remodel, they're all gone.

[alliegator]

Nah, never have. No idea why, but it just seems like a step that isn't needed. My grandmother would probably have a heart attack if she saw that.

[Sydneyeats]

After our remodel we only used liners in the cabinet where we store our drinking glasses and our pot and pan drawers. Lining the other cabinets and drawers just seemed like a waste of time and $$$.