Home » Blog » Decorate » Vintage Decor » 10 Reasons Why You Need Shelf Liner

10 Reasons Why You Need Shelf Liner

/ /

If you’ve ever wondered whether you need to use shelf liner, the answer is yes. It’s an important step in keeping your home neat and tidy and you really don’t want to skip it. 

vintage jadeite and white dishes in cabinet with Duck Brand Smooth Top EasyLiner

Why Shelf Liner is Always a Good Idea

Lately I’ve been working on cleaning and organizing our home, including all the cabinets and drawers, so I was happy when Duck Brand reached out to me about using some of their products. 

Today I’ll share why you need to use liners in your cabinets and drawers along with a few
tips for organizing them.

10 Reasons Why You Need Shelf Liner

1. Protects Your Cabinets, Drawers, and Shelves from Scratches

Your cabinets are a big investment and you want to take good care of them. Using a good liner in your drawers and cabinets will help keep them from getting scratched when things get moved around or shifted.

Duck Brand products will keep your cabinets and drawers scratch-free.

kitchen drawer with wire basket and Duck Brand EasyLiner

2. Protects Glassware from Chips

I don’t know about you, but when one of my favorite glasses or bowls gets chipped it makes me sad. Especially if it’s a vintage or meaningful piece. 

glassware and vintage jadeite mugs on Duck Brand Smooth Top EasyLiner

Using a cushioned liner will help protect your breakable items. The Duck Brand Smooth Top Easy Liner has a soft bottom but allows you to move items easily without them sticking to the shelf.

3. Helps Prevent Moisture Damage to Cabinets & Drawers

Wood and water don’t play well together. Raise your hand if you’ve ever put away a dish that’s not completely dry. If you don’t have a liner on your cabinet shelves, you can do some damage by putting away damp dishes.

The water will soak into the shelf and leave a small raised area. Don’t ask me how I know this. Moral of the story: a liner will prevent water and moisture damage.

4. Catches Drips and Spills

Honey jars, bottles of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and other liquids can damage your cabinet shelves. Another place that gets spills is the laundry room.

laundry room with floral apron and Duck Brand Smooth Top Easy Liner used on top of dryer

Bleach, detergent, and stain removers can get inside your washer and dryer if spilled and wreak havoc on them. A liner will catch leaks and drips and is very easy to wipe down when needed.

5. Prevents Stains

Food coloring, extracts, and other foods can stain your cabinets and drawers permanently. Using a liner will save them from this and help your cabinets stay clean and look new for a long time.

6. Softens Noises

Have you ever walked through the kitchen and heard your dishes or utensils rattle as you passed through?

Using a cushioned liner like the Duck Brand Smooth Top Easy Liner® will soften the noise so you don’t wake up any sleeping babies or adults.

7. Covers germs and leftover residue from previous tenants

Unless you’re the first person to live in your home then you have no idea what was in your cabinets and drawers before you moved in.

Cleaning them before putting your things in them is always a good idea, and a liner gives you a fresh, sterile start. You just never know…

8. Makes items easier to see

Our kitchen cabinets and drawers are wood so it can be difficult to see some items, especially since my eyesight seems to get worse every year. Using a light colored liner in the drawers makes everything so much easier to see.

kitchen drawer with gadgets in wire tray on Duck Brand Smooth Top EasyLiner

9. Easy to Clean

Cleaning a liner can be done with a damp cloth. Warm sudsy water will remove most sticky liquids and crumbs. And the Duck Brand Smooth Top Easy Liner can be tossed into the washing machine if needed!

10. Fun Patterns and Designs

It’s amazing how many cute patterns of shelf liner are available. Although white is always a classic choice, using a fun print can add personality and pizazz to your drawers and cabinets.

I used a classic quatrefoil print in the drawer of our hall bathroom. It’s so pretty and looks like the inside of a gift box now.

bathroom drawer with Duck Brand Smooth Top EasyLiner in quatrefoil print

Tips for organizing your drawers and cabinets

Now that you know all of the great reasons that you should be using liner in your cabinets and drawers, here are some tips for getting them all organized.

1. Remove everything

If you’re in a new home then you can skip this step. Lining everything before you put any of your items in drawers and cabinets is the best method. Otherwise, empty all of the contents.

2. Wipe Clean

Clean the drawer or cabinet shelf with a damp sponge or cloth and wipe dry.

3. Measure and Cut Your Liner

Measure the drawer or shelf and cut your liner to fit as precisely as possible. Use scissors or a rotary cutter to trim the liner to fit your drawer or cabinet.

Tip: if your drawers/cabinet shelves are the same size, use your first cut as a template for the others to save time measuring.

4. Install the liner

Place the liner flat in your drawer or cabinet. If you don’t have a piece that’s large enough you can use two smaller pieces to cover the area.

5. Use trays or baskets

Now it’s time to start putting your things away. Using baskets and trays keeps items from sliding around and getting all messy.

kitchen gadget drawer with white wire tray and Duck Brand Smooth Top EasyLiner

6. Group similar items together

If possible, group similar items or things used for the same task together. I have a baking drawer that my measuring cups, spoons, whisks, and other baking tools are stored in and others that have similar items grouped together.

kitchen drawer with baking gadgets in wire tray on Duck Brand Smooth Top EasyLiner

7. Place small items together

A pretty bowl, mug, or basket is a nice way to store all of your small items together. I used a small green bowl for all of our corn cob holders, and a mug for some little cheese markers.

It also makes the drawer look pretty.

vintage jadeite in kitchen drawer with corn cob holders

8. Declutter regularly

If you don’t use it or love it, say goodbye to it. Get rid of dishes, glasses, utensils, and gadgets you don’t use or have unnecessary multiples of.

Other uses for liner paper

Besides the obvious use in drawers and cabinets, here are a few other places that you can use liner paper:

  • Underneath the bathroom or kitchen sink
  • In the pantry
  • On the linen closet shelves
  • Desk drawers
  • Dresser drawers
  • Laundry shelves and cabinets
  • Butler’s pantry

Adhesive liner papers can be used on a variety of different places as well. Here’s a little project I recently did using the Duck Brand Removable Adhesive Easy Liner® basket weave print.

I found this old metal paper organizer at an estate sale for $3. It needed a good cleaning and facelift, for sure.

vintage metal paper organizer

After I cleaned it, I cut a piece of the basket weave print to cover it with. I began peeling off the backing at a corner and carefully placed it on a corner of the paper organizer.

removable adhesive easy liner being added to vintage metal paper organizer

I slowly removed the backing as I placed the liner on the paper organizer and smoothed the air bubbles as I went.

TIP: if you can’t get all of the air bubbles out, use a utility knife and cut a small slit in the liner on or next to the air bubble. Then push the air towards the slit and smooth the liner after the air escapes.

smoothing out air bubbles while applying duck brand removable adhesive easyliner

After it was covered, I carefully trimmed off the excess with a utility knife.

trimming excess duck brand removable adhesive easyliner with utility knife

TIP: If you’re covering a surface with a curved edge, cut the liner in strips around the curve, then tuck each piece underneath one at a time.

applying duck brand removable adhesive to curved surface

It looks so much better! And it only took about 30 minutes to complete this little project.

metal paper organizer covered with basket weave duck brand removable adhesive easyliner

Here are a few ideas of other things you could cover with the adhesive liner:

  • Tray
  • Picture frame
  • Box
  • Cookie tin
  • Drawer fronts
  • Top of accent table
  • Back wall of bookcase or pantry
  • High chair tray

The possibilities are endless!

Where would you use the Smooth Top® or Adhesive EasyLiner®? Let me know in the comments. I’m always looking for new ways to use things.

Explore all of the EasyLiner options available here:
Duck Brand Easy Liner®

See how I used the Duck Brand® Clear Classic® EasyLiner® for my shop inventory shelves here:
The Best Liner For Wire Shelves and Racks

organized drawer and cabinet

18 Comments

  1. I love these liners! They also work in the fridge on the shelves in the door. Or anywhere! When my mom passed away I took hers & used them to wrap glasses & china & I found a roll she hadn't used & made placemats & bookmarks from it.

    1. Those are great ideas! I hadn't thought of wrapping glasses and china with it.

  2. All great ideas and all things I need to do! Quick question – what does that little man (looks like a wrestler or something) do? Is that a bottle opener? I want one of those whatever it is. 😉

    1. Thank you! The little man is indeed a bottle opener, lol. Our oldest daughter bought it for my husband for father's day a few years ago because he loves the movie "Nacho Libre". It's always a conversation piece! I'm not exactly sure where she found it, but I've seen it on Amazon here https://amzn.to/3zmH6sc

    1. Thank you! I like the patterned ones too. They make my cabinets and drawers look so nice!

  3. I haven't ever used shelf and drawer liners before. But I definitely will now. Thanks for the tips tricks and information.

  4. This made me giggle I bought load ages ago and they are still sitting in the bag in the corner of my craft room.

  5. I always use shelf liner in the kitchen, laundry room and bathroom. I use scented liners for the dressers. I love all you green pretties.
    Hugs, Kippi

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *