When I was still renting, one of the first things I would do on moving in, was to line all the cabinets and drawers with parchment paper. Why, you might ask?

Parchment paper keeps drawers and cabinets clean. It catches spills and leaks, and takes marks that otherwise would have ended up on the cabinet or drawer surface.

This saves a ton of time on cleaning. Instead of having to clean spills and marks from these surfaces, I could just remove the parchment paper when I was moving out, leaving things as clean as when I’d moved in (sometimes cleaner).

This works well when you own, too. Especially in cabinets where there’s plumbing that can leak. Most leaks are slow, and parchment paper can collect a lot of moisture before letting it seep into the wood and start rotting it.

Just remove and replace the parchment paper when you think it’s needed. It can probably go quite a few years unless you have something like a leak or spill.

And this is so easy to do. You don’t even really need to measure. I’ll show you with pictures how I do it.

Materials

All you’re going to need is parchment paper. I also used scissors, because it cuts the parchment paper more easily than the box edge. I also ended up using tape because I didn’t use scissors at first, and tore my parchment paper.

• Parchment Paper
• Optional: scissors
• Optional: tape

Step 1: “Measure”

No need for a ruler. Put your parchment paper box inside the cabinet or at the drawer. Roll some parchment paper out of the box across the surface to get an idea how much you need.

You could measure it, but there’s really no need because there’s no point getting it exact.

Step 2:

Roll out more than you need to cover the cabinet surface, by at least an inch or two. Cut it off using the box edge or scissors.

Step 3: Lay it down

Insert the liner shiny side down. That will give your surfaces more protection from spills.

Step 4: Fold at corners

You’ll have an extra inch or two of parchment paper at either side of your cabinet or drawer. Just fold it at the corner where the sides and bottom meet and let it go a little ways up the side.

You could cut it off, but having it go an inch or two up the side gives the sides a little bit of protection. And it won’t be very noticeable once you put all your items into the cabinet or drawer.

Bonus Tip: If You Get a Tear

It’s very easy to accidentally tear your parchment paper, especially if you use the box edge to cut it instead of scissors. But there’s no need to throw away the torn piece.

Just cut a small strip of parchment paper that’s big enough to cover the tear.

Tape them together, with the strip covering the tear. Remember to tape it shiny side down.

Now you can insert the taped pieces into the cabinet.

And that’s it! This is one of the simplest tips for reducing cleaning in your drawers and cabinets.