Why Storing Things in Your Oven Is a Bad Idea, According to Experts

Key Takeaways

• Storing items in the oven, even oven-safe cookware, poses a fire hazard.

• Using the oven for storage is inefficient and can lead to more clutter and wasted energy.

• Experts recommend exploring more functional, long-term storage options instead.

When it comes to storing things inside the oven, there’s one famous example that comes to mind for many: Carrie Bradshaw’s maneuver on Sex and the City. In the show, she stashes neatly folded piles of expensive clothes in her New York City apartment’s oven.

Maybe this works for a fictional character who never cooks, but experts agree storing anything that isn’t oven-safe inside the stove is a recipe for disaster.  But we couldn’t help but wonder: Is it even worth it to store oven-safe pots and pans in there? Here’s what storage and organization pros had to say.

Meet Our Expert

• Lucy Milligan Wahl, owner of San Francisco-based home organizing company LMW Edits

• Michelle Urban, a professional organizer and the founder of The Organized House

It’s a Fire Hazard

The main reason you shouldn’t store things in your oven is obvious: They pose a fire hazard.

Michelle Urban, a professional organizer and the founder of The Organized House, points out that it only takes one forgetful moment to preheat the oven with any items still inside. Even if they’re oven-safe pots and pans, this can still result in warped pans, damaged nonstick coatings, and melted plastic.

“I always encourage my clients to explore more functional, long-term solutions before turning to the oven for extra storage,” Urban says. "Things like wall-mounted racks, deep drawer organizers, pan dividers, or a three-tiered rolling cart."

It Creates More Clutter

“When I hear of someone using this as a solution, that tells me one thing: They are only thinking about how to use the space and not the effects that usage of the space will have on their time and energy,” explains Lucy Milligan Wahl, owner of San Francisco-based home organizing company LMW Edits.

In practice, this looks like taking the pots and pans out of the oven so you can use it to cook, then placing them on the nearest kitchen counter. “Now you’re trying to work around pots and pans on your counter while cooking,” Milligan Wahl reasons.

Then, when you’re finished cooking, there’s the added task of putting the pots and pans back in the oven after it’s cooled down. “Many years of experience as a professional organizer tells me that most people will not actually do this,” she says. “Then you end up with pots and pans on your counter becoming part of your clutter.”

That’s where Urban’s longer-term solutions come into play. A wall-mounted rack, for example, would eliminate all of the effort of removing and replacing the pans. The result is less energy wasted on playing Tetris with your belongings.

But It Works in a Pinch

If space is truly that limited, Urban says storing pans in the oven can work as a short-term fix as long as you make sure to remove them before turning on the oven.

Milligan Wahl maintains there’s only one situation where you should do this.

“The only people who should feel free to store anything in their ovens, whether pots and pans or anything else, are those who never turn on their ovens,” she says. “And no judgment: If you're not a cook, or you only use the stovetop, that's totally fine! Creating an organized kitchen is all about self-knowledge—understanding your needs and using the space that you have accordingly.”

Read the original article on Real Simple