This TikToker Has a Smart Storage Hack for Board Games

Meg Asby
·2 min read
3
<span>Credit: Photo: Sidney Bensimon; Prop Styling: Carla Gonzalez-Hart</span> <span class="copyright">Credit: Photo: Sidney Bensimon; Prop Styling: Carla Gonzalez-Hart</span>
Credit: Photo: Sidney Bensimon; Prop Styling: Carla Gonzalez-Hart Credit: Photo: Sidney Bensimon; Prop Styling: Carla Gonzalez-Hart

I never give away my children’s possessions without their permission, which explains the state of our games cabinet. Dozens of games are crammed onto deep shelves, which makes extricating Cranium, for example, feel *almost* as complicated as neurosurgery. I briefly considered decanting all the games into mesh pouches, but I was worried pieces would bend or break in that system. As usual, I turned to TikTok for the answer, and I found a surprising solution to make all my game night dreams come true. TikToker Brooke JuLyn (@brookesbuys) stores board games in a kitchen pan organizer. 

In the video illustrating this hack, JuLyn says, “Use a pan rack to organize board games; easily take a game out without toppling the whole pile.” A cluttered games cabinet goes from chaos to order with the addition of two pan racks (for large boxed games) and two Superio bins (for small games). I was immediately influenced.

MUDEELA Pots and Pans Organizer
MUDEELA Pots and Pans Organizer

The six-tier MUDEELA pan rack JuLyn uses in the video isn’t currently available, so I ordered the MUDEELA 8-Tier Adjustable Organizer instead, which is better for my larger collection anyway.

Disorganized board games in cabinet.
Credit: Meg Asby Credit: Meg Asby

I love that I can adjust the shelf placement for deeper game boxes, and I only need one rack instead of two, thanks to the wider footprint and ability to place games on either side of the rack. I did have to move a cabinet shelf to make space for the tall organizer, which measures 18.89 inches wide, 7.87 inches deep, and 15.94 inches high.

Boardgames laid out on dining room table during organizing.
Credit: Meg Asby Credit: Meg Asby

The only sacrifice I had to make with this system was the loss of space. JuLyn didn’t give up any games in the TikTok transformation, but I had to purge half of our collection to make this storage system work. My family and I chose our favorite games first, and once the cabinet was full, we donated the rest to a delighted teacher in our local Buy Nothing group.

Boardgames organized in cabinets.
Credit: Meg Asby Credit: Meg Asby

I was truly thrilled to see certain games leave our house (our Monopoly, Junior days are behind us, thank god). But my children definitely made some choices I found questionable: Do we really need both the classic and Harry Potter versions of Clue? Yes, apparently we do. We also still own four chess sets. Nevertheless, every single game can now be easily accessed — no neurosurgery required.