IKEA PÅLYCKE hanging basket: clever storage for small kitchens

Many people prepare meals in just a few square metres, piling plates, mugs and spices to the edge of the cupboard, then becoming frustrated by daily searches for a missing item. IKEA now offers a straightforward hanging basket designed to make concealed areas usable, turning wasted space into practical storage.

Why small kitchens become overcrowded so quickly

Anyone living in a city flat or apartment will recognise the issue: the kitchen is often the smallest room, yet it has to do the most. Cooking, storing food, washing up and sometimes even working all have to fit into a very limited area.

• Cupboards become crammed in no time
• Space higher up is frequently left unused
• Small items disappear at the very back
• Heavy shelving or solutions requiring drilling are often not an option

Baskets, boxes and extra shelves are common responses. However, not every material is suitable for a kitchen, and not every option makes genuinely clever use of the room available.

Choosing the material: not every basket withstands kitchen steam

A kitchen combines moisture, grease, changing temperatures and, in some cases, direct sunlight. Different materials cope with these conditions to very different degrees.

A few examples:

• Seagrass: hard-wearing, handles moisture well and suits kitchens and bathrooms.
• Jute: comparatively delicate and may wear out sooner in humid rooms.
• Rattan: attractive to look at, but unsuitable for strong sun or constant damp.

When selecting kitchen accessories, appearance should not be the only consideration. Storage needs to be useful, easy to clean and reasonably resilient; otherwise, that attractive basket may end up in the bin after a year.

IKEA’s new PÅLYCKE hanging basket creates storage underneath

This is where IKEA’s PÅLYCKE hanging basket comes in. Its concept is simple: unused space directly beneath shelves or inside cupboards can instantly become extra storage, without drilling a single hole.

“The basket simply clips beneath a shelf, creating a new ‘compartment’ for mugs, glasses or spices in seconds.”

It can be attached beneath an existing shelf or fitted inside a cupboard. This creates an added level that is ideal for lightweight items which would otherwise be left loose or stacked up.

Tool-free fitting: clips rather than wall plugs

Flexible clips provide the fixing method. IKEA states that they fit standard shelves approximately 16–20 mm thick. In most cases, anyone with a typical IKEA shelving unit or standard kitchen cupboard should be able to use it.

Benefits of this approach include:

• no drill, wall plugs or screws required
• it can be moved to a new position quickly
• well suited to rented homes with delicate walls or fitted kitchens
• secure fixing that can still be removed easily

The basket can therefore be repositioned, taken off or clipped onto another shelf whenever needed. That makes the system adaptable, particularly for people who reorganise their kitchen regularly.

Better visibility: see everything at a glance instead of searching cupboards

A familiar problem in compact kitchens is not being able to see what is stored at the back of a cupboard. Supplies are often bought twice simply because they are out of sight.

The open hanging basket keeps mugs, glasses, spices and small food items visible and within easy reach. One quick look is enough to know what is stored where.

“Rather than disappearing into the furthest corner, everyday items sit in an open compartment directly at eye level.”

IKEA gives the basket a load capacity of around 1.5 kg. Heavy cast iron does not belong in it, but lightweight storage jars, cups, bowls and kitchen utensils do. Its depth is intended to provide noticeable storage without looking bulky.

Where the PÅLYCKE hanging basket is especially useful in the kitchen

This accessory is particularly useful in areas that have previously gone unused.

Everyday places to use it

• Beneath a wall cupboard: for mugs that would otherwise sit on the worktop.
• In a larder cupboard: for spice jars, baking ingredients or tea.
• In a base cupboard: as an extra tier for small bowls or lids.
• Near the sink: for microfibre cloths, sponges or washing-up liquid that should be kept out of sight.

Combining several of these baskets creates several extra levels without fitting a single new shelf. They look particularly tidy and airy in open shelving systems.

Caring for the basket: clean it in seconds

Sooner or later, nearly everything in a kitchen becomes dirty through grease, dust or spilled food. Accessories that cannot be wiped clean easily eventually become irritating. According to its description, IKEA’s hanging basket can be cleaned with a soft cloth and a mild detergent.

Simply take a cloth, wipe it over once and it is done. This is especially beneficial for allergy sufferers or very tidy people: open baskets only look good when they do not appear dusty.

Price: is it really worth buying?

At a retail price of just under four euros, PÅLYCKE clearly sits in the impulse-buy category. It is not a major investment requiring lengthy consideration, but more an item to pick up spontaneously that can quickly prove worthwhile when used every day.

For people who need to use every small corner, such as those with single-person kitchens, shared flats or micro-apartments, even one additional basket can make a difference: a cupboard looks tidier and precarious stacking is no longer necessary.

Small-kitchen space-saving tricks: get even more out of it

To incorporate PÅLYCKE effectively, start by taking a critical look at the kitchen. Which areas are empty? Where do mugs sit at the edge of the worktop? Which compartments are packed while there is empty space immediately underneath?

Useful approaches include:

• Adjust shelf heights so that tall glasses can still stand above the hanging basket.
• Group similar items together: for example, keep all tea in the basket and all coffee mugs above it.
• Store only lightweight items used regularly in the basket, not rarely used ‘guest sets’.
• Do not overfill open baskets, or their visibility benefit is lost.

Used alongside stacking boxes, pull-out inserts and hook rails, a standard kitchen can be optimised enough to feel considerably larger without gaining a single centimetre of floor space.

When a hanging basket makes sense - and when it does not

Despite its advantages, the basket will not suit every situation. People with very low wall cupboards may quickly hit their head if a basket is hanging beneath them. Its load limit is also reached with extremely heavy glasses or cast-iron pans.

PÅLYCKE is ideal for:

• favourite everyday mugs
• lightweight food storage containers
• spice collections
• tea towels and oven gloves

It is less suitable for full wine bottles, heavy bowls or large storage containers. Conventional shelves or metal rails are the better choice in those cases.

How a small accessory becomes an everyday kitchen helper

Ultimately, its usefulness depends on how it is used: a hanging basket only adds real value when it is needed each day. Anyone who briefly considers their kitchen routine, from making coffee to preparing an evening meal, will quickly identify where access is most frequent. That is exactly where a basket such as PÅLYCKE makes the most sense.

Anyone wanting to bring more order to their kitchen can begin with one basket and add others later. The system can then grow with changing needs, rather than requiring the whole kitchen to be rethought around one large shelving system.