Are your cabinets lined with contact paper? Worth the hassle?

Lined cabinets and drawers are wonderful.

Highly recommend.

I did some of them for my mother back in the 70s during Christmas vacation in a hall closet (keep canned goods in there). She's long gone but I still live in the house. The shelves are still lined, in excellent condition. Easy to clean.

No. Lacquer paint the wood. Or use glass shelves.

No. I guess it depends on what your cabinets are made of. Mine have some kind of laminate on the shelves, so It's already easy to wipe down, if necessary. If it's raw wood, then maybe the contact paper would be worth doing.

It’s one of those “Greatest Generation” habits that’s a pain in the behind for this lazier offspring. I can’t even begin to fathom how Mum found the time, much less the skill and the willpower. You can’t even hire someone off the TV for this chore. To paraphrase Charlie Brown: “Aaaugh!”

R5 that's a great observation, very true. My bf is like, 'wtf, who cares?' But that's how my mom programed me, so do it.

I just use the rubber/plastic webbing that is used in restaurants and bars under my glasses and dishes. Cut it to size and it's easy to remove if you wish to wash it.

I live in a highrise and don't want roaches attracted by the adhesive on contact paper.

Some people put plastic or vinyl place mats down on cabinet shelves.

R7 is that really a thing? Horrors!

The webbing or roaches attracted to adhesive? Both are a thing.

Not contact paper (I hate that stuff), but my shelves are covered with a thickish vinyl shelf liner.

Kitchen cabinets, yes. You place glasses and cups upside down, so contact paper help keep them clean and ready to use.

My cabinets in the kitchen are wood and not lined. They were installed thirty years ago and are still good as new.

I believe this is something we picked up from our mothers and grandmothers. But back in their day they had to do this because the shelves and drawer interiors were usually unfinished wood. There's really no need to line shelves which are made of laminate or melamine.

If you store your glassware upside down then the rubberized mats protect the rims. (And nothing is worse than a rough rim.)

The glue draws silverfish and roaches. So, no. Just another wasteful foofoo idea to separate you from your money.

Ugh! Contact paper is gross. Marketed to clueless housewife’s back in the day as some sort of convince must have. My shelves are just fine without.

^^ convenience

I like the lacquering idea, but I've always used a neutral colored contact paper. I sympathize with OP, as I'm currently updated my kitchen and the sticky contact paper is hard to apply. The cutting grid on the underside of the paper does help some.

I will get on it OP, just as soon as I finish churning butter.

This seems like a Depression-era relic, intended to make sure your cabinets will last forever.

I used to use shelf paper, it came on a roll. Funny I haven’t thought of it in years.

and whatever is left I slapped on the cabinets and drawers!

I use ribbed for my own pleasure.

R14 I love a rough rim, drives me crazy!

I'm on a budget, so I just reuse the newspaper that Friday's fish was sold in.

I have wood cabinets but really some sort of pressed laminate wood -- it looks nice when new but there's some scuzzy or rough patches that develop that I can't get rid of - does anyone know what the hell it is? Can't be cleaned off, and they're not from a spill or abrasion although it feels a bit rough. It's happened inside one cabinet and on another shelf that's open. I didn't like the fake wood anyway but those patches make it look dirty and even less appealing

The rubbery mesh works well to help dissipate water, the concern is any moisture trapped under washed glasses will inhibit bacteria and mold on the lip.

Installed the laminate sheeting and it was a total waste of time. They get dirty, instead of the wood. You're either cleaning one or the other and there is no damage or impact to the cabinet when you don't line them. Complete waste of time.

Store your glasses upright and you won’t need to worry about this shit.

You can spray a plastic seal on the shelves, like a bed liner for cabinets. One and done.

R29 Even if you have good quality cabinets that have doors that close properly, dust will still get inside your glasses over a period of days/weeks.

I lined most of my cabinets and they are nice and clean. I didn't line the cabinets that hold the glasses because it's hard to slide the glasses in--as a consequence, the water dripping off the glasses has led to some warping unfortunately

There was a shelf liner product…it wasn’t adhesive but if you wet the underside with water it would stick down enough not to slide around. Like thin vinyl but flexible, on a roll.

Christ on a crutch, do you people cut a scalloped front edge for your lining paper? Or contact paper,? Gingham? Little flowers? A jaunty plaid interwoven with little flowers?

Using plastic or vinyl place mats for the shelves works well.

No adhesive necessary.

Easy to wash.

Thick enough to protect the edges of glass.

And they can be removed and reused in other cabinets of you move.

No but my hoo-ha is.

^ should be "...if you move"

I love contact paper!

There are so many beautiful designs out now that it makes opening a drawer fun. Instead of seeing plain wood or boring white melamine, you get a nice pop of color and style.

I only use shelf paper in the kitchen cabinets. One application done right can last at least 10-15 years.

Why would you not? Scraping glasses and things on wood isn't doing the finish any good, then what about the panty and food items, things leak all over the place, it's like not using a mattress cover, just trashy.

glass is harder than wood, isn't it? What is this scraping nonsense?

Of course, OP! And now I need to paper all of my neighbors’ cabinets in the homes up and down my entire street before dinner time!!

[quote]then what about the panty and food items, things leak all over the place, it's like not using a mattress cover, just trashy.

I don't know what sort of leaking panties you keep in your food cabinets, but contact paper certainly won't help.

OP, of course it's worth the hassle!

[quote] Kitchen cabinets, yes. You place glasses and cups upside down, so contact paper help keep them clean and ready to use.

What makes you think the contact paper is cleaner than the underlying shelf?

When I first moved into my house, all of the cabinet and closet shelves were covered in thick wallpaper that was held in place with a flat thumbtack in each corner. I’ve since replaced the kitchen cabinets and did not line the shelves. I found a few rolls of old wallpaper and maybe someday I will reline the closet shelves but it’s held up. I

You bitches all must be rich. The shelf space in my kitchen is so tight I have to alter every glass up then down so the taper on them aligns giving me just enough space to close the doors.