Hunting for the perfect bottle drying rack
It’s not easy to do the dishes when there are a bunch of reusable bottles in the way. And early in the morning, when I’m more than a little stressed out trying to get out the door on time, confronting this situation was making me nuts.
I know, I know. How hard is it to just move those bottles? Terrible problem to have, compared to all the other problems in the world, right? Still, sometimes fixing small, irritating problems–especially those that slow me down in the morning–helps me be more effective for the rest of the day.
So I went on the hunt for a perfect bottle drying solution that would not take up extra real estate on my small kitchen counter. (Putting them over wooden spoons or chopsticks wasn’t really working for me.) And then, searching Amazon, I discovered the Mommy Genius bottle and bag drying rack, which had a slew of positive reviews.
Since it’s chrome-plated steel, rather than stainless steel, I wondered how long it would take to start rusting. So I posted the question on Amazon and instantly got 5 answers from customers who all said they had not seen any rust.
Then, of course, I wondered about the packaging. Would it be shipped with a bunch of plastic? So I sent a message directly to the owner through the Mommy Genius website. She said that if I bought it through Amazon, there would be plastic, but if I ordered directly from her, she could eliminate the plastic packaging for me. So that is what I did.
The drying rack stands up inside my regular dish rack (so it doesn’t take up space on my counter), and it’s super heavy so won’t tip over. It holds up to six bottles, or a combination of bottles and bags. (Think reusable coffee filter, cloth snack bags, or rinsed and reused plastic baggies.)
I paid for this rack myself and have received no incentive to review it here. It just makes me so happy each day, I wanted to share it with you. If you do purchase through the Amazon link, I receive a small commission to help support this site. However, if you contact Annie the owner, directly, she’ll send it to you without plastic. (info@mommygenius.com)
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I take it you don’t use a dishwasher because they have plastic parts inside and out? I don’t hand wash many dishes but when I do I put a bar mop towel on the countertop and dry dishes on it. Toss in laundry when done or toss out when stained.
Stainless steel would have been a better choice for the metal if there was one. Anything chrome plated is very bad for the environment, as the process creates huge environmental toxins. If you find any Stainless Steel racks, let us know.
Gosh I loved this post – I feel ‘weird’ when trying to reuse ziplock baggies (not a conscious purchase, but they enter via other means and reuse is better than single use). Bottles, i seem to wash less regularly as they usually have water in them, and leave them on their ‘lip’ (i feel OK with this as I drinker from the ‘sucker’ attachment. great review!
Could you please do more posts of plastic free tips in your home. I got your book for Christmas and love it. it is so helpful and I enjoy reading your blog :)
This site is full of tips! Is there something in particular you’re wondering about?
My question is: what about your regular drying rack? I finally found a metal one, but could not find a metal drainer (i.e. the thing that sits under it). I had been using the same rubber one for years and it was finally too disgusting to keep, so I have ended up putting a cookie tin (sheet) under it. It catches the water, but you have to pick it up and pour the water out, unlike the rubber ones that are open on one side to drain into the sink. Has anyone found a better solution?
Re dish drain/tray, have seen wool and terry drying mats, both of course will get soggy with lots of dishes, so -good question!
The advantage of your method is one less thing to store.
Also, for Beth: cool dish soap dispenser! AND– Where’d ya get the little ss thingy that holds your sponge, etc.??
@jonnie I use a second hand drying rack (plastic) and just put a dish towel underneath it. It needs washed every few days, but its free. Kinda.
I also like the syrup dispenser as a dish soap dispenser!
It looks like the sponge holder is a small shower organizer?
I was looking for a liquid soap pump with as little plastic as possible. I searched and searched every time I went into a store that carried home accessories. Finally, one day, I had a light bulb moment about using the syrup dispenser, which I already had, and which — except for a silicone ring inside the metal lid — is plastic-free.
The liquid soap, by the way, comes from Taylor’s Pure and Natural in a glass bottle.
Yes, a small shower organizer — with a piece of metal hanger attached.
The drain board is a plastic one someone left out in a give-away pile on the street. I justify it because it’s secondhand. I thought of using a towel, but it would get gross really fast and constantly have to be laundered. I’ve seen stainless steel ones, but they are either prohibitively expensive or get negative reviews for rusting.