IKEA Drawer Organizer Hack: Stainless Steel Dividers for Cutlery, Knives and Kitchen Utensils

IKEA drawer organizer hack: Blum ORGA-LINE stainless steel cutlery trays and knife block in a 36-inch IKEA MAXIMERA drawer under a quartz island

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Blum ORGA-LINE is not made for IKEA. It is made for Blum’s own drawers. I put it in my IKEA MAXIMERA drawers anyway, and it fits like it was designed for them. This is the IKEA drawer organizer hack I used across the island of our DIY IKEA kitchen: stainless steel cutlery trays, a knife block, spring-loaded dividers for kitchen tools and utensils, and two foil and film dispensers. No screws, no clips, real measurements.

IKEA kitchen drawer with Blum ORGA-LINE cutlery trays and knife block, kitchen tools on grip liner
Modern kitchen drawer organization: cutlery, knives and tools, all in plain sight.
IKEA kitchen drawer hack: Blum ORGA-LINE stainless dividers in an IKEA MAXIMERA drawer holding serving utensils
IKEA kitchen drawer hack: Blum ORGA-LINE in an IKEA MAXIMERA drawer.

Key takeaways

  • Blum ORGA-LINE is designed for Blum TANDEMBOX drawers, but European drawer sizes are close enough that it drops straight into IKEA MAXIMERA
  • A 36-inch MAXIMERA drawer in a 24-inch-deep SEKTION cabinet is about 20 inches front to back inside
  • The 500 mm ORGA-LINE cutlery set (about 11 x 18 3/4 inches) fits with about an inch to spare at the back, and two of them sit side by side with a knife block
  • The spring-loaded dividers compress to about 19 inches and press between the front and back of the drawer. No screws, no side walls, and nothing has moved in years
  • Stainless steel and gray plastic only, so it cleans in the dishwasher and does not stain, swell or discolor like bamboo and plastic
The setup at a glance
DrawersIKEA MAXIMERA, white, 36″ W in 24″ D SEKTION base cabinets (island)
Inside depthAbout 20″ front to back
Cutlery drawerTwo Blum ORGA-LINE 500 mm cutlery sets (about 11″ x 18 3/4″ each) plus the ORGA-LINE knife block (holds 7 knives)
Tool drawersTwo drawers, spring-loaded ORGA-LINE dividers only, no trays
DispensersBlum ORGA-LINE foil dispenser ZSZ.02F1 and film dispenser ZSZ.01F1, about 16″ long
LinerCon-Tact Brand grip liner, 20″ wide roll, Home Depot
FastenersNone
Where I bought iteBay first, including international sellers

Why the Island Got IKEA MAXIMERA Drawers

If you have followed my kitchen series, you know I am particular about organization. When I designed the kitchen, everything had to be easy to reach, organized and efficient. Every drawer, cabinet and tray comes out to you. No digging in the back of a dark cabinet.

The island is the most useful spot in the kitchen, so it got drawers: the white IKEA MAXIMERA, in the widest size IKEA makes, 36 inches. Mine are 36 by 24, and they are in most sections of the island.

36-inch IKEA MAXIMERA drawer with Blum ORGA-LINE dividers for clean, minimalist kitchen tool organization
A 36-inch IKEA MAXIMERA drawer with Blum ORGA-LINE for clean, minimalist drawer organization.

For the organizers inside, I went a different direction from what most IKEA kitchens use.

Why Blum ORGA-LINE and Not the Usual IKEA Drawer Organizer

I like Blum. It is Austrian engineering at its best, and it is the same hardware I used for the lifts and automation in this kitchen and the SERVO-DRIVE on the trash pull-out.

Empty Blum ORGA-LINE drawer divider frame on a white countertop
The Blum ORGA-LINE drawer divider frame.
Large 36-inch IKEA MAXIMERA kitchen drawer opened to show utensils organized with Blum ORGA-LINE dividers
A large 36-inch IKEA drawer keeps everyday kitchen storage organized and convenient.

Here is the catch. Blum ORGA-LINE dividers and trays are not designed for IKEA, or for anything other than Blum. They are made for Blum’s own TANDEMBOX drawers, and they have little plastic feet that locate inside those drawers.

But Blum is a European company, and European cabinet and drawer sizes are almost the same as IKEA, inside and out. So I bought a couple of dividers on eBay and tested them. They worked. Then I did the rest of the island.

Why We Gave Up on Bamboo, Plastic and Aluminum Organizers

We had all of them before. Bamboo, plastic, aluminum. We did not like any of them.

  • Bamboo: put wet cutlery in it and it deteriorates and changes color. It is bulky and hard to clean.
  • Plastic: it shrinks a little, changes color, and for some reason it is always dirty inside. White or black, same result.

ORGA-LINE is commercial-grade stainless steel with gray plastic ends. It comes in plenty of sizes, and in the drawer it works like LEGO: you build whatever you want. The partitions are spring-loaded, with no screws. Unload one and move it anywhere. The sides of the partitions are full of holes, so you can clip in small cross partitions wherever you need them.

Orange Blum ORGA-LINE boxes on the floor during a DIY IKEA kitchen build
ORGA-LINE comes in these orange boxes. Some of mine came from eBay.
Unboxed Blum ORGA-LINE stainless dividers and gray end pieces in the shipping box
Dividers and end pieces, straight out of the box.

The Top Drawer: Cutlery and Serving Pieces

This is the drawer we use the most, the 36-inch drawer right at the top of the island. It is like a jewelry store. Every fork, knife, spoon and bottle opener is in front of you, in one place, lit by the IKEA drawer LED light. No going through three drawers to set a table.

In it are two Blum ORGA-LINE 500 mm cutlery sets, each about 11 inches wide by 18 3/4 inches long. Each set has two long trays across the back and three trays running front to back. You can arrange the trays any way you like. They are interchangeable.

Two Blum ORGA-LINE 500 mm cutlery sets side by side in a white IKEA MAXIMERA drawer
Two 500 mm sets side by side, knife block on the left.
First test fit of Blum ORGA-LINE stainless cutlery trays in an IKEA MAXIMERA drawer during the kitchen install
First test fit. It dropped in like it was made for it.
Blum ORGA-LINE cutlery trays in an IKEA drawer on build day, cabinet fronts still in blue protective film
Build day. Fronts still in the blue film, organizers already in.

How the 500 mm ORGA-LINE Set Fits a 36-Inch IKEA MAXIMERA Drawer

The drawer is 36 by 24 on the outside. Inside, front to back, it is about 20 inches. The 500 mm set is a little shorter than that, so I have about an inch, maybe an inch and a quarter, at the back.

You could fill that gap with foam or a spacer. I did not bother. Loaded with cutlery, the set is heavy enough that it does not go anywhere. It sits in the IKEA drawer like it was made for it.

Tape measure along a Blum ORGA-LINE cutlery set inside an IKEA drawer
Measuring the set: 11 inches wide.
Tape measure running front to back over Blum ORGA-LINE trays in a 36-inch IKEA drawer
About 18 3/4 inches deep, inside a 20-inch-deep IKEA drawer.

The ORGA-LINE Knife Block

Next to the cutlery sets is the ORGA-LINE knife block. This is another reason I like Blum: it is not only dividers and trays. The accessories all match. Open the drawer and you do not get a mix of black, blue and bamboo. It is all stainless steel and the same gray plastic. Minimal, and it suits a modern kitchen.

It holds seven kitchen knives, including our Porsche Design knives (Chroma Type 301 by F.A. Porsche), all stored neatly in their own slots. I wrote about those, and the rest of our knife storage, in the Porsche knife post. Next to the block, the open space on the liner holds the bigger tools: tongs, a scoop, a bottle opener and a kitchen timer.

The trays lift out. Put them in the dishwasher, put them back. You can see everything and clean everything.

Blum ORGA-LINE stainless cutlery trays in an IKEA MAXIMERA drawer during the kitchen build, cabinets still in blue film
Cutlery trays in, cabinets still in the blue film.
Close-up of the Blum ORGA-LINE knife block slots next to stainless cutlery trays
The Blum knife block with the dividers being fitted.
Blum ORGA-LINE cutlery trays partly lifted out of an IKEA drawer, showing the frame underneath
Lift the trays out and only the frame is left. That makes it easy to clean and customize.
Reaching into a 36-inch IKEA MAXIMERA low drawer organized with Blum ORGA-LINE stainless partitions and utensils
The top 36-inch IKEA MAXIMERA low drawer with utensils and Blum partitions.

The Kitchen Tools and Utensil Drawers

Two more 36 by 24 drawers hold kitchen tools, one above the other. The lower one is for everyday cooking: pizza cutters, peelers, brushes, cutters, whatever you name it. The upper one holds the things we reach for less: spatulas, a rolling pin, the bulkier and nicer utensils.

In these drawers I used dividers only, no trays. The trays are sized for cutlery. For kitchen tools they are too small.

Overhead view of an IKEA kitchen tools drawer organized with Blum ORGA-LINE spring-loaded dividers and a foil dispenser
The everyday tools drawer. Dividers only, no trays.
Blum ORGA-LINE stainless cutlery trays with green-handled cutlery in a 24-inch IKEA MAXIMERA low drawer
ORGA-LINE trays in a 24-inch low MAXIMERA drawer. Practical, and they look good too.
Rolling pin, spatulas and foil dispenser between Blum ORGA-LINE dividers in an IKEA drawer
Rolling pin on the grip liner, foil dispenser on the right.

Spring-Loaded Dividers: No Screws, No Side Walls

This is the part of the hack I like most. The ORGA-LINE dividers are spring-loaded. I did not install the ORGA-LINE side walls at all. Each divider presses between the front and the back of the MAXIMERA drawer, which is about 20 inches inside.

Compressed, a divider is about 19 inches, so there is an inch of travel. The small gray end cap you see in the photos is the moving part. It works at 19 1/4, 19 1/2 or 20 inches, because the spring holds it in place.

I was skeptical. Nothing holds them at the sides except spring tension, and I expected to be rearranging them every week. They have been in for years and nothing moves. When we want to clean, we pull them out, vacuum or wipe underneath, and press them back in.

Hand pressing a spring-loaded Blum ORGA-LINE divider into an IKEA MAXIMERA drawer
Compress the gray end, drop it in, let go.
Installing a Blum ORGA-LINE stainless divider between the front and back of an IKEA drawer
The spring holds it front to back. No side walls.
Close-up of the gray spring-loaded end cap on a Blum ORGA-LINE divider
The gray end cap is the spring. About an inch of travel.
Blum ORGA-LINE trays and dividers being fitted in a 36-inch IKEA MAXIMERA low drawer during the kitchen build
Trays and dividers being fitted in the 36-inch MAXIMERA low drawer.
Early Blum ORGA-LINE divider layout with cross pieces in an IKEA MAXIMERA drawer
Before I settled on the current setup, I tried many other configurations.
Side view of the gap behind Blum ORGA-LINE dividers at the back of a 20-inch-deep IKEA MAXIMERA drawer
Side view of the 1 1/4-inch gap behind the dividers in the 20-inch-deep IKEA drawer.

The Drawer Liner

Under the tools I put a liner, because I did not want them sitting directly on the IKEA drawer bottom. It is Con-Tact Brand grip liner, 20 inches wide, from Home Depot. It looks like a mesh, it grips, and it cushions the tools a little.

It also matches the gray of the Blum plastic, so the drawer reads as one piece.

Cutting Con-Tact grip drawer liner to size with a utility knife, a metal angle and a scrap backing board
I cut the liner with a regular utility knife, a metal angle and a scrap backing board.

Blum ORGA-LINE Foil and Film Dispensers

Two more pieces from ORGA-LINE live in the everyday drawer: the foil dispenser (ZSZ.02F1) and the film dispenser (ZSZ.01F1). They are the same size, about 16 inches long, and they drop exactly into the spaces between the dividers. They were made for them.

You load a regular roll of foil or plastic wrap. On the foil dispenser, the orange slider is the cutter: pull out what you need, slide it across, and you get a straight, clean edge. No tearing. The film dispenser has a cutter on top that glides from one side to the other the same way.

No boxes, no clutter, and we use them all the time. We have two sets: one in the kitchen and one in the dining room.

Blum ORGA-LINE foil dispenser ZSZ.02F1 and film dispenser ZSZ.01F1 side by side on a quartz countertop
Film on the left, foil with the orange cutter on the right.
Blum ORGA-LINE foil dispenser with the orange sliding cutter
The orange slider is the knife.
Loading a roll of aluminum foil into a Blum ORGA-LINE foil dispenser
A regular roll of foil drops right in.
Plastic wrap roll inside a Blum ORGA-LINE film dispenser
Same idea for plastic wrap.
Blum ORGA-LINE film dispenser loaded with a roll of plastic wrap, with the grab tube on top
The Blum ORGA-LINE film dispenser with a roll loaded and the grab tube on top.
Hand holding the small plastic tube from the Blum ORGA-LINE film dispenser
A little plastic tube, so the end of the film does not shrink back and is easy to grab.
Overhead view of an IKEA tools drawer with Blum ORGA-LINE foil and film dispensers between stainless dividers
The foil and film dispensers blend in with the rest of the minimalist organization.
Side view of an IKEA MAXIMERA drawer with Blum ORGA-LINE dividers, foil and film dispensers and colorful utensils
Side view of the partitions, dispensers and utensils. It looks like a cooking-show set.

The Second Tools Drawer

The drawer above the everyday one uses the same system: dividers only, no trays, and the same Con-Tact liner. It holds the bulkier, nicer kitchen utensils. Wide lanes, nothing stacked, everything visible.

Upper 36-inch IKEA MAXIMERA low drawer with Blum ORGA-LINE dividers and grip liner
The upper 36-inch MAXIMERA low drawer with Blum ORGA-LINE dividers and liner.
Long view of an IKEA MAXIMERA utensil drawer with ORGA-LINE dividers and only the essential tools
Only the essentials. Grab and go, no clutter.
Rolling pin and colorful kitchen utensils on gray grip liner between stainless ORGA-LINE dividers
Con-Tact grip liner under everything.

Sizes: What Fits Other IKEA Drawers

Blum makes ORGA-LINE in far more sizes than I used. For an 18, 24 or 30-inch cabinet there is a configuration that fits. My cutlery sets are the 11-inch by 18 3/4-inch sections. My small single tray is about 10 3/8 inches long, and there are 12-inch and shorter ones too. We have a couple of the small ones.

Tape measure across a single Blum ORGA-LINE cutlery tray
Single tray, across.
Tape measure along a single Blum ORGA-LINE tray, about 10 3/8 inches long
Length: about 10 3/8 inches.
Measuring the height of a Blum ORGA-LINE tray with a tape measure
And the height.

Measure the inside of your drawer front to back and side to side, then match it to the ORGA-LINE nominal length. If you are still planning the kitchen, my free kitchen planner is where I would lay out drawer widths first.

Price and Where to Buy Blum ORGA-LINE

It costs more than IKEA’s own drawer organizers. For us it is worth it: it cleans easily, it is stainless steel, it lasts, and the quality is outstanding.

Blum ORGA-LINE divider holding a long Porsche Design ham knife in an IKEA drawer next to a collapsible Ritter toaster
I even used a Blum divider to hold our long ham and fillet Porsche Design knife in its own drawer, next to the collapsible Ritter toaster.
Blum ORGA-LINE knife block holding seven Eva Solo and Porsche Design kitchen knives in an IKEA drawer
The Blum knife block holds our seven kitchen knives, Eva Solo and Porsche Design, side by side.

My rule is eBay first. This is imported hardware, so retail is usually high. Check international sellers too, because sometimes shipping from another country still comes out cheaper. If that fails, look locally. There are online stores here that carry it.

Our Dining Room Drawers: Casa Bugatti in ORGA-LINE

The same system runs in our dining room. Casa Bugatti cutlery sits in ORGA-LINE trays, and the dividers mix with bowls, boards and serving trays. Once you have the parts, you can lay them out any way you want.

Dining room drawer with Blum ORGA-LINE stainless trays holding green-handled Casa Bugatti cutlery
Our dining room drawer setup, with Blum ORGA-LINE and Casa Bugatti cutlery.
Smaller dining room drawer with gold and yellow-handled Casa Bugatti cutlery in Blum ORGA-LINE trays
A smaller drawer with more museum-quality Casa Bugatti in Blum trays.
Blum ORGA-LINE dividers mixed with bowls, cutting boards and serving trays in a wide IKEA drawer
Total freedom to mix the dividers with other things in the drawer.

Final Thoughts

I came up with this because I did not like the IKEA drawer organizers on offer. The hack is not limited to IKEA, either. ORGA-LINE will work in many other drawer styles too. Check the sizes, check your drawers, and see what fits.

That is how I organized my IKEA MAXIMERA drawers with Blum ORGA-LINE. Good luck with your project.

Common Questions About Blum ORGA-LINE in IKEA Drawers

Does Blum ORGA-LINE fit IKEA MAXIMERA drawers?

Yes. ORGA-LINE is designed for Blum TANDEMBOX drawers, but European drawer sizes are close to IKEA’s. In my 36-inch MAXIMERA drawers the 500 mm cutlery set fits with about an inch to spare at the back.

What size ORGA-LINE cutlery set fits a 24-inch-deep IKEA drawer?

The 500 mm set. A MAXIMERA drawer in a 24-inch-deep SEKTION cabinet is about 20 inches front to back inside, and the 500 mm set is about 18 3/4 inches long.

Do you need to screw ORGA-LINE into an IKEA drawer?

No. The cutlery sets sit loose and stay put under the weight of the cutlery. The dividers are spring-loaded and press between the front and back of the drawer.

How do the spring-loaded ORGA-LINE dividers stay in place without side walls?

Spring tension. Compressed, a divider is about 19 inches, and the MAXIMERA drawer is about 20 inches inside, so the spring keeps it pressed tight. Mine have not moved in years.

What is the best IKEA drawer organizer for kitchen tools and utensils?

For bulky tools I skip trays entirely and use spring-loaded ORGA-LINE dividers over a grip liner.

Can ORGA-LINE trays go in the dishwasher?

I lift the stainless steel trays out and put them in the dishwasher, then drop them back in. That is a big reason I chose them over bamboo.

Does Blum make a foil and film dispenser for drawers?

Yes. The ORGA-LINE foil dispenser is ZSZ.02F1 and the film dispenser is ZSZ.01F1. Both are about 16 inches long and fit between the ORGA-LINE dividers, with a built-in sliding cutter.

Where can you buy Blum ORGA-LINE for less?

I check eBay first, including international sellers, because imported hardware is usually expensive at retail. If that does not work, there are US online stores that carry it.

Tools & Materials

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The content on HOMEJECT is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. The projects, ideas, methods, tools, materials, and techniques shown reflect my personal experiences and opinions based on my own DIY projects.

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Every property, structure, situation, skill level, and local building code is different. Before attempting any project, consult qualified professionals when appropriate and verify all applicable codes, permits, regulations, and safety requirements in your area.

By using information found on this website, you acknowledge that any actions you take are at your own risk. HOMEJECT and its owner assume no responsibility or liability for any injury, damage, loss, or issues that may result from the use of information presented on this site.

Disclosure: HOMEJECT is an independent DIY project journal and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Blum, IKEA, Chroma, F.A. Porsche, Con-Tact Brand, Home Depot, or any other brand mentioned. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners, used here for identification and descriptive purposes only (nominative fair use). This post documents a personal install and is not an official installation guide. Blum ORGA-LINE is not designed or sold for IKEA drawers. This post contains no affiliate links.

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