Product Review: Home Basics Two-tier Dish Drainer

Zulily.com is another one of my favorite websites to shop from. I like to find great bargains there. At the beginning of February I was working on getting my kitchen organized and trying to increase counter space, so I picked up this attractive two-tier dish drainer from Home Basics.

It was easy to assemble: had it together in less than five minutes. This dish drainer definitely takes up less room on the counter than our previous one and doesn't require a separate tray. The trays slide in under the chrome-finished wiring on each tier. You can dry cups on the outside and the silverware holder clips on the outside so it doesn't take up inside space.

My one fear is that when it comes to holiday dinners it won't be very helpful. Even now, I need to put a towel down on the counter if we have several pots and pans to air dry. So while it makes more room for prep time, once the dishes are washed you lose that counter space to clean dishes.

I'm still glad I bought it. The old one needed replacing, and since I bought it for only $18.99 it was worth trying.


This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Product Review: The Original Dish Drying Mat

At the beginning of May I won The Original™ Dish Drying Mat from a blog giveaway. I was really excited, because I have one of those plastic drain boards underneath my wrought iron drying rack and it looked kind of tacky. It also took up too much room. I had tried towels, but they aren't absorbent enough.

I've been using The Original Dish Drying Mat for about three weeks and I truly love it. This one is a pretty sage green color to match my kitchen decor. At 16" x 18" it is smaller than my plastic drain board, which is a big plus around here because we lack counter space. Sometimes I use it underneath my drying rack and other times I use it alone. I place everything from silveware to dishes to pots and pans to glasses on it. It can be hung up to dry and then folded to store it away. Perhaps the nicest feature is that The Original Dish Drying Mat can be tossed into the washing machine and dryer. My daughter was using it today for a mat while she scooped out wet cat food for our furry beasties. Sure enough, she dropped cat food on it. I picked up the mat and tossed it in the washing machine and it came out looking great. I don't usually toss mine in the dryer, but it says you can.

This hasn't totally replaced my plastic drain board because I often let my dishes air dry. So, by the time I'm ready to remove the dry dishes, it's time to wash dirty ones. I tend to handwash a lot of things because they can't go in the dishwasher. That means, I have to give the drying mat a break to dry out, but I still need something under the drying rack. So, I've kept my plastic drain board to use occasionally, but I'm loving The Original Dish Drying Mat.


I received a free product from a blog giveaway, but was not required to write a review. I received no monetary compensation of any kind to share my thoughts.