Custom Kitchen Drawer Organization

5 Materials
$20
4 Hours
Easy
It's all about me...well, as it relates to my kitchen organization anyway. So...I 'built' my own kitchen drawer organizers and cannot be more pleased with the results...if for no other reason that my rolling pin now has a parking place and won't roll around every time I open the drawer.

I have pondered and purchased various and assorted kitchen drawer organization options over the years, nothing really worked for me the way I wanted it to…plus, it’s just not very pretty.

So recently I got a bee icon in my bonnet and set out to make my kitchen drawers just the way I wanted them to…and let’s just pause a minute and look how pretty my organized kitchen drawer looks.
This was the disorganized state of my drawers...before



This was my cutlery drawer before
And here it is after
A place for everything and everything in it’s place…One of my favorite concepts is functional aesthetics (do the job and look good doing it) and these drawers fits that bill.
And truly pretty darn easy…a perfect task for a rainy Saturday. I made drawer organizers for two kitchen drawers; one of my tool drawers and the cutlery drawer.  I still have one more to do, but I’m spending a little time pondering the best way to organize that one.


What I used to make my Custom Kitchen Drawer Organization:
  • A mitre saw makes this job so easy, but with a guide you could use a skill jaw or a jig saw.
  • 1/4″ by 2.5″ boards…mine were oak.  I chose oak only because it seemed those boards were smoother and would need less sanding…I’m about minimizing the amount of sanding.  
  • Glue.  I found that  DAP RapidFuse worked better than traditional wood glue.
  • Craft Paper to sketch your plan
  • Level, Ruler, Tape Measure and  Speed Square


How I Made My Custom Kitchen Drawer Organization:
  • The first thing you need to do is spend some time examining your drawers and how you want them to work. I wanted to keep like thing together and so I needed enough space for each type of tool. 
  • I emptied my drawers and laid down a piece of craft paper. Then I sorted my tools so that I had the like things together. 
  • Once I had all my like things together, I used a ruler and pencil to draw lines around those spaces.
  • I measured the lines and jotted those measurements down on the paper. Take into consideration the width of your boards (in my case 1/4″) when figuring out your measurements.
Here’s a ‘DO AS I SAY AND NOT AS I DO TIP‘…for our first drawer we did not consider the width of the boards when we were cutting them so we had to go back and lop off 1/4″ off of several of them…
  • I lightly sanded my boards
  • Cut our lengths 
We did find it helpful to put a check mark next to the lengths we had cut on our original diagram to keep track of what was done and what still needed to be done.
I made the choice not to ‘frame’ the organizers solely because I didn’t want to give up any space…even that little bit. That decision worked fine for my big tool drawer…all the pieces glued together so it can be removed as one unit. I figured that when we move, the new owners might want to use the drawer differently so they could just easily pull the insert out.
But that wasn’t going to be an option for my cutlery drawer, since I had several pieces that would not be glued together. So, I had the brilliant idea that I would just glue it permanently into the drawer…my thinking was that this drawer will always be a cutlery drawer so the basic cutlery organization would be fine. But…
DO AS I SAY AND NOT AS I DO TIP’ 2…I failed to take into consideration that I might want to be able to remove the cutlery organizer to wipe the drawer down. UGH…  So, if I were to do it all over again, I would lose the 1/4″ and frame the whole organizer so that it could be pulled in and out.


In any event, you will want to use your speed square to make sure that all your connections are 90° when you glue them together.
I used the side of the drawer, my speed square and some books to apply pressure and keep the connections square while the glue dried.


Once the glue was dry, the organizing geek in me got all goose-bumpy putting my tools in their designated spots. And if nothing else, I’m so glad to have a parking spot for that rolling pin!
So, I did learn a few things in the process and will apply those lessons when I do my next drawer, but that being said…I am thrilled with my new kitchen drawer organization .  I have so much more room and room exactly where I need it.


The project didn't take a long time, but I did allow 24 hours dry time before I put my tools and cutlery in the organizers.
Suggested materials:
  • 1.4 " by 2.5" oak board, sanded
  • Mitre saw
  • DAP RapidFuse
See all materials
Lynn @ Nourish and Nestle
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Han28581029 Han28581029 on Aug 27, 2017

    Where does one find 1/4" x 2.5" boards? Doesn't sound like a lumber yard would carry them.

  • Susan Susan on Sep 21, 2017

    Did you paint them ? Stain or seal them in any way?

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2 of 38 comments
  • Becky Becky on Aug 27, 2017

    Oh Lynn. Every time I see a new gadget, I just have to have it. It's awful to be so goofy about silly things. But I guess there could be worse things. Right?

  • TJ Griffey TJ Griffey on Sep 01, 2017

    Wowwwwww

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