I need a very inexpensive hutch-like set of shelves in my home office.

Try getting peach baskets. They are square in shape and can be stacked.

Home Depot, Lowes, lumberyard, etc. for prefinished or raw boards. I would not use glass jars as support for the shelves - too fragile. New or used bricks, you can paint them or mod podge fabric or paper on them. Or good old fashioned cinder blocks, but they are heavy.

Jars doesn't sound too safe. What are you planning on putting on those planks? If its heavy books or supplies etc. I would think more like concrete blocks, or get that steel track and metal brackets you hang on the wall. You can find this inexpensive at Habitat for Humanity Restore, I usually see it all the time. You could also get L-shaped metal brackets to hold a board on the wall, again use more than 2 if its a long stretch.

And your wood boards would need to be 1 1/2"- 2" thick to prevent buckling if you are doing one long board otherwise it will sag in the middle as the weight bends the board.

Hello Micah89701, You could use boards from pallets to make your shelves. Sometimes you can find them for free. I also would not use jars to stack them. I like the idea of using bricks or cinder blocks. Good luck.

Go to some garage sales on the weekend (Sat is best). I saw 3 beautiful ones today and the most expensive one was only $50 and it was gorgeous!

Good luck!