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Wood Drawer Organizers

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Submitted by Ana White on Sun, 03/20/2011 - 23:11
Difficulty
Beginner
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Building wood drawer dividers for existing drawers can be easy and easily customized for your drawers. With this simple plan, you can divide and conquer even the messiest of Junk Drawers.

Welcome, welcome, welcome to our dream home.

And thank you for your patience and understanding with the site as we've made this move.  I know that there have been many issues, and I'm sure there will still be some bugs that need to be worked out, and I appreciate so much that you are working with me on this, and share my vision for less browsing, more building. 
Please, shoot me an email if you have a site suggestion.  I can't promise to answer every email, or take every recommendation, but I do read and make decisions based on your feedback.  Thank you to those of you who have already submitted feedback.
I also appreciate everyone's patience with me as I focused my time toward building the site instead of building projects, and have not been able to post as often as usual. I cannot wait to get back to building and building more!
It isn't just my posts that have been neglected in this past month.  As I look around my home, swear the scale is broken (true story - I went over to the neighbors today to weigh myself because I was certain our scale was broken . . . and it's not) and try to figure out which room to start on first, it's not in dismay.  I actually feel oddly accomplished at the chaos.
Have you been here?  You've been up all day (and probably all night too), haven't sat for a second, you cooked, cleaned, paid bills, did laundry, cooked again, did the dishes yet again . . . and then your husband comes home and looks around the still messy house and says "Sooooo . . . what did you do today?"  
The most difficult part of being a homemaker for me has always been feeling like no matter what I do, how hard I work, I am not accomplishing anything.  And some kind person is going to comment that we are raising beautiful children, and what could be more accomplishing than that, and they are absolutely right.  But on a day to day basis, my biggest struggle has always been seeing that first, and seeing the room I just cleaned get destroyed in five minutes and being okay with picking it all up all over again.
But as I look around at our home in it's current state of disarray, it says to me, Ana, you do matter.  Because look what happens when you are not there to straighten up a bookcase that you think no one will ever notice, do an extra load of laundry, clean the tub.  That little bit of dusting here and there, though never enough, it does matter.  I am making a difference.  
So in an odd way, I find myself encouraged to start getting my home back into order.  And you just gotta start in the kitchen, and I decided to tackle my room of shame.  Rather, drawer of shame.
I still am trying to come to terms with the fact that this very drawer has been this horrible for several YEARS . . . and for about the cost of a cup of coffee, and for about the amount of time it takes to drink that cup of coffee, I could have had this . . .
Especially considering I spent $100 on plastic organizers for the matching drawer . . . and they just don't every stay in place quite right.  $2 and an hour.  Why didn't I do this years ago?
Do you have a junk drawer?  Take this morning and organize it with dividers, and I'm going to show you just how.
Dimensions
Custom to fit your Drawers

Preparation

Shopping List

1 - 1x3 @ 8 feet long

Common Materials
2 inch screws
Elmer's Wood Glue
Elmer's Wood Filler
120 grit sandpaper
Cut List

Cut to fit your drawers

Tools
Tape Measure
Speed Square
Pencil
Safety Glasses
Hearing Protection
Drill
Circular Saw
Power Sander
Drill Bit Set
General Instructions

Please read through the entire plan and all comments before beginning this project. It is also advisable to review the Getting Started Section. Take all necessary precautions to build safely and smartly. Work on a clean level surface, free of imperfections or debris. Always use straight boards. Check for square after each step. Always predrill holes before attaching with screws. Use glue with finish nails for a stronger hold. Wipe excess glue off bare wood for stained projects, as dried glue will not take stain. Be safe, have fun, and ask for help if you need it. Good luck!

Instructions

Step 1

One thing I learned when designing and developing this website was that you have to think in columns. The junk drawer is no different. First we need to divide it into columns. So take a measurement of the inside depth or your drawers.

That is of course after you have done the most difficult part - clean the drawer out and then remove it from the cabinet.

Step 2

If you have an extra wide drawer like I do, you may wish to use two dividers. For a narrow drawer, just one divider down the center. First and foremost, consider what you will be storing inside the compartments. Bills? Envelopes? Letter sized paper? Pens and pencils? Take some time to consider as you plan your dividers. Lay the main dividers out as shown above.

Step 3

Then screw two smaller dividers to each of the long dividers as shown above. Do not make the compartments so small that you cannot reach inside the compartments easily.

Step 4

Finally, add the center dividers to divide up the center space and to keep the side dividers in place. Use 2" screws and glue.

Step 5

Finishing Instructions
Preparation Instructions
Fill all holes with wood filler and let dry. Apply additional coats of wood filler as needed. When wood filler is completely dry, sand the project in the direction of the wood grain with 120 grit sandpaper. Vacuum sanded project to remove sanding residue. Remove all sanding residue on work surfaces as well. Wipe project clean with damp cloth.

It is always recommended to apply a test coat on a hidden area or scrap piece to ensure color evenness and adhesion. Use primer or wood conditioner as needed.
Finish Used
Because this drawer is going to hold eating utensils, I simple gave the wood a good sanding a a coat of mineral oil to seal it.
Help Improve This Plan

We apologize if there was an error in this plan. Please help us out and report any errors here.

Project Type
Desk, Desk Systems and Project Table Plans
Kitchen Island Plans
Home DIY
Other Projects
Room
kitchen
Style
Cottage Style Furniture Plans

Comments

cathrynj

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 00:42

This is just in time for spring cleaning here at my house.  I need to do this for my knife drawer this week!

QueenMahin

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 06:59

Yes,  love it!  Only problem is, my kitchen doesn't have any drawers yet.  :)  Have to decide if I can make drawers or if I need to buy them.  Either way, once I have drawers, I'm making your drawer dividers! 

Guest (not verified)

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 07:18

"Use 2” screws” Where? 

I like the idea I just don’t understand the plan. Also this drawer you show is huge, with a 1x3, it seems like I would lose a lot of space. Any chance of using a smaller sized wood?

Kate (not verified)

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 11:39

I did a similar drawer divider in my desk back in high school using balsa wood and some wood glue.  I'm not sure it would stand up to the abuse a kitchen drawer gets, but it works very well for my (much less often used and not food safe) desk drawer.

Lang (not verified)

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 08:19

If you use wood that is smaller then you won't be able to fasten it with screws. 1" wood is likely to split if you don't pre-drill your holes anyway, so something with less thickness would surely split. I'm not saying you couldn't use something of less thickness, but you might would have to place some wax paper down in the bottom of your drawer, be sure to dry fit all of your pieces to make sure they are tight first, and then re-install your pieces with glue. As long as there is nothing to hinder you from sliding the whole unit out once it is dry then you can remove the wax paper after it is dry. This will prevent any glue runs from gluing the entire piece into your drawer permanently.

Ana, I love this idea! I may actually have some scrap 1x3s out in the garage too!

Guest (not verified)

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 11:00

Ive been looking for dividers for my large utensil drawer (spatulas, whisks, measuring cups) But, my drawer is super deep. would love plans that let me add another level, some kind of insert maybe?

annalea

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 15:10

Try some 1/4" Lauan hardwood plywood for a second-level floor.  You can get side-mount drawer glides if you wanted to make it only half as long, and slide it out of the way . . . 

John Gray (not verified)

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 12:05

I've been trying to get the time to do the same thing for years, but like you looking after a family and working 12 hour days just doesn't give you a chance. You are doing a great job with your website dear. Please keep doing it your way.
Thanks, John.

Guest (not verified)

Wed, 03/23/2011 - 20:25

My only problem is my kids...they don't always put things back where they should. Stickers or an outline of the item can be drawn on the bottom of the drawer space to show little ones where to put things away. This has alleviated some of the stress of making sure the drawer organizers are used to their fullest potential.