This is one of my favorite organization projects in a long time! Once I got started on this easy DIY, I couldn’t wait to get started on the next drawer.
This isn’t a difficult project at all, and the only “real” tool you’ll need for this project is a miter saw. You can use a miter box and handheld saw, it will just take longer. There are a lot of cuts needed for these custom dividers!
This is a fantastic way to make custom drawer dividers that work perfectly for you and your family’s needs!
For this project, you’ll want to use thin wood — it’s inexpensive, easy to cut and doesn’t take up much space in the drawers.
I like the three inch size (actually 2.75 inches), because they are the exact depth of our kitchen drawers:
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I’ve found these particular boards at both Home Depot and Menards (pictured above) — I can’t find any in the quarter inch thickness at Lowe’s.
Both options are made of Poplar — the Menard’s wood comes wrapped in plastic and in general is slightly better and more consistent quality:
Make sure to check the height of your drawers before deciding on your boards.
(I saved that trim for some taller dresser drawers I’d like to try this same DIY on!)
Treating the wood isn’t necessary, but will help to prevent cracks over time and the absorption of any spills.
I’ve been working on these over the past few weeks and finished up the last drawer today — my husband’s coffee drawer (and my hot chocolate supply):
I removed everything before starting, and cleaned the drawer well. I also took advantage of this process to do some purging while I was at it.
If needed, I reorganized the items before cutting any wood. You can adjust the layout a bit as you go, but I didn’t want to waste any wood.
The whole idea behind this DIY is to create tension so that your boards hold everything together with a tight fit.
I cut numerous strips of wood to create my sections, and tried out the items I wanted to store inside each to make sure there would be enough room:
This is the fun part that I thoroughly enjoyed — each piece is a part of the puzzle. So for this first section, I cut two boards at 4.75 inches as the sides.
I moved on to the next section, adjusting the length of each cut as needed:
This is the best part about these custom drawer organizers — you can make each drawer work for your needs specifically.
When you get to the end, you’ll want the cuts to be as precise as possible so everything stays put. I erred on making the final cuts just slightly longer than needed so they would fit as tightly as possible.
As you fill in each slot at the end of your row, the whole thing becomes incredibly secure — they won’t budge!
In my experience, you want those final two pieces to be tight, but not so tight that you have to hammer them into place. (You don’t want to stretch out or put stress on your drawer joints over time.)
Because the coffee pod organizer is thick foam, it provided plenty of tension and the sections along the right don’t move:
The drawers needed that tension both front to back and side to side as I created the sections, so the last few cuts are the most important.
Here’s a before of our utensil drawer — we had a store bought insert for years, but it constantly opened up with the movement of the drawer:
We also couldn’t utilize ALL of the space in the drawer. It was only an inch or so along the back, but I wanted to use it! 🙂
SO much better! I LOVE that each section stays perfectly in place and doesn’t slide around.
Years ago I shared these expandable drawer dividers. I loved them at first:
But over time, I wanted to chuck the out the window…they drove me crazy. They lost all tension and just would not stay put anymore.
Those dividers are what made me think of this idea, so I’m thankful for them in the end. 🙂
The drawer on the left is that same one now, so much better!:
My favorite drawer (yes, I have a favorite) was our junk drawer. I will say, it was pretty well organized before. I think I got these felt containers at Ikea:
But it was killing me that this drawer didn’t match the others, so it had to happen:
I mean, this is a thing of beauty!!
Each drawer took one to two four foot boards, so around $6 each. It’s hard to find a store bought option for that price, especially with this custom detail!
By my third drawer, I was knocking each one out in about 30 minutes.
We can still easily remove the pieces for adjustments or cleaning. And if needed, I can change the configuration in just a few minutes with a few new pieces.
This DIY definitely scratched an itch — not only do we have wonderful custom drawer storage, but it was fun for me to create each one. The process may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I promise you’ll enjoy the end result! 😂
