KITCHEN SHELF ORGANIZER

I've been threatening to do this all winter, but last weekend I actually did it.

I build an anti-avalanche rack.

This may sound impressive, and it is! It's also blissfully simple to make. I think the whole thing, start to finish, took one hour.

All I needed were six lengths of 1" x 2" boards cut to length, and six 1/2" dowels, also cut to length. Add 12 screws, about 1-1/2" each, and you're in business. My cost was about $18.

BEFORE


Cookie sheets, kettle lids, pans, and cutting boards vie to be the first thing to start the avalanche. I love to cook. I hate to reach for tools in my cupboard...



Here's my arsenal. Six boards cut to fit the depth of the shelf (you can do this with saws supplied at Home Depot if you are tool-less at home), and six 1/2" wooden dowels, also cut to the height of the shelf.



Using my handy-dandy drill and a 1/2" spade bit (also available at Home Depot or Canadian Tire or wherever) I augered out holes for the dowels to fit into.



With bits and pieces in hand, I emptied the horrible mess out of the cupboard.



Then I positioned my bottom boards evenly in the space I was working with. I actually DID use a ruler to make sure they were equal distance from each other. You could even go so far as drawing a little line on the shelf to mark where each board should sit (snicker). When everything is ready, put one 1-1/2" screw in the end of each board to attach to the shelf.



Now comes the really, really hard part. You slide a dowel through each hole in the loose board. And then you slip the ends into the board you just screwed down. Push the dowels so they are upright, slide the board up until it touches the top of the cupboard, and... ready for this?... you use TAPE to hold it in place! Not permanently of course. Just long enough to put two screws in to anchor it. Chances are two people can't fit into your cupboard, so the tape works pretty grand.

Be sure to measure the distance from wall to board on the bottom and match it to the distance on to top, to make sure everything is straight and nearly square. Also, speaking from experience here, be REALLY sure the screws are short enough that they won't pop through your cheap linoleum counter top. Oops.

ALL DONE



This was so worth the effort! Now I actually like to pull pans out AND put them away when I'm done. It's finally fun! Now we just need to see about getting that soapstone countertop we keep putting off doing. Can't have the ugly speck of chipped counter top showing from a bad screw job....