Junk Drawer Organizer DIY: How to Organize a Junk Drawer

This post shares my junk drawer organizer DIY completed for under $5! If you’re wondering how to organize a junk drawer, this is a totally customizable DIY based on your drawer and needs. This post contains affiliate links. You can read more about that here.

Junk Drawer Organizer DIY

Hey guys! I’m excited to be joining a big group of awesome bloggers for a year of DIY challenges! It starts today, and February’s theme is “build to organize.” So basically you just build something to help organize something.

My DIY spice drawer organizer went over really well, so I decided to replicate the concept for the “junk drawer” in the kitchen. I hate the term junk drawer because it’s not junk, it’s just a drawer of things that really have no other home. The drawer of misfit things.

It would also be a good excuse to clean it out. I mean who really LIKES it when you open a drawer and stuff goes rolling every which day and you have to dig to find what you want? Weirdos, I guess.

The very generous folks as Beacon Adhesives also sent me a goodie box of different glues to try out (full disclosure, for free), so I thought this would be a great project for that. The glues they sent me were for a variety of different things from fabric to wood and pretty much everything in between, so I know I’ll put them all to good use in the coming months.

Beacon has been big into the hobby and crafting glue market for a while (that’s what the Gem-Tac glue is below), but the rest of the glues are from their new hardware glues line. Really excited to try them out. You can browse all of their glues on the Beacon Adhesives Amazon Store page, and they kindly sent over a little cheat sheet you can use to select the glue that’s best for your project.

SUPPLIES:

• 3/8″ by 2″ pine
• Glue
• Bar clamps
• Measuring tape and pencil
• Miter saw

And here are the steps for my junk drawer organizer DIY.

(Remember to wear a mask and eye protection while sanding and working with wood. Do not use any tools without proper training, precautions, and supervision from a professional. Read my full terms of use here.)

Step 1: First I grabbed some wood, the same as I used for the spice drawer organizer: 3/8″ by 2″ pine board. The mount you’ll need will depend on the size of your drawer and how many compartments you want to make. I bought two 3′ pieces and called it a day.

Step 2: Next I cut the two side pieces. I measured the inside of the drawer from front to back and deducted about 1/8″ of an inch so I had a bit of wiggle room to get the organizer in. Definitely double check these in your drawer to make sure they fit before you proceed with the organizer.

Step 3: Then I cut a few divider pieces. Two to run horizontally and one to run vertically. I wanted some smaller compartments for this organizer, where as I just wanted lengthwise pieces for the spice drawer.

You can easily switch these spaces up to accomodate what you need to fit and organize in your junk drawer. Take a look at what you have and plan based on that.

And I added another lengthwise piece to add two smaller compartments! Clamps made this process very easy.

I just dabbed some glue on the ends of the pieces, clamped them in place (I mostly just eyeballed it), and waited for them to dry. 

Step 4: For the last step, I just slid it in place. It should be snug, but it shouldn’t be really difficult to get it in. That’s why I think it’s really helpful to test the pieces out as you are cutting them. Even a 16th of an inch can make a huge difference.

Then organize!

Share my junk drawer organize DIY and help others learn how to organize their junk drawers!