Organize Your Drawers.

Remember yesterday's post where I listed all the things we wanted to do during our time off over Christmas and New Years? One of those things was 'Drawer Organization.' We were referencing our kitchen drawers. Specifically, we had three drawers in mind. Utensil, silverware and one that was empty and providing no function for our kitchen. The utensil and silverware drawers contained plastic trays similar to this....

We've always hated those things. They get dirty and slide all over the drawer. So we removed them and we were left with blank slates...

 We quickly customized them to look like this....

Here's a run down on how we (aka Talon) did it. First we purchased 1/2 inch mdf. It's about $26.00 for a 4x8 sheet. We then measured the depths of the drawers and ripped strips out of the plywood on the table saw to that depth. The best part was that we got to customize them however we wanted. For example, length and width for every slot was our decision. Once we decided on the size of each insert we measured them and cut the ripped strips to the desired length. Per Talon, this was extremely easy and I can vouch that it took him less than an hour to complete the inserts.  

Here is the utensil drawer with all of our kitchen gadgets placed back in it. What used to feel like a junk drawer feels like an organized and easy to access space. Everything seems to fit so much better and with the built in dividers we are able to use every inch of the drawer. Where with the plastic inserts we were limited.

We didn't stop there. We still needed something to do with that empty drawer that really had no purpose. We decided it would be best utilized if it held all of our cutting knifes.  It would also get rid of that gigantic knife block holder. Three cheers for that.  

 Talon claimed this was a little bit trickier than the others. Here's how he did it. Measured the depth of the drawer and determined the position of the knife block. He then glued several strips of the mdf together to add up to slightly less than the depth of the drawer. Using the miter saw, ripped out slots for the knife blades to rest in. Then, using a piece of scrap, glue on an extra piece to support the knife handles, which keeps the front of the knife from lifting out of the slot. It was all then nailed to the drawer with a nail gun (Tal's Tip: Use the appropriate length nail and only in strategic positions to avoid splitting the mdf (it can be done on 1/2 inch) and/or a blowout). 

What do you think? Aren't they so fancy? We've loved all of our custom drawers so far!