Drawers make excellent storage solutions. These are stackable, easy to assemble, and versatile. But what if you don’t have drawers handy? You can use DIY drawers instead of regular drawers to keep your stuff organized. Here are some DIY drawer ideas for you.
Wicker baskets as drawers
Instead of using wooden drawers, use a wicker basket instead. Wicker is very sturdy and can hold its shape. You can paint the surface and add accessories like ribbons and fabric to line the basket interiors. You can use wicker to store items like clothing and linen, toys, books, school supplies, clothing accessories, shoes, and many more.
Wicker baskets come in many sizes and shapes. For a regular rectangular shelf, measure the height of the shelf and the length of the drawer to get the best size rectangular or square wicker basket. You can paint your wicker basket drawer the same color as your shelves or use a contrasting color like blue and yellow or green and orange.
Wicker basket drawers are best for any room. You can use this in your bedroom, study, kids’ room, kitchen, laundry, or pantry. Just remember not to overload your wicker basket drawers as this is the main reason why these lose their shape and form.
Large boxes for drawers
If you have large cartons or cardboard boxes, use these to make spacious drawers. You can use different techniques to update an old or used cardboard box. You can wrap this in gift paper, old magazines, or art paper or you can use fabric. Use a strong adhesive if you want to stick anything to cardboard boxes.
To find out how large or how deep your cardboard box should be, just measure your shelves with measuring tape. You can repurpose an old ribbon or a piece of rope as your cardboard box drawer handle so you can easily move it out of the shelf.
Cardboard boxes are not exactly a long-term storage solution. Even large and very durable boxes will eventually wear out due to everyday use. And to preserve the shape and form of your boxes, you can stick a wide tape along the sides and the inner corners of the box.
Cardboard boxes may also be lined with thick cardboard at the bottom so these can hold heavier and larger items. Also, painting over the cardboard surface will help strengthen the material.
Pallet wood as drawers
Pallet wood is versatile and is available everywhere. And with simple techniques, you can make a simple drawer out of used pallet wood to make sturdy, longer-lasting drawers for your shelves.
It starts with measuring the shelf to get the dimensions of your pallet wood drawers. Inspect the pallet wood first against pest, rot, and moisture.
Use a circular saw or table saw to cut pallet wood according to the size you need. Sand the pallet wood pieces first before assembling the drawers. Use a framing nailer gun to connect the sides, front, back, and bottom of the drawer. When you’re done, install a simple pull handle. A simple pallet DIY drawer is easy to make and you can improve this by adding drawer slides
Paint over your pallet wood drawers. Sand the surface of the wood well and make sure to remove all rough parts as pallet wood tends to be very rough and uneven. Add primer and let this dry. Afterward, add two coats of wood paint, the color depends on your tastes or the color of the shelf.
Make as many wood pallet drawers. You can even make boxes out of wood pallets; make these versatile by adding castor wheels or placing a lid over the boxes. With a well-made drawer out of pallet wood, you can store all kinds of things from linen, school items, books, children’s toys, kitchen utensils, and even food. These make good pantry drawers as well.
Fabric drawers
Strong and sturdy fabrics like cotton can be used to make fabric drawers. These DIY drawers are great for storing all kinds of items and the best part is you can clean them or wash them. To make fabric drawers, pick a good durable fabric with a great design.
Cut the fabric according to the size of the box you need. You must have five large squares of equal sizes to make an open box. Use a sewing machine to attach the squares together to make the box. Sew the edges to make a neat, well-made box.
Mix cornstarch powder and water to make a paste and soak the fabric box with this paste. Let this dry for a day outdoors. The fabric box will harden like cardboard making a strong, durable box/drawer that will keep its shape.
Decorate your fabric drawers with ribbons, lace, buttons, appliques, patches, or any decorative items you want. You can keep anything inside these fabric drawers like arts and crafts materials, school materials, electronics, toys, and even clothing.
Plastic drawers
If you know the height and the length of your drawers, look for a plastic container with the same dimensions. You can easily find one from a thrift store or from a houseware shop and are available in different colors.
Plastic drawers are very convenient as you don’t need to do anything to prepare them. Just put all your stuff in and shove it inside the shelf. These are also the easiest to clean as all you need to do is to empty them and wash them with water and soap. Meanwhile, plastic drawers may have dividers that you can use to keep smaller items like arts and crafts materials, personal care items, makeup, or hair accessories. Bigger and deeper plastic containers may be used as bigger drawers to keep larger items.
There you have it, our best DIY drawer ideas. You can come up with your own DIY drawer ideas out of different everyday household items. Just make sure that the material is durable and will keep all the items you want to store safely and securely.
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