Fix It - Fix Storage for a Closet

Sounds like a 'Fix Storage' problem to me.

I get asked on a pretty regular basis, "Jeff, how do I fix it in 5 minutes or less?" and "Jeff, how do I fix my storage problem by adding storage?"

While there are several things you can do, we forget about most of them or simply don't recognize most opportunities because they are simply right under our noses.

Just today, I completed a Fix Storage Project in my own home.

I have a front entry closet. In this closet, I have your normal closet space. There is room for coats, shoes, etc; your normal front entry closet. However, this closet also has some 'dead space' - space that isn't really all that usable - in the back of the closet. There is enough room for about a 13 inch deep and 18 inch wide space. I currently do have shelving in this space, however, it never seems to be enough.

Well, today, my wife and I were doing some regular cleaning around the house. We typically try to go through our house once every 3-4 months and just clean out all the clutter that tends to get built up - it is also a great time to start to change over to the new season. I.e. putting away the light jackets and getting out the heavy jackets for winter.

Anyway, this is a great time to check on your storage requirements. What we found is that while there are some shelving in the back, we would like to have more space. So, what do you think goes on the top of the honey do list??? adding shelving to the front closet - a typical Fix Storage project.

Here are tools that I used on this project. Click on this store to purchase them so you have the perfect tools for the job.

You'll need:
Black & Decker Jigsaw or a Black & Decker Circular Saw
Tape Measure
or get this comprehensive took kit
Ear Plugs (to protect your ears while you cut)
Eye Protection (to protect yourself while you cut)
Gloves - always a good idea to keep away from splinter.
Drill - to screw in your supports (in step 4) if you would like a more comprehensive drill check out this one

All in all, this is a relatively simple project. On a band aid scale of 1-10, this project ranks about a 1-2 (a 2 simply because you are going to be using some tools).

Step 1:
Identify what your needs are. In this project, my wife and I decided that we wanted to add in 1 additional shelf.

Step 2:
Determine the location of the new shelf.

Step 3:Make your new shelf. You'll need to measure your depth (front to back) and your width (side to side) of the shelf you want. Then simply transfer those measurements over to the piece of material you'll use and mark your outline. For our purposes, we used a piece of MDF (medium density fiberboard - it is the stuff that most furniture is made out of that you get from your discount stores). I then cut my board with a Jigsaw and boom, I had my shelf.

Step 4:
Mount your self. What I like to do is to make sure I have support on the 3 sides that will be against the wall. Simply cut some scrap wood to match your dimensions. In this case I had some left over 1x2 boards, I cut two to match the depth (front to back) and mounted them on the wall...making sure that they were level. Then I cut one additional piece to go across the back wall and mounted it. Then you simply place your new shelf on your supports and you are good to go.

Congratulations! You just completed your own Fix Storage project and added storage to your house.

Let me know if this helped you Fix your organization

Let me know if you have any questions

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