DIY Ideas for Impeccably Organized Drawers

There’s a reason we call it a “junk drawer”—there’s something almost too easy about opening a drawer and throwing in all the tidbits we don’t have a designated home for. It’s no surprise then that drawers often turn into chaos collectors unless they’re continually sorted through. Who has time for that? To save you work down the line, we’ve assembled some of our favorite DIY drawer divider ideas that will wrangle ever last fork, rolling pin and rubber band you toss inside.

Above: Hiding inside the cabinets and drawers of this pretty Portland kitchen, you’ll find tons of clever ideas for stashing spices, sheet pans, trash cans. Take the full tour for all of the ideas.

Home stores are full of pre-made flatware organizers, but to construct one perfectly tailed to your drawer and utensil collection, follow the how-to on Kevin & Amanda.

Diagonal drawer dividers are ideal for storing baking tools, with the longest center areas long enough to hold rolling pins. We spotted one on Martha Stewart and sold at Home Depot, but I’m inspired to DIY my own by attaching thin strips of wood to the sides of a drawer.

Following Marie Kondo’s suggestion that everything you need to organize your home is already in your home, former Kitchn editor Cambria Bold pulled boxes, lids and ceramic bowls to corral the bits and bobs in her junk drawer. If you have time to add a little extra oomph, line each of the boxes with colorful patterned paper or spray-paint them to match.

This home from DecorPad transformed a low drawer into a feeding station for Fido; to learn how to DIY your own, turn to This Old House.

Hands-down the most affordable way to divide a sock drawer, cut a cardboard box into an organizer following the instructions on Krazy Coupon Lady. Paint the sections before installing them to make the cardboard pieces look, well, less like cardboard.

Jen from The House of Wood shared on iHeartOrganizing her secret to building drawer organizers that can shrink or expand according to what’s stashed inside: Store-bought plastic drawer divider tracks that let you adjust the size of each section.