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Guest Post – Building Under the Sink Storage by Pink Toes and Power Tools

I am very excited to welcome Kristen from Pink Toes and Power Tools today! She’s gonna kill me for this, but this is Kristen:

I am not trying to embarrass her, I just want you to see what a fun gal she is! And not only is she fun, she’s got some serious DIY talent! You should see her daughter’s bed that she made!

Please give Kristen a warm welcome today!

Hello Pretty Handy Girl readers! I am Kristen from Pink Toes and Power Tools and I am honored to be guest posting today here at PHG!

At Pink Toes and Power Tools, you will get DIY instruction and inspiration in home remodeling and decorating, with an emphasis on woodworking. The projects on my blog are all done by me. I’m 5’2″ tall and 115 pounds. In short (pun intended), if I can do it then you can too!”

I was a seasoned DIYer in sewing and interior painting prior to beginning my blog, but I was a complete newbie in woodworking. Learn along with me as I tackle my first project, a Storage Closet Organizer, which gave me the confidence to build some Leaning Wall Shelves, which eventually led to an entirely new entrance to my home (which is also the laundry room):

With the new year rolling over just recently, I made a resolution to get some organization back into some hidden areas of our home. So today I am going to show you how you can build some under the sink storage, because I was tired of opening the door and looking at this:

I wish I could tell you that I “staged” it to look this bad, but unfortunately that isn’t the case. Some of you may still think that I did and for that I thank you — that means somebody out there believes I’m just not this messy. My husband sure wishes that were so! You can now understand that when I saw this on Pinterest I got pretty excited.

image

source: Pregnant…with power tools

Actually I got a LOT excited…dollar store bins! Scrap wood! Cheap and easy DIY—what’s not to love??

So I went off and I built some stuff and now it looks like this:

I love it so much now!

First thing you need to do is go get yourself some bins. This project cost me $4 because all I had to buy were the bins and I got 2 for $1 at Dollar Tree. You also need to know that bins vary in quality and usability for this project. Look for rigid bins with side edges that are uniform with no obstructions like these:

Mine looked decent in the 2 pack

…but revealed their true colors when I separated them.

Oh well, no worries. I decided to make these work because they were the only options at Dollar Tree that were the right size (these are about 6.25×10) . I modified my runners from the inspiration photo by using two for each side. You would want to do that if your bins are wonky like mine, or you want the bin to not tilt forward as you pull it toward you to open it.

I’ll give you the instructions using my dimensions — modify yours to work with your bins and cabinet space or to use up the scraps that you have available.

For the plastic bin tower you need:

3/4″ plywood–2 @ 9.5 x 19.75 (sides)

1/2″ plywood–2 @ 8 9/16 x 9.5 (top and bottom–I pieces together mine with multiple scraps for each)

1/2″ mdf/ply–16 @ 2 x 9.5 (runners)

1/4″ ply–8 9/16 x 20 11/16

8 bins 6.25 x 10

First you attach the runners. I did this one by one using a bin to space them and make sure it didn’t bind at any point. Turns out as I measure them now, they are all almost exactly 1/4″ wide. Glue and nail with 1″ 18 gauge nails or countersink some screws.

IMG_5642

Here I am figuring out how wide to cut the top and bottom. I think these would slide better if I had put them a little closer together, but I didn’t want to risk them binding. Glue and nail/screw on your top and bottom piece. I just put one nail on each corner of the top and bottom at this point (makes it easier to square it up). Put it on its face, square it up, nail on the back, and add some more nails or screws to the top and bottom.

IMG_5643

Done!

The drawers do not slide perfectly–if you want drawers that do, you have got to get rigid bins with a decent lip on the side like I said before. For $4, I am more than thrilled with these.

The other components for this project are super easy but you’ve got to be careful. This whole unit won’t fit in the cabinet wall to wall if it is all attached together. If you are strategic you can get them in there and remove them later.

Add a scrap wood bin with felt on the bottom for easy gliding so you can reach into the back recesses and you are good to go!

It looks like I threw out a lot of stuff, but honestly what I got rid of would have fit in half of one of the plastic drawers. Ok, maybe three-quarters of one if you count half empty boxes and miscellaneous plastic bags.

What do you think of it? Have you got a place for one of these in your home?

Thanks again for having me here Brittany!

{clapping hands}

Thanks for that wonderful tutorial Kristen! If you would like more DIY tutorials and fun, head over to Pink Toes and Power Tools! And tell her I sent you!

Would you like to be a guest on Pretty Handy Girl? Read my open invitation here.

26 replies
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  1. Linda
    Linda says:

    I left comments on Facebook. I would love to win the stencil or the sharpies or the glasses or the gloves, oh I am not picky LOL I would just like to win something. Glad things worked out for you and yoru blog.

    Reply
  2. Janna
    Janna says:

    I am most excited about the chance to win the stencil! I’d love to use in it in the nursery that we are going to be getting started on for our first baby! Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Elizabeth
    Elizabeth says:

    Hi! I subscribe and I would lu-hu-huve the cutting edge stencil giveaway. I already have the one I want picked out and just have been waiting for room in the budget to order it.
    Thank you for all your great ideas and tutorials!
    Elizabeth

    Reply
  4. Dixie Redmond
    Dixie Redmond says:

    I love it when bloggers feature other bloggers. I love this post because it looks like something I can do. Small projects are the way to begin. 🙂

    BTW, I nominated you over on the Vintage Revivals Blog Crush Link Party. Because when your blog comes up on my links blog list I smile. 😉

    Reply
  5. Young Wifey
    Young Wifey says:

    I’ve been meaning to make shelves for our vanities since we moved in at the end of June! It hasn’t been at the top of my list, but not I’m thinking I need to bump it up to the top. Thanks for introducing me to a great new blog!

    Reply
  6. Stephanie
    Stephanie says:

    i have been looking for storage options for our master bath under-sink cabinets. they’re very long (6 cabinet doors) and deep, giving lots of space, but making most of it useless b/c you have to crawl halfway in to get to the back. i’m going to modify this a bit and figure out how to make it work for my space. thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  7. Rukmini Roy
    Rukmini Roy says:

    Okay, this is seriously awesome. I live in a rented place but i guess a makeshift one wouldn’t hurt. love the idea. Thank you for sharing Kristen. And honestly, you look great in your shinning armor and mask 🙂

    Reply

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  1. […] post was originally a guest post for Brittany over at Pretty Handy Girl a little over two weeks ago.  I so appreciate that she featured me over there!  If you […]

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