When I think of my dream home, I think about a house with an amazing storage space, where everything has its own place, and can be accessed easily… and put away after it is used! Wouldn’t that be AMAZE BALLS! So to make my storage dreams come true, I decided to create a storage system in the extra space storage area in our furnace room… HELLO DIY Storage Shelves! And since Shawnikins currently has enough projects on the go, I figured out a way that I could make these with little to no help from him!! AND YOU CAN MAKE THEM TOO!! You will amaze yourself… If I can make 2 of these bad boys… You can too!! Check em out!!
Welcome to my nightmare of a storage room!! This is actually A LOT less than what WAS being stored in this room. I wish I had got a REAL before shot, but I decided to do a tutorial of my extra space storage shelves, after I had already cleared out half of the junk that was in this room. Imagine no floor space visible, storage bins over flowing everywhere, craft supplies and fabric flying through the air… A NIGHTMARE!!!
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
- Wood
- 12 – 2 by 4s that are 8 feet long.
- 2 – 4 foot by 8 foot OSB or plywood sheets.
- Construction Screws
- 3 inch construction screws for the frame.
- 1 1/2 inch construction screws for adding the plywood to the frame
- Drill (I use this one)
- Drill Bit ( I used this one)
- Measuring device (I used a quilting ruler, because that’s how I roll… but a measuring tape your do the job!)
- Square (I used this one)
- Wood Clamp
- Level
- Ladder or Tall Step Stool
- Your own MUSCLES!!!!
WOOD CUTS:
- Cut 21 inches off of 4 of your 8 foot long 2 by 4s (these will become the legs)
- Cut 2 of your 8 foot boards into 21 inch pieces. You should get 4 pieces plus a bit extra that you can discard out of each 2 by 4 (these will be your support beams)
- Cut your OSB or plywood in half length ways to create 2 – 2 foot by 8 foot sheets of wood. (you will have one extra that you can discard or use to create another storage shelf).
TIP: I got all of my wood cut at RONA before bringing it home. Saved me the cutting work! Don’t hesitate to ask them to cut your wood for you. It did cost me an extra $5, but totally worth it!
METHOD:
Step 1: Create the frames of your 3 platforms. Place two 8 foot long 2 by 4s with three – 21 inch support beams between them. Like this… Screw them together with 3 inch construction screws. I placed 3 screws at each connection.
TIP: To make sure your whole project is squared up use a square to make sure all of your angles are straight, or at perfect 90 degree angles. Like this…
Make 3 shelf frames! and stand them on their sides like this…
TRUTH MOMENT: Since I made 2 of these DIY storage shelves, I learned a little from my first attempt to make my second all on my own. On my first shelf I added the plywood top to these platforms before adding the legs. which made it VERY VERY HEAVY! I needed to ask Shawn to help lift the shelf up and I wanted to be able to make them without needing him at all. So for the second storage shelf I added the legs, flipped the shelf on its legs all by myself (MUSCLES!!!), and then added the plywood.
Step 2: Add the first leg to your shelf frames!
- First lay all of your shelf frames on their sides like the photo above. Then lay your first leg of your shelf on the ground up against all three ends of your shelf frames and measure 21 inches from the bottom of the leg to the bottom of the first shelf. Like this…
- Screw the first leg into the first shelf frame.
- Then measure 21 1/2 inches from the top of the first shelf frame to the bottom of the second shelf frame. And screw the leg onto the second shelf frame.
- Then measure 1/2 inch down from the top of the leg (easier to measure from the top at this point) and screw your leg onto the 3rd shelf frame. (the 1/2 inch is to accommodate the plywood platform)
Step 3: Add your second Leg of your shelf. Due to gravity you will need to find a way to hold up the top of the leg to the 3rd shelf frame while you screw in the bottom of your leg to the first shelf frame. To do the I used a clamp to rest the top of the leg on as I screwed in the bottom. Like this…
- Add a clamp.
- rest your wood leg on it. Like this…
- Then screw your leg onto the shelf frames. Making sure that the measurements are the same as the first leg. (see Step 2)
NOTE: I used 5 three inch construction screws at every connection where a leg is attached to the shelf frames. Like this…
Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the other end of your selves to add your 3rd and 4th legs.
Step 5: Now that your frame is built on its side and on the ground… you will need to left it up on its feet!!! I know!! You can do it!! I did this alone by standing in the frame between the 2nd and 3rd shelf, and lifting the 3rd shelf up and over my head. WAALAA! Or you can ask for help if you don’t feel the need to do a construction project alllllll byyyyyy yourself… As I did. LOL!
It should look like this!
At this point I took a level and made sure everything was hunky dorky. Which it should be if all your measurements are correct, and your floor is level. You can make small adjustments if you need to my just re doing a few screws. Perfection!
Step 6: Add the plywood platforms to your shelves!
- Lay your plywood on each shelf and use 1 1/2 inch construction screws along the edges to make it secure. Like this…
- As you get to the top shelf you will need a ladder or tall step stool to be able to add your screws. Unless you are like 6’6” like my Shawnikins. But he wasn’t building this project… so I used a step stool. Like this…
DONE!! Enjoy it in all its glory!!!….
This storage shelf can hold the biggest totes that we have, plus room for more.
And then make another one!! Lol.
And then fill it will all your junk! Lol…
I’d love for all of our totes to match, but that really isn’t in the budget right now. Instead I got a label maker (found here) and labelled all of the totes, so that I don’t have to go digging around to find what I need.
P.S. I got blisters from going label crazy!! Use caution!! Lol…
To finish the room off I added some carpets that we are currently not using in the rest of our home (the cement floors are so cold, now I don’t have to wear shoes to visit my new storage shelves!!)
This makes me so happy!! Each of our holiday decoration totes are now organized, so I can use them… and then put them away in their own spot! Easy peasy. I was even able to add all of our Christmas decorations to this storage room (they were previously in an under the stairs storage area). YAY! All of our stuff now fits in one organized storage room!
I hope this extra space storage post inspired you to take on an organization project for yourself! You really don’t need to wait for anyone else, to start creating awesome storage today! By utilizing RONA’s cutting station, and your determination, you can build anything!!
Until next time, do something out of your comfort zone, enjoy creating amazing organization, and create beautiful things every day!
XO JCL
P.S. Looking for another fun wood working project?!?! Check out my DIY Growth Chart Tutorial!
