DIY Closet Shelves

The closet in my wife’s office was overly cluttered. It was a tedious task to retrieve something from the piles that filled it. So, we decided to make some shelves and use storage bins to help organize the space, making it much more functional.

There are many configurations you can use when doing a small closet makeover, but for us simple shelves were the way to go. For this project I used a single sheet of ½ inch plywood, some 1 x 2-inch poplar trim, and some cutoffs saved from prior projects for the shelf supports.

I chose a depth of 16 inches to maximize the yield from out plywood as well as to make sure they fit well in out closet space. The height of the shelves were chosen to accommodate the plastic bins we were planning to use. The first shelf is about 20 inches from the floor, and the next two are about 15 ¾ inches above the one below it.

I made a center divider that supported the shelves as well as the closet rod which we cut down to still be able to hand things on the other side of the closet. I finished the shelved with some poplar trim to make the edges look cleaner and thicker. Everything was pre-painted and touchups were done after installation.

Overall, it is a fast project, but one that can make a large impact on your space.

You can find a YouTube video of the project here: https://youtu.be/mmv3a_v9LPg