Drawer Dividers

This was probably the quickest project I've done that is posted on this site. From start to finish, it took about an hour and a half, but it makes a big difference.

We have a lot of drawers in our kitchen (see my cabinet post). Despite that, we still end up with a free-for-all in several drawers, where utensils are thrown in willy-nilly. Invariably, it leads to a fair amount of, "Hon? Do you know where [X utensil] is?!" So I thought I'd create some organization.

First, I created the layout - I took everything out of the drawer, then added everything back where I wanted it, and used tape to show where I wanted the dividers.

Next, I built the dividers. I used some pine craft board from Lowes. I bought six 3-foot long, 3/8-inch thick, 2 1/2-inch tall boards called "project boards." I took each drawer out to the garage where I was working, and cut each piece to fit as snug as possible in the drawer. I started with pieces that spanned the entire drawer, set them in place, then held pieces up to get the next measurement. The beauty of this project is I hardly used a tape measure at all. 

To hold everything together, I used wood glue and 1-inch finishing nails (shot in with a nail gun). So that everything stayed square, I would make a mark at the top of each board to its joining piece, tack in one nail, then flip it over and use a speed square to make sure everything lined up, mark another line, and use that to keep it in place when I tacked the nail in the other side.

I did three drawers, and they all turned out really well. I also still have two boards leftover, so I can do the silverware drawer next. This was a super easy project, and makes everything look awesome. Here is the process for the drawer that was the main reason for this project, and it's my favorite. Enjoy!