The Wood DIY That Will Double The Shelf Space In Your Kitchen Cabinets

There's no denying that kitchen cupboards are perfect for storing things, but what about when you want to beat kitchen cabinet clutter? While it's easy to pile things up and forget about them, it turns out there may be a much more efficient way to organize your cabinets thanks to @prettyhandygirl on TikTok, who shows how you can DIY a double-shelf to solve the issue. Not only is this budget-friendly if you upcycle an old piece of wood, but it's also incredibly easy to make, so even if you're not familiar with DIY, you should be able to re-create this. In fact, you could make as many of these as you want if you're facing this problem in more than one of your cabinets, making it an incredibly versatile hack.

All you'll need is an old piece of scrap wood (or alternatively, buy some oak board from Lowe's for $23.94), a saw, a tape measure, some trim nails, a nail gun, adhesive, a finishing nailer, some Minwax polyacrylic (which is available from Amazon for $12.98), and some paint in the color of your choice. If you upcycle your materials, you can rest easy knowing that you'll also be doing a favor for the environment. So, what are the next steps?

To begin the process, take your tape measure and note down the depth of your cabinet, as well as decide how wide you want your shelf and legs to be. For example, it could be half the width of them, or it could span across the whole way so you can maximize your cupboard storage. However, this will all depend on what items you have in there and what you plan on using them for. Once you have the dimensions noted down, you can slice your pieces with your saw, including two legs, your shelf section, and two pieces of wooden trim, one spanning the length of your DIY and the other down the horizontal side of your cabinet. You should ensure the bottoms of the legs are flat, so there will be no wobble. Here, you have the option to add some polyacrylic, but it's not essential.

Now that you have everything you need, start with your trim nails to set your trim in place just underneath where you want your new craft to sit, which will help to support it. Just make sure you take the time to get the placement right, otherwise, it will be difficult to remove and re-adjust. After this, all you have to do is add your two wooden legs to the front ends of your shelf and slot them into place, using the shelf to store items for which you may have previously struggled. Just make sure you don't add anything too heavy. 

If you want to add flair to your new shelf, you have plenty of options. First, you could paint it, whether that's white for a modern and simplistic look or pastel pink for something quirky yet subtle. In addition to switching up the color, you also have the option to stick on some material, such as this gingham pattern from Amazon for $6.99 for a "traditional" look, or install battery-operated puck lights underneath for a better view. You could even swap out your items for some shallow baskets and instead use the additional space to organize and store teabags, fruit, or even miscellaneous items such as keys and notepads. 

When it comes to organization, if you know exactly what you want to stow away, add some more trim to your shelf to create different sections for different items, which should also help to prevent things from getting mixed up and bashing into each other. Likewise, if your cupboard is quite tall, implement additional shelves, providing that they are secure. 

The reason why this hack works is because it helps to add extra storage space and makes it much easier to stack items as a result, with the trim helping to support the overall structure so you can make the most of your small cabinet space. Without it, you may find it harder to store as much.