How To Reinforce Wire Storage Cubes For A More Secure Solution

Wire shelving and cube storage is a staple of organization, and for good reason. It's highly customizable, budget-friendly (averaging around $3 or $4 per square-foot cube), and offers handy visibility so you can easily see exactly where all of your most-used items are. Wire storage units are also very lightweight, which is a plus — until it's not. Wire shelves may be easy to move, but they can also be wobbly and unstable. Especially if you use wire storage for clothing or other heavy items, getting the wire unit even slightly out of balance can send the whole thing toppling.

If you've had trouble keeping your wire cube storage unit secure, you may have even considered upgrading to more sturdy (and more expensive) storage solutions. But before you blow your budget on more shelving, we've got a simple and inexpensive hack to reinforce those wire cubes. The secret? Zip ties. Zip ties will make any wire storage unit strong and sturdy, from storage cubes in the closet to wire shelves you use to organize your home office. You might assume that you can just zip-tie storage wire panels end-to-end to secure them, but they will still wobble similarly to using the connector pieces that come with the storage cube sets. Not only that, but the zip ties get in the way of connecting the perpendicular wire panels to form the cube, making the whole unit unstable. YouTuber Melanie Czoka made that mistake, and realized that overlapping the wire panels and then zip-tying is the key to a super-stable unit.

When connecting wire storage panels with zip ties, overlap them so the grids align, and zip tie them in place at several points to secure them. Pro tip: When connecting two parallel panels, leave one row where the panels overlap free of zip ties. This way, you save an open row of reinforced wire to zip-tie the perpendicular panel to form the cube, which strengthens the whole unit.

Zip ties add endless customization options to your wire storage unit. They allow you to adjust the size and placement of each wire panel to create customized shelving configurations to perfectly fit whatever you're storing. If you need to change up your design, reuse the zip ties by inserting a small screwdriver or paperclip into the little zip tie box to separate it from the locking tabs, and then pull the tie back through the box to undo it. If you want to make your shelves even more functional, take advantage of a Dollar Tree wire basket hack and zip tie some additional storage on the sides of your unit. You can also use zip ties to divide the cubes into smaller shelves by sliding wire grids into the cubes and zip-tying them to the sides. This hack can even act as a great way to convert your wire cube unit into a craft paper storage tower!