Build a Utensil Drawer Organizer

Drawer Organizer

It's not a flashy project, but it solves a big annoyance.

The utensil drawer in my kitchen has long been an annoyance. I have a generic organizer that doesn't fit in the drawer well and it definitely isn't tall enough. It's an annoyance that's easy to ignore, but I decided to fix it. In the process I organized a few drawers.

Originally I thought about using my vacuum former, but to keep divider width to a minimum, I opted for 1/4" MDF.

Supplies:

• 1/4" MDF
• wood glue
• clear spray paint

Tools:

• Table saw, a crosscut sled is helpful
• Router with 1/4" flute
• Band saw 
• French curve, optional

Cut List:
This is subjective based on your drawer. My drawer was 11"x19"

• (1) 11"x19"
• (2) 19"x4" - (2) 1/4" dados
• (2) 10.5"x3.75" - (4) 1/4" dados
• (4) 9"x4"

I built it to fill the entire drawer and to be as tall ad the drawer. I sized this to the silverware I have, but I did make it slightly larger. I don't know the standard silverware size, if such a thing exits, but I also don't plan on upgrading silverware anytime soon.

I cut the pieces on a table saw and when the pieces fit on my sled, I used that.

I used a router to cut the dados. I used a divider as a guide, lining up the pieces so I could do a cut through both of them. My router bit didn't cut quite wide enough for the MDF to slot in. I made my cut, then placed a piece of paper folded (3) sheets thick on the guide and cut again. This made the slot the perfect width for the MDF.
I settled on (3) sheets thick by starting with (1) and working my way up until the MDF fit.

I cut a swoop into the center dividers because you cant' reach into the center spaces so narrow and tall. The lowest point is 5/8", the rest I just did what 'looks good.' I used a flexible ruler to draw the radiuses. The curve was cut out with a band saw. I then sanded the edges.

The side runners and bottom did need an 1/8"  trimmed off. You may have seen an extra dado. Measuring twice doesn't always works when you've written down the wrong dimension. Luckily I was off far enough that I could just cut another dado and not have to worry about filling the slot/creating an extra large slot.

I don't have to glue this, and decided not to. It holds together perfectly fine, constricted by the drawer. Having it able to break down also makes future clean up easier.

I did clear coat it to facilitate future clean up, though it's unlikely I will clean it that often.

 I liked this one so much, I built a second for a different drawer.