Heroth Home

I had a glorious snow day today, and I spent it re-arranging everything in my kitchen cabinets! That would be pretty boring to read about, but since I was in an organizing mood, I thought it would be a perfect time to share what might be the best idea that I’ve ever had. I always say that none of my clever ideas are my own… 99% of the little projects I tackle are based on ideas that I have seen somewhere (usually other blogs, Pinterest, or good ol’ HGTV) … but this, my friends, is alllllll meeeee.

I came up with this idea last summer when my utensil drawer looked like this: (thanks for never deleting my text messages, Momma!)

I knew I needed drawer dividers, but I’m cheap. I refuse to spend $20 on drawer dividers when that can buy me a couple of shirts on clearance. No? I walked through Lowe’s, Walmart, Target and Dollar Stores for weeks looking for something I could use for drawer dividers. I couldn’t find anything.

Then one day, when I wasn’t even thinking about drawer dividers, I spotted a box full of 69¢ yard sticks in the paint aisle. Bam. I could totally turn them into drawer dividers. I bought like a zillion and brought them home.

I don’t have any pics of the process, but it’s not rocket science…. First, I figured out the lengths I needed. (Bonus — it’s a yard stick so measuring is really easy, haha!) Then I literally sawed them apart with a steak knife. I didn’t know where there was a saw and when I have an idea like this I need instant gratification, even if it means cutting wood with a steak knife. Or spray painting in the basement. That one got me in trouble. It’s a sickness, I know.

For every “divider” I cut two sticks the same length then hot glued one on top of the other. It is the perfect height for standard drawers. Then I hot glued them right into the drawers. (This kind of freaked me out until I realized that the hot glue peels right off when you want it to.)

I put the dividers where I wanted them, and then loaded up both ends with hot glue so it kind of oozes into the joint and surrounds the end of the yard sticks. It’s not very pretty close up, but you really can’t see the glue unless you’re looking for it.

When I first made these guys, I thought about trying to make them pretty by painting them or covering them in something, so they didn’t look like rulers… but I decided against it because: #1 – I was too impatient to wait for paint to dry before installing them, #2 – I wasn’t sure if paint would chip on my cooking tools (gross), and #3 – I think they look kind of cool as they are. Oh, and now everyone who opens my drawer and sees this thinks I’m a genius. Muahahahaha!

So the total amount of money that I spent on dividers for this 19.5″ x 31″ inch drawer (guess how I measured those dimensions?!) was $4.14.

How can you beat that?!

Linking up with Beth at Home Stories A to Z, Carmel at Our Fifth House, and Jen at iHeart Organizing