● Rolling Pull out Shelves

H

ola! It is a new year. But I know this: that old project is still screaming your name. Scream! Let me remember…

Recollections of my early projects are just that. They were done by hook or crook, without “good tools” or simply, by my bootstraps. Some, like these rolling pull out shelves, were completed years ago when I had no inclination to record my work in any detailed way.

These stories are part of a continuing saga meant only to entertain. They may provide an idea, a solution, a lot of oh-oh’s, a few oh no’s, or a nod of agreement.

I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.
– Vincent Van Gogh

Story #8: Rolling Pull Out Shelves

Attempting to live a minimalist lifestyle requires a little thinking. Sometimes the space that you have is sufficient. Still, it is not organised in a way that accommodates what you have.

Kitchen chaos

The kitchen is a very dynamic place. Eating, cooking, washing dishes, prepping food, and the constant visits for drinks and snacks inevitably result in disarray. It bears the brunt of a special kind of storage issue.

Utensils, pots, small appliances, towels, and table linens get stored in any available space. And sometimes it is not the same spot. That can cause unnecessary searches and wasted time. Soon, the space gets smaller as the number of items that need to reside there gets larger.

A solution could be to just move. Or find another place to live that has a bigger kitchen or maybe a pantry. That is an indulgence. In most cases that is an expensive or unaffordable response to the problem.

Another solution would be to sort out everything in the kitchen and determine which items are necessary. Maybe they should not even be there. Items in good condition can be given away or sold. Now, the space is cleaner and less crowded, but it still needs to be organized.

This space needs drawers

Lower kitchen cabinets offer space on a shelf or two. The shelves accept items of all shapes and sizes. Some of the objects are thrown onto a shelf even if the fit is not right. Then the door is shut. Problem over, right?

It is until you have to open the door to look for something else. A pot or pan falls onto the floor – hopefully not on your toes. But it happens again and again.

The routine may work for a while until it does not. Organization goes out the window after a pan is thrown in the cabinet and the door is shut. Next time it is opened, a pan falls to the floor. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

The drawers

I thought about retrofitting drawers in the cabinets – many times. The idea was always dismissed as too expensive a solution for the problem. I did not want to buy new cabinets. They were in good shape. Was there a solution short of an entire kitchen renovation?

There was. And I could do it myself to my needs and specifications.

I measured each and all lower cabinet spaces for rolling pull out drawers. Simply assuming that they are all the same size inevitably results in a fatal mistake. Most of the time, the drawers are the same size, but double-checking before cutting wood or any other material prevents “woodworkers heartache”.

I used 5-ply, 3/4″ furniture grade plywood to make the pull out drawers. A water-resistant finish was applied.

Pull out shelves hardware

One part of a side mount ball bearing telescopic movement drawer slide was fitted in the upper and lower positions of each cabinet.

The matching part of the door slide was attached to each appropriate drawer.

The shelves in the cabinets were not removed. I did not want to do a lot of demolition in order to fit the rolling shelves in the existing cabinet space.

I used wood blocks to anchor the slides to the side panels and cabinet floors.

Closeup of the side rail.

After assembly, I did a bit of test fitting to ensure easy rolling. Each drawer was matched to its corresponding drawer slide.

After fitting in the cabinets, the pullout drawers can be installed.

Some cabinets, like the ones on the right, were purposely retrofitted only on the bottom. Bottles and taller appliances will be stored in these spaces.

The pots and pans are positioned neatly in the space.

This is a full view of some of the renovated cabinets with the pull out shelves.

Our little secret…

Neat!

Here is the hiding place for small appliances.

All done.

Closed.

What do you think?

Was it worth the moderate investment of time, effort, and cost to do this?

_____

Baadaye

♥️ 

Note: The words for the retrofitted drawers and shelves are used interchangeably in recounting this story. At the end, I refer to them as rolling pull out shelves.

Remember: If you are going to make any project, be mindful and be safe.