DIY Wooden Drawer Divider

Do you ever complete a project that just instantly makes life easier and more organized? This DIY wooden drawer divider is that project for me.

Our utensil drawer has been disastrous for a long time. We had one standard utensil holder in 1995 forest green that comfortably held one set of cutlery and a rectangular bin that used to hold plastic utensils for the younger kids. As the kids have grown, we no longer have many plastic utensils, which means the white box isn’t needed, and we have completely outgrown the size {and color} of the standard utensil holder. With seven people in our family, we own five mismatched sets of cutlery, three that live in this drawer all the time. They hardly fit in the utensil holder, they get jammed in the drawer regularly, and I just wanted a better solution. I knew I could easily DIY a drawer divider that would meet our needs.

To make a DIY drawer divider like this one, buy a few pieces of 3/8x3x24 inch wood at your local hardware store and make sure you’re stocked up on hot glue.

Begin by measuring the width of the inside of the drawer and cut a piece of wood to fit exactly inside those dimensions. You’ll want it to fit snugly. This piece will form the divider that goes straight across the drawer, dividing the back area from the front.

Next, determine how many sections you want and cut the correct number of pieces that will attach lengthwise. I created four sections in the front so I started by attaching one piece of wood in the center of the cross piece. To attach the wood pieces together, I used hot glue and used a craft knife to scrape away any extra glue that seeped out. Be sure to attach the wood pieces so they’re perfectly square. You can do this easily by using another piece of wood as a square.

Attach the other pieces at equal measurements. To do this simply, create spacers of equal sizes, put them in place, and attach the divider right up against the spacer. When the glue sets, slide the spacers out.

Place the divider into the drawer {ignore the stained, slightly warped bottom of my drawer}, again using the spacers to set the dividers properly into place. Use hot glue to attach the front of the lengthwise dividers to the drawer. If you want, you can also cut another cross piece and place that at the front of the drawer instead of gluing the pieces onto the actual drawer.

Add the piles of silverware to the drawer …

… and you’re all set with a cheap way to have a custom look that’ll take far less than an hour to make.

I keep opening the utensil drawer just to look at the new drawer divider. I love the increased space and the more efficient organization. I love a small project that makes such a big difference!