Make Your Own Homemade Food Storage Shelf

Jars of dry food on shelves mounted to brick wall
  • 3-6 hours
  • Intermediate
  • 50-300
What You'll Need
Hammer
Nails
L-brackets
2x4-inch boards (4)
1/4 -inch plywood sheets (2)
Tape measure
Pencil
What You'll Need
Hammer
Nails
L-brackets
2x4-inch boards (4)
1/4 -inch plywood sheets (2)
Tape measure
Pencil

Rather than go out to the local department store and buy a series of flimsy plastic or costly metal shelves, follow these easy steps to build your own food storage shelf. If you need to save money or just like to have an easy wood project, then homemade shelving is a good place to start. Building homemade shelving to be used for food storage is not only easy, but fairly inexpensive.

Step 1 - Determine Storage Shelf Size

Figure out how large you want your storage shelf to be. Take measurements of the space where you plan on keeping the storage shelf. Note the maximum height, width, and depth of the area. These measurements will give you the maximum size you can have for your homemade shelving unit. You can have plywood sheets cut to whatever size you need at a home improvement store.

Your storage unit could have as few as two shelves or up to eight. For the purpose of this instructional, the unit will be four shelves. Each plywood sheet will have to be cut in half along the short side.

Step 2 - Attach the Brackets

metal shelf brackets

You can purchase brackets that are completely straight and others that are bent where the main arm and short arm connect. If you purchased brackets that are not bent then you can bend them yourself. The shelves should be able to rest on top of the brackets.

Place each of the 2x4-inch boards down flat next to each other. Stretch the measuring tape from the top of a 2x4 to the bottom.

Measure six inches up from the bottom of each 2x4 and make a mark. From these marks, measure six inches up and continue until you have four marks per 2x4.

Fit the brackets on the 2x4s and nail them in place. When you are finished, there should be four brackets on each 2x4 support.

Step 3 - Install the Shelves

This is the difficult aspect of homemade shelving. You will most likely need the aid of a friend to complete this stage of the storage shelf. When building shelves it is important to install the actual shelves starting with the center shelf. This distributes the weight better, which allows for you to install the other shelves easily. Brace the back support legs against a wall so that it is standing straight up. Have your friend hold the supports in place as you rest one edge of a plywood sheet on the brackets.

Nail that side of the shelf in place through the brackets. Move the front support legs to the plywood shelf so it can rest on the brackets. Nail that side in place. Place the remaining shelves and nail them in place to finish the storage shelf.