Add Slide-Out Shelves to Your Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen cabinets can be quite a mess and difficult to navigate. You must put everything you need for cooking and eating in them, but they are almost never designed well enough to make that easy. They are usually too deep, making it hard to see what’s in there, or too shallow, making it hard to store much of anything in them. The lower cabinets can be a jungle of pots, pans, and assorted produce and canned goods. How many times have you cleaned out your kitchen cabinets only to find that you did indeed have 2 bottles of cinnamon but couldn’t find either one? So you made a trip to the market last time you needed cinnamon to buy yet a third bottle, as the other 2 were nowhere to be found.

There is a solution to this mess. Adding slide-outs is easy and will give you quick visual access to everything you have in those cabinets. You can see what you need at a glance by sliding out the shelves or drawers. Some units can be expensive, but if you consider how many times you’ve bought something you already have because you couldn’t find it, you’ll save money in the long run.

There are also simpler alternatives that are less expensive, though not as slick as slide-outs. You can use baskets, plastic containers (like shoeboxes), and inexpensive organizing containers instead. The idea is to be able to quickly pull out everything that is stored in a cabinet so you can see what’s there without digging and knocking everything out of the cabinets that’s in the way in the process.

Install Pull-Out Shelf

You’ll need:

• Pull-out shelving kit (buy as many as you’d like, but make sure you measure your cabinets before you buy) Purchase wood, plywood, wire or combination type slide-outs or pull-outs.
• Stain (if desired. The wooden ones come in plain wood that can be stained or painted to match your cabinets)
• Pencil (for marking off measurements)
• Measuring device (tape measure. A smaller one will work well and might not be so bulky when working inside the cabinets)
• Level (torpedo type will work best, although any level that shows clear level will work)
• Drill and bits

Begin Installation

1)      With the rear bracket of one track resting against the back wall and on the existing shelf, place level on top of bracket. When level, make a mark at the front of the cabinet where the bracket will be fastened. When installing a shelf in the cabinet’s bottom, use the floor of the cabinet as your guide.

2)      Do the same on the other side of the cabinet where the shelf will sit.

3)      If the shelf won’t clear the door, use a shim of wood where you fasten the bracket to the cabinet, just to lift the bracket out enough to clear the door.

4)      Drill a small pilot hole where the screws will be inserted. Then screw the bracket down at the front.

5)      Before fastening the rear brackets measure the distance from the wall and level again. Once you’re sure, fasten the rear brackets to the back of the cabinet.

6)      Fasten the slides to the pull-out drawers, making sure that the front should be flush up to the front of the drawer.

7)      Stain or paint the shelf if desired to match the cabinet.

8)      Set the shelf in place and slide it in and out a few times to check your work.

For Makeshift Pull-outs

You’ll need:

• Containers (Baskets, plastic or wooden containers, plastic shoe boxes, and drawer organizers, anything that fits in your shelves that can hold your stuff) Measure first, then find or buy.
• Measuring tape
• Slick shelf paper if shelves are rough or unfinished (the containers will slide more easily)

Install Makeshift Containers to Slide Out

1)      Measure your cabinet shelves that need organizing and have difficult to find items.  Wherever you need to reach way to the back of a cabinet to get out the cookie sheets, for example, you’ll place containers that can be filled with your items and will slide out easily.

2)      If the shelves are rough and unfinished, place the slick shelf paper on the shelves to help the container slide.

3)      Using, for example, an under bed storage box, leave the lid off and fill it with the desired items.

4)      Now place it in the shelf area. It should slide easily in and out of the cabinet.

5)      Continue to add containers where you want to organize and get easier access to your hard to reach items.

Whether you use the makeshift version or buy a slide-out shelf kit, you’ll find it so much easier to keep your items organized. It will be much easier to reach anything you have no matter how far back it is stored.

Photo credit: cgarbiano of stock.
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Tags:

kitchen cabinets

shelves

slide-outs