Some people collect stamps, some people collect baseball cards. I have realised that I collect spices. My small spice cupboard is full of jars, bags and bottles of different spices and it is a giant mess. I always have to take ten different things out of the cupboard to get what I want. It is annoying and takes a lot of time.
I would like to have some boxes to put inside the cupboard. Then I could just take the box out, get what I want and put it back.
I could buy some plastic organising boxes and be done with it but there are many spices and the cupboard is small so I can’t afford to lose any space. I need something that fits snuggly in the cupboard so I have to make it myself.
I would like some good ideas on how to make the boxes. Ideally they would:
- Be made of thin material not to take up space
- Be strong enough to hold a box of salt or a bottle of soy sauce.
- Be easy to clean, or at least able to withstand being wiped with a damp cloth
- Be easy to make without access to a proper workshop
- Be cheap
I don’t know if any of this is possible. Thin wood would be nice but it can get quite expensive and would need more time and tools than is feasible for my situation. Cardboard covered with something moisture resistant would be easy and manageable to make but I’m not convinced about it being strong enough or about if it is able to withstand cleaning. It would be cool if you could make custom-sized plastic boxes but you can’t do that, right?
Any projects you do with wood, you can cover with (foodsafe) varnish to make them easy to clean. This will be a very fun way to learn basic woodworking! Whatever way you design things, assume it will take you at least 10 minutes per cut and 10-15 minutes of assembly per join to accommodate mistakes and triple-quadruple measuring. This also allows for the hour of “everything looks right but this last piece won’t slide into place…” jiggerypokery.
Whatever design you make, get 20-25% more material than it requires because you are going to fuck up but it will be okay and help you learn.
Also balsawood with dividers will probably be strong enough for your purposes, is readily available, easily joined with wood glue, and can be cut with an exacto knife.