Pallet furniture is exploding across the DIY community, and for a good reason. Pallets are cheap, easy to obtain, and incredibly versatile. More than this, they’re structurally solid, making most furniture constructed out of them sturdy. The following will explore some nifty tips and tricks for making a footwear storage rack using pallets.
Take Stock Of Your Footwear Needs
Before you dive into the construction phase, it’s a good idea to take a look at your footwear collection as well as those belonging to those in your household. This will give you an idea of the quantity you want to store and the sizes of things. Heels and boots take up more space than sandals and sneakers and men’s dress shoes. You might also want to get honest about how many more pairs of shoes you’re likely to have in the near future.
Once this is done, you can begin to collect ideas for your shoe storage rack. Spend a bit of time perusing the internet and looking at different shoe organizer options; some shoe storage solutions involve shelves where footwear can line up, whereas some allow shoes to hang or tuck away in pockets. Figure out which style you like and which ones suit the amount of footwear you need to be stored.
Measure Where It’s Going To Go
Maybe you’re going to put your footwear storage rack in the closet; maybe it’s going to go behind the door when you first walk in; maybe it’s going around back in the mudroom. Take the time to properly measure wherever you want your footwear storage to go. Once you do this, measure again. If you don’t get the same dimensions, measure again. Do this until you get the same measurement twice in a row. You don’t want to go through all the trouble of building the rack and find out that you can’t fit it where you want it.
Track Down Your Pallets
You might think finding pallets is tough, but once you open your eyes, you’ll find they’re all over the place, and people are eager to have you come and take them away, often for free. Small local businesses are a great place to begin looking, as are internet boards like Kijiji and Craigslist. Often people who end up with pallets are looking to get rid of them. You can offer to help out.
Treat The Wood
Depending on the final look you want, you might want to treat or alter the wood from the pallets. This might include sanding to remove roughness or a paint color you don’t like. It might include painting or using a stain to deepen the wood’s color. Given that you’ll be using your construction to hold footwear, it’s a good idea to include some type of moisture-resistant sealing to prevent water dripping off your shoes and seeping into the wood. If you’re freaked out by the toxicity of varnish, know that there are many non-toxic alternatives available if you search for them online. Whatever you decide to do, be sure to wash and completely dry the wood before starting and between each step.
Connect Your Pallets
Once your wood is treated and dry, you can begin your construction. The old-fashioned hammers and nails work perfectly, but you can also use a drill and screws if you want the task to be a little easier. Given the structure of pallets, there are already shelves present; the simplest option is to stack and secure multiple pallets atop each other to create more shelves. If you want wider shelves, you can stack them facing each other (legs to legs and then flat side to flat side). If you want narrower shelves, you can stack them all facing the same way (legs to flat side, legs to flat side).
Whichever way you choose to connect your pallets, be sure to keep a level on hand and regularly check that you’re keeping things level. This will prevent your storage rack from looking like it’s leaning when you’re finished.
If you need to cut the wood for aesthetic or construction purposes, measure twice before making the cuts. It’s so much easier to measure a second time than it is to start over with a fresh piece of wood or pallet because you cut something too short.
Secure Your Rack
If you’ve opted to make a taller storage unit, you might want to secure the back of it to the wall. Anchoring kits can be bought for very little money and will help keep your shoe rack in place (even if the cat or kids decide to climb on it). Be sure to follow the safety instructions that come with whichever anchoring kit you choose.
Of course, you don’t need to stop at just footwear storage. Pallets can be used for all sorts of things, from bed frames to seating arrangements to bookshelves, pallets have you covered.
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