Good morning guys!

I am super excited about a little series Ash and I will be sharing called ‘Shanty Storage Solutions’!

We both have a healthy amount of OCD from our mom (Ash received more than me), and one of our favorite things to do is organize!  Our goal is to use our love for wood and DIY to create solutions for our kitchens and our homes that help things run more smoothly and efficiently.  We also hope to free up some much needed space in the process!  The great thing about creating these items on your own is that each one of them can be customized to fit your family’s and home’s needs!  Love that!  With 8 kiddos between the 2 of us, we hope to offer you guys so cute ideas with a whole lot of function!

I will start it off today with a little something I made for my pantry door!  One of my goals is to use just about every inch of my pantry.  Since moving in, my spices have been taking up space in a big drawer.  They were ready for a new home, and I was ready to get my drawer back!  Here is what I came up with…

You like it?  I do!  This baby is super easy to make!  I decided to make mine for the top half of the door to keep my babies from playing with the spices!  Plus, I have a fun plan for the bottom half I will be sharing soon!

I used my Kreg Jig® to build mine, but you can also use finish nails and wood glue if you aren’t a Kreg Jig® owner!

Materials – 

2 – 1x4x10 whitewood boards (I actually used 3 – 1x4x8 because they are easier to get in my car ;-))

3 – 4ft 3/8″ dowel rods (found mine at Lowe’s for under a buck a piece)

3/8″ dowel buttons (right next to the dowels at Lowe’s)

cup hooks (hardware aisle)

1/4″ plywood for the back (I used a PureBond plywood scrap I had on hand, but you can buy a 2×4′ sheet at Lowe’s or HD and have it cut down to 21″ x 39″)

Total cost – Around $30 depending on what you use for the back of your spice rack

Here is how I made it!

I made all my cuts first.

1×4 cuts – 

8 at 19.5″

2 at 39″

Dowel cuts

6 at 20.5″

Plywood back cut to 21 x 39

After making my cuts I drilled my holes for my dowels.  I used a drill bit just 1 size larger than my 3/8″ dowels.  I knew my holes would be exactly the same on both side boards, so I clamped them together and did them at the same time.  This saved a little time.  If you don’t have a clamp you can just do 1 board at a time!

Here are the measurements of where to drill your holes!  All of my holes are made 3/4″ from the side of the boards.

Next, I used my Kreg Jig® to add pocket holes to my top and bottom pieces, and to all of my shelf pieces.  Again, if you don’t have a Kreg Jig®, you can use Gorilla Wood Glue and finish nails to attach the boards.

I used 3/4″ pocket holes and 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.

Here are what my top, bottom and shelf pieces look like.

I built a box like this…

I used Gorilla Wood Glue for all of my joints.

Now to add my shelves!

Here is the placement of the shelves.  The measurements are from the top of the box, to where the bottom of each shelf will be.

I also added a board on the top back side.  This will be used to hang my spice rack on the door.  Again… use the Kreg Jig® or nails and wood glue from the sides.

Now for the dowels!

Just add some Gorilla Wood Glue to the inside of your holes…

And stick your dowels in like this!

Then, use your dowel buttons to cover the holes on the sides.  All you do is add a bit of wood glue and push them in!

I decided to add some cup hooks to the side of mine to hang my measuring spoons… Spices and spoons go hand in hand, so it helps having them in 1 spot!

I added some Gorilla Wood Glue to the back of the whole thing, and attached my 1/4″ plywood to the back with finish nails!

That’s it!

My very final step before hanging was to give the whole thing a coat of my fav!

Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch in Heirloom White – It’s very close to my door and trim color, so it was an easy choice! You can find this at HD!

Spray Paint

Now to hang it…

Like many of you, I have hollow core doors in my home.

I used these Hollow Core Door Anchors to attach mine.  This is so easy!

I started by drilling some small holes into my spice rack where I would be placing my screws.

Next, I used a pencil and my hubby to mark those holes on my door.  He held it in place and I used a mechanical pencil with the lead out really far to mark where the holes would be.  Pretty shanty, but it works!

Next, use a drill to attach the anchors into the door.  These are self drilling, and all you have to do is make them flush with the door.

Next, use the screws to go through your spice rack, and into the anchors.  Easy!

I also added 1 wood screw through the bottom of the rack to keep the bottom attached to the door.  No anchor on that one… Just a little screw.

That’s it!  Seems like a lot, but it’s because I tried to be super detailed to make it easy.  This took me 1 nap time to build and a few minutes to hang!  And… I LOVE IT!

Here are a few more pictures…

Hope you love it!

I am so excited to share some of the other goodies we have come up with!

I would love for you to share and pin this project below!

Also, make sure to keep up with the Shanty Sisters on our Facebook page!

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59 Comments

    1. @Mary C. Well aren’t you special. “Look at Mary C. everybody, she has trendy spices and she needs all of us to acknowledge how special she is!” Your level of insecurity is staggering.

      1. Funny and deserved call out Brian. A simple thank you to the author for sharing such detailed and usable plans would have been more appropriate than trying to one-up her bragging about your fancy spices.

      2. Well aren’t you special, Brian Moss! Look at Brian Moss everybody. He had to call out someone for demonstrating pride and needs us to acknowledge how unkind he can be. Your level of rudeness is appauling!

  1. If I made these, I would turn the shelves over so you can’t see the Kreg holes. I would also blind drill the holes for the dowels. Doing that you wouldn’t need to use buttons to cover the holes, because there wouldn’t be any holes to cover. I would drill four Kreg holes on the sides to attach to the door.

  2. I love this idea…Some of your spices look like they just barely fit in the 3 middle shelves. Is it easy to get them in and out? I’m just wondering if you had to do it over again, would you have added a little more space between shelves more like the bottom two?

  3. Planning on making this…but have a question. Do the spices slide around when the door open and closes?

      1. I made this and followed the instructions to a T and it turned out great! The only issue I ran into was that it was almost too big for me pantry. It fit on my door fine, but when I closed it, the front corner on the side of the door handle ran into the door frame. I had to shave it down about a quarter inch before the door would actually shut. ?

  4. I absolutely love this! I just may make this my first “real” woodworking project! Fingers crossed! 🙂

  5. Wow! I have been searching for a spice rack for my pantry door and have not found ANYTHING that will be sturdy enough! I was taking notes for this today to go get the supplies and I have a quick question. My door is narrower than yours so I’m just adjusting the measurements. For the dowels you have them listed to be cut at 38.5″ Are they supposed to be a half inch longer than the shelves? So in my case the shelves can only be 15″ so my dowels should be 15.5″, right? Thanks so much for this AWESOME plan!

    1. Hi Amy! My dowels are cut 1/2″ shorter than my finished width… Mine are 20.5″. So, yours will need to be 14.5″. Hope this helps! I would love to see a pic when you get it all finished! 😉

  6. Ok, this is great and I am building one this weekend, but I have some questions on measurements… There is no way the dowel lengths are 38.5″. I am guessing they are more like 20″ or 20.5″? Also, you said 1/4″ dowel buttons, but then the picture shows 3/8″. Do my buttons need to be a size bigger than the dowel size? Thanks! This is a really great idea.

    1. Thanks so much Audrey! Long tutorial with LOTS of numbers. Sometimes my eyes and mind go crossed. I adjusted everything in the post. Let me know if you have any other questions! Thanks again 😉

  7. I love this! I never even thought about utilizing my pantry door for something like this. I could free up a lot of cabinet space with this! I’m looking forward to seeing more of your organization posts. Thanks!! 🙂

    1. Do you think this would work with mdf? I have some of that laying around. Otherwise I’ll probably go buy the stuff you listed. Thanks!

      1. Hey Sue!
        MDF is certainly strong enough, but it also weighs quite a bit more. You would need to make sure you anchor it really well to a hollow door. I would stick with pine to keep it safe! 😉

  8. could you post a photo of your wonderfully organized pantry? I’d LOVE to see if more closely?? PS what a wonderful project-thanks!!!

  9. I love this idea. I have a wire rack on my pantry door and I dislike it immensely, it can’t even hold my spices, they are stuck on a shelf in the pantry. This spice rack will be a great feature to add to my kitchen. THANKS!

  10. Thanks so much! I love it! I will never do any of your projects but I always enjoy seeing how YOU do them. 🙂 I know I could but I don’t have another inch in this house for another thing! I do have one question, I kept looking for a picture of how you fixed the OUTSIDE of the door…. those screws are coming from the outside right??

  11. This is so great! Your tutorial even makes it look so easy for even a beginner! Can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with for the bottom half of the door!!

  12. I love it! I am in desperate need of spice organization! This might be what I have been searching for. Thanks! I spy some pantry organization that I NEED to know about! I am in extreme need of pantry organization!

  13. Hi! I absolutely LOVE your blog and I seriously check it 20 times a day just waiting for new posts! I do, however, have a question about all these projects you build. I would like to know how you fill the holes left behind by the Kreg Jig? My husband and I bought a similar tool to build an entertainment unit and we are not sure if we should try and create our own plugs using dowels, or if we should fill them with wood filler, or just leave them the way they are. We’d like to stain it and want it to look as good as possible.
    Thanks so much!

    1. Hi Rebecca!
      I am usually pretty strategic about where I place my pocket holes to keep them hidden ( so I don’t have to fill them ;-)) Ashley fills hers with wood filler and prefers that to the plugs. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!

    2. There are plugs made especially for those pocket holes. They’re made by Kreg. I bought mine online. There are several types, depending on what type material you are using, but it is all explained very well.

  14. I LOVE this! And, I think next we need a peek into your pantry! I spy all sorts of amazing orginazation in there!

  15. Very awesome. Smart not to put it near the bottom, my cupboard spice rack is constantly being rearranged by my littlest one! Thanks for sharing! I am really looking forward to all your other organizing projects!