My kitchen spice drawer was a complete mess before I made this simple spice drawer insert. 

I could never find what I needed. The spice jars would roll around in there every time I opened the drawer.  And, something I discovered after the fact, is that I had some pretty old spices in there.  And a lot of repeat ones. All opened.  Ugh.  

I needed a spice organizer.  

These drawer spice organizers are like little tiered racks that fit inside your drawers.  I was considering buying one, but we have so much scrap wood in the garage it felt like a sin to let that go to waste.  I had more than enough, even if it wasn’t perfect wood.  

This article contains affiliate links to products we love. Please see our policy page for details.

Related: Ideas for organizing a Pantry

If you are in the same boat, I highly recommend you try making one of these.  The cost of making them is so much cheaper than buying one.  But I get that sometimes we don’t have any interest in making something – we just want it now.  Totally get that.  

Easy DIY Wood Spice Drawer Organizer

In order to make this project, you’ll need some wood.  But not that much.  I ended up using ¼ inch plywood and a 1×2 because that’s what I had in my scrap pile.  You can get a 2×2 project panel of ¼ inch plywood for the entire project.   They are less than 8 bucks usually.

Before you start this project, you’ll want to measure the length and width of your drawer.  

Things You’ll Need

Notes on Wood Cuts:  The length of every wood piece is going to be equal to the length of your drawer.  The width is determined by the height of your spice jars. I have a lot of different spice brands (I buy what’s on sale!), so I just went with my largest jar – which is 4 ½ inches.  So, if you want to use a standard measurement for the width of the rack – use 4 ¾ inches.  For the width of the riser, I went with 2 inches.  

How to Make a Spice Drawer Insert – Step by Step

You’ll always want to start fresh, so clean out the drawer and toss any expired spices.  

  1. Measure the inside width and length of your drawer. Measure the height of your spice jars.
  2. Cut wood according to these measurements. You will need to cut 3-4 equal rack pieces and 3-4 equal riser pieces. For the rack: the length will be equal to your drawer, and the width slightly larger than the height of your spice jars. For the riser: The length will be equal to your drawer, and you can use 1.5 -2 inches for the width.
  3. Attach a wood spice riser to each wood rack using a bit of wood glue (see picture for where to attach).  Allow it to dry for 24 hrs.  
  4. Using a brad nailer, put a few nails through the wood rack into the riser so it’s secure.  
  5. Insert them into your drawer and get organizing!

You’re done!  You can paint them if you want but I actually like the look of the wood.  

spices in a drawer - organizing your spice drawer
diy wood spice drawer organizer in a drawer with spices on it.
how to organize your spices in your drawers
diy spice drawer organizer insert

Spice Inserts for Wide Drawers

You may have noticed that I have really wide drawers. (see picture below).

diy spice drawer organizer

I only wanted my spice insert to take up half the drawer, using the other half for cooking utensils.  

You could attach a piece of wood to the side of your insert, making it all one piece.  Or, you can just get a drawer insert and use that to divide the drawer up and keep the spice insert in place.  Although – I find that my spice insert stays put when opening and closing the drawer.  Just something to think about if you have really wide drawers like me.  

Related: How to Organize Games and Puzzles

I really wish I would have done this sooner, like before I purchased duplicates of the same spices and opened them all.  Lesson learned! Happy organizing!

xo Karen