Stud-space Shelves

Reader's Digest Back Door Organizer

Open wall framing in a basement or garage makes ideal storage space for narrow items like cleaning supplies or small boxes of nails and screws. Simply cut 2x4s to fit between the studs and toe-screw them in to form shelves. Screw 3/4-in. plywood to the back of a door to provide a solid mounting base for screw hooks, baskets or other storage accessories.

Back-of-door organizer

The back of a door that opens into a utility room or closet makes a handy hanging space. The trouble is that most doors don’t offer a good mounting surface for hardware. The solution is to screw a piece of 3/4-in. plywood to the back of the door. Add construction adhesive for hollow-core doors. Cut the plywood 3 or 4 in. shy of the door edges to avoid conflicts with the doorknob or hinges. Now you can mount as many hooks, magnets and other storage gizmos as you like.