Turn Leftover Scrap Wood Into Hanging Garage Storage

When you need a break from expensive DIYs, you can turn to a simple project that only requires scrap wood and a few fasteners to make hanging garage storage, so there's no need to buy anything. A French cleat can be installed on any wall with studs, and it's a great trick to use when you need to mount an old wire basket or plastic crate to the wall. As long as it's mounted securely, this scrap wood storage system is strong enough to hold a surprising amount of weight.

The only two parts to the cleat system are the wall cleat and the hanging cleat, plus whatever you attach to it, like a shelf or storage bin. To make the cleat, all you need to do is cut a scrap board lengthwise at a 45-degree angle. French cleats, which came about in shipyards in the 1800s as a method for stowing cargo, are used to hang heavy objects like paintings and mirrors. If you're only hanging a few tools or making an extra shelf, a single cleat can be small. But, if you have enough scrap wood, you can even DIY an entire cleat wall for better organization and storage in your garage or workshop.

One of the neatest features of this DIY is that you can use any piece of scrap wood, as long as it can be fastened securely to a wall. That usually means a couple of studs, but if you have any horizontal blocking or window sills in a shed or garage, you could attach any length of cleat to these, which would be perfect for hanging wood boxes or other containers. To install, make sure everything is level and attach the wall cleat with the 45-degree angle pointing up. Then, attach the hanging cleat to whatever you want to hang. The two angles lock together to hold everything in place.

How much a French cleat shelf can hold depends on several factors, including the thickness of the board, what type of wood it is, the fasteners you use, and even the wall itself. For the wall cleats, ¾-inch plywood is the preferred material, but anything will work for the hanging cleat. Once you have a wall cleat set up, this system is modular, so you can use any angled board to make French cleat tool holders. For stronger wall cleats, Grade A or B plywood secured with lag bolts can create a wall cleat system able to hold up to 200 pounds, so make sure the wall is adequate for the load. This idea can also be used to make wall-mounted recycling bins to save valuable garage space, or to hang an old dresser drawer you already have.