Turn Cardboard Tubes And A Drawer Into An Easy-To-Install Solution For Your Garage Storage

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Many folks are always on the hunt for clever storage ideas for their garage or workshop. Finding inexpensive solutions that you can put together easily from things you have around the home or can procure cheaply or even for free is not that difficult, especially if you follow clever creators like Alley Picked on YouTube. In the clip, they use sturdy cardboard tubes and an old drawer to create a highly functional pigeon-hole storage unit that can easily be mounted on the wall to store all manner of things, like pieces of dowels, zip ties, or rolls of sandpaper.

To replicate this storage unit yourself, you'll first need to find an old drawer. It can be any size because you'll cut the tubes to match. If you don't have a drawer lying around at home, this could be another thrift store find you can turn into useful garage storage. Failing that, you could always use a sturdy cardboard box or even a wooden crate. Anything that's open at the top and has enough depth to hold the tubes securely will work. 

Next, you'll want to gather some cardboard tubes; you want ones that are firmer than the empty toilet paper rolls you could use to DIY a dresser drawer divider. You might have to hunt around a little to find just the right ones. The creator found them at an art recycling center, but you may also find them at a print shop (like Drexel Technologies) or architectural firms, as they're often used to hold posters or blueprints. Carpet or wallpaper stores may also have ones that you could score for free.

To cut the tubes to size, you're going to need some type of saw. You could use a drop saw, a miter saw, a band saw, or even a table saw, depending on what you have available. Once you've cut all your tubes to the length you want, you'll need to conduct a test fit. The easiest way to secure these in the drawer is if you can push them in to achieve a nice, tight fit. For this to work, you may have to cut a portion away from the tubes that you need to squeeze into two of the sides. The creator used a table saw to cut out small sections of the required tubes so they could get four rows of seven tubes, but how you work this out for yourself will depend on the size of your drawer.

If you find that you just can't get a tight enough fit or you want your tubes to be really secure, it's best just to use some E6000 glue to secure them in place. It shouldn't take you a lot of extra time, but it will give you total peace of mind in knowing that they're not going to fall out. To mount your storage unit, you can attach a short piece of 2x2-foot timber to each side of the drawer and screw it into the wall. If you want to spruce the unit up a little to use indoors in your craft room, try painting the tubes bright colors before placing them in the drawer. If you have any leftover tubes, you can turn them into an indoor lighting feature that looks high-end.