Couple Finds An Affordable Way To Store Items Under Their Blackstone Grill

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If you're a lover of al fresco breakfasts or backyard BBQ parties, a Blackstone grill is a game-changing cooking appliance. Not only does the griddle let you cook a wide variety of foods perfectly — from eggs to burgers to fajita filling — but people often find the flat surface easier and more convenient to clean than traditional grates. That said, Blackstones do have some drawbacks. Specifically, you'll need quite a few accessories to cook on one, and without much built-in storage, figuring out where to keep those items can be tricky. Content creator Kendall Azevedo and her husband came up with a clever alternative: They added sliding bins underneath the grill.

In a tutorial video posted to Facebook, Kendall showed us exactly how she and her husband created this bespoke Blackstone storage system. We'll walk you through the steps to do it yourself shortly, but for now, let's talk about the tools and supplies you'll need for this project. For starters, you'll want to head to The Home Depot and pick up a couple of HDX 7-Gallon Tough Storage Bin Totes. They'll set you back a little over $8 each. While you're there, grab a pair of 14-inch soft-close drawer slides for each container. If you can't find the slides at The Home Depot, you can also get them at other hardware stores or from online retailers like Amazon. Beyond that, the only other things you'll need are a power drill and a pack of screws.

Aside from creating covered storage to keep your utensils, trays, cleaning equipment, and other grilling must-haves safe and organized, there are several other reasons to love this DIY. For one, it doesn't cost a ton of money. All up, you'll probably spend around $25 per storage bin. Plus, it's beginner-friendly and takes less than half an hour to set up.

Since your storage totes will hold cooking equipment, it's important to clean them thoroughly before installation. Scrub the inside and outside of the tubs with warm water and mild soap, then rinse them out with fresh water and leave them to air-dry. While the totes are drying, remove the built-in shelf from your Blackstone and flip it upside down on your work surface. The easiest way to measure drawer slides — or, more precisely, measure where your drawer slides will sit on the shelf — is to mark their location with a pencil.

From there, attach the tops of the drawer slides to the shelf using your power drill and some screws. You can use the same method to attach the rim of the plastic totes (lids removed) to the inner members — the internal sliding parts — of the drawer slides. Then put the shelf back into your Blackstone, flipping it upside-down as you insert it so the totes will sit right-side up. Finally, put it all together by sliding the bins with the inner members attached into the slides on the shelf and pushing them closed.

As creator Kendall Azevedo points out in her tutorial, the screws will poke through the top of your Blackstone's shelf. If you're okay with that, you can leave them exposed. If you're worried about things catching on the sharp points, there are a few creative ways to cover them up. For example, Azevedo placed the lids from the plastic totes on top of them. You could also conceal them with a silicone mat, a sheet of metal, or a wooden board.

Something else to consider: While the tubs are mostly covered by the shelf, they aren't completely sealed. That means insects or other small critters could get inside the bins and come into contact with your cooking supplies. To keep pests away from your backyard grilling station, don't leave any food in the totes and make sure to wash and dry your spatulas, tongs, thermometers, and other accessories before storing them. Remember to clean your Blackstone grill thoroughly, too.

If you don't need as much storage space as this DIY project provides or don't like the look of the plastic totes, you could mount a metal or even a wooden drawer under the shelf as an alternative storage solution. To do that, all you need is a pre-made undermount drawer, like the Coreminded Matte Black Carbon Steel Storage Drawer. At almost $72, it's pricier than Azevedo's DIY project; the drawer is smaller, too. But the finished product is undeniably more refined.