Rolling Boot Bins {Stash-buster Project}

Last week I shared the "produce crate" cooler cover I made using wood from my stash. This week I'm sharing another project that used long strips of scrap plywood. This one used scraps leftover from the built-in library bookshelves I made, so the wood is 3/4" cabinet grade oak plywood. Pine would work just fine, but I didn't have enough sitting around and I wanted to use the strips of wood that have been sitting around for the last couple years.

Like the crate, I drew out what I wanted to make (two rolling boxes), measured to see the dimensions of the space where I wanted to use them (the lower part of the kitchen coat closet), measured the wood available, and then based on all that was able to decide on the cut list and the actual dimensions of the finished product.

Why did I decide I needed to make these boxes? The space used to look like this when I redid the closet:

Yeah, it didn't stay nice and neat and tidy for long. The reality looks more like this:

And somehow we started storing other things down there as well. When I cleaned it out, I found the trailer battery (brought inside for the winter), Mr M's wood chip collection for the smoker, and my chalk paint collection. After pulling that stuff out and finding better places for them, it looked slightly better, but still messy:

Awhile ago I saw some wheeled metal crate/box things that were being used to store boots and I knew that would help keep our boots (ok, most of them are mine, but not all of them) better organized. I looked into buying a couple of the boxes, but quickly realized I could easily build my own out of wood for a lot less money.

I started with my wood strips:

And then went to town with the mitre saw and kreg jig. Three out of four sides on each box were made by screwing boards together with the kreg jig, and the sides and bottom were all connected using wood glue and more kreg jig screws.

After the boxes were constructed, I added small caster wheels to each corner and drilled holes in the front panel of each box.

Once all that was done, I could start painting. I usually drag out the painting portion of projects, but I was trying to get these done, so I did a bit here and there all day and managed to to get the second coat of wax on before I went to bed. I think having them on the kitchen counter did help me keep on task...

I decided to have some fun with this paint job and experimented a bit with layering. I dry-brushed some black chalkboard paint (the only black paint I had on hand), focusing on the edges, but covering most of the boxes. Once the black dried, I painted a layer of Aubusson Blue Annie Sloan chalk paint (such a pretty color- can't wait to use it on something else!). When that was dried I painted a layer of light gray chalk paint- I mixed it myself awhile ago from Pure White and Paris Grey.

While I'm not a huge fan of the overly-distressed look that a lot of people go for, in this case I did sand with a lot heavier hand than usual. I know that they'll get beat up and have muddy boots thrown in them, so if they look old already, it's not a big deal :) And like I said, I got to experiment with my painting. 

After sanding I applied two coats of Minwax dark paste wax. This was my first time using it (I've used the light wax before), and it wasn't as dark as I was hoping, but it still adds another layer of dimension. I used a wax brush I got on Amazon (I'm too cheap to buy a name brand brush) to apply the wax, and it went so much quicker and was so much easier than applying with a rag. Definitely worth the money.

The wax gives a brownish tint to the gray paint and darkens the blue paint. The black paint is barely noticeable, but that was part of the experiment. If the blue wasn't quite so dark, I think the black would show up more.

I braided some clothesline and knotted it into handles on the boxes.

Being able to pull the boxes out will make it much easier to get to the boots at the back. No more kneeling on the floor and rummaging through the mess of boots to find the pair I want.

I love how they turned out!

Here's a tip I read somewhere: cut a length of pool noodle and place inside each boot to help them stand upright. I gave it a try, using 9-12" lengths, and it totally works! As you can see, the noodle doesn't need to be as tall as the boot to be effective.