Wood + mason jars + hardware = extra storage (DIY)

Look what I made this afternoon!  And you can make one, too!

I’ve seen a lot of this kind of project popping up on Pinterest and such and it clicked that a little storage rack would be useful for our apartment as our bathroom has practically zero storage.  So I hit the hardware store today on the way home from the beach.

Gratuitous Beach Shot #1. We got to the beach around 7 this morning. The clouds burned off by 9 and it was a really nice morning.

Gratuitous Beach Shot #2. My little perch, who swam off successfully after this photo. He was the only catch of the day.  The water was perfect.

We grabbed sandwiches at Bay Cities Deli off Lincoln in Santa Monica after our beach morning.

Okay, back to this storage project.  I don’t have a specific link to reference, but I looked at several on instructables.com to get a feel for what I was doing.

Here’s what I bought for the project:
a case of 1/2 pint canning jars
5 [1 5/8 – 3.5″] stainless steel hose clamps
2 packages of 4 #8 (1/2″) Self-Drilling Screws
Sand paper
strong picture hangers
felt pads
a piece of red oak

I sanded all around the edges and surface of the oak to smooth it out

Then I laid out the jars and did a few measurements to determine where they should go

I used self-drilling screws so I wouldn’t have to drill pilot holes through the wood. They drilled through the metal hose clamps, too, without too much difficulty

Hose clamps, screwed on, thanks to an awesome drill. I had to unscrew the hose clamps before screwing them on, but it was easy enough to screw them to the board.

Ryan rigged the wall hanger with two more of the screws, wire fishing leader, and two crimps, also from his fishing supplies. Fishing finally came in handy, ha.

Not pictured: I put little felt pads on the corners of the wood to help protect the wall paint.

Hung.

And filled! I knew I wanted them to hold q-tips, cotton, and flossers, but I’ll be experimenting with what I keep in the other two jars

This was such a cool project!  I like making things myself because I can customize everything how I want, choose all the materials, and control every step of the project.  I may be a control freak, haha.

This little rack is fun because it could be used for all kind of things.  If we ever have our own place, I’d make a larger scale version for Ryan to store his fishing hooks and other paraphernalia.  I also like the idea of having one by a vanity to store makeup brushes, eyeliners, lipglosses, etc.  Or by a desk to store markers, pens, paintbrushes….