By Stacy Chandler
The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
It’s hard to get excited about organizing when you’re staring down an aisle of bland plastic bins or wire closet systems. But if you’ve got some basic tools and a little time, you can make your own organizing solutions that are fabulous as well as functional.
Dowel mug holder
Keep your mugs handy and out of the way with this whimsical holder made out of wooden dowels. Lowe’s Creative Ideas, a publication of the home improvement retailer, shows us how to do it. On the Web: http://nando.com/ir.
What you need:
Miter saw, table saw or handsaw
Drill with 1/16-inch bit
Sander, 120-grit and 180-grit sandpaper
Screwdriver
Wood glue
Super glue
Painter’s tape
2-inch dowel
1 1/4-inch dowel
Three 1 1/4-inch white cup hooks
Small D-ring hangers
Clear satin spray finish
How to make it:
From the dowels, cut 14 2-inch-long pieces. Sand ends smooth.
Attach a small dowel to a large one with a few drops of super glue. When dry, add a small bead of wood glue along one side to reinforce the connection. (Painter’s tape will hold pieces together while the glue dries.) Continue joining pairs of large and small dowels.
Begin combining pairs of dowels, keeping visible glue joints hidden toward the inside. Then glue clusters of dowels together to form an oblong shape. Place at least two of the larger dowels toward the top at opposite ends. For outside pieces, use wood glue where it can be hidden and tape the final pieces together.
Sand outside faces smooth and flush with one another. Wipe and vacuum clean and apply two coats of spray finish.
At the centers of two large dowels near the top on opposite ends, drill two 1/16-inch pilot holes and install a pair of D-ring hangers. (The closer they are to the top, the less the rack will tip when loaded with mugs.)
At the centers of three large dowels spaced about evenly apart, drill 1/16-inch pilot holes and insert cup hooks roughly level with the hangers on the back. Space far enough apart to keep mugs from bumping. Hang on the wall.
