DIY Reclaimed Wood Desktop Organizer

    I have another confession. I have a slight obsession with drawing and painting materials. I have a few must-haves that I will always keep in stock in the studio, but I'm always looking for new items to explore with. With that being said, I've kind of accumulated quite a collection! I've tried storing them in drawers, pouches, containers, etc., but I've found that I tend to forget about the variety of awesomeness that I've purchased when they aren't out in the open. So, I figured there is only one solution. I will have to create a DIY reclaimed wood desktop organizer to fix this dilemma. :)     First, I rounded up a few mason jars to help me keep all of my pens, pencils and markers organized. I don't have a lot of room on my desk so I decided that four would be plenty!         Next, I went out to my reclaimed wood pile-of-wonderment, and selected a few beauties that will be used as the sides for my organizer. The length and width of your boards will ultimately depend on the size of the mason jars that you will be using as well as what you might have on hand. I decided on four quart size, wide mouth mason jars so they would stick out a little bit from my boards. You might not want your jars to "let it all hang out" so you'll probably want to select the pint size version for yours. Just remember, this is YOUR project (if you decide to create one), and anything goes. I heart DIY projects!         You don't necessarily need to have a backboard to create this project, but I've found in the past that it will most definitely help keep everything nice and sturdy. As you can see in this picture I've cut out my board into a square, but if you have more room on your desk you could also do this organizer as a rectangle. Whatevers clever! This shape and size was created by:  

• placing my mason jars on top of it
• loosely draw a square slightly bigger then where they were resting onto the backboard
• removing the mason jars
• using one of my reclaimed wood boards I drew out lines on my backboard to see where they would rest
• placed the mason jars back on the backboard to see if I am correct with my sketches
• if all is good, cut your square out to match your required dimensions

  NOTE: Please, please, please make sure that all of your reclaimed wood boards have the same thickness, or that you have at least taken this difference into consideration. I didn't do this on my first attempt. Oops!           Then, cut out your side and inner boards to your required dimensions to be placed onto your backboard. Prior to gluing and nailing your boards together and into the backboard CHECK AGAIN that they will indeed fit nicely onto your board.   I won't mention any names… ME… that didn't do this during round 1 of this project.           After you checked your measurements again (wink, wink) go ahead and place your glue on the backboard, and then start nailing your sideboards in.         However, before you add the last board (just for fun) go ahead and place your mason jars into your organizer and make sure they fit nice and snug.         Everything good to go? Awesome! Nail in that last board.       That wasn't too bad  now was it? Love it! Originally I thought I would want my desktop organizer to be displayed with the middle board going vertical, but I found that my mason jar on the upper left hand corner would slightly drift downwards with a little bit of weight. So, horizontal it was!        Now, not only do I have a desktop organizer that works, but it's pretty too!