How to Make a DIY Home Organizer
Hi! Today, I will show you how to make this awesome DIY Hanging Entryway Organizer with a pocket, inspired by the normal out-the-door rush. It has hooks for keys, a pocket for small odds and ends, and a cork tack board to post daily reminders, grocery lists, or inspirational quotes to keep you motivated throughout the day. You can hang this Home Organizer in your front entryway, mudroom, or on the back of a door, wherever works best for your routine.
How many times this week have you asked yourself the dreaded question: "where are my car keys?" Running late, you checked the kitchen counter, the couch, under the couch, dug through every bag and pocket in the house, checked the laundry just in case it's there, and the other 100 places your car keys shouldn't be. For must of us, this hassle has become a familiar morning routine. (And if it isn't the car keys, the dog leash, grocery list, hat, sunglasses, a pen!)
The first step of staying organised is creating a designated spot for all of the bits and pieces of everyday life you want to keep track of. We designed this DIY home organizer based on our own experiences with the everyday, morning rush.
The sturdy wood board is meant to hang wherever you will stop as you enter or leave the house; in a hall way, enter way, mudroom, or on the back of the door. We recommend hanging your DIY organizer at eye level in a very visible location where it will be well used.
What is really specially about this home organizer is how much you can personalize it to fit your own organization needs and decor style. Whether you want a large board, or small one, more pockets, fewer hooks, etc., you can personalize your home organizer as many ways as you please!
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(Our Self-Promoting Spiel:)
While you don’t have to stencil your hanging organizer, a lovely stencil design and some extra color can transform this useful home organization tool into stunning home décor. Not every one is a gifted artist, stencils provide a template that help you create that artistic, hand crafted style for your dream decor and in the perfect color too! (Stencils are also budget friendly and resuable!).
We very much believe that home organization can be beautiful. Stencils are one way of tapping into your own creative design style. Whether you prefer a modern, minimalist style, geometric patterns, or rustic farmhouse chic, there is a stencil design for you.
What you’ll need:
To make this hanging organizer you will need a flat, wooden board, two colors of acrylic paint, a 3-4” paint brush, a stencil brush (we used a 1” stencil brush, but you may want a small brush if you choose a small stencil pattern), Repositionable Spray Adhesive, a fabric rectangle (for the pouch), some burlap, a corkboard, 8 screws, screw-able hooks, an electric screwdriver, hot glue gun, framing wire and a Stencil!
For this project we used our Moroccan Wall Stencil, which is 15.8" by 16" design, and 16.75" x 23" stencil sheet. You can find other stencil designs here. Or you can stencil a accent or monogram on the fabric pouch.
Our Moroccan Wall Stencil on a wall
Sizing depends on how much space you want on your wall organizer. You can customize the fabric pouch, tack board and wall organizer to whatever size you need to stay organized.
Choose Your Colors:
A solid backdrop will make the stencil stand out and turn your wall organizer into a lovely home décor accent. A coat of paint will also smooth some of the unevenness of the wood. This is important because you want the surface you stencil on to be as smooth as possible.
I recommend choosing a background paint color that pairs well with the color you will use for stenciling. You can pair your favorite color with a lovely shade of white or cream paint as we did here, or paint a neutral or metallic colored background.
If you decide not to paint a neutral background color, try to choose opposite colors; colors that face each other on a color wheel, as these will look good together.
Our blue stencil colour and yellow fabric holder are a good example of contrasting colors. Blue is located opposite orange and yellow on the color wheel. Keep your paint colors in mind when you choose the fabric you want for the pouch.
Once you have all of your supplies gathered it is time to make your DIY home organizer!
1. Paint the Organizer Board
To begin, paint an even, solid background onto a piece of flat wood. This will be the base of your hanging organizer.
Because wood has a rough surface, a brush will work better for painting the base board than a paint roller.
You may need a few coats of paint to achieve an opaque background color. As you paint, try to avoid clumps of paint or run/drip lines, as these will distort the stencil design later. Keep you paint background as smooth and even as possible.
Once you have finished painting the wood, leave the board lying flat and wait for the paint to dry. Don’t prop the board up vertically because this may cause the paint to run and drip. Wait until the paint has dried completely before beginning to stencil.
2. Stencil
Spray the back of your stencil with Repositionable Spray adhesive. Do this away form your project board. You don’t want any adhesive spray to get on you board or fabric. Hold the spray about 6-8 inches away from the stencil and keep you mouth closed as you spray.
Wait 30-60 seconds before placing your now sticky stencil onto the wooden board. This is very IMPORTANT! Repositionable Spray Adhesive is strong stuff, and if you put the stencil on too soon you might have trouble removing it later.
Carefully position your stencil over the wooden board. Press the stencil design gently but firmly onto the board, making sure that the stencil is lying flat and none of the design edges are poking up.
Now, you stencil!
Stenciling a little different that regular painting, but just as fun! The key to stenciling is the Dry Brush Technique. This means that your brush should be almost dry when you stencil, too much paint will cause the paint to “bleed” through the stencil design and blur the artwork. A dry brush is needed for a clean, professional looking finish.
So, how much paint do I need for stenciling?
The Dot Test is an easy way of checking that you have the right amount of paint to stencil.
The Dot Test:
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Dry brush in hand, you are ready to stencil. Begin in a top corner of the stencil and swirl paint into the stencil design in small, circular motions. Continue swirling across and down the board until the entire stencil is covered in a light coat of paint.
At first it may seem that very little paint is being applied. This is normal. To quote our stenciler Helen, “just a kiss of paint” is all you need for stenciling. You will accumulate color in many thin layers of paint. 5 or 6 layers of paint is common, but every project is different, and you may need more.
3. Relax
Enjoy this time! Play some music, listen to an podcast or audiobook and watch the stencil design gradually fill in. This is time you can relax and have some fun with stencils and paints!
As you get farther into the layers of paint, you may notice that your brush seems to remove paint rather than add it. If you see this, take a brief rest from stenciling and give the layers of paint a few minutes to dry. Once they are dried, you can resume painting.
Once you are satisfied with the stencil color (lift the corner of the stencil to check the color), wait for the paint to dry (probably a few minutes) and peel the stencil off the board.
If a distressed wood effect appeals to you, you can create a this look by rubbing low grit sandpaper over the board to remove a little paint.
Now it is time to make your home organizer. Power Tools here we come!
4. Make an Organizer
Drill holes into the top and bottom of the board where you want hooks and hand screw in the hooks.
Next, take your fabric square and fold the inside edges over about ¼ inch. Briefly iron these folds in place. Now fold the fabric in half lengthwise and iron this crease.
Open fold (keep the edges folded in) and hot glue the side edges and fold them together to create a pouch.
(You can personalize your pouch with a monogram initial or other small stencil accent: how to stencil fabric).
To make a tack board, place a piece of corkboard, cut to a size you like, on some burlap fabric, and hot glue a square around one side of the corkboard. Fold the burlap over the corkboard and press the burlap into the hot glue, securing the fabric.
Use hot glue to attach fabric accents or some ribbon embellishments the tack board.
Position the pouch and tack board where you want them on the organizer. With an electric screwdriver, screw the pouch and tack board onto the organizer.
On the back of the organizer, attach a framing wire for hanging.
And Voile! You’ve made a hanging wall or door organizer!
Go find you car keys and bring them to their new home!
Check out this video tutorial for making this fun project:
Share a picture of your favorite stenciled organizers with us on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.