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A content/creations/adjustable-closet-shelves/complete.jpg
A content/creations/adjustable-closet-shelves/index.md
A content/creations/adjustable-closet-shelves/middle-sides.jpg
A content/creations/adjustable-closet-shelves/peg.jpg
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A content/creations/adjustable-closet-shelves/supports.jpg

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+---
+title: Adjustable closet shelves
+date: 2024-08-10
+---
+
+The closet in my kids' room has long been in need of organizational improvements. Previously, it had a only single wire shelf near the top. We wanted to fit more in the same space, so I built some shelves. They're adjustable using the little metal pegs that fit in holes along the side to support each shelf.
+
+{{< picture src="complete.jpg" alt="A closet with 9 adjustable shelves on each side and 5 adjustable shelves in the middle." >}}
+
+The closet is a bit awkward because the doorway is almost three feet narrower than the actual closet, leaving a lot of space on the sides that's hard to reach if you put things in the middle. After playing with several ideas my wife and I decided to maximize the space by putting shelves in those side areas and another set of shelves in the middle. We'll eventually install a rod in the top of the closet (which also goes a solid foot or so above the door opening) for hanging the kids' clothes, too.
+
+The project was fairly straightforward but still a lot of work. First there was the planning stage, which required figuring out precise measurements so that everything would fit together well. Then I had to cut, sand, and paint (two coats!) all the wood. Once I started installing things, I discovered that I'd forgotten to account for the pegs in my measurements and had to trim some of the shelves down a bit to make them fit.
+
+Making the shelves adjustable required drilling a lot of holes. Each of the sides need four supports with almost six-feet worth of one-inch-spaced holes: over 500 holes! The shelves in the middle also required another 200+ holes. This process was made tricker by the fact that I bought pegs designed for 5 millimeter holes but then couldn't find any metric drill bits at the store; I settled for using a slightly smaller imperial-sized bit and wiggling it around to make the holes a tad larger.
+
+{{< picture src="supports.jpg" alt="Eight six-foot side support pieces propped against the walls. Three of them have holes drilled every inch." >}}
+
+Attaching the supports for the side shelves was simple enough; the only potentially tricky part was making sure they were all the same distance from the floor so that the shelves would sit level on the peg. I did an imperfect but good enough job.
+
+{{< picture src="supports-attached.jpg" alt="Four of the side shelf support pieces attached to the walls, with the pegs inserted but no shelves yet." >}}
+
+The middle shelves have solid plywood pieces on either side to support the actual shelves. These plywood pieces are attached to a pair of 2x4s that run horizontally along the wall to ensure that I could mount to a stud. I contemplated adding a third 2x4 in the middle but decided against it to avoid getting in the way of the actual shelves.
+
+{{< picture src="middle-sides.jpg" alt="Two pieces of plywood, with holes drilled for shelf pegs, are attached to the wall via a pair of horizontal 2x4s drilled into a stud." >}}
+
+The one regret I have from this project is trimming a bit too much off of the shelves to get them to fit onto the pegs. The first few that I cut were a little too long, and I guess I over-corrected after that. Some of the pegs look a bit precarious, but they seem to be working anyway.
+
+{{< picture src="peg.jpg" alt="A shelf sits on the supporting pegs, with one of the pegs tipping a bit because the shelf isn't wide enough to fully fit on it." >}}
+
+Overall, the shelves are a big success. With the help of some plastic bins, we're now able to fit much more into the closet in a much more organized fashion -- hooray!