Pet Organizer DIY: Marie Kondo Joy for Your Paw Pals

Pet Organizer? Re-cycled wood? Clutter clean-up?

It’s all included with the pet organizer DIY we’re offering you today.

Marie Kondo style.

Because if she can bring joy to our homes,

I’m sure the joy can spread to all the pets, too.

In this case, Andy, Kim’s shorkie.

Kim is a typically indulgent dog owner, and loves to buy treats and toys and new leashes, just because.

So now she’ll have a place to display all the goodies. I can just see Andy sitting on his haunches, gazing up at the shelf, patiently waiting for her to grab the exact thing he wants off the shelf.

To say he’s a little spoiled might be understating the facts. He thinks he’s the King of our kingdom.

I don’t see any reason to disenchant him of that opinion. He’s the only pet this little farm will ever have.

Unless we mention the desert tortoise we see once or twice a year in our backyard. He escaped his little enclosure and is on permanent sabbatical.

Supplies for Pet Organizer Made With Re-Cycled Wood

Here’s what you’ll need to build the organizer the way it’s shown. If you don’t have enough wood on your recycle pile, make it the way it works for you.

6 pieces of 1″ x 6″ wood that are 2′ long. (You can use 2″ by 6″ also, it will just be a little bulkier and heavier. **Be sure to fasten your shelf to the wall with screws into studs in either case. Most walls have studs every 16″, so this project should fit across 2 studs.)
1 piece of 1″ x 4″ wood, also 2′ long.
24″ x 30″ piece of bead board or thin plywood for backing your shelf.
Stain if you want a finish on it. Shown is a grey acrylic paint wash.
Tools for Assembly: Screws or nails, wood glue, drill or hammer, sand paper, tape measure, carpenter’s square, table or cut-off saw.
Tools for Completing: Grey craft paint and paint brush and water for the wash coat; scrip liner brush and black paint or black permanent marker for the name and paw prints; vintage style hooks

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Assemble the Boards

Make a box. Use the 24″ by 30″ piece of backing as your guide. Lay it on your work surface. Place one 24″ board on edge across the bottom of your shelf. Don’t nail or screw anything yet. Place two 24″ pieces on the side edges of the backing. Nail from the bottom into the side boards to attach. If you use screws, pre-drill the holes so the wood doesn’t crack. Place a 24″ board across the top of the two side boards. Nail or screw it from the top into the sides. Square this box to the backing, and from the back, nail securely to the box.
You will have some extra backing across the top. Place a 24″ board flat on the backing, and attach it through the top board of the box into the edge of the top board. Then nail the backing to the board from the back so the nails don’t show. **The nails will need to be shorter so they don’t poke out the front.
Mark the sides of the 24″ box in the center. Draw a straight line with the carpenter’s square where the bottom edge of the shelf will be. This piece of 1″ x 6″ will be too wide to fit inside the box, so cut the board to fit with the table saw or cut-off saw. Nail or screw the shelf from the outside of the box, keeping the bottom of the shelf on top of your drawn lines.
Place the 1″ by 4″ board flat across the bottom of the box front. Attach to the sides.
Finish with a color wash of your choice. Sand it smooth and sliver free when the wash is dry. **My favorite wash is 2 parts acrylic paint such as Ceramcoat to 1 part water. I use a Purdy 1″ slant brush (XL DALE) for. all. my projects.

Personalize Your Organizer

My favorite way to add names to projects is to find a font online, and print it out in the size I want for the project. Then I use tracing graphite to transfer it to the project.

Then just fill in the outlines with acrylic paint and a script liner brush or with permanent marker.

Add some paw prints and you’re done! (Would paw prints for pets work the same as your children’s hand prints crafts?)

PS: I got to thinking about more pet organization, such as vaccination reminders and nail trimming and pedigree information, and found this cute download for keeping track of your pet.