Quick DIY Laundry Shelf for Easy Storage Solution

After about a month of focusing solely on the pantry component of our laundry/pantry room makeover, we’re finally seeing some progress around the washer and dryer. This week saw a whole lot of storage and function coming into that side of the room, and it was mostly free since all of the DIY laundry shelf and the big, white cabinet were made from leftover plywood and scrap wood! That’s the win we needed lately, for sure.

Still, we’re in the final stretch of this laundry/pantry makeover and only have a few elements left to finish, but it’s come suchhhh a long way.

This week we’re breaking down how we built the laundry room shelf. The idea was to hide the plywood in the back of the washer and dryer, plus give a home to the detergent etc. so we wouldn’t need to climb up to the big cabinet each time we do a load of laundry.

This project was so easy and it was done in an afternoon, including staining. It’s a really easy beginner project and a good way to use up some wood if you’ve got a few pieces hanging around.

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DIY laundry shelf

Tools & Materials

1×8 at 51.5”
(2) 1×6 at 53”
(3) 1×6 at 5.75”
Nail gun
Wood glue
Sander
Stain of choice (we used a mix of Early American and Weathered Oak)
Polycrylic
Clamps

Line up the back and sides

Our DIY laundry shelf is 53” wide because that’s the span of our washer and dryer minus a little bit down the end where we had to avoid an outlet, so make sure you adjust any measurements you need to if your space is different.

Hold your 1×8 upright and hold up one of the shorter 1×6 pieces so the wider side of the 1×6 faces up against the end of the 1×8, making sure the edges are flush, then add a bead of wood glue and nail it in place.

Do the same at the other end with another short 1×6 piece.

Add top and bottom pieces

Add some wood glue along the top of the 1×8 piece and the 1×6 pieces you just joined and lay one of the longer 1×6 pieces across the top (it should line up perfectly across that whole structure.)

Nail it into place and clamp if your wood pieces are a little bowed and need some extra support. Don’t we all sometimes?

Do the same with the second 1×6 piece on the bottom of the whole structure.

Insert middle shelf piece

This one is the trickiest step, but it’s still pretty easy, don’t worry. Because the 1×8 back piece is 0.75” thick, that middle shelf piece needs to be trimmed down by that amount to sit flush with the front.

So, using your saw (jigsaw or miter saw would be easiest for this little cut), trim the last 1×6 lengthways (along the 5.5” side) by 0.75”.

Then, mark the middle of the shelf and slide that piece into place, making sure it’s flush with the front, then shoot in a couple nails from the top and bottom to hold it in place.

Wood fill any holes

This one’s pretty self explanatory, but add some will filler to any holes made by the nail gun and wait for them to dry.

Sand and stain

Leave the whole shelf to dry for a couple of hours so the wood glue has a good hold, then give it all a good sanding with 120 then 220 grit sandpaper. Wipe the laundry shelf down and either paint or stain how you like.

Throughout laundry makeover, we’ve been using a mix of Weathered Oak and Early American stain, so we did the same with the laundry shelf.

Give the whole thing a couple of coats of polycrylic to seal it on up.

Install the shelf

Mark where your studs are behind your washer and dryer with some painters tape (or a pencil). This is easier with two people, so have one person hold the shelf up to the correct height right behind the appliances, and drill a 3” construction screw through the shelf into a stud making sure you’re drilling as close to the top of the inner part of the shelf as possible (it won’t be seen if your shelf is directly above the washer and dryer like ours).

Do this a couple more times into studs if you can. Our was able to hit three studs so it’s extra sturdy.

Enjoy your new DIY laundry shelf!

It’s amazing how much of a difference this little shelf made in our laundry room. It made it look so much more put together and would be the perfect backdrop for one of those trendy letterboards, a cute set of apothecary jars or, in all reality, a pile of lost socks.

We also added a quick little laundry hanging rod out of a stained 48” dowel rod (which is about $4 at Home Depot) and these ceiling curtain rods we spray painted gold to finish out this little part of the room.

Let us know if you try out this DIY laundry shelf, sign up to our newsletter and follow along on Instagram for more DIYs.