Compact Utensil Organizer

It's kitchen month upstairs, and I am so glad to get this bear of a space off my long "do list".

I last posted about our kitchen updates nearly a year ago, in August 2013. I've been gradually layering elements in our kitchen as we've found a need or desire for them. The first thing I added to our kitchen was a place to store our utensils. We were housing them in the dishwasher for a while, but that was too confusing. We stored them in a drawer for some time, but that felt like a waste of prime drawer space. So, I made a countertop option that would take up just a little counter space. Here is the result:

I used a 1/4" poplar project board, about 3 inches wide. I simply cut 4 pieces 4 inches long for the outsides, and cut 2 sections 3-3/4" for the inside dividers. I also cut a piece to width for the bottom.

I used Titebond III waterproof wood glue and simply glued the boards together. I actually glued the outside box first, with the bottom piece flush. Later, I applied glue and inserted the dividers.

To finish the piece, I simply rubbed on an oil and wax mixture used for seasoning cutting boards and salad bowls. The color of the conditioned poplar pairs well with our Chicago Cutlery knife block. It's now my favorite way to store our small utensil collection. :)
I'd love to know what you think, or if you have suggestions for an even more compact utensil organizer! :)

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