Since we moved into our new house, I’ve wanted to keep things simpler and cleaner, and as usual there is the battle for clear countertop. Maybe you face it at your house? The pile that inevitably collects junk that no one knows what to do with? That’s what junk drawers are for, right? Well, in the new kitchen with limited drawer space, I needed to find an alternative under-counter storage solution.
The Need
In my case, it wasn’t really a junk drawer I needed, but a way to clear a basket of photographs off of my counter.
A little side note about the family photos. Ages ago when my kids were little, before digital photography, we would take in a roll of film to be developed, and there would inevitably be a sale where you would receive print doubles for free. So I had a wooden basket to hold extra photos to rotate through my floating picture frame near the sink. I have more boxes in the basement full of photo doubles. Sigh. Alas, a project for another day.
But back to my story, I originally thought it would be quite simple to find some sort of wire contraption to screw into the bottom side of my counter. I envisioned something a little bigger than a shoebox that would be like a shelf for my basket of pictures. I did find an array of under-mount drawers for cabinets, counters and desks. But not one of them was in a useful size! I needed to be able to store my photos, not spices and pencils! None of them were deep enough for my 5×7″ photos, let alone my sweet basket. And if I found something, what kind of finish would look right? I have white walls, but would that stand out strangely as an under-mount storage solution? Would black or bronze be better? I was beginning to lose hope.
The solution
After several sessions of searching (try saying that ten times), I found something else that I thought might work. This Wooden Under Desk Mount on Amazon could hold the top edge of my basket and let my slide it in and out! And it was wood to matched both the wooden basket and the cabinetry.
My tweaking
So my package arrived, and decided that rather than bother with screwing in the wooden mounts, I would use some Command strips that I had left over from some Command hook packaging. This way if I attached them a little wonky, I could remove them and start over. I could just measure the basket, but of course, I didn’t. When in doubt about placement, I would suggest using the strips or double sticky tape. You can place the mounting where you want it with tape or strips, and still attach it more permanently with the included screws.
I decided to attach four strips to each wooden bracket. I attached the red sides to one wood mount and held each one in place for a few seconds. Then I removed the black side tapes and held my wood mount firmly under the counter for several seconds. I repeated the process with another wood mount, but held the basket in place as I positioned the opposite mount under the counter.
Super pleased with the results! I may have been able to hold my lightweight basket in place with just two slides, but I decided to attach all four in order to better distribute the weight. With my under-counter storage solution, the counter is clear either to showcase my fish and plant, or just to collect more paper! We’ll see what happens.
