Budget Pegboard Storage Ideas

There are many different kind of pegboards: round holes, square holes, racks and these special shaped holes called "keyholes" (thx TwelveFoot) so you can put an item through a bigger side and slide it into a smaller one keeping the item hanging.

Because I have a pegboard with keyholes, let me show you 2 ideas how to create a hanger and a compartment for the pegboard when you are on a budget.

For a hangers you need:

• screws of different lengths with a head's diameter the size of your "wider side" of hole. In my case wider side is 10mm (screw's head size) and narrower size is 5mm (screw size),
• a special nuts with the rubber band inside which prevents them from unscrewing.

To build a single hanger you need 1 screw and 2 nuts.

For a compartments you need:

• same screws as for a hanger, but keep the length max 20mm,
• same special screws as for a hanger,
• washers; I used ones with diameter 20mm,
• Tetra pack cartoon boxes (empty and clean works the best ;) )

To build a single compartment you need 2 screws, 4 nuts, 4 washers and 1 Tetra pack cartoon box.

Tools:

• a screwdriver - there is a lot of screwing so a screw gun is recommended,
• a wrench - size depends on nuts you use, in my case it's size 10mm,
• optionally but very useful - a wood drill size 5mm (same as a screw).

Take a screw and screw a first nut. Leave approx. 1mm free space between the screws's head and the nut - it's the tickness of your metal pegboard. The idea is to use the head and the nut as a blocker when you put the head through the wider hole in your pegboard.

Add a second nut in the end of the screw - it works as a blocker so hanged items don't fall out from the screw.

Now it's time to put the hanger onto a pegboard. Insert w screw's head into a wider side of the hole and slide it down in a way that a pegboard fits in the 1mm space between the screw's head and the nut. That's it, you have a low cost hanger!

Use screws with a different length for different applications.

Tips:

• If a screw's head is the same size as the wider hole (as it was in my case), it may happen that it cannot pass though the hole because of some imperfections in a screw and/or in a hole. Then, you can use a file to trim the screw's head to make it just a little bit smaller so it fits relatively easy.

Take a cartoon box and cut it to a desired length and shape. In this example it's presented just a simple box - other examples you can check in the results.

Draw a line which is usually a half of your washer's diameter - in my example it's 10mm from the edge.

Now you need to measure the length between holes in your pegboard - in my case it was 37mm (I guess it's 1.5 inch).

Make 2 holes on the line so the space between them is 37mm. I've done a perfect holes with a wood drill and a screw gun. But it's also possible to just make holes with a screwdriver and remove the excessive cuts.

Having holes ready, put 2 nuts on 2 screws leaving approx 1mm space between a nut and a screw's head. It's the same idea used already in a hanger.

Now you can assemble everything by applying one washer on the outside of a compartment, one on the inside and then screw them together with the special nut on the inside.

Now you can hang your compartment. The screws' heads should fit into your holes. On the photo you can see some different ideas on how to shape your compartments.

Now you can put some label on the front so so you know what does a particular compartment contain.

A small improvement: add a washer to spread forces to bigger area.