DIY: Locker System/ Cubby System/ Garage Mud Room

We did this DIY Mud room / locker system / cubby system in December 2021 when on quarantine. We needed a place to store all the gear that comes with Wisconsin Winters, Wisconsin Summers, extra curricular activities and more. This system is great for us.

Keep Reading for each seasonal use

PLEASE NOTE: in February 2022 our daughter took a live mouse to school in her boot as we did not shake out our boot before putting it on-and I disregarded her “mom there is something in my boot” because we were already late for the bus. Please shake out boots/shoes if you store them in the garage…though this is one of the best stories of my life. You can watch that here. It is a hilarious moment I will not soon forget!

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A post shared by Siraya • StayatHomeZooKeeper • autism advocate mom (@stayathomezookeeper)

The Plans

Jaime Costiglio: L is for Lockers is the original post I found in my google search. She being the saint she is, shared her plans for both the shoe cubby bench, and the locker style cubbies on top.

These plans are phenomenal with amazing direction but the icing on the top is there is also included a shopping list, cut list, and then the step by step directions.

Our Tips

Pick your own wood. We were on quarantine and thought it would be nice to just make a list, check it twice, and then pick up. Though it was SUPER convenient, some of our wood pieces weren’t the best and they were not great. This project does not leave a lot of room for hiding bad knots or chunks out of plywood.
pick your own wood, if you do store pick up it’s quick and easy but may not be the best pieces of wood.
plywood is EXPENSIVE right now but going the cheapest may cause more frustration.
if it’s 60°+ in December in Wisconsin and about 100% humidity, it warps boards and makes sawdust paste.
vice grips and the fire can help bake warped boards a little straighter.
cut with your blade just brushing the line not straight on it, you’ll loose 1/8 inch and that matters. Also, you can’t measure a bunch of cuts you need to measure, cut, measure, cut, measure, cut.
the plans we used (I’ll link in the blog post when I make it!) were amazing with a shopping list, cut list, and step by step directions.
pocket hole jigs 🙌🏻
paint sprayers are awesome but when they spit and clog it takes forever, but the finish is worth it.
it’s not perfect, but that’s how you know WE did it!