Free plans to build our own triple bay laundry basket organizer system. This beginner woodworking project is a great low cost and easy to build solution to get your laundry room more organized and free up floor space. The top also can work as a drying rack or a folding center.
Other awesome uses for this plan - sort toys, gear, blankets, shoes, and more!
This is a free woodworking plan with step by step diagrams, shopping and cut list.
See Also: Single and Double Column Laundry Basket Organizer
We originally built this perfect single column laundry basket organizer.
The free plans are here and are easy to adjust to a tower or for different sized baskets.
We also put together free plans for the double wide version here.
What Laundry Baskets Should I Use?
For this project I recommend a 1.5 Bushel Rectangle Laundry Basket, this results in a project 24" deep (standard cabinet depth) x about 6 feet wide.
You can go up to a 2 Bushel Rectangle basket, but expect the project to become 27-30" deep, which could be a good solution in bigger laundry rooms or if used as a laundry folding island, but in most medium to small laundry rooms, would be cumbersome and create a too deep surface top (like a table pushed up against a wall). The other consideration with going to the 2 Bushel size is the completed project may be difficult to move through smaller doorways or down stairwells.
Inspect the laundry basket first to make sure it will slide (nothing obstructing under the top lip), it is rectangle in shape (avoid curved baskets)
Plans Designed to Adjust for Different Size Laundry Baskets
We wanted these plans to work with different sized laundry baskets - in case you already have your baskets or can't source specific ones, or if you wanted to go bigger or smaller or orientate the baskets lengthwise instead of depth wise.
We did keep the overall height of the project tabletop at 30" - as this is table height, and an ideal height for folding on top of - but this can be easily altered too.
How Do I Measure My Laundry Basket?
You'll want to measure your laundry baskets to get the perfect fit in the finished product. Here's the measurement's you'll need:
- Under the Lip - find by measuring overall width and then subtract out the lip overhangs (should be about 16-17" for 1.5 bushel basket)
- Overall Height (should be between 10-12" for 1.5 bushel basket)
- Overall Depth (should be about 24" for 1.5 bushel basket)
Preparation
- 7 - 2x4 @ 10 feet long (estimate)
- 3 - 1x6 @ 8 feet long (estimate)
- 2-1/2" self tapping star bit screws (about 80 screws needed)
- 1-3/4" self tapping star bit screws (about 50 screws needed)
- Wood glue
- 120 grit sandpaper
- Paint, stain, or finishing supplies of choice
- 6 - 1.5 Bushel Laundry Baskets
- Outer Legs: 4 - 2x4 @ 29-1/4"
- Inner Legs: 4 - 2x4 @ 26-1/4"
- Long Horizontal Frame: 4 - 2x4 @ (inside lip measurement + 3" ) x 3 then add 3" (should be about 60")
- Cleats to Support Baskets: 12 - 2x4 @ depth of basket (should be about 24")*
- Top Planking: 1x6 @ depth of basket, quantity needed will depend on overall width, about 10-12 planks estimate*
*If this number is close to 24", choose a 23-7/8" cut length to maximize material use
Instructions
Step 1
Build two frames as shown, using the longer screws.
Make sure the frames are square by taking opposite diagonal measurements and then adjusting the frames until the two opposite diagonals match.
Step 2
Mark location of the cleats/runners and attach level inside the frames with two screws per joint.
Step 3
Make sure the project is square then attach the 1x6 planking to the top with the shorter screws.
