As you guys know, my husband and I recently moved back to Austin. When we moved, we got rid of a lot of our old furniture and replaced some things, so we’ve been figuring out some different storage solutions. The bed frame we have now is completely open underneath, and we needed more clothing storage, so I decided to try making my own underbed storage! And, it worked out well. The way I did it was super cheap and completely custom to our needs. I’m going to show you how to plan for and make your own. Let’s get into it.
Supplies for Your DIY Underbed Storage
- old cardboard boxes (I used my moving boxes! It’s easier if you have more than one of the same size.)
- packing tape (lots of it!)
- scissors (a box cutter might be easier)
- measuring tape or ruler
- pen
- contact paper
Measure Your Bed
Before you start, you need to measure your bed! You’ll need three different measurements.
- length of bed (be sure to measure in between the legs)
- width of bed (be sure to measure in between the legs)
- height of bed
Up to the bottom of the mattress, or the lowest part of the frame. My bed frame is lower on the outer edge than where the mattress actually sits. So, be sure to measure to that point. Your storage will need to slide under the part closest to the ground.
Planning Out Your Underbed Storage
Now that you’ve got your measurements, let’s plan out your underbed storage. It’s going to be a lot easier if you plan in detail versus just jumping in! I opted to use Photoshop, but you could use graph paper and do it by hand. You just want to use something that will let you show very specific measurements. I’m going to insert some images of how I figured things out.
Map the Bed
So, first I mapped out my bed in Photoshop. Then, I played around with different sized boxes within that space to figure out how big I wanted my storage bins. I will say, I didn’t account for where my nightstands sit or the thickness of the cardboard making the boxes slightly wider. So, be sure to add a half inch to an inch between each box to account for that, and measure for your nightstands! I ended up making six storage bins in total, instead of the eight originally planned since I hadn’t done those things.
Map the Boxes
Then, I mapped out the size of my boxes to scale, making sure to mark where the handles were too. I did go back and adjust the size of my storage bins slightly to work better with the boxes. So, instead of a random measurement, I opted to make them the same width as one panel of the box – that way, I could use the side with the handle as the front of the storage bin. If you have multiple kinds of boxes, map them all out. But, having one kind will make your life easier.
Map Out The Pieces of Your Underbed Storage Bins
After that, I mapped out the exact pieces I would need for my storage bins. Like I said, I wanted the width to be the same width as one panel of my moving boxes to make things easier! So, that was 18 inches. I opted to make the storage boxes as deep as possible to utilize all of the space, which was 29 inches for each. Now, the height is something I ended up adjusting for the last two boxes I made (which I photographed for this blog post). I originally only took off a half inch off the height measurement to give space for the storage bins to slide under the bed. I would recommend you take off a full inch to account for any uneven cutting, or if the bed is slightly lower in places for whatever reason.
Map Out How the Storage Bin Pieces Fit on Your Boxes
Now, I copied the moving box layout I had created a couple of times so I could figure out how to lay out the pieces I’d need to make the underbed storage bins. I copied the layout of storage bin pieces and made each set of them a different color to make things more clear visually. Then, I laid them out on the “boxes”.
I intentionally placed the front piece for each storage bin over the handle of the moving box so I’d have an easy way to pull them out from under the bed. Then, I figured out where the big bottom piece for the storage bin would need to lay – it does overlap with where there are bends in the cardboard, but because that part is flat on the ground, I think it works. It’s also sturdier than taping pieces together.
The side pieces were pretty long, so I planned to use the remaining moving box flaps (see where the long piece sits, and the blank flap that is left) taped together to make those. This allowed me to use the smallest amount of moving boxes. I still needed a few more long side pieces, so I used an additional box and laid them out where they fit.
Woo! I know that was a lot, but it will streamline your process. So, let’s get into the more hands on stuff.
Measure Out Your Storage Bin Pieces
Follow what you planned out above! Measure and draw the pieces onto your boxes. I opted to switch between measuring and cutting. But you could definitely just measure everything out first, then cut everything at once. It’s up to you. For the long pieces, I taped the two cardboard pieces together first before measuring and drawing them out. See photos below for more clarification – I did the lines in black pen, so I apologize if they are a little difficult to see! I probably should’ve used a Sharpie to make it more visible for y’all.
Cut Out Your Pieces
Cut out the pieces you measured out. I used pretty crappy scissors (hence the pieces being a little crooked and imperfect), but I couldn’t find my good scissors! You could probably use a box cutter or something more heavy duty, but I feel safer using scissors (I’m such a klutz!). Do what you feel safe with!
Forgot to get a photo of the bottom piece cut out, sorry!
Lay Out the Storage Bin Pieces and Tape Them Together
Now, you’ll want to work on the floor or a large table. Lay out all of the storage bin pieces. I opted to put the side with stuff printed on it on the inside so the outside would be a solid color. Then, tape them together! Start with taping the bottom of the side pieces to the edges of the bottom piece. Then, flip it over and repeat. You want to tape on both sides of all edges to make things as sturdy as possible.
Then, with the printed side of the cardboard facing up, start taping the corners together. Tape on both the inside and outside of each corner, working your way around the storage bin. Then, you’ve got your basic underbed storage bin!
Cover Your Underbed Storage Bins with Contact Paper
Now, I wanted to make the outside of these storage bins a little prettier. Contact paper was the quickest way to do this. To keep things affordable and quick, I only covered the front part of the bins with the contact paper. You could definitely cover the entire thing, but I didn’t think it was necessary. I did cut the contact paper so I could have about a half inch stuck to the bottom of the storage bin, and a half inch stuck to the back of the front piece to give them a cleaner look. My contact paper just happened to be the same exact width as the front of my boxes, but this definitely made things a little difficult to line up. Had I thought ahead on this, I would’ve planned to have about a half inch of overlap onto the side pieces of the storage bins too.
To cut an appropriate amount of contact paper, I just laid the box on top, adjusting to make sure everything was straight and covered properly. After cutting the paper out, I applied it by starting at the bottom and slowly peeling back the backing to press on one section at a time – smoothing out the bubbles as I went. Obviously, my hands were a little tied up, so there’s not photographs to show what I mean. Sorry! But, I’m sure y’all can figure it out! 🙂
This is what the front of the storage bins look like with the contact paper! Now, I just poked through the handle hole, and cut slits from the hole to the edge of the cardboard handle so I could fold the pieces over to the back, making a clean looking handle.
Like this…
So, that is it! A completely custom, super cheap, underbed storage bin. I apologize for the quality of some of the photos! These things are a little bulky and awkward to photograph. But, you get the idea. 🙂
These bins definitely get the job done! They look nice and are very affordable. I will say they aren’t as sturdy as a plastic bin, but I think they’re pretty close to any other cardboard based underbed storage (such as the fabric bins). Let me know if you have questions. And, share your photos if you make them!
