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Wood Organizer Caddy

A divided utensil caddy from a single cedar fence picket — seven small cuts, glue and brads, done in an hour. The definitive scrap-picket project.

Cut list

Part	Qty	T × W × L	Material	✓
Sides and bottom	3	5/8" × 5 1/2" × 16 1/2"	Cedar fence picket	☐
Dividers Nominal — measure the assembled caddy's inside width and cut to fit. Picket thickness varies too much to trust the math.	4	5/8" × 5 1/2" × 4 1/2"	Cedar fence picket	☐

Item	Qty	✓
Cedar fence picket, 5-1/2" x 72" (Cedar) The whole project. Dog-eared is fine — the clipped end becomes scrap.	1 each	☐
Brad nails, 1-1/4"	30 each	☐
Wood glue	2 oz	☐
Paint or stain A foam applicator brush is the only equipment needed.	8 oz	☐

Overall cost: $. Lumber varies by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure.

Brad Nailer
1-1/4" brads plus glue — the glue is the strength; the brads are the clamps.
Miter Saw
Seven straight crosscuts. A circular saw or handsaw does it too.
Pencil
Random Orbit Sander
Pickets are rough-sawn. Sand everything, especially the top edges hands reach over.
Safety Glasses
Speed Square
Tape Measure

1. Build the U
Tools: Brad Nailer, Speed Square. Materials: Cedar fence picket, 5-1/2" x 72", Brad nails, 1-1/4", Wood glue
Glue and brad-nail the two side boards to the edges of the bottom board — a long open trough, ends open. Wipe glue squeeze-out off the inside corners now with a damp rag; dried beads in a corner you can't sand are the kind of thing you notice forever.
If the picket had a dog-eared end, arrange cuts so it lands in the scrap.
2. Fit the dividers, then finish
Tools: Brad Nailer, Miter Saw, Random Orbit Sander, Tape Measure. Materials: Cedar fence picket, 5-1/2" x 72", Brad nails, 1-1/4", Wood glue, Paint or stain
Measure the actual inside width of your trough and cut the four dividers to that — not to the cut list. Two dividers cap the open ends; the other two divide the interior into compartments sized to what you're organizing. Glue and nail through the sides and bottom into each divider.
Sand everything, round the top edges where hands reach in, and finish with paint or stain on a foam brush. Then make two more — a one-picket project with leftover picket is asking for it.