One of the things I’m always looking to improve in my workshop is the organization of my tools and supplies. I recently cleaned out an area in the garage, threw out a bunch of junk, removed an old, unwieldy shelf, and replaced it with multiple, shallower, easier-to-organize shelves. It’s made a huge difference.

But one thing that has been a problem for a long time is the giant pile of sanding supplies that have been haphazardly stored in a too-small tool bag, with the spillover precariously arranged on a portable work table against the back wall of my workshop. I don’t have a picture of the original mess, just this one of all the stuff waiting to be organized. You’ll just have to trust me that it was a giant, disorganized mess that made it hard to find the right sanding disc for the task at hand.

There are lots of plans on the internet for sanding organizers and they all usually have roughly the same approach… multiple shelves to hold sheets of sandpaper and sanding discs with perhaps some additional storage for sanding blocks or electric sanders. I used the same concept, but sized it for my shop. The idea is basically to cut a lot of 1/8″ slots in the plywood sides, cut shelves from sheets of hardboard, and arrange it as necessary.

I build mine sized to sit perfectly on top of the rolling tool chest I’d built awhile ago. It tops it off nicely and provides storage for all the sandpaper I use now, with some extra space left over for sanding blocks, sanding pads, and my random orbit sander… and now I can reclaim that portable work table which is super handy when it’s not being overtaken by a landslide of sanding discs.