DIY Garage Pegboard Organizer For Cleaning Supplies

Learn how to turn a basic sheet of pegboard into a mop and broom organizer for your garage. This is the perfect organization idea for a small space!

Welcome to the fall edition of the Thrift Shop Challenge! My friends and I team up every season and challenge each other to go thrifting and find something to give a fun makeover.

I’m constantly amazed at all of the neat projects my friends dream up. They are all so creative! Here are links to all of their thrifty projects:

• Amber Oliver – How to Turn Dresser Drawers into Shelves
• At Charlotte’s House – Flea Market Mirror Makeover
• Green with Decor – Painted Christmas Village House
• Love, Create, Celebrate – DIY Wooden Spoon Rest
• Love & Renovations – Little Tikes Toy Makeovers
• Within the Grove – DIY Book Bin

I’ve noticed a definite theme with my Thrift Shop Challenge projects–they all involve paint and I always default to my usual white and navy color combo. And that theme continues with today’s project. I guess when you know what colors you love, you just stick with them ;).

I’ve had an idea for a simple pegboard organizer in our garage for a while now, so I was super excited to come across a sheet of pegboard at our local consignment store. It was an awesome find!

I always try to look for thrifted items that you can likely find at your local thrift stores so you can recreate my projects. If you’re looking for secondhand pegboard, your best bet is a Habitat Restore if there’s one in your area. Otherwise, you can purchase small pegboard sheets like this at Home Depot and Lowe’s.

I combined my pegboard with leftover paint and scrap wood to create a really cool and inexpensive broom organizer for our garage!

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Organizing Mops & Brooms

Our mops and brooms were previously stored in our only coat closet. They were always in the way when pulling our winter coats in and out. I got pretty sick of the broom handles falling out all the time last winter!

I added hooks to the wall to try to keep them organized, but the closet was still pretty crowded and not as functional as it could be. So I started to think of alternative places to store those awkward long-handled cleaning tools.

I always try to think creatively about where to store things in our house to maximize space while making sure the items are stored in a convenient location near where they are used.

One day I had the idea to move our mops and brooms to the garage. Not only does it free up closet space, but it also makes use of the empty wall on the side of our garage. There’s not really enough floor space to put any shelving on this wall without blocking the walkway from our cars into the house. So while there’s no floor space to work with, there is a big empty wall! It was the perfect spot for a DIY garage pegboard organizer.

I wanted to be sure our cleaning tools are still easy to grab when we need them (because if the broom is on the far side of the garage, I can guarantee we’ll be too lazy to go get it very often!). Installing our pegboard broom organizer right beside the door into the house means the broom and mop are really easy to grab from the doorway.

This DIY pegboard broom organizer could be used in many places around your home. While I hung mine in the garage, some other spaces to consider are storage rooms, laundry rooms, small walls behind doors, walk-in pantries, closets, and stairwells to unfinished basements.

I think the key is to find an empty wall that’s at least semi-hidden and is near the rooms where you use your cleaning tools most often. You can even consider adding a pegboard organizer on each floor so cleaning supplies are more convenient to grab.

The reason a pegboard works so well for things like mops and brooms is that they are awkward to store without hanging them up. They tend to fall over when propped in corners and they don’t fit on shelving. I think almost every handled cleaning tool has a hole at the end meant for hanging on a hook.

I like being able to adjust the height of the pegboard hooks so all of the cleaning tools are up off the floor. This frees up floor space and keeps everything looking tidier.

I purchased an inexpensive variety pack of pegboard hooks that included two shelf brackets, so I cut a scrap board to fit the brackets and made a little shelf. I hung the shelf near the top of my pegboard organizer to store a few smaller things like mop pads and trash bags.

I have room to store most of our smaller cleaning supplies under our kitchen sink and the bathroom sinks. But there are a few items that make sense to store in the garage (like mop pads so they are right next to the mop).

If you’re looking for ideas for organizing cleaning supplies, give this DIY pegboard broom organizer a try! It’s an inexpensive way to organize your mops and brooms and I think it looks really cute! Keep reading for the full tutorial to make this pegboard for your home.

How To Make & Install A DIY Pegboard Organizer

Supply list

This supply list makes a 2×4 foot pegboard that you can hang vertically or horizontally.

• Pegboard, 2×4 foot
• 1×2 Pine Boards (for wall mounts)
  • 3 pieces cut to 24 inches long
• 1×2 Pine Boards (for frame)
  • 2 cut to 24 inches long (the length of the short side of pegboard)
  • 2 cut to 49 1/2 inches long (the height of the long side of the pegboard plus 1 1/2 inches so they overlap the frame pieces on the short sides)
• (6) 3” Wall Anchors & Screws (this is for drywall applications, consult your local hardware store for tips on the best fasteners for other wall materials)
• (9) 1 1/4” Wood Screws
• Power Drill (Phillips head + drill bits for the wall achors)
• Brad Nails
• Brad Nailer
• Paint – Leftover wall paint or a sample size of interior paint are perfect for this project, a higher sheen like an eggshell or a semi-gloss will be easier to wipe clean. I used one sample jar of Behr Marquee interior paint for the pegboard. The color is Deep Breath in eggshell. I used white semi-gloss trim paint for the frame.
• Small Paint Roller
• Pegboard hooks (I ordered this variety pack)

Step 1 – Paint The Pegboard & Frame

Use your paint roller to paint the pegboard. You will likely need two coats to get even coverage. I painted both sides so that the wood was sealed since garages are prone to being damp.

To paint my pegboard, I laid it down on a large sheet of cardboard and painted two coats. Then I let it dry overnight before flipping it over and painting two coats on the other side.

You will also want to paint your 1×2 boards for the frame. If you haven’t yet sanded the frame pieces, make sure to do that now so they are nice and smooth before you begin painting. Then paint them with a small roller, waiting for one side to dry before turning them over and painting the other side.

Step 2 – Install The Wall Mounts

When you’re hanging pegboard on the wall, you need to leave a bit of dead space behind the pegboard so there’s room for the hooks.

To create that dead space behind the pegboard and make sure it is securely fastened to the wall, hang three 24-inch 1×2 boards–one at the top, one in the middle, one at the bottom. Mark the measurements on the wall (make sure to use a level!). Then mount the boards using drywall anchors and 3-inch screws (I used a small drill bit to pre-drill holes in the wood for the screws to go through). Make sure you use a level to keep the boards straight.

I only hung two wall mounts at first but then realized I would need a middle one so the pegboard wouldn’t bow inward toward the wall. The third wall mount did the trick!

Step 3 – Hang The Pegboard

Use 1 1/4” wood screws to attach the pegboard to the wall mounts (be sure to use a level). The screws go right through the pegboard’s holes and drill into the wood wall mounts.

Start by adding screws in the top corners of the pegboard, then use additional screws to attach the pegboard to all three wall mounts. I used three screws on each wall mount.

I managed to do this step by myself but it would be helpful to have a second person to help hold the pegboard level while you attach the top screws.

Once the screws were all fastened, use a small paintbrush to paint over the screw heads with your blue paint.

Step 4 – Attach The Frame

Now it’s time to attach the frame! Use brad nails to attach the frame pieces to the wall mounts and to each other.

Step 5 – Arrange Your Hooks & Organize everything!

Gather up your mops, brooms and other cleaning tools and start playing with a layout that works best. I tested out several styles of hooks with each item to see which hooks were best for everything.

I decided to use the included shelf brackets to add a small shelf at the top of my pegboard. I cut a scrap board down to size and painted it blue to match the pegboard. The brackets fit right into the pegboard so you can set the shelf on top. This is a great spot to store mop pads and things!

Check out all of the other Thrift Shop Challenge posts via the links below! My friends are sharing so many amazing thrift store makeover today!

Also, if you are working on any thrift store projects, use the hashtag #thriftshopchallenge on Instagram to share your projects! My friends and I would love to see what you’re working on!

Here are all of the other cool projects from this round of the Thrift Shop Challenge:

• Amber Oliver – How to Turn Dresser Drawers into Shelves
• At Charlotte’s House – Flea Market Mirror Makeover
• Green with Decor – Painted Christmas Village House
• Love, Create, Celebrate – DIY Wooden Spoon Rest
• Love & Renovations – Little Tikes Toy Makeovers
• Within the Grove – DIY Book Bin

Looking for more thrifty projects? Take a look at my past Thrift Shop Challenge makeovers:

• Painted Tin Canisters From The Thrift Store
• Painting Wicker Baskets From The Thrift Store
• Painted Craft Cabinet – The Beginner’s Guide To Painting With Chalk Paint
• A Modern, Preppy Lamp Makeover

Have a fantastic day!