I’ve been a whirlwind of activity this spring since arriving back in Georgia. It must be the beautiful weather and warmer temps that have me in this crazy “nesting” mode. My latest project this spring has involved the storage cabinets here on this side of the basement. In the past, after buying these SystemBuild Kendall cabinets, I’ve always gone back and replaced the shelving with higher-quality shelves that can support a decent amount of weight without bowing. The shelves that always come with the cabinets are supposed to hold 35 lbs each, but they never do without sagging in the middle.
I had already cleared off the top shelf and replaced it with a denser, better shelf by the time I took this photo. So the top shelf is a replacement shelf, purchased from Home Depot earlier that day. The other sagging/bowing shelves are the ones that came with the cabinet.
I purchased these cabinets for the basement back in 2023. When I visited Home Depot back then to buy replacement shelves, the shelves were more than double their normal price! They used to be around $15 each, but back in 2023, when I wanted more for the basement cabinets, the cost was around $35 per shelf! When I visited Home Depot this morning, the price was much, much better: $17.47 per shelf. I’m glad I waited until now to buy them!
So, here’s how these two cabinets look after getting their replacement shelves. I ended up rearranging stuff, moving some items to the large storage room here in the basement, creating a donate pile, and putting some items aside to take back to the Dollhouse when I next head up to Ohio. So now, I actually have additional storage room. Stored in these cabinets are lightbulbs, small appliances, craft supplies, candles, candle holders, vases, cleaning rags, baking goodies, and other miscellaneous “stuff” that I use from time to time.
It’s so nice to not see sagging shelves when I open the cabinet doors now. The new replacement shelves aren’t that much thicker, they are just much denser and of better quality than the shelves that come with the cabinets. I looked today and could only find these cabinets available in a gray color here: Kendall Cabinets. So I’m not sure if they are still making them in white, or if they’ve been discontinued.
I haven’t replaced the shelves in the third cabinet since that cabinet is currently holding toilet paper, paper towels, and other household stuff that’s very lightweight. So, fortunately, the shelves don’t sag in that cabinet. I purchased nine shelves this morning: six ended up here in the basement cabinets, and three ended up in a garage cabinet that holds glassware.
I still need to buy a few more shelves for a couple of the cabinets in the garage. I really hope Home Depot never quits carrying the better, denser shelving. FYI: If you ever need replacement shelving, take a shelf with you (or the exact measurements), and an HD associate will cut the shelf down to the size you need. It’s better to take a shelf with you so you don’t have to worry about getting the measurements slightly wrong. The HD associate will set their gigantic in-store saw for the measurements needed, and it only takes them a few minutes to cut down 9 shelves, or however many you need. Just make sure you buy the denser melamine shelving. In the Home Depot near me, they have moved the denser melamine shelving (that I like and buy) to the same aisle that holds the thinner shelving that’s similar to what I’ve been replacing. So don’t buy the thinner/less-dense shelving by accident! The good, dense shelving used to always be in the lumber section, so it took me a while to find it this time.
I had thought about adding two more storage cabinets along this wall, but I really don’t need them. That space is handy for the litter boxes. Both litter boxes are now in the basement. It’s so nice not having one in the hall bath upstairs anymore. The cats have been awesome and have immediately adapted to having both litter boxes here in the basement. The flooring camouflages any litter they track onto the floor. It’s so funny because when I sweep around the litter boxes, it’s like I’m sweeping air. I don’t see anything, but afterward, I always have a little mini-pile of litter that they’ve tracked out on their feet. This floor hides everything! Eventually, I’ll install a cordless vacuum down here for litter clean up—another project for another day.
I’ll leave you today with these two pictures of Agatha experiencing the Zoomies out on the porch this week. She is a nut!
One of her favorite pastimes is hanging from the swing chains and attacking them. Ha! Such a funny girl!
See you tomorrow for Tablescape Thursday!
She looks like my Charleigh.
Do they actually have pre-made shelves in the size you need? That big saw is amazing. I used to get a lot cut. Perhaps you have SAD too.
No, they didn’t have them in the size I needed, but they have them in a bigger size that can be cut down. They must have a lot of people coming in to buy replacement shelves; cabinets never seem to come with the really good dense shelves.
Cute kitty! I love cat antics! I was hoping you were going to tel us that you found better shelving units with shelves at Home Depot because I know they stand behind their deliveries. I have no basement and think yours looks super but I do have a garage and need to replace cabinets I have with something more functional and yours look nice to me.