DIY Canning Storage Shelves – Easy Home Project

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If you do a lot of home canning, an easy way to make space for the jars is to build your own canning storage shelves. This free tutorial will guide you step-by-step to help you create storage space in your home, no matter the amount of space you have.

I’m often asked, “How to store home canned food, and what do with all the canning jars when they are full or empty?

So after struggling for far too long and not having answers when asked, I decided to design canning storage shelves that are not only attractive but sturdy and budget-friendly.

Sure, you can buy metal shelves from the big box stores. They are sturdy, but the spacing between the shelves wastes so much space.

You can stack the jars, but I prefer not to. The last thing you want to happen is to touch a jar accidentally and it causing others to crash to the floor with all your hard work splattered on the floor.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends not stacking too high. This is what they say.

“If jars are stacked in storage, be careful not to disturb vacuum seals. It would be a good idea not to stack jars too high directly on top of each other; one manufacturer recommends no more than two layers high. It would be best to provide support between the layers as a preventive measure against disturbing the seals on the lower jars. Jars could be placed in boxes to be stacked, or use some type of a firm, solid material across the jars as a supportive layer in between them.”

Canning Jar Organization

First things first. If you have done any home canning at all, you are well aware that canning jars should be labeled when they are filled.

You can choose to use some cute labels, as I was in the beginning, like these pretty colorful labels made specifically for canning jars. Some of them are even super cute handmade labels like these.

But, unless you are gifting these canned goods, using a Sharpie marker and writing the name of the contents and the year on the lid will suffice. For example, Green Beans and then the month/year on the lid.

Why do you label canning jars? Labeling is important for a few reasons.

Once many canned foods are all cooked and sealed, the contents look very much the same, such as whole tomatoes and Italian stewed tomatoes.

With labeling, you can easily tell spaghetti sauce from homemade pizza sauce by reading the label. And on very rare occasions, if there are any jars left from the previous year, you can see this on the lid.

Writing the year on each jar helps with rotation on the canning storage rack too. Each year when the canning season begins, you’ll want to rotate last year’s jars to the front of the storage shelves, so they are used first. And if they are stacked, this makes it even more difficult.

Tips for Storing Jars Of Home Canned Foods

Home canning does have some rules for safety reasons that should be followed. And this will help you decide where the best place for your to canning shelves:

• Remove the bands when storing. There are several reasons for this, but the main reasons are you can easily check the seal to make sure the jar is still sealed. Secondly, since the band is removed, there is less chance of the jar resealing from the pressure of the band. Lastly, bands have been known to hold moisture, causing the lid to rust and the seal to break.
• Wash jars before storing them. During the canning process, jars are known to siphon and get yucky on the outside. If stored this way, the food will mold and just be nasty looking. This does not harm what’s inside, but it’s not attractive either. You can use a damp cloth to wipe them down before you place them in storage.
• Store in proper temperatures. Best storage temperatures are between 50 – 70°F. This will allow your jars to be stored longer and safely. Keep away from high temperatures above 95°. Locations near hot pipes, near stoves, or non-insulated attics can cause the food to spoil. Our a/c is vented into the back porch, where our canning storage is.
• Store in a cool, dark place. Light will cause the food to lose quality sooner. It should be kept out of direct sunlight. Our canning shelves are out on the tiny back porch that we closed in for this purpose. The room is small, and there are no windows.
• Store in an area with no moisture. Moisture or dampness can cause metal lids to rust and seals to break. Therefore, a root cellar is not recommended.

So when considering these recommendations, find a location that is clean, cool, dark, and dry to build your canning storage. And for organizing your supplies.

Storing Canning Jars

The easiest and best place to store canning jars is back where they were when they were full. You can also keep the cardboard box your mason jars came in, and they will fit nicely under a bed or in a closet.

For extra jars you keep, they store well in plastic milk crates or storage totes and cardboard boxes. I keep boxes of them under the stairs in our house.

It’s somewhat handy. I keep a cute dresser sitting in front of the stairs and pull it out as I need jars. If you look behind the dresser, you can see many boxes of empty canning jars stacked under there.

When storing canning jars, they should be clean and dry before going into storage. I store them without bands, upside down to keep dust and such from getting inside them. Doing so makes it easier when washing them before the next use.

Storing Canning Supplies

I keep canning rings in a couple of different places. In the bottom two drawers of a cabinet in the kitchen. It’s handy for easily accessing them as I need. They are separated by regular mouth and large mouth. I also keep the new canning lids in these drawers.

But, since I have so many, the drawers don’t hold them all. So I hang strings of 12 bands on tiny nails I’ve driven into the 2x2s on my DIY shelves. To be honest, I enjoy them hanging there. It fits our rustic and sustainable lifestyle well.

These tiny nails are also great for drying herbs in the summer months. It’s rather attractive to see the colorful jars of home-canned food with fresh herbs hanging there. It’s quite nostalgic.

My canners and large stock pots are stored on the bottom shelf of the DIY shelf. I’ve designed it with enough height to fit the pressure canner and taller stock pots.

Customizing Your Canning Storage

Some people can get really creative with storage solutions for canning supplies. Building large, sturdy shelves using 2x4s and plywood, or building canning cabinets, and even having basement shelves made of metal that are earthquake proof.

You can even find whole canning rooms that are wall-to-wall shelving, floor-to-ceiling, and that are built specifically as food storage shelves. But not all of us have the space available.

That is why these easy-to-make DIY canning shelves are great! They can be built to fit the space you have. They fit almost any budget, they are sturdy to hold a lot of canning jars that last us all winter. Since they are custom-built, they are perfect for you!

When I built these shelves, I didn’t have a pattern. I stood back and looked at the blank wall and taped blue painter’s tape where I wanted them to sit. And then, I used a measuring tape and got the measurements to see how big I could make them and still be sturdy.

So I would recommend you do the same thing and build them specifically for your home. Decide where you have a space to put a shelf, measure it, and then build the shelves to fit.

Best Practice Tips For DIY Canning Storage Shelves

But before you do, keep these things in mind.

• They need to be sturdy. Full canning jars are heavy. So don’t build wider than 4 feet. Doing so, you don’t need a center support that takes up valuable space if you have to organize in a small space like mine.
• They need to be deep to hold several jars. I sat empty jars on the counter and measured their height and depth of them to see how I could customize and get the most storage space. I found that pint jars can be stored 4-deep, and quarts can be stored 3-deep on a piece of 1×12 shelving board.
• They should be built to utilize as many shelves as possible. Pint jars are 5 inches tall, and quart jars are 7 inches tall with lids. So the shelves are built roughly 1 inch “higher” than the jar itself. This makes for no wasted space.

DIY Canning Storage Shelves Tutorial

Again, when building your shelves, it’s important that they are no wider than 4 feet. So you don’t need support, and the shelf spacing should be kept to the recommended height. This is to prevent wasting valuable space and to fit as much as possible on them.

This tutorial will build ONE – 4-foot canning shelf (48x12x64). It has 7 shelves in total. 3 hold pint jars, 3 hold quart jars, and the bottom shelf holds water bath canners, pressure canners, and other large canning supplies such as gallon and half-gallon jars.

Materials

• 4 pcs. 1x12x8 – pine shelving board
• 4 pcs. 2x2x8 – interior pine rails
• 3 pcs. 2¼”x7 – interior door casing-basic door trim
• 1¼” finish nails for a brad nailer
• Wood Glue
• Paint – choice of color

Tools

• Miter Saw (I use this one)
• Palm Sander (I have this one – it works anywhere!)
• Brad Nailer (I have this one and use it all the time)
• Measuring Tape
• Speed Square
• Level
• Pencil
• 220 grit Sandpaper
• Paint Brush

STEP 1. Material Cuts

(1x12x8) – Shelving Board Cuts:

Using a measuring tape and pencil. Measure and mark all four pieces at 4 feet and mark a straight line using the pencil and speed square. With the miter saw, cut all four boards to 4 feet lengths.

Or cut them to the lengths you have space for. Just no longer than 4 feet.

(2x2x8) – Side Rail Cuts:

Cut all four 2x2s to 64 inches long.

(2 1/4-inch x 7) – Wood Trim Casing Cuts:

This is tricky, so you get enough pieces. Cut casing into EIGHT-even pieces, exactly 11 7/8 inches each. You’ll have no waste.

Next, use sandpaper or palm sander if you have one and lightly sand cut edges.

STEP 2. Marking Shelves

The best way I found to do this – lay them flat, side by side, with one end against a baseboard or guide of some sort to keep them aligned at the end. Then measure one, and with the speed square, mark across all four a the same time. Making sure they are secure against the guide at the one end.

It’s nice if you have someone hold them secure while you mark, but not necessary.

Lay all four – 2x2s flat—side by side, on the floor. Using measure tape, mark the following INCHES (“) on BOTH.

• 6½”
• 13″
• 21½”
• 30¼”
• 38¾”
• 47½”
• 60

STEP 3. Assembly

1). On a flat surface, I used the floor, lay 2×2’s flat, ends even 11-7/8″ apart. Using wood glue, put a bit of glue right below the mark and then center the wood casing on the two pieces.

2). With the brad nail gun, using 1¼” finish nails, nail trim casing to 2×2 “on the mark” – widest side up. (see image) Attach to both 2x2s with the brad nail gun.

3). Repeat #2 until all trim casings are attached to 2×2’s. You will end up with 2 pieces that resemble a skinny 64″ ladder.

STEP 4. Assembling Shelves

You may need a second set of hands for this step. I called in one of the grandsons for help.

Stand “ladders” up tall. Put a bit of wood glue on the bottom trim casing, and then place a 1x12x4 feet piece across the trim casing – line them up. Carefully, with a nail gun, at an angle catching both the trim piece and the 2×2. Do this on both sides.

Your bottom shelf is attached. Repeat this up the ladder until you have all 7 shelves attached.

Allow the glue to dry overnight.

Note About Shelf Spacing

The shelves that hold pints mason jars are 6.5 inches top to top.

The shelf spacing to hold quart mason jars is 8.5 inches from top to top.

The space for the bottom shelf is 12 inches from top to top. These measurements prevent wasted space between them. But allows for your jars to be easily accessed.

STEP 5. Painting

This is the fun part. The next day, lightly sand any areas that may need sanding. Wipe down with a damp cloth to remove sanding dust.

Paint your favorite color to match the decor of your home. Load it up with all your delicious home-canned goodness in jars.

TIPS TO THINK ABOUT:

• We live in an old farmhouse with rickety floors. So I put screws into the wall and used a piece of wire to “sturdy” my shelves. I’d HATE for it to fall over.
• At some point, I may attach a dowel that goes across the front of each shelf to hold the jars in place. We are not in an earthquake area, but we live in a really old farmhouse with rickety floors that are not all that sturdy.

More Helpful Canning Articles

• Quick Start Guide to Freezing Food
• Water Bath Canning Problems and Solutions
• Free Canning Guide for Beginners
• How to Sterilize Jars for Canning
• Preparing for Canning Season – 10 Simple Steps

As I mentioned, we closed in a small back porch that is about 6×12 feet and vented the a/c into it. In our previous house, I stored home canned goods in the basement shelving, which made for great canning pantry storage. But we no longer have a basement.

So tell me, do you have a small unused space you could build yourself a canning storage shelf and fill it with delicious home-canned foods? If so, this great list will get you started. Its some of my favorites.

Canning Recipes to Fill your New Shelves

• Sweet Pickle Relish
• Perfect Bread and Butter Pickles
• Tangy Spicy Pickles
• Easy Homemade Apple Sauce
• Canning Whole Tomatoes
• Home Canning Carrots
• Canning Green Beans
• Canning Tomato Juice

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