One of my least favorite things is when the mail and keys get stacked on the counter in a big mess. But we never have anywhere to put everything.

Anyone relate? Maybe it’s just me…

So, since we built our new house, I have been looking for a simple solution to the madness.

I looked and looked and could not find anything exactly what I wanted. I wanted something to hang on the wall, because the whole point is to get it off the counter. I needed something to hold both the mail and the keys, and I wanted it to have a separate spot for the bills so they wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle…. Just me again? Hmmmm…

So I found {these plans} by Ana White. P.S. I LOOOOVE Ana White. Her site makes me feel like I never need to buy furniture again because, hello, I could build my own furniture.

Anyway, between Ana White and a little help from my dad and brother this is what I came up with:

I picked up a sheet of 1/8 inch particle board from Home  Depot for just a few dollars.

We cut it 12 x 15 for the main part of the letter holder. Apparently 1/8 inch is too thin, so my dad just cut a few strips of MDF to make a frame for the back to sturdy it up a bit. If you had a thicker board, you wouldn’t need to do this part.

This is the view of the back after we glued the MDF frame on.

Then we cut our pieces for the front of the bins. One is 5 x 12 and the other is 6 x 12. These are out of the 1/8 ply.

My dad cut some triangular pieces from the thicker MDF. Not sure the exact measurements. We used Ana White’s template {here}, but cut apart the triangle pieces.

Then glue them together using a good (gorilla glue) wood glue.

After I sanded everything, I painted it all with regular craft paint.

 And because someone might ask… The color is Leaf Green by Ceramcoat. And yes, I’m a messy crafter.

Once we painted, I scuffed the edges up a bit and glued everything together. We clamped it up and put some heavy books on top to keep it together.

And then we added hooks to the bottom.

When I say “we”, I mean this guy. Meet my little brother, Danny.

After everything dried, I cut some vinyl for the bins and sprayed everything with a clear coat.

Pretty cute, eh?

It is really nice!!!! Hello organization!

It is perfect, hanging in my mudroom, right by the door coming in from the garage. Now we don’t have an excuse for a messy pile of mail on the counter and lost keys!