Measure the space your organiser will actually occupy: the clear flat floor, the room around the tray’s sides, and the headroom when the drawer closes. A few checks here make it much easier to plan a kitchen drawer organiser that suits both the drawer and its contents.
1. Empty the drawer and find the flat floor
Use a rigid ruler or tape measure and record everything in millimetres (mm). Measure inside the drawer, between the surfaces that limit the usable space. The front panel’s outside width or a cabinet’s advertised size will not give you that measurement.
If the walls slope or curve, find where the flat floor ends. A measurement across the wider opening can overstate the space available at the bottom.
2. Take three widths and three depths
- Width is side to side. Measure across the clear flat floor near the front, in the middle and near the back. Record the smallest clear reading.
- Depth is front to back — called length in the Drawer Builder. Measure along the floor at the left, centre and right. Record the smallest clear reading.
Keep the ruler straight and level. Rounded corners, screw heads, fixed dividers and other projections can reduce the usable footprint, even where the drawer walls look straight.
3. Check sloping sides, steps and corners
If the drawer widens towards the opening, the narrow flat floor usually sets the starting footprint. Check that the tray’s sides will also clear the drawer walls above it.
If a lip, ledge or inward slope projects over the floor, measure the clear space at that height too. A tray that fits at floor level can still meet an obstruction higher up. Rounded lower corners can also keep a tray from sitting flat.
Check the full height occupied by the tray. Our standard open trays are 45 mm high. Knife organisers and other specialist inserts can have different heights; check the chosen insert’s dimensions as well.
If the profile is difficult to measure, send us your readings and a clear photo with a ruler showing the floor-to-wall transition. Include any step or lip. We can review the shape before you order.
4. Check height with the drawer closing
Usable headroom runs from the drawer floor to the lowest obstruction as the drawer closes. It can be lower than the drawer’s sides. Check both the tray and the tallest item you intend to put in it, including knife handles and utensils resting at an angle.
Tray height and drawer headroom are separate measurements. Do not treat a tray-height setting as confirmation of the space above it. Check that a 45 mm standard open tray has enough closing room, and check specialist inserts separately.
5. Measure the items you want to store
Record the full length of your longest utensils and knives, including their handles. A tray’s outside dimensions include its walls, so the usable space inside is smaller. For a close fit, check the internal dimensions or ask us to review the measurements before choosing the layout.
6. Enter the actual measurements
Enter the clear internal front-to-back length and side-to-side width in millimetres. For example, 40 cm = 400 mm. Keep the measured value rather than rounding it to the nearest grid size.
Do not subtract a second safety allowance. True to Size applies its own fitting clearance to eligible dimensions. There is also no need to subtract a typical runner thickness from a measurement you have already taken inside the drawer.
The sizing form below opens the Builder with your length and width. Check the selected fit and finished footprint there; the form does not record your closing headroom. Read Standard or True to Size? to see how fitted edge pieces affect flexibility.
Prefer to start directly? Open the Drawer Builder, or see our FAQs for more help.