DIY can dispenser

I wanted to add a can dispenser to my large awkward pantry to try and utilize all the space. First we got a sheet of plywood from our local White Mt Lumber then we cut it down to 3 1/2' x 7'. If it sounds huge that's because our pantry's huge. The first thing I did was stain the plywood because even though it is for our pantry I wanted it to look good and not like all the ones I've seen on Pinterest. Not pictured: After I put a coat of stain on I used a brush and some white painted and just dabbed a little paint on the end of the brush and did long quick brush strokes to get an antiqued white finish.

Then we (my carpenter and I aka my husband) started cutting the slots for the cans. We decided to make two separate sections for cans, one on the top and one on the bottom. We measured the cans that I had the most of and got the dimensions for the can slots off of them. Why do cans have to come in a million different and sizes??

We cut as many boards as we needed for each can slot and then we cut thin one inch pieces to frame the cans in on each slot. This way the cans could slide down the slots without falling out. This picture doesn't even do justice to how amazing it turned out. I left two slots open so we could use them as little shelves. They weren't secured in this picture, hence why they aren't level.  

This is how it looks in our pantry. I was beyond exited about it. I love that it shows me how much food storage I have.... or don't have. When I'm writing my grocery list I can just walk in the pantry and take inventory of what I need. If you are thinking about making one of these DO IT.! You wont regret it I promise.

Tips: Pre drill each hole before screwing it together. This helps prevent the wood from splitting. Also when you hang up the dispenser on the wall make sure you find the studs in the wall to screw the can dispenser to. Also it's so much easier to paint each part before you assemble.