How to Build a Hanging Dry Rack

Storables calls these hanging dry racks and they know a bit more about it than I do. I'd call it a multi-hanger, but whatever. I use it for all those pesky socks and undies that tend to take up lots of room (and clothespins) on our umbrella clothes line.



Now, 19 clothes pins all fit around the lid of a 5 gallon bucket outfitted with a coat hanger. This way the lid twirls and can dry the socks, undies, hanker chiefs and all the small stuff doesn't take up room for t-shirts and other clothes which need significantly more room.


The fancy "Hanging Dry Rack" at Storables comes with half the clothespins, is metal (rust?) and costs 15.95. Ours has 19 clothes pins, is made of plastic and costs 5.95 maximum. Plastic, in this circumstance, was slightly important because it will not wear out and need replacing with all the rain and summer's extreme sun. We can also easily drill through the plastic to hang the clothes pins.

Materials Needed
Power drill with 1/16th drill bit and a
fine-toothed wood saw
Wire cutters
A pair of pliers

1 package of clothespins (bamboo are the best) $2.50 for 50 pins
1 5 gallon bucket lid $ .99 (@ Home Depot)
1 metal clothes hanger (from the closet, but available at the Dollar Store or dry cleaners)
19 little ring fobs (see below) $1.52 from the lock and key store


Jules is assembling all the parts for these hangers and comes out with "We need to find ring fobs." I had no idea what he was talking about (nothing new when assembling things). Am I the only one who has never heard this term? We do crossword puzzles together and he always knows the weirdest stuff. A ring fob is basically the O that your keys are all hooked to. I always called it a key ring...little did I know. If you buy the ring fobs at Home Depot, Bi-Mart, or Kroger you are going to pay a TON! We found ours at the local lock and key. They were only 8 cents a piece, and are the rinky-dink, little ones you get when a key is made. They had multiple sizes and we chose the smallest (about 1 inch in diameter).

Construction


Using the 1/16th bit, drill a hole though half of the pinching end of the clothes pin.






Thread one ring fob through the hole. Using a fine-toothed, wood saw, cut off about 1 centimeter of the other lever of the clothes pin. You cut the end off so that when you pinch the pin open, it isn't limited by the ring fob.




Repeat. A lot. This is annoying and tedious. A butter knife can save your fingernails and enlisting help can make everyone frustrated and lessen the personal burden of ridiculous frustration.





Using the 1/16 bit, drill holes 2 inches a part all along the lip of the 5 gallon bucket. Cutting a spacer out of index card works really well, or you could just wrap a tape measure around and mark every two inches with a Sharpie. Switch to the 1/4 bit and drill a hole through the center of the lid.















Cut the wire coat hanger 4 inches on each side of the hook. Use the pliers to straighten the sides and bend the hook of the coat hanger fairly straight.





Thread the straightened hook through the center hole of the lid. Once through, bend the hook back into a hook. Turn the lid over and flatten the ends against the plastic.





Thread the ring fobs through the holes drilled around the lip of the lid and you've got yourself a hanging dry rack!