Essential oil cabinet: Remake plastic bins into an apothecary cabinet

Store over 100 essential oils in this custom essential oil cabinet

I have a ton of essential oils that I use for everything from linen sprays to facial cleansers to body oils. I’ve always dreamed of being an herbalist or an old time apothecary, and so I decided to really dive into that dream and make myself an apothecary-style essential oil cabinet to keep all my oils at the ready.

I’m a “use what I have” type of gal, and I had this plastic U-line tip-out bin cabinet that I already had installed on my wall (thanks Dad!) from my jewelry making days. I had various beads stored in each bin and labeled with the type of bead. I don’t do much jewelry making these days, and I was already planning on taking it down from the wall. This area in my house was once my jewelry making studio, but now I’ve repurposed it to be my work-from-home space, which doubles as one of my house bunnies, James’, living quarters. And since we are normal folk who don’t have space for everything, I decided to add “apothecary” to the list of functions for this space, so I could move all my essential oil stuff out of the stairwell!

Finished apothecary cabinet for essential oils

Store over 100 essential oils in this custom essential oil cabinet
Essenial oil storage options
Materials for the custom essential oil cabinet
Step 1: Prep and paint your bins
Step 2: Install the essential oil cabinet
Step 3: Organize your essential oils
Watch it on YouTube!

Essenial oil storage options

I did look for other options for essential oil storage. There’s not a ton out there, but there were a few viable options. There was this one on Etsy, which does look nice. It’s made of wood and looks like it’s made to be sturdy for oils. And it does even hold a fair number of oils. The thing I didn’t like about this one is that it’s freestanding, and I really wanted something to hang on the wall, just for space saving reasons.

There are also these stands that, it seems, are repurposed nail polish bottle stands. These look ok, but they did look a bit flimsy. In the end, I decided to just upgrade what I already had. These U-line bins were a bit ugly, but I found on closer inspection that the small bins actually perfectly fit some of the 15 ml essential oil bottles that I had: the Rocky Mountail Oils ones and the DoTerra ones (for the most part). Since these were the oils I had in the greatest quantities, I decided to remake these cabinets, and I’m really happy with the results.

My recommendation: Find something cheap that is the right size… maybe something from the Salvation Army or Goodwill or a yard sale. If you do really like the ones I used, you can definitely buy these, though they aren’t partculary cheap to buy them new.

Obviously these come with drawers, which for the most part, I’m not using. I took the drawers off and am storing them in case I need them in the future. For the bigger bins, I kept a few on.

Materials for the custom essential oil cabinet

U-line plastic bins or whatever you can find for cheap in the right size
- I used six of the 9-bin tip out bins. These fit several brands of essential oils well, including Rocky Mountain Oil 15 ml bottles and DoTerra 15 ml bottles. It will fit 5 ml bottles from Eden Botanicals and Rose Mountain Herbs.
- I also used one 6-bin tip bin and one 5-bin tip out bin for larger bottles and items, such as dried flowers, salts, and clays.
Spray paint: I used 2 cans of Rust-oleum Satin Espresso
Sandpaper or sanding sponge 60-100 grit
Wood backing board – a piece of wood or plywood at least 1/2 inch thick, cut to the size of your finished cabinet (the size of all the bins once stacked on top of each other), or larger to make a frame
Screws that are shorter than the width of your backing board. For example, if you have a 1/2 inch backing board, your screws need to be less than 1/2 inch long so they don’t go all the way through it and hit the wall.
Screwdriver
Drill

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Step 1: Prep and paint your bins

Unpainted tip out bins lying on the ground ready to be painted.

The first thing you need to do is figure out which bins you need and how many. The U-Line bins nest together to create a cohesive looking cabinet. I chose 5 9-bins, 1 5-bin, and 1 6-bin.

To prep them for painting, sand them lightly with a sandpaper between 60 and 100 grit. You want to see a white powder form, but not any scratches, ideally. The reason to do this is that plastic has a coating on it to make it shiny, and this interferes with the paint. The goal is to remove that coating. I did scratch mine a bit, but you can do better. Have a light touch.

After you sand it, wipe it with a just barely damp cloth to remove the dust. Then, either dry it with a clean cloth or papertowel or set it in the sun to dry. You want it to be completely dust-free and dry before you paint. Prepping really does make a difference in the end result.

Then, spray paint the bins. Read the instructions on the spray paint can (if you can read it – what font size is that anyway??) It’s best to have a light touch and do several coats. You don’t want to spray it on thick or it will bubble up and potentially peel off later. Pay closest attention to the areas of the bins where there will be the most friction, such as the edges as the bottom of the bins.

Step 2: Install the essential oil cabinet

You won’t want to screw the bins directly into the wall because then you’ll have a million holes in your wall and it won’t be as sturdy. You’ll need to find a backing board made of wood that you can screw the bins into. But first, attach the backing board to the wall.

I already had this installed, and it is just a piece of scrap wood cut to the size of the finished cabinet plus an inch or so extra around the edges to serve as a frame. I had just wallpapered a nearby wall, so I took scraps of wallpaper and put them around the edges of the wood board to make the “frame” prettier and so it matches the nearby wall.

Tip: I realized this after the fact, but you may actually want to paint the wood board the same color as you paint your cabinets. Since there are holes in the back of some of the bins for screws, you can see through to the wood in some sections. So, if you paint your bins the Satin Espresso like I did, go ahead and paint your wood board the same color and it will look more uniform.

Secure the wood board to the wall using screws. Then, using a level, draw a line with a pencil or tape to indicate where the bottom bin will begin. Then, hold the bottom bin up to the line and using a pencil, mark the screw holes through the bins onto the wall. Using a drill, pre-drill a hole where you’ve marked. Using a screwdriver or drill with a screwdriver bit, attach the first bin to the backing board.

Now that the first in is up, the rest will just stack right on top of the bottom one. Hold you next bin up, mark the screw holes, drill the pilot holes, and then screw it on. Repeat until you have them all up!

Step 3: Organize your essential oils

Now for the fun part! Load up your essential oils in whatever way makes sense. I organized them alphabetically.

Tip: If you plan on adding to your essential oil collection regularly (or at all), consider leaving some empty bins for growth. For example, if you alphabetize your oils and fill them all completely, when you buy a new one, you’ll have to move all of them, which will be a pain in the butt. So, this is what I did. I have 5 rows of 9-bins, so I decied the top bin will be all essential oils that start with the letters A-E, the next row F-J, etc. Then, I filled in the oils that I had, leaving spaces here and there. Now I’ll only have to move a few oils around when I buy a new one.

You can decide to leave some of the drawers on the bins if you like. On the larger bottom rows, I left some drawers on, that can be filled with dried botanicals, salts, clays, etc. The larger bins also fit 4 ounce bottles of carrier oils well.

Finally, add a sign! I ordered this custom made sign on Etsy. I love it! Now, when I go to make any of my lotions and potions, I have all my essential oils in one place, completely organized and looking great.