Alright, lets get to the nitty gritty! In this article we’ll look at 13 sandpaper storage ideas to help you organize your shop. Hopefully at least one of these ideas will work for you.
This article contains affiliate links. If you click a link and buy something I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information please see the Disclosure page.
For me organizing my house and tools is an uphill battle. In case you’re like me, I’ve researched and created this article. This is an article in my series of tool and garage storage ideas. You may also like my article on wrench storage ideas and air tool storage ideas.
List of some Different Ways to Store Sandpaper
The main thing we want to accomplish with organizing and storing sandpaper is to be able to easily find the different grits we need.
It doesn’t do much good tossing them all in a shoe box and shuffling through the jumbled mess trying to find the one you want.
Below you’ll see storage solutions that’ll help you store sheets of sandpaper, sanding discs, belt sander loops and spindle sander sleeves.
Just note that not each option will work for each type of sandpaper. For instance, some will only work for sanding discs, and others will only work for sheets.
1) Store your sandpaper in a plastic expanding file folder
You can buy accordion-style file folders at a department store, office supply store, or online.
Then on the tabs write down the various sandpaper grits you may have. So write down 40, 80, 120, etc… Then put that appropriate grit of sand paper into its designated compartment.
This option will work best for flat sheets of sandpaper, but you could put some sanding discs in here too.
And it’ll work for small pieces of sandpaper as well as full sheets.
Click here to see the current price of the organizer shown above.
I use something similar, but my folder came with a set of sandpaper from Canadian Tire. I bought this over 10 years ago and it’s still holding up fairly well. With the clearly marked tabs it is easy to find the grit I need.
Canadian Tire still sells a similar version to this oldie but a goodie. Click here to see the current price.
2) Wooden Sandpaper Organizer
If you have the room on a shelf or table in your workshop, you could repurpose a wooden file organizer like this and use it to store your sheets of sandpaper.
Make labels for the front edge to designate what grits of sandpaper will be stored on each shelf, and you’ve got yourself a sweet sandpaper organizer.
3) Wall-mounted File Organizer
You can take a file organizer like this and repurpose it as a sandpaper storage rack.
It is made of metal mesh so dust won’t accumulate in the pockets (at least not as bad as a solid plastic pocket).
This is a good option if you want to have your sandpaper close to your work table, but not taking up space on the table.
Make use of vertical space with this well-rated organizer.
Click here to see its super-high rating.
4) Sanding Disc Storage Tote
Do the discs for your random orbital sander end up all over your workshop? If so, this may work for you.
You’ll need to use your imagination and picture your sanding discs in here instead of fabric like in the photo above.
This tote works well to hold 5-inch and 6-inch sanding discs.
I got the idea to include this in the list from a YouTube video where the woodworker used one of these to store his discs.
It has removable and adjustable dividers so you can create storage slots for your most commonly used discs and grits.
5) Sandpaper Disc Storage Rack (DIY)
I came across this helpful video from “DIY Montreal” where she makes a sanding disc storage rack out of pieces of plywood.
What I like about it is that she makes divider slots in the plywood just using her table saw…she doesn’t use a dado stack.
It makes me think even an amateur woodworker like me has a chance of making this too!
And she has a french cleat system in her workshop, so she also shows how to cut the wood to mount this sandpaper holder to that style of wall system.
This sandpaper storage idea will hold your 5″ and 6″ sanding discs, but you’ll need to find another option for your full sheets of sandpaper. (Unless you quarter them to fit your palm sander.)
6) Sanding Disc Storage Tower (Etsy)
If you like the idea of having a storage tower with sliding trays, but you don’t want to make your own (like in the video above), then you can buy this one from the Etsy seller “EstateDesignsLLC“.
It comes flat-packed with the hardware included so you assemble it when it arrives at your house.
It is a made in the USA product. (The seller is from South Carolina.)
Click here to see details on Etsy.
7) Tabletop Sandpaper Organizer with drawers
This is a 6-drawer storage unit that is designed to fit sheets of sandpaper.
You can organize your sandpaper by grit and mark the drawer labels so you can quickly find the grit you need.
A complaint that some people have with this unit though is that it is a tight fit getting your sheets of sandpaper into the drawers without bending them. This can be tricky if you’re putting in several sheets at once. Something to keep in mind.
8) DIY Sandpaper, Discs, and Belts Storage Rack
Do you have sandpaper sheets, sanding discs and belts that you need to store? Are you tired of having them separated and scattered all over your shop?
The YouTuber on the channel “Rings Workshop” made a super cool wall-mounted storage rack with spots to store all the varieties of sandpaper.
It isn’t going to be holding really heavy items so he put the case together using wood glue and brad nails. It looks good and would be a really helpful storage solution.
I’ve embedded the video below so you can watch it and see if this idea will work for you.
9) Sander Storage Rack (plans on Etsy)
Do you need a place to store your hand sanders as well as your sandpaper?
If you want to tackle a DIY project, you can buy the plans to make this cool-looking sander rack from the Etsy seller The Handymans Daughter.
(Note, you don’t buy the rack on Etsy, you buy a digital copy of the plans so you can follow the instructions and build it at home.)
The PDF includes the full cut list and instructions to make this rack.
10) Tilt Out Plastic Storage Bin for small discs
These little compartments are too small for 5″ sanding discs, but would work to hold sandpaper for a mini pneumatic sander or spindle sander sleeves.
You may be able to find a similar organizer at your local hardware store, or you can click here to see this one on Amazon.
11) 3-D Printed Sandpaper Disc Holder (Etsy)
Doesn’t this look cool!
The Etsy seller BlackDiamond3DPrints sells these 3D printed holders.
You can get it in 3 different sizes:
- for 2″ discs
- for 3″ discs
- for 4″ discs
And they make it in a variety of colors too. So if you have a lot of Dewalt tools, you could get this in yellow.
12) Repurpose a DVD Storage Tower
I haven’t actually seen this done before, but when I looked at some of the wooden storage racks designed for storing sanding discs, they reminded me of DVD storage racks.
It could be fun going to some thrift stores or checking on Facebook Marketplace for a used CD or DVD rack and see if it’ll work for sandpaper too.
This may not be the perfect solution, but I bet you could put your sandpaper in the little cubbies.
13) Drawer Divider to create a sandpaper drawer
Do you have a spare drawer that you could make into a sandpaper drawer?
If so, to help keep it tidy and organized you can buy a drawer divider system like this (or make your own).
It would work best for 5 or 6-inch sanding discs, but could work well for quarter-sheets of sandpaper and spindle sander sleeves too.
This is a good “out of sight” storage solution and it’ll free up space on your work surface.
14) Hang sanding discs on the wall
If you primarily have sanding discs like in the picture above, and you have some wall space, then you could create a simple wall rack like this one.
Thank you for checking out these different ways to store sandpaper in your shop.
Will one of them work for you?
So far I’m content with my accordion folder for storing my sheets of sandpaper, but if I ever have a proper woodworking area, I’d like one of these wall-mounted options.
Up Next:
Need a better way to organize your wrenches? Check out these wrench storage ideas.
Are you air tools all over the place? These air tool storage ideas will help.
Thanks again.
Tim from LearnAlongWithMe.com
Tim worked in construction for a few years before going to university. Then he worked in a pharmacy for 10 years and now works as a full-time writer and online publisher. He has experience in several different, far-reaching lines of work.
“I sincerely hope you find the articles helpful and informative.”
Tim from LearnAlongWithMe.com
Want to find this article again later? Pin the picture below to Pinterest.
