42% of you just wing it. Building a new pantry storage cabinet.

[@jeradmiller4575]

I like to have a plan so I know what I'm deviating from.

[@timothymbess]

"Behind these doors is...." MICROJIG!

[@RexClair]

Not gonna lie, I miss that.

[@ryancrowe3475]

Yeah I miss those too.

[@polarbear02474]

Steve should get a new sponsorship and continue to do that

[@terrygabrielson5598]

Classic

[@AndrewBlack343]

The adverts clearly worked, all these years later and we're still thinking it!

[@MucaroBoricua]

Steve, I would make the cabinet from wall to wall and make a cutout for the light switch. That way I would have more cabinet space and servicing the switch later wouldn't require taking the cabinet down. But I guess it's too late know.

[@Dwayne_Bearup]

Yes, I would have cut a hole in the cabinet and used a mud ring on the j-box so I could install the switch in the side wall of the cabinet.

[@MucaroBoricua]

@@Dwayne_Bearup, that's an even better idea.

[@Dwayne_Bearup]

@@MucaroBoricua I've had to do it before for a client (I make my living as a handyman.) It's so much simpler.

[@MucaroBoricua]

Dwayne Bearup, I’m just a DIYer but glad to see a professional agrees with me. Cheers

[@Dwayne_Bearup]

@@MucaroBoricua An even better idea I just read further down in the comments was to put the switch outside the closet entirely. That would be ideal, provided the wall in question has room for a switch and cover plate....

[@kq3225]

You may need enough space to fix or replace the light switch if needed. Thanks for the videos!

[@michaelkaplan2190]

Ouch! I resemble that remark. Great suggestion! I’d probably not consider that then have to cut out a section to get to the switch.

[@bruceschneider4928]

I understand about the small house. We just moved into a townhouse that has one small exterior storage closet, no garage, and other than interior closets, no other storage space. On one hand, I can't understand how, in 35 years and three previous owners, nobody thought to build any storage units of any kind. On the other hand, because nobody else did, I get to! And that's why I've been binging on your videos. I also have the good fortune to have a decent-sized patio, and the HOA allows construction of patio furniture. All of my patio furniture will have storage space built into it. I am looking forward to getting started.

[@acornhomestead3575]

HOA=home owners association...my first thoughts HOMESTEADERS OF AMERICA lol too many vegetable garden/planting/growing video watching

[@Aleph-Noll]

so for about the last week ive been binge watching a ton of your videos, its crazy how much your look has changed over the years haha you look better now than you did 7 years ago!

[@grigorbrowning]

Infinitely better. Countably so... ;-)

[@nightowl356]

he's the benjamin button of woodworking

[@alhernon]

I love the American sense of size: "living in a small house"... Mate, your garage is probably bigger than my entire apartment! :)

[@holdemNE1]

God Bless America!!!!!!!!!!

[@rosshewitt22]

I think this when ever they say "my small workshop" like Jesus guys I guess I'm working out of a tool box

[@111connorg]

My "workshop" is 6ft by 3ft of space....!!

[@bs838]

My workshop is the size of a one euro coin! Freaking Americans and their space, am I right!!? /s

[@jdmznet]

Every space seems smaller once you fill it with stuff. I don't think Steve's house is super small, but it probably is small compared to many American houses. Why are American houses so large? Because we like to have a lot of space to vacuum and dust.

[@biancamorton4764]

You might want to consider what would take to fix the switch if you need to. Maybe instead of leaving space for your hand on that corner make a cutout for the switch plate.

[@erouse666]

Just a quick comment. Maybe move the light switch to the other side of the wall. And by that I mean next to the door before you enter the room. That is where the switch to my closet is and it is very convenient to turn on the light before I even open the door.

[@knutzzl]

Good point.but not without saying: Never play with electrics! Get a professional if you are unsure.

[@michaelkaplan2190]

Being safe moving a light switch takes no more training, skill or attention to process and details than safely using power equipment.

[@borninthewrongcentury2993]

I would have looked into trying to build that light switch into the side of the shelving unit. There has to be some way to bring it out the thickness of the plywood so it looks like it's always been there. That way you could avoid having that gap between the unit and the wall.

[@Dwayne_Bearup]

They make mud rings for every size and shape of j-box and in a variety of depths.

[@ThomasCustomWoodworks]

I am definitely starting to use plans more often. It keeps me on track and greatly decreases the waste.

[@Zack-xz1ph]

1:55 why not make a notch/hole for the switch?

[@drewt3210]

Too easy ;-)

[@angelamarchbanks2621]

Why I love your videos because every single one DOES make me a better woodworker. Yep, I winged it to organize my closet and made a standing shelf dresser combo. It seemed to come together in the shop but after installing it, too many tweaks are needed so it will be an uninstall and repeat project. That's the fun of it is learning through mistakes.

[@TheSkcookie]

How do plan to handle a switch replacement? Are you planning to mount with a French cleat and couple cabinet mounting screws so the outlet can be accessed for maintenance? What about scribing in a filler piece and installing the light switch plate in the filler?

[@jimdcushman]

It's nice to hear of other people using French cleats for house storage solutions and not just in the shop. I've got an idea for a book/game shelf but I've been hesitant to press with it because I feared there was something I was missing about French cleats that don't make them suitable for in the house. Thanks again for all the videos through the years you've been a life saver or at very least a sanity saver.

[@sayhitojesus4me]

I also answered your poll this way. I grew up in a large rural area and on a farm where we were only able to use what we had on hand. Now that I've move forward from that I've been working on correcting that this way by learning computer programs to create plans. Especially to just share them.

[@bjgaspar]

Oh, great... Now I've just added ANOTHER project on my 'Stuff needs doin' list.... Thanks Steve 😉

[@charlieodom9107]

My laundry room has been on my list since I bought my house...9 years ago!!!

[@andyb1368]

Curiously, my last project was almost identical to this cabinet, even down to the detail of bevel cutting the top rail that goes behind the back panel to turn it into a French cleat which sure made hanging it easy. I did not do much in the way of plans. I figured out the dimensions I wanted to maximize plywood use an minimize waste. So the only drawings I had, were a couple of hand drawn sketches of the plywood showing what pieces would be cut from where, and couple of detail drawings of the rabbets just to make sure I did not cut them on the wrong pieces.

[@austin.hanson]

You should just cut a square hole and move the switch inside the cabinet. That way toes not losing the extra shelf space on the whole left side.

[@Dznytoy]

Why not put an escutcheon plate on the light switch and put a cutout in the side of the cabinet, so the switch would be inside the cabinet.

[@brandoncarpenter9158]

Another option is to move the switch to the other side of the wall, outside of the closet. 👍

[@Dwayne_Bearup]

@@brandoncarpenter9158 That's an excellent idea.

[@kyleswift7503]

Why not move the light switch to the outside of the closet?

[@knutzzl]

When i started woodworking i planned more than i do nowadays. Guess leveling up the woodworking skill help's

[@danradichel4290]

Oh Steve. I’m SO doing this exact same organization project right now. Very happy to be able to walk along with you my friend.

[@robinslama]

As an Electrician by trade, please leave room to access that electrical switch in the event it ever needs to be replaced or worked on 😊

[@chuckcardot866]

Same here, why not just move switch to other side of wall and patch the drywall. If possible that is.

[@LearningtoWood]

I used to wing stuff quite often and while it is exciting to figure stuff out, I will always have plans now. Saves me tons of time personally...

[@colinmcconnell7118]

You may wish to reconsider the placement of that towel rack under a bunch of dirty mops & brooms.

[@onetruebob_tj]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Giving me some inspiration to update our laundry room. I'm also in that 9-10% group. I always at least have a pencil drawn plan for my project.

[@CamiloSperberg]

Haha I was one of the ~7000 people that voted for a few sketches: reason is because it is a hobby to improve stuff around the house and I usually work only in the weekends: I don’t give myself the time to make a proper plan because I don’t really care if I screw up a piece and have to make it again, it is a pleasure to work with. If I would do this professionally well then I’ll have to keep the mistakes to a minimum and certainly a computer program would be cheaper to make mistakes on!

[@sergeianpilov5222]

But in all fairness - correcting those mistakes takes time, sometimes lots of time, - which we usually don't have much of.

[@BikerDaddy402]

I almost always draw up plans for myself, except if it's just a simple box to store stuff in. BTW, I love that each cat has it's own theme music. :)

[@herbertliedel7019]

As a retired automotive product designer I usually enjoy making the plans as much as the actual build.

[@monahantp3767]

That 9% is where I am-- always have plans. Actually I enjoy sketching them up in a notebook just to work out my ideas, then I'll take it to SketchUp to make sure my proportions are correct. Also, I sometimes make changes to the plans during construction, so having something already drawn up makes those changes easier.

[@darrinwesterfeld8948]

Change the switch location, change the switch to a motion sensor above the door....

[@Konzertheld]

I switched from "never" making a plan to "more often than not" after watching your SketchUp basics video, so thanks a lot for that. Also, I like how you arrange the boards onto a sheet of plywood in SketchUp. I might steal that trick, too, dunno why I did that step just in my head until now. Propably because I often work with leftover wood from other people's broken furniture so I always have different sheet sizes.

[@KalinZahariev]

Learned a new term today - "completely uneven" I like it, though it is beyond my immagination :) Thanks for sharing.

[@jack002tuber]

I am over 60 and never once did any of my plans ever have the word earthquake in them. :-)

[@mattkaiser8984]

In Concord, CA and we had a little 3.8 today.

[@NathanielLNewton]

I lived in California for 30 years. Everything I did was under assumption a piano would fall on it at some point. I built some sturdy ass furniture in that mindset.

[@DaveJHarry]

Just once for me. I'm in Melbourne, Vic, a quiet area. But after I built a woodworking tool shelf, I decided it needed strengthening because if ever the big "2.0" came long it would be toast.

[@Ashitaka1110]

I will use plans for inspiration but rarely follow them to a T. In fact the one I followed most closely was Steve's lumber cart that I built just a few weeks ago. Very similar but downsized it a bit and adjusted the shelf spacing. That's about as close as I get. Sometimes I even combine ideas from different plans. Currently working on a storage cart for drills, batteries, sandpaper/discs/sanders, as well as hardware, that's using ideas from two totally different sets of plans and also adding on pegboard to the back of it for more utility.

[@danielhastings3167]

I almost always draw up plans in advance. When I finish I file the plans away along with markups for any changes I made along the way. It is surprising how many times I pull them back out in order to use them as a starting point for similar projects.

[@rickreed123]

I enjoy the planning and design in sketch-up as much as the building, but there are usually some deviations required.

[@patrickpogue9091]

I would put that shelf all the way against the wall with the switch. Just pull the switch out and attach to the inside of the shelf.

[@JTMakesIt]

I don't use plans. I often start building a simple shelf bracket but at the end it ends up being a petrol powered smoothie blender :)

[@dimitrimBE]

Since i've discovered sketchup i'm one of the 9% as well, Steve. And it saved me a lot of time in avoided errors for sur!

[@bored_pyro]

Thanks, Steve, for making my attempts at home improvement feel sub-par ;) Still love your stuff! Keep up the good work.

[@josephg4924]

What are you gonna do if you ever have to replace that switch? Will there be enough room for that?

[@Otto-W]

That room has a lot of potential. My wife and I had three cats, now down to one 😿. Best thing I did was make a cabinet for their litter box. It's separated into two sections, first one is for entry/exit, the other is their litter box. There is a divider and hole between them, hinged lid for access for cleaning and allows light. The litter box side is connected to piping that has an inline fan and vents outside. This does a few things. No spell or dust and the first area has one of those cat rugs that collects things that might be stuck to their feet. Having your dryer in the room should allow you to connect a vent to your dryer exhaust and keep you from having to cut a hole in the wall, should look nice and clean. Using inline gates that only allows air in one direction should avoid any blowback into your dryer.

[@barpluc3977]

Depends on what you mean by "plans" I always use plans. Sometimes the plans are detailed down to individual piece cuts, sometimes the plans are simple sketches to remind me of the dimensions i need for a final product, sometimes I am familiar enough with the project that the "plans" are written on the inside of my forehead. The house my father built himself, drove every nail, handled every board was damaged recently in a hurricane and some of the framing had to be replaced during the repars. I was able to salvage several chunks of 2x8 and 2x10 fir and pine that dad had handled some 72 years ago. I decided to make some simple boxes and hand them out to my children and their cousins made from "Big Pop's" house. Each box is a little different in size due to using the most I could out of the material I had; but they all have box-joint corners, inset bottom, flush top and real antique brass hardware salvaged from an old jewelry box shop. I had a "plan" in my head, but let the dimensions of each box be determined by the material.

[@johnm7469]

I always hand sketch a plan but I only complete 42% of it....

[@bigfoxki]

I use plan, enjoy hand drawing them in fact.

[@levity2]

I moved from the 42% to a far less popular 9% group after watching some of Steve's videos. I used to screw up a lot! That cost me lots of material, time and frustration. I still screw up a lot, but when things don't fit together in sketchup I can fix many mistakes before I touched any wood! In the end a few hours at a computer sometimes saves me a few days in the workshop. Even though I don't make plans as detailed as Steve. Maybe that is in the future.

[@Original_Old_Farmer]

I"m sorry you didn't give us a chance to comment before cutting wood. You can buy junction box extenders to move the light switch out to the inside of the shelving unit. Then I would put a motion sensor light in the ceiling so that you don't have to turn on and off the light. So what if the cats trip the light. It'll go off when they leave. I have motion sensing lights in my garage and basement. If you find you are bumping the switch, a switch lock can make it so the power stays on to the light. Also, most motion lights have a sensitivity setting so that the cats won't turn on the light unless they decide to do laundry.

[@renod42]

Can you move your light switch to the outside of the room?

[@JethPrime]

Hey! I work for Lundberg Rice (the brand in your pantry), good choice!

[@brianweekley5700]

Hi Steve, Just a suggestion regarding the switch...Make your cabinet full wall width and cut a hole for the switch. You can buy a box extender so the switch plate is flush with the cabinet. That would be much nicer than having that long narrow space.

[@LifeHappensLetsFixIt]

Learning to use Sketchup was the most frustrating week of my life. BUT, now it is so, so, so helpful to catch mistakes before starting and, as you stated, better plan my material use. I am no longer one of the 42%.

[@robinwitbaard]

Why don’t you just move the light switch into the cabinet? That’s what I did in my kitchen.

[@davidruth55]

Great idea

[@rick_.]

Yup. Or use a box extender so it extends out flush with the inside face of the shelf side.

[@daviddickerson3422]

hard wire the switch and add a pull-string light fixture

[@jimjohnson4359]

Better yet, move the switch to the exterior wall

[@maleahlock]

Rewire the whole house!

[@Zack-xz1ph]

even though I learned sketchup, and watched Steve's tutorial as a review (an excellent one btw) I still wing most of my projects, with a rough stick-drawing and basic info, even though I know It'll save me a lot of re-dos and frustration. Next project I'll definitely make my own plans, for a simple 2x4 bike work stand

[@crestonsimpson1370]

On the lighting, you can get smart bulbs and have a remote. Put velcro on it and attach the remote to a different spot on the wall making it easier to turn on and off the light. Also, you could use voice activation with google home or Alexa and turn it on or off that way as well. Then you won't need as much clearance and would be easier to turn on and off.

[@onebackzach]

I personally draw out all of my plans to scale and include measurements. I don't like building things unless I have a good idea of what the proportions will look like.

[@karl_alan]

Peter Brown actually has an interesting video about different types of makers, and plans was one of the things he used in his defining examples.

[@bepiisboy2911]

where can i find it?

[@bepiisboy2911]

well whats it called

[@karl_alan]

@@bepiisboy2911 what type of maker are you?

[@jgriff19861947]

Great humor and ideals you have taught a lot of people i have never used a plan which might make it harder i go by seeing and looking at what people do and might change thing a little so that it is different

[@holdemNE1]

Cobra is a cool ass name for your cat. Well done.

[@terrygabrielson5598]

Not really sure if it's a good thing, but I'm finally in the majority🤔

[@topcheese2889]

Welcome

[@hotrodhog2170]

Welcome to the Dark Side!

[@davidroman1654]

If you are building anything then you have a plan of some kind. A plan doesn't have to be a "professional" drawing, just an idea in your mind.

[@michaelkaplan2190]

@@davidroman1654 - good point.

[@fletchro789]

@@davidroman1654 I would retort that if it's not written down (or communicated to another being in some way) it doesn't count as a plan. I'm thinking that a plan has logic to it: if I make this thing that big, then this thing has to be that big. And I'm thinking that a plan reaches some kind of conclusion: "I will need to buy two sheets of plywood", or this project consists of 22 pieces. I feel that if you just start doing stuff, and the logical consequences surprise you, it wasn't a plan. I usually have an idea of what I'm doing, and then the logical consequences surprise me, so i feel like I didn't have a plan in that case. Agree or disagree?

[@penjon]

Not really at the level of plans, but I pretty much always take notes of the cuts I need to make and the dimensions. But so far I've only been using very simple joinery (glue and/or pocket screws/screws). Recently I tried to make a simple shelf for putting recycling bins (so literally garbage, but a good opportunity to try something a little different) and took the opportunity to practice half laps/dados, sort of in the same vein as your half-lap stool. Hard to denote where all the half lap/dados need to go in text, and I ended up cutting a few dados on the wrong side. Not too big a deal since it wasn't the most important part of the project structurally, but that motivated me to go through your SketchUp tutorial and give SketchUp a try, and I ended up making (and using) my first set of plans to make a desk for my wife.

[@asbrand]

I do about 99% of my projects in SketchUp first. Mainly so I can make most of my mistakes there, and it doesn't cost me anything. And I can make sure what I'm trying to make actually goes together.

[@PatGoegan]

A great video, Steve. Your method of planning out your plywood sheet using the Sketch up plans is great. I'm going to try it!

[@Erik_The_Viking]

I always make a plan and drawings but they're more of a guide than anything else. I often make changes as I work on the project as needed, as you find things that come up that you didn't expect. Thankfully they still work out in the end.

[@Maxid1]

I've built things after drawing 3 lines and writing down a measurement. I've been doing it like that to some degree for 60 years.

[@1029pb]

Hey Steve just wanted to give you mad props on the jar of Nutella. It’s one of my favourite treats for the weekend, if you’re not allergic to peanuts I would suggest substituting Nutella for jam and your classic PB&J try it out😋

[@SkullyWoodMetal]

In high school we had to have a drawn and approved plan before a project could be started. We were graded on our drafting skills as well as the construction skills. Many things I build I have a rough idea of shape, dimensions and joinery, I'll use some sketches or notes. If it has to fit in a specific spot or I need to show a customer what I have in mind then I will draw some plans, typically with the three standard views.

[@glg3945]

You make it look So Easy!! Thanks! Peace and Good Fortune and Good Health to you and your family. Love the different cat music for each cat!!! :)

[@BenignComrade]

Are dish towels in the same room as the litter box a good idea?

[@davidbondi]

Yikes!

[@janwillemdegraaf3181]

Great you are sharing projects again Steve...

[@AnonymousXIII]

You might want more space between the cabinet and the lightswitch plate, just on the off chance you might ever need to repair it. You might never need it, but I know, when we needed it on one of our switches, we had no reason to suspect it until one day the lights just stopped working.

[@wallykim1]

I'm a big fan~ Nice haircut during the pandemic by the way~ Thanks for the useful posting!

[@GaiusMarcus]

I make plans to give me a rough idea on how its all going to work, but I now do what you do, which is to measure real spaces rather than cut everything from the plan.

[@thegarageworkshop3215]

Love watching your videos Steve. Got inspired by your dust collector cart. So I built my own today to save space. Still need to add a cyclone to it. But that's for another day. Thanks

[@claidan]

I’m at a point where I’m mostly making small simple objects that don’t require much in the way of plans, which is why I answered that I rarely use plans. That being said, I also have made wood and plastic models (ships, cars, etc) and those have highly detailed plans. When I get to the point where I’m making larger things that need to fit in a certain place or are more complex I’ll definitely shift to making or buying plans.

[@NathanielLNewton]

Regarding plans- I think its just a difference in approach and mindset. My approach is almost always to fit something into a space. And since nothing in a house is ever square or flat, coming up with a plan ahead of time never seems to work out for me anyway. And since the lock down, almost all my woodworking takes place on my apartments kitchen countertop, so it's generally hand tools. And with handtools, you really go for "make this piece fit that piece". So plans wouldn't help there either

[@DaveJHarry]

Since the laundry holds pantry overflow, I'd be interested to see how you can improve storage efficiency (i.e., cram more) in the kitchen.

[@AllMyHobbies]

Yeah I think sketchup is the biggest disconnector I have when watching KZbin woodworkers no weekend woodworker knows how to use sketch up we use a piece of paper and a pencil and a few drawings or we buy plan somewhere

[@bigbenhuisman]

Sorry if this has already been said, but you could put a motion detector light switch in there so the light comes on automatically when you open the doors. Then you don't need to reach in between the wall and the new cabinet to turn on the lights each time

[@colemine7008]

I like the new video style... very matthais. I appreciate the experimenting.

[@Papapop]

I don't always use plans, but when I do my projects are done quicker, more accurate and use much less waste.

[@TaylorUTV]

I think I would have pushed the shelves to the switch wall and purchased a receptacle box extension so the switch would be in the cabinet.

[@michaelkaplan2190]

Good idea!

[@fpp666]

I would suggest you measure if the space between the side of the cabinet and the light switch allows you to unscrew the switch and pull it out, or else you'll have to take everything out if the switch fails for any reason and you need to replace it. Or else leave a gap on the side just in case!

[@lordrichard8184]

The reason I mostly wing it is that I’m mainly using scrap wood, to avoid buying wood. And my projects are largely dictated by the wood scraps I have. And sometimes when I’m building I think of a better way to do it or an improvement I didn’t originally plan on doing. So it’s nice to change the design on the fly. If I was using wood I actually bought I’d probably use plans more often just to minimize waste.

[@thomasmarliere2505]

Hi Steve, you’re losing space with the recessed back and the space for the switch. Don’t use cleats and screw the shelf directly into the studs (simple and efficient 🙂) + make the shelf go all the way to the left, make a hole for the wires and put the switch inside the shelf 💡 Love from France ! Thomas

[@thomasmarliere2505]

Oh, I commented too early, should’ve watched the full video before 😆

[@graig654]

I have a drafting background. I ALWAYS have plans. :)

[@cbalan777]

It makes sense if you already have the experience to put it to use.

[@biancamorton4764]

Same lol i have plans i never built and they are all saved in solidworks or sketchup :D

[@wolfman75]

Nice Job!!! I wish I could do plans but I can not for the life of me figure out Sketch Up or any of the others. I tried following your video & put them side by side, failed. So Then I did the start, stop, change & I was still lost. I am a very detailed artist on paper. Any thing else I have no clue. I have never used a computer or a program for my Drawing/Art before. (Old Fashion Here) Thank You Steve!!! 👍🤦‍♂️😛🤔😎😁

[@shermanjones1417]

Thanks for your videos Steve. You're very inspiring.

[@stephenrichie4646]

I’m mostly a “winger,” though I’ll often make a chicken scratch sketch of a joint detail or some such.

[@nathanash101]

I must have missed the survey, but I always make some sort of plan before I start a project as well! usually I go into quite alot of detail (solidworks / 3D modeling) but sometimes it is just a sketch on some paper with some rough measurements so I know my Materials list. I, Like you, try to be as efficient with my board use as I can most of the time!

[@ohgary]

Will the French cleats hold the cabinet during a quake? Suppose items on the shelves fall? You could put a head guard over the litter box...

[@andyb1368]

You use the French cleat just to hang the cabinet. You then screw through the rails into the studs. It makes it super easy to get the cabinet hung level and positioned exactly where you want.

[@daveerickson5313]

Looks like a perfect application for either a motion sensor, or a light switch that is spring loaded and activated by the doors.

[@hansdegroot8549]

Who is going to pay the electricity bill then? Both your suggestions make the the light turn on when the cats creep in. But the can't operate a classic switch.

[@ewout2211]

Big fan of Philips Hue! No more hassle with light switches, just put or place the remotes anywhere you want.

[@cbalan777]

I was one of those who said I don't ever use plans. Everyone knows that a project you think is going to take two days will actually take four days, or longer, and even though front loading the work by making plans might make the overall time shorter, I think most people are in a time crunch with projects and need to get them done in a short timeframe, which is usually in a day or two. So plans become an extra step that most feel needs to be omitted.

[@MarceloFreitas70]

Hi, Steve. Would it be necessary to remove the cabinet from the wall if you need to maintain the light switch? in this case, it would be easier to leave more space between the cabinet and the light switch. I don't make plans because I'm not good with graphics software. I use a pencil, ruler and a notebook occasionally. Thanks for sharing and have a nice weekend. Marcelo.

[@dogface6040]

You know (not to pop any bubbles, er soap spheres) but the current shelves are largely earthquake "compliant" (there really isn't a Code requirement) because the wall runners are attached to the structure, and the shelf supports key into the wall runners. The only "loose" problem you really have (other than the goods stored on the shelves, which are not usually constrained) is the shelf boards. If you drill tiny holes on either side of each shelf support and use a tie wire to secure the shelf board to the support, it will hold as well as the basic house structure, and once you have that degree of fixation, there's no point in going further.

[@robgullen]

What size are the boards you are using? - it may be the camera but they look bigger than the usual 8' x 4' (or 2.44m x 1.22m we're used to in the UK) - anything over 8 x 4 here is usually at a premium price out of proportion with 8 x 4s.

[@MD-en3zm]

I’ve never built anything from plans. I spend a lot of time thinking about it in my head. I make some quick sketches and a rough cut list, but I keep adjusting as I go. I don’t generally buy plans either - and when I do, I never follow them (I just do it sometimes for ideas or to understand how something works if it looks interesting). I never understood buying plans because for me, each piece is custom and I want it to work in a very specific and custom way. I’m always amazed at how many people ask for plans in youtube comments. Sometimes I find it funny - I was watching a video the other day showing chiseling techniques for a pretty elaborate and unusual joint. The craftsman made the joint out of some scrap wood to demonstrate it, and yet, someone still asked for plans! This always makes me laugh.

[@robertpendzick9250]

From this video I cannot tell if the top of the cabinet is at the ceiling? Or is there room above the top to the ceiling to become storage? If there is room then if the cabinet does not go all the way to the wall with the light switch it's possible for stuff to fall between the wall and cabinet. If it does not go to the ceiling then the board forming the edge from the wall to the cabinet should be extended so stuff will not fall off, or the top shelf should be recessed from the top of the cabinet to form it. This reduces one shelf or increases length of one side. However it would be better to run it wall to wall and find some way to allow light switch access or add motion detection lights so switch is not important in day to day usage.