Closet shelving template
Closet Shelving Cut List Template
Use this closet shelving cut list template to plan plywood closet shelves and dividers before cutting. It lists the shelves, vertical dividers, and support cleats with sizes and quantities, so you buy the right material and cut repeated parts cleanly.
A simple closet shelving plan
A practical closet system is usually a tall vertical divider or two splitting the closet into bays, with stacked shelves on each side and cleats holding them to the wall. Plywood works well because the shelves repeat at the same depth, so batching the cuts saves time. This template assumes a closet about 72 inches wide and 14 inches deep with two divider towers and short shelves between them. Adjust the bay widths to your closet, then keep the structure.
Closet shelving parts list
Material: 3/4 in plywood
Kerf allowance: 1/8 in between cuts
Grain direction: front-to-back on shelves, vertical on dividers
Part | Size (in) | Qty
----------------+-------------+----
Divider tower | 14 x 80 | 2
Long shelf | 14 x 23 | 6
Short shelf | 14 x 22 | 4
Cleat (rip) | 2 x 22 | 10
Top fixed shelf | 14 x 70 | 1The dividers are the tall parts; the shelves repeat at one or two widths so they cut in batches. Cleats are thin rips that consume leftover strips, which keeps waste low. If your closet is wider, add another divider tower and repeat the shelf group.
Fit the shelving on a sheet
The divider towers and the long fixed shelf drive your sheet count because they are the biggest parts. The repeated shelves pack efficiently once the towers are placed, and the thin cleats fill the strips left over. To see how many sheets you need and how the repeated shelves nest, run the parts through the plywood cut calculator with your kerf value.
Save the full project in the CutList app so you can adjust bay widths later. For a planning walkthrough, read the closet shelving cut list planner.
Cut order and waste tips
Cut the two divider towers first while the sheet is stable, then rip the long fixed shelf, then batch the repeated shelves so they come out identical. Cut cleats last from the leftover strips. Because shelves repeat, a small sizing error multiplies, so confirm one shelf fits before cutting the rest. For the underlying method, read sheet layout optimization and how to reduce plywood waste.
For more sheet-good projects, try the bookcase cut list template or the garage shelving cut list template.