It's best practice for woodworkers to measure twice and cut once. For the rest of us, measuring twice should be the absolute minimum! As a non-woodworker (this is Bethany speaking), I recommend that you measure twice (or however many times is necessary until you get repeatable results). Record your measurements. Plan your insert, then come back and measure again, checking against your original measurements.
If possible, get someone else to check behind you.
If you feel all thumbs with a tape measure, ask a handy relative, friend, or neighbor for help.
These mistakes are rare, but they do happen. In those cases we'll send you a pre-paid label to send the problematic insert back to us. We'll make the needed changes and ship it back to you as quickly as possible.
The best way to avoid a poor design is to plan your insert around the utensils you typically use. Overstuffed drawers are not going to become clutter-free with the addition of a drawer insert.
Start by purging items you don't want or don't use.
If having flexibility is higher priority than conserving space, you might want to consider our junk drawer designs (the Linda, DeAnn, and Phillip templates). These templates are especially good for drawers whose contents may fluctuate.
More tips on design planning coming soon. Check back or better yet, sign up below to be notified when new tips are available.