My Dad and I tackled a big project in our house last week – shelving in the basement. Our home was built in 1918 or thereabouts, and this room was the coal room, so pardon the dark and dreary appearance. The mask is because he’s crazy allergic to dust, mold, and dog dander and the basement is a triple whammy for him because the dog’s crates where they sleep are right outside the door. That’s my dollhouse in the background – we’re saving that until the girls are older and can play with it.
My Dad is 1. a retired home builder, 2. has built countless numbers of these shelves, and 3. I’m now awkwardly pregnant and can’t carry full sheets of particle board, so I called on him for some expertise and assistance. My Mom came and was invaluable by watching Arden and helping me clear out the accumulation of treasures and junk that were in the storage room – previously on precarious plastic shelving and stacked in corners.
The basic concept is a frame of 2 x 4’s, the Novaply 3/4″ counter boards across that, and then 2″ strips of wood across the front and back of the shelving to make it more sturdy and rigid. Dad notched out the upright 2 x 4″s with a circular saw to accept the cross pieces.
Top view of my belly while cutting on the miter saw. Baby seemed to like all the action and was bumping and nudging along the way.
Using the air gun to nail the support piece in place after gluing it. I’ve gone through most of the stuff that was in there and only put back what we will use and want to keep. Everything on the floor is in plastic bins and I’ve got things organized by category – household/camping, seasonal, baby toys and clothes, off-season clothing, etc… Now I’m just deciding whether it’s worthwile to have a garage sale with the stuff that didn’t make the cut to return to storage, or just try to Craigslist or swapshap some of it and donate the rest. Decisions, decisions…
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