It worked, and I was right!

Free is the right price, so the price is right. Don't you love bringing "garbage" home from work and putting it to good use? We sure do. Check it out!

JUNK TO USEFUL - PHOTOSTORY

Yesterday I worked on a job that included removing some damaged boards from a gate, and fixing the gate prior to replacing the boards with new ones. Jobs like this are fun, but there are added benefits for the creative and thrifty too!

For many, these boards would be considered as garbage and either sent to a landfill or burned. For me, they were an opportunity to get some free resources to use on projects at home, so I was eager to bring them home to my family!

Oh yeah, the new gate looked great with the new boards too. The older ones looked like weathered "barn wood," so they'll be perfect for some rustic decor while these new ones take their turn at weathering.

This is the area that Mama-Pepper wanted to redo. We wanted to use the existing shelf elsewhere, and create something that would work better for the children. After some looking on pinterest, she was just full of ideas.

After an evaluation of the supplies, I knew about what we had to work with. After that, it was only a matter of trying to let Mama-Pepper's dreams come true, and create something that would fill the need and look excellent!

This was my first attempt. I made it forty inches wide to replicate a pallet width, and just used the existing width of the boards for the depth and then three boards tall for the height. Once it was secure and sturdy, I brought it in to show Mama.

As it turns out, this was a little bigger than we needed for this project. We'll still be able to repurpose it, but I needed to downsize the shelfs for this area.

While I was working on the next ideas, the family worked on clearing the area. It's nice to start with a slate and create what you want in your home, even if it's just one area.

Soon enough I surprised Mama-Pepper with three foot wide twin shelves that were a bit shorter too. Additionally, I added a special floor cubby for some small totes.

When the family gets busy stuffing the shelving you know it's a winner. Just look at all of those helpful Little-Peppers!

This presentation of books may look a little similar to how they place them in waiting rooms, but it also makes a lot of sense for children, since they recognize the cover of the books much more easily than the spines.

The book in the corner was a recent a work in progress, but it is now available on amazon! Soon we'll be offering it in our Homesteader's Co-op store too!

As you can see, the Little-Peppers know how their new library works, and the new presentation of the books makes them even more attractive, and more likely to get read!

Before finishing for the day, I built one more to put up high for our books, so Mama and I could have ours in our own area. It looks great to me, and we'll be sharing a video about the build soon! Thanks for checking it out!

Until next time…

Make today special!

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