Project Master

I have a really good thing going. I make list after list of home and other projects, and my husband helps me make them a reality. He's truly amazing. The most recent project was basically a fix for screaming and gnashing of teeth: me and mine. I was sick and tired of the endless papers, books and school items the kids were bringing into the house. I do pretty good with sorting through them right away and recycling most of it. However, managing school projects and papers that take weeks to do, making sure library books and homework folders are returned... you know the drill... it's just out of control! So I decided to take control of the situation. I knew I needed a slot or place for each person. I thought about doing something like what we've done for all our hats/mitts and winter gear - since it WORKS well for us:
But the closet wasn't large enough for another one of these handy dandy shoe racks, what with all of our coats and snow pants hanging up as well, and I wasn't sure the slots would offer enough support for heavier items like library books.

I found some great ideas online. This was one of my favourites:
Given our space and the amount of slots needed I would have to work vertically. We have copied some of Ballard Design's ideas for previous projects (and plan to in the future as well), so when I saw this I was hooked:
I would need four pockets so we were looking at $100 (plus shipping). Enter husband into the project picture. And I his master. We measured and planned and created a similar design but accommodating our sizes and needs: and with FIVE pockets so the parents will have a place as well. Mr. Man has been having a hay day out in the freezing garage and tonight presented the finished product. Isn't it lovely?! I immediately filled it with everyone's junk.
When it warms up, we are going to paint it black and put fancy little nameplates on the front. I also have magnetic paint left over from a previous project, so I'll do a few coats of that on the fronts for permission slips or teacher notes and such that need immediate attention. I'm excited for the final outcome, and REALLY excited to have my main kitchen counter bare! Oh, and we spent a grand total of $22 on the wood for this project and have all the paint on hand to complete it!



Next project: a console table. No rest for the man of my dreams!