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Cleaning Up:  organization  |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 07:45:38 AM
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Today I'm at the end of my rope with all the clutter in our house. I'm tired of trying to shove 20 pounds of nails into a 10 pound bag, so to speak. This house was built by a retired couple (maybe even just a single woman, I'm not sure) and it has become more and more apparent that it just wasn't made to house a family of four. I have of course been boxing up stuff that we just don't need for either a garage sale if I can work up the energy or just carting off to goodwill if I just can't stand it anymore.
I'm going to turn the coat closet into a linen closet which will help (until I start trying to figure out where to keep our coats). We also have a utility closet under our staircase. The furnace and water heater just don't take up much room in there, so it's a lot of wasted space. Is it safe to store anything in there (like maybe boxes of Christmas decorations) as long as I keep space around the appliances?
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 08:12:18 AM
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Laura, I think you'll be fine storing things there. You might want to consider boxing things up, then putting them in a big garbage bag, just in case sometime in the future the water heater decides to spring a leak. And allow plenty of air space between your storage and the hardware. Avoid storing anything near or in front of the electrical outlets. Good luck! I hear ya on storage. Minimal to zilch in my little old house too.
**** Love is the great work - though every heart is first an apprentice. - Hafiz
Set a high value on spontaneous kindness. - Samuel Johnson****
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Sep 08 2005 : 08:33:42 AM
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I just have to vent. I've been trying for over a week to transform a coat closet into a linen closet, possibly linen closet/pantry. I just want to get some stuff put away. My in laws are coming in tomorrow and how house is a wreck and I can't hang some simple shelves. I'm going to go to the hardware store and see if I can get the problem solved, but I'm afraid I'll start crying when the clerk asks if I need any help. I can't believe I can't cope with this simple chore.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Sep 08 2005 : 08:40:53 AM
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laura - you'll do fine!
Are they the rubbermaid wire kind, or wood shelves?
We can help you here!!! |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Sep 08 2005 : 08:57:17 AM
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Hi Lynn, thank you for the encouragement.
They are the Rubbermaid kind, with the wire shelving. I got the ones that have the braces at the back so that they are adjustable. I just can't get all the right stuff together I guess. There is only one stud on the wall I am trying to put the shelves on, so I got some anchors and that's not going so well. I finally got the anchors to work, but now the screws are too short, so I have to go into town yet again to get new screws. I just let myself get all frustrated. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Sep 08 2005 : 10:22:11 AM
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It sounds like you are on the right track - Just hang in there!
I had a terrible time once in an apartment where they had used metal studs. I wound up using MANY of those butterfly anchors. I was in college so I didn't have a drill gun that could go through the metal stud. The shelf wound up working just fine anyway, I knew not to store a bowling ball on it. But that was frustrating too - I thought I'd have the shelf up in no time and instead had to make an extra trip to Home Depot. I felt like such a dork...
Then I realized many men are equally clueless when it comes to this stuff too. Once I learned that, I didn't feel so bad. ;) |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Sep 08 2005 : 12:11:57 PM
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Thanks Lynn. I'm feeling much better now, although I haven't tried to applied my new anchors yet. I took the bracket with me to the hardware store and asked the man there to give me what I needed and he did. He may be getting tired of me taking up his time for $5 purchases though, we'll have to go do a big purchase there one of these days to make up for it.
The sad thing is, I tend to be the handy one in the family. I'm on my second husband and neither one has that stereotypical, male handiness, but my second husband does try and he's getting much better, so he's a keeper.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Sep 08 2005 : 1:15:59 PM
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Arghhh!!!! Is it possible that there is something wrong with my drywall? It can't hold on to the anchors. When I drill into the anchor the drywall just crumbles and the anchor comes out.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Sep 08 2005 : 1:47:16 PM
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What kind of anchors are they? If they're the plastic ones that just hammer into a pre-drilled hole - I hate those. Completely useless!
The best ones are what I call the industrial type- they have long, wide wings that spread out on the other side of the wall as you tighten down on the screw to hold them in, and are silver and yellow. |
Edited by - greyghost on Sep 08 2005 1:47:56 PM |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Sep 08 2005 : 1:51:16 PM
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I've now tried the metal ones and the plastic ones.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Sep 08 2005 : 6:38:48 PM
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You tried this one too?
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Edited by - greyghost on Sep 08 2005 6:39:22 PM |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Sep 09 2005 : 04:43:26 AM
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Sadly, yes, that was the first one I tried after I couldn't find a second stud. Then I tried a plastic one that works on a similar concept and it also didn't work. I figure since my in laws are coming today I will have my father-in-law look at it. He's pretty handy, and if there IS something wrong with the drywall I think he will be able to tell. I'll keep you updated on my closet saga. I have some ideas for taking care of the problem, but they are all big and labor intensive and undo all the work I've already done in the closet. Today, I'm going to work on getting my positive, can-do attitude back by only working on the things I know won't bite back!
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2005 : 4:51:54 PM
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Well, I never got the closet taken care of myself, but when my father in law visited he had it taken care of in one trip to the hardware store and 5 minutes (compared with my hours and hours and hours and 3-4 trips to the hardware store). I'm okay with it though. I'm just thrilled to have the closet taken care of and somewhere to put my linens! He used a plastic anchor that had big huge threads on it. It seems to be holding.
Thanks again for your support Lynn!
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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Frankenblonde
Farmgirl in Training
28 Posts
Courtland
CA
USA
28 Posts |
Posted - Feb 18 2006 : 10:44:55 PM
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Back in college, I used fruit crates or milk jug crates stacked 3 high for storing my books. At one point I even used printer paper boxes I found behind an office building, and I duct-taped 4 of them together to form my own "entertainment center". It held everything but the TV, and stayed in one piece for about a year. Don't they say necessity is the mother of invention? 
“Always know in your heart that you are far bigger than anything that can happen to you.”
~ Dan Zadra, Chicken Soup for the Country Soul
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happymama58
True Blue Farmgirl
1210 Posts
Patti
Missouri
USA
1210 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2006 : 07:34:50 AM
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Laura, I know I'm late in chiming in on this, but as far as your father in law fixing it for you, that's possibly a wonderful thing! I know my father in law, who like my dh is handy at almost everything, gets a bit antsy when he visits somewhere. Bless his heart, he loves to be at home on his farm where he can "piddle", as he calls it. Anyway, lots of men are like that. Your father in law probably really enjoyed being helpful and having something to do, rather than just sit and chat. You know men -- they love being able to "do" .
I'm not putting this very well, but in a nutshell, I bet your fil felt needed and appreciated. I know you wanted to do the shelves yourself, but maybe it's for the best that you ended up with him helping. I sure hope this makes sense.
Some people search for happiness; others create it. |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Feb 19 2006 : 08:20:10 AM
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What a wonderful way to look at it, Patti. I suspect that you may be right about my fil because he did a ton of work while he was here besides my closet (he fixed the electric in our barn, yeah!). I know he always has projects going at home. He has a workshop he is always tinkering in and is often trying new gardening techniques (he did some hydroponics last summer).
I do think of him when I look in that closet rather than my "failure."
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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Cleaning Up: organization |
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organization
