Pantry crates...finally...

I've got two months left before I have this baby and already the nesting bug has set in. I'm going through cupboards and drawers in every section of the house - we've only lived here for two years, how did we accumulate so much junk? With every closet I go through my project list seems to multiply, adding to an already long project list - all of which I want done before the baby comes. Reality, of course, settles in and I know time is not in my favor to get everything done. So I'm picking a few projects and hope they get done. Steve likes me to finish one project before starting another (evidently, I have a history of starting several projects at once and taking forever to finish them) so before tackling the nursery I had a project (or two because I'm rebellious) to work on. My dining table is nearly complete and to most it looks complete. The finish is curing for a bit before I readdress the final step of the finish, so I've mentally crossed off that one in my book. My pantry crates were not nearly as finished so I brought them in from the garage to vacuum off the cobwebs and finally make them functional.

A year ago, my pantry looked like this: Amazingly disorganized and messy, I know. And no matter what I did I couldn't keep that small space organized. At the beginning of this year I bought some can consolidators, matching bins and it started to take shape. For over a year, I had intentions of building crates on rollers to fit perfectly underneath the bottom shelf but somehow the mess didn't bother me enough to take action as soon as I had hoped. In May I had some money left in my home budget so I bought the wood and started building.


May is quite warm in Arizona and I found myself outside after the kids had gone to bed to avoid the heat, building five custom sized crates.

The base of the crate is mdf that is encased with 1x6 pine boards. I used 2x2 boards in each corner to give something to nail the corners to. The base of the crate was a 1x6 but to add some interest, I used 1x4 boards to complete the crate, nailing into the 2x2 of each corner.

I finished building them just two days before our summer vacation to Idaho so I stacked them in the garage before leaving. By the time I got home it was too blasted hot to work on them. Yet each time I got in my car they mocked me in their unfinished state. Like I said before, I'm dying to start working on the nursery but I knew I had to finish the crates regardless of the heat. So last week I pulled them out and finished them up with several coats of spray paint (Rustoleum paint and primer in one) and utility wheels screwed to the bottom. Saturday's project required me to clean out the bottom section of the pantry just to make room for them and by the time I rolled the last one in its place I kicked myself for taking so long on such an easy project. And in true Kara fashion, although they look finished, they're not quite there; I've still got to figure out a handle. Yes, they're easily pulled by grabbing the top but they would work better with a handle. I don't want to spend a fortune because it's just not worth it to me on a rustic crate that no one really sees but I do want it to be functional. I'm thinking of one of these from Lowes or Home Depot:

I feel like a little kid running to their parents, "I cleaned my room can I play with my friends now??" or "I finished my crates will you please not roll your eyes when I tell you I'm ripping off the chair rail and painting the nursery??"

It's going to be a good week!